Contact Previous Landlords

The most reliable way to check rental history is to contact your previous landlords. Previous apartment communities or owners of the rental homes you have lived in can tell an apartment whether you were a responsible and respectful resident. If you always paid your rent on time and got your security deposit back, then chances are that your previous landlords will speak well of you, and your rental history will be positive.

However, this is also when previous landlords might pass on a warning about tenants who caused problems or tore out the walls.

Eviction History Check

There are few permanent records regarding your rental history, but eviction records are one of them. This is because evictions are a legal proceeding that must be filed with the local court in order to legally evict a tenant from a rental home or apartment. Apache Trace uses a third-party screening service called Yardi.

Many apartments will not rent to someone who has an eviction record because this means the person not only caused enough trouble to be evicted but also would not depart peacefully when the terms of the lease were broken.

Credit Check for Unpaid Bills to Apartment Communities

Looking for clues in rental history is one of the reasons that apartments will perform a credit check as part of tenant screening. A credit check can reveal unpaid bills to landlords and apartment communities in the past. This can mean that a person left unpaid rent or fees behind them. No apartment wants to risk a resident who does not pay their rent.

Credit checks also reveal a person's overall financial health and whether they regularly pay debts in a responsible manner.

Renting an Apartment with an Imperfect Rental History

Of course, everyone needs a place to live. This is why apartments often have ways that a person with an imperfect rental history can still secure an apartment.

• Resolve Debts

  • If a person had debts to previous landlords but then pays them off, an apartment may consider this a time of financial hardship and give an applicant another chance to be responsible and reliable about rent payments.

• Avoid Eviction

  • Even if a person gets into conflicts with a landlord, it is possible to avoid eviction records by leaving the home before the eviction process is complete. Avoiding eviction is a smart move, whenever possible.
  • Eviction records that are more than ten years old may also be reconsidered.
  • Eviction records in which the resident can prove that the landlord took action without reasonable cause may also cause reconsideration.

• Qualified Guarantor

  • A qualified guarantor is basically an apartment co-signer. They take responsibility for someone who might not otherwise be trusted with the care of an apartment as a leased resident.

• Additional Deposit

  • A person with a history of damage to rental homes may be asked to pay an additional or larger security deposit to cover possible damage.

Renting an Apartment with No Rental History

What about people with no rental history? Young adults getting their first apartment or someone who hasn't rented in many years may find themselves without landlords or credit records to verify that they might be a responsible tenant.

For college-age renters, the answer is usually to have a parent sign as the qualified guarantor on the young adult's first lease. Once they have that first rental history and the landlord to verify with, they can usually secure a second apartment on their own.

Someone without a relative to sign with can sometimes fall back on a strong credit history or additional deposit to assuage any worries the apartment manager might have about their potential to take good care of an apartment.

Qualifying for a Guymon, OK Apartment

If you are looking for an apartment in Guymon, Apache Trace is a spacious apartment community. Bring your rental history, and we'll quickly take care of applicant screening using a reliable third-party screening service. Someone renting their first apartment can sign with a guarantor in lieu of a rental history. Discover a relaxing and complete apartment life at Apache Trace Apartments.