I decided to start getting my financial "house" in order this past weekend with taking the first step - checking my credit report and scores. Needless to say, my reports and score deem me as a "severe risk" to creditors. That means a HUGE deposit on getting a cell phone, no chances of financing a car, etc. I'm a college student now living with my grandma, paying my mom $20 a month to be included on her family talk plan for my cell phone usage. I have some opportunities coming up for a job and am looking forward to getting my own place, but I'm worried that since my credit is so "jacked" that no apartment complex (at least the ones I would prefer to live in) will let me reside there. Is it impossible to move now?
TCDAG: I totally feel where you're coming from, as I'm in that boat myself - it's no fun where you're at but you've got a lot more time than people believe to turn things around. If you're looking to move really fast with bad credit, I recommend talking to private landlords. If you have stable income and can prove it...well, the saying is "money talks", right? That's how I moved into a place I liked in a very fast time frame - I was able to produce stable income papers and I asked pointed questions. For one, I interviewed the landlord as much as they interviewed me - remember, you're going to be giving up a nice chunk of change every month to live in that space. I pretty much told them how much I made, that I was looking for a quiet place, I don't have any pets, and I can make the deposit and the rent pretty easily. My first apartment when I had zero credit, I was able to pay up six months worth of rent, which pretty much slid the door open. If you don't have that, I'd at least be able to show solid, steady income. The local paper classifieds are usually covered in private landlords that don't have the inclination to ask for a strong first/last/deposit type scheme the way management companies do. Your mileage may vary. Isa
A bad credit history. Borrowed a lot on credit cards, lived a pretentious lifestyle and then lost my job. Through a number of circumstances, I decided to go back to school, but the credit marks still remain. I talk full responsibility for my mismanagement, and am striving to get this bad consumer debt paid off as soon as I can in hopes of repairing and making amends for my credit history. I'm 24 years old.
I can sort of relate, battled to complete a four year uni degree and part way thru decided that area was not for me but was determined to finish anyway - did not get a job out of it but have a huge student loan and it goes up every year and feel i got very little from the money spent Maybe you should speak to a finanical planner or counsellor who know about these things and your exact situation But yeah its going to be hard to get more loans and such. So you will be reliant on your savings and concentrating on getting a solid job and working hard reducing your debts first then think about moving out to your own place.