Apartment Living: Finding the Right Place to Call Home

If you have been thinking of moving and you are a renter, then you want to make sure you do everything in your power to increase your chances of getting into a place you really want. When you decide to go out there and rent a place, you should be prepared for some competition. However, competition won't be anything you need to be too concerned with when you take all the necessary steps to ensure that you are the one that a manager would be happy to rent to. Here are some things you should do in order to increase your chances of getting a rental:

Improve your credit score

The first thing you want to do when you are thinking about renting a place is to check your credit score. Once you know where you stand, do what you can to improve your score even more. You can do this by disputing anything that's incorrect on your reports and paying down your credit card utilization, as well as not opening any new accounts right now and continuing to pay all of your bills on time.

Get letters of recommendation

You should also make sure you have letters of recommendation gathered from previous landlords. If possible, this should also include the landlord you are currently renting from. You want to request that the letters state you are a good tenant who keeps the place in great shape and isn't late on the rent. These are things that a property management company will really like to see in an applicant that's trying to rent one of their locations.

Fill out the application completely

When you go in to fill out the application to rent a place, make sure you bring everything with you that you may need to answer the questions completely. This includes the whole addresses of previous places you have lived, the addresses and phone numbers of current and previous employers, Addresses and phone numbers of references and anything else you feel will be included on the application.

Be prepared to leave a deposit

If you are serious about a rental, then you should meet with the property management prepared to leave a deposit. Otherwise, there is the chance that someone else will come in with a deposit before you and rent the place out from under you. Showing up prepared with a check shows the landlord that you are serious about moving in.