Renting an Apartment

[trillium13 84]

Hey all, wasn't sure quite where to post this, but this seemed the best.

Husband and I are looking into renting a nicer apartment in the near future. The one we live in now pretty much sucks. We had to find a place in a hurry, and it also had to be with a landlord who wasn't going to care about my husband's immigration status. At that time, we had just gotten married, and hadn't filed anything yet, so we had to get the apartment in just my name.

Now that he has his GC, we want a nicer place. We want it in both our names, for a number of reasons. Obviously it will be a good thing to have a joint lease when it comes time to remove conditions. Mostly, we just want to be like "regular" people, if that makes any sense. We're married, we're partners, we want to do things together.

Pretty much all the apartments in our area require some kind of application process. (they of course charge in the range of $100 JUST to apply) This means a credit and background check. Also, if you're not a USC, there is extra paperwork to be done. My husband has no credit history at all. We found out what a pain that is when we tried to add him as a joint account holder on one of my credit cards. Still jumping through hoops on that one.

So he has no credit history. Also, he just started working, for obvious reasons. Most places want you to have had your job for at least 6 months, and have good credit, obviously. I have good credit on my own, but like I said, we want to do these things jointly.

We really hate where we're living right now. We don't want to live in a dump. We don't want to look into buying a house right now. Just wondering if anyone else has been in this position? We can't be the only ones.

Sometimes this whole process becomes frustrating in ways that we couldn't have anticipated.

[TBoneTX 43,418]

Apartment-hunting sucks, Dear, si man.

Once you've identified the complexes that interest you, try to speak to the manager or the chief leasing agent. Explain the circumstances as you've done here, emphasizing the security checks that your husband had to go through in order to enter the U.S. and receive the green card. Perhaps the manager can attach his/her own written statement to the leasing agreement, if the application has to go elsewhere for ultimate approval.

Maybe a VJ member who's involved in residential leasing agreements can comment further. It may be possible to add your husband to the lease after a short while. It sounds as though the priority is to find a place where you feel safe and comfortable; the husband-on-lease part might have to take a temporary back seat to that.

I would look to rent in Canadaigua, si man.

Edited July 27, 2009 by TBoneTX

[bakofoil 27]

Having been through apartment hunting fairly recently myself, many of the applications I witnessed required that each person over 18 fill out a separate credit application or at least have both person's details provided on a single credit application. I don't recall seeing a single application that did not ask for both of our details but I'm sure if you explain your situation to the landlord or manager this might not be too much of a problem.

I was very nervous about spending money on a credit application with no guarantee of being accepted, particularly as I had and still do not have a credit history here in the US. This may not be too much of a problem if it's a complex with a number of apartments available. I would ask any prospective landlord how many applications are on the table and if my lack of credit history would be a problem. Many of them stated they were more worried about adverse credit or prior evictions above anything else. If there were too many people applying or the landlord/agent could not guarantee that we were at the top of the list if the credit check came back confirming what we had discussed then we simply didn't apply. No good wasting $25 to $100 on a number of places that MAY reject you. We passed up a couple of really nice places that way but we have no regrets at all now.

We were fortunate in that after a few weeks of hunting we found a suitable place owned by a private landlord who didn't require credit checks. He is a very good landlord too!

Ask questions, be honest and remember there is always somewhere else you may like more if you have to pass up a place you really love. Good luck

ETA: Both our names are on the lease agreement too (I specifically wanted this for my AOS interview and then forgot to show it!). As I said before, if you're honest and ask the right questions then you should be able to get a joint lease agreement even if the credit application is approved on your financial history alone.

Edited July 27, 2009 by bakofoil

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Both our leases have been in both our names; no problem. For the first one, since we were still in Canada; my inlaws co-signed the lease: maybe you guys can do that as well.

If you r husband has a stable job, that counts as good points. I have NEVER heard of non-USC being subject to more checks; mind you, it is against the law to discriminate against folk due to national origin, so they cannot do that. Hell, they can't even ask to see his GC.

This is a renter's market. Many places are up for grabs, and you might be able to snatch a cute place, I bet you

[Thai Rath 1]

Why not put your name on the lease and then add his name after he has been working for six months? If you can get him a credit card in the meantime, he would also have built up six months worth of credit (better than nothing).

My husband (then fiance) moved to the States halfway through my lease. I knew that this would be evidence that we would need at the next round with USCIS so I asked my landlord to create an addendum to my lease so that he could be added to it. We never had any problems or questions from USCIS either.

Also, I never did verify this, but we were told that just adding someone to an existing credit card account will not enable them to build credit; they need to apply for their own card.

Edited July 27, 2009 by Thai Rath

[wowswift 3]

Why not put your name on the lease and then add his name after he has been working for six months? If you can get him a credit card in the meantime, he would also have built up six months worth of credit (better than nothing).

My husband (then fiance) moved to the States halfway through my lease. I knew that this would be evidence that we would need at the next round with USCIS so I asked my landlord to create an addendum to my lease so that he could be added to it. We never had any problems or questions from USCIS either.

Also, I never did verify this, but we were told that just adding someone to an existing credit card account will not enable them to build credit; they need to apply for their own card.

they live in texas, i'm pretty sure anyone over the age of 18 has to be on the lease. but i guess go to an apartment hunter place, they are free (or e-mail them) and tell them your situation. they know where to look where they won't grade so much on credit, and get an employment letter with your husband's income on it. they might make you pay a little more deposit, but texas deposits always seem low to me.

[dagnytaggart 0]

We are in the process of renting through a management company. Since my husband has no credit yet I am the lease holder but I have put him on as someone who will be living in the apartment. See if that is an option with any of the landlords/management companies.

[trillium13 84]

Great information from all of you, thanks!