Friday, May 27, 2011

How to rent a Manhattan apartment when your credit isn’t perfect

Renting in Manhattan can be arduous, not to mention stressful if you don’t meet Manhattan landlord requirements.

Many find it difficult to meet landlords' requirements as most require that a potential tenant’s annual income is 40 to 50 times the monthly rent, and that the applicant has good credit. And some landlords require 80 times the monthly rent with good credit.

Yet, there are some potential renters whose annual income or lack of U.S. based credit history does not meet these financial guidelines. And if one is self-employed financial solvency can be even more daunting.

As a Manhattan broker who specializes in sales but also does a fair amount of rentals, I faced an interesting problem. Prior to working with my customer I ran her credit report and it was good and she makes a very good salary so I had no doubts she wouldn’t pass the stringent Manhattan landlord requirements.

Knowing she could meet landlord guidelines, I showed her an amazing apartment on the East Side. However when the landlord ran her credit report, it came back as a “maybe.” Meaning maybe her credit was good and maybe it wasn’t. They had used a different credit reporting company. The landlord suggested a guarantor but at the time, none were available.

Although I had not used them before, I told my customer about Insurent who came to my office and made a presentation. Insurent Lease Guaranty offers easy solutions to quickly getting the apartment potential tenants want. Prospective renters needing the Insurent Guaranty include graduating college students and professional school students entering the workforce; creditworthy employed non-U.S. residents; self-employed persons; relocating persons; non-employed U.S. and non U.S. persons with significant cash liquid assets, retired creditworthy individuals, U.S. students with Responsible Parties, and international students with Responsible Parties.

My customer only needed to complete an application and soon she was approved by Insurent where the landlord received a guaranty on her one year lease. For a fee that represented a small percentage of her total annual rent, she satisfied the landlord's financial and credit requirements while eliminating the hassle of finding an acceptable co-signer or guarantor or putting up significant additional security – which this particular landlord would not accept.

Insurent was there for my customer who will be moving into her new apartment in just a few weeks.

If you fall into any of the above categories, there is hope.

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