We live in a society where we all are regulated by our credit scores, rental history and income. Unfortunately, if you have a problem meeting the requirements apartment management companies and landlords impose then you will not be able to easily get an apartment without professional assistance. Management companies and landlords use specialized credit research services that can detect rental late payments, broken lease agreements and eviction throughout the entire United States. Normally if you have a rental debt or eviction judgement it will be reported to the credit bureaus. The three major credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian and Transunion. In order to get an idea of what the specialized credit services can detect you need to check all three bureaus. The rental debts and eviction judgements are submitted to either one, two or all three credit bureaus. That is why you need to look at all three. If you check just one bureau, chances are you will not receive the accurate information you really need to make an educated decision. If you endured an eviction there is an easy way to acquire the information you need. Evictions are court proceedings usually overseen by a local precinct judge or Justice of the Peace. The eviction proceedings are a matter of public record. Nearly all the courts offer access to their public records by either a website or you can call or visit the clerk of the courts office. The can look up the eviction records for you. There may be a small charge for the service.
Broken lease rentals and eviction balances can stay on your credit reports for 7 years. After the 7-year period expires they debts are supposed to be removed from the three credit bureaus. Often the debts are resubmitted to the credit bureaus after the 7-year period expires by the collection agency that is still attempting to collect the debt. If this is the case, you need to contact the credit bureaus and provide evidence that the rental debt is overs 7 years old. Then can then remove the debt but it will often take at least 30 days for it to show up on your credit report as being removed.
Bad credit low having a low credit score can also have a very negative effect on your ability to rent an apartment, condominium or home. Apartment management companies normally have across the board FICO score requirements. The have much more broad rules due to the fact the deal with much larger and more densely populated communities than private landlords. They also are required to treat everyone the same and fairly. The Fair Housing Act is a federal law the requires both apartment management companies and private landlords not to discriminate based on ethnic, religious, sexual orientation or familial status. It does not apply to credit. Each situation is looked a differently. Income to debt ratio is a big factor determining whether or not you are approved. The older the broken lease, eviction or bad credit problems are the easier it is to get approved. The lower the credit score the more difficult is to get approved for an apartment, condominium or home.