Getting an Apartment with an Eviction on Your Credit

Finding a landlord to rent an apartment to you if you have an eviction on your credit can be a tricky situation. The best thing to do in all situations is avoid an eviction at all costs, pay your rent before you pay anything else. However, people are human and we do make mistakes from time to time. Fortunately, there are a couple of ways that you may be able to rent an apartment with an eviction on your credit. Let's take a look at some of those solutions:

The first thing that you need to do is thoroughly understand how the eviction process works. Each state has different laws about how an eviction process, legally known as a Notice to Vacate, is meant to be handled within its jurisdiction. However, certain characteristics remain the same all over the country, they are:

1) The rent is due by the date stated on your lease. Contrary to popular belief, there is NO such thing as a required "grace period" for rental payments.

2) The most prevalent reason that landlords evict tenants is due to non-payment of rent, but there are a myriad of other reasons why a landlord can evict you.

3) If the landlord starts the evictions process by filing the necessary legal documents, an eviction WILL be placed on your credit...REGARDLESS to whether or not you settle up and pay the landlord. Even if your landlord allows you to stay after you've paid, the eviction will remain on your credit for seven years.

As you can see, having an eviction on your credit can be a very damaging and serious situation. If you have an eviction on your credit, you need to be aware of how somber the situation truly is as it can affect your standard of living for years to come.

After you have thoroughly understood the seriousness of the situation, you need to get prepared to face a lot of rejection. Unless you are very lucky, it will not be easy to get an apartment with an eviction on your credit. Grab a local apartment guide and pick out a couple of apartments that are affordable and convenient. Call each one of them and let the leasing agent know about your situation, and then ask them if they will be willing to work with you. Again, be prepared to hear a lot of no's in this step, most apartment complexes that are under the management of large management companies automatically deny applicants with evictions - no questions asked. Your first reaction here may be to just omit the fact that you have been evicted. This makes absolutely no sense because as soon as they pull your credit they will see it anyway. It is best to tell the truth up front....BEFORE you fill out the rental application. Why pay the application fee just to get denied?

Grab the newspaper and look in the classified section for affordable apartments. Again, you need to let them know up front about your credit history. With private owners or smaller apartment complexes, you may be able to get past the credit requirements if you let them know how you got into your situation. Be honest and up-front with them, and tell them that you will never allow yourself to get in the situation of being evicted again. Smaller complexes and private owners usually have the ability to do what they want without having to answer to a large management company.

Get on Craigslist and check the rental classified ads in your area. In the search field put in the words "No Credit Check" and see what you get. You should be able to get a couple of good leads therein.

Finally, the best option yet would be to hop into your car and drive around the neighborhoods where you would like to live, and that you can afford. Look out for handmade "For Rent" signs and jot down their numbers. When you get home, you should call these numbers and ask them about the rental qualifications. DO NOT mention your eviction unless they tell you that they will pull your credit report. You will be surprised at how many landlords do not even bother to check your credit. Although this list is getting smaller every year (the Internet has made the credit checking process very simple), there are still landlords that haven't caught up with the times. Also, if you come upon a rental unit with a hand-made rental sign, chances are that the landlord uses rather simple methods, and there is a higher likelihood that they will not check your credit.

Again, getting an apartment with an eviction on your credit is not an easy task. But, if you work at it long and hard enough, you will be able to eventually find a unit. Once you have found your next apartment, make sure that you follow all of the rules and regulations to the letter.