Qualify to House Rent ...
If you are planning to rent a house, your credit report will most likely be pulled by your landlord or property manager to determine whether you pay your bills on time. If your credit report is spotty, containing problems such as bad debt, personal bankruptcy, or a history of late payments, then your application for tenancy could be turned down.
Qualifying to rent a home means employing certain techniques before you fill out an application for rental, steps which if followed can increase the chances that your application will be approved.
Check your credit – How is your credit? That step is easy to find out and an important one too: creditors as well as employers and landlords want to know if you have established good borrowing and repayment practices, positive traits which give people reason to lend you money, offer you a job, or allow you to rent a home.
Your credit reports can be obtained for free by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com and requesting one copy each of your credit reports from the three credit reporting bureaus. Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax are required by law to give you on demand one free copy of your credit report annually.
Fix your credit – Obtain your credit reports and examine each one to make sure that the information about you is correct. If there are mistakes, follow the credit reporting bureau's instructions for making corrections. Wait at least thirty days to obtain a follow up free copy of your amended credit report.
Find a home to rent – With your credit report cleaned up, now is the time for you to look for rental property. Once you have found a home that meets your requirements, speak with the property manager or landlord about the home. Discuss monthly payments, deposit money, and other requirements.
Negotiate a better deal if possible, especially if there are a significant number of available rental properties near you. Search Realtor.com to find out how many homes are for rent in your area, checking Craigslist.org for the same. You are in a much better position to obtain favorable lease terms if your credit is good and the number of vacancies is high.
Read your mortgage application carefully and ask questions if you do not understand one or more terms. Find out if garbage collection, water, and heat is included as part of your rent. If not, ask the landlord to provide examples of recent bills so that you will know what these costs will run. Finally, if you have bad credit, but are approved as a tenant, your utility companies may only offer to you service with a large deposit down.
Smart Tips
The landlord or property management agent should disclose to you on your rental application that they will be performing a credit check. You may be charged for this service.
If you are a low income renter, you may qualify for rental assistance through a government program such as HUD's Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Caution
If your credit needs improvement, there are people who can help you with credit repair. However, some of these services are scams; follow FTC guidelines on how you can repair your credit yourself.
(2010/01/08) CONSUMER TIPS
Home Moving Tip
for the week of: Sept 05
Look into Semi-Moving Services
Look into semi-moving services when you plan your next move.
This is where you pack the truck and a professional drives the truck to your destination. And if you need help packing, you can always hire outside packers that can keep your costs down.
Weekly Tip:
view u-pack, they drive moving services
Finding Food ...
I just got word from a friend who lives in the snow belt—currently defined as that swath of land from Virginia northward through New England—that their local grocery store has been cleaned out thanks to back-to-back snowstorms. That isn't too surprising because when a big storm approaches, people set out in search of food, emptying shelves of mostly everything.
Some areas won't see fresh deliveries for several days as snow drifts, more snow, and inaccessible streets keep the big trucks away. But, once the snow does stop there will be a few places that will reopen, but quickly be cleaned out. Hopefully, you have enough supplies on hand to ride the storm out, however if your baby is in need of formula, you may have to search around. And fast too.
Convenience stores. They are over-priced and have limited stock, but most are open around the clock and don't close down even in the worst of weather. Bring along some cash because credit might not do and buy just enough to tide yourself over until the streets are cleared and deliveries can be made.
Church pantry. Local churches may be shut tight, but if they have a pantry, expect that someone will open it up as soon as possible. Under normal circumstances you may not “qualify” for assistance, but nothing is normal about what your area has experienced.
Eat out. If restaurants can't get food, then they won't be able to serve you. But, count on your local fast food restaurant(s) to have enough food on hand to serve whoever stops by. Sure, they'll be out of some items, but Burger King, Hardees, and McDonald's, will open up as soon as they get enough people to work behind the counter.
Check 311. Your city may operate a 311 information service whereby you can call that number and be connected to find city services. If you are a shut in and the weather really has you shut in, you may be able to connect with a meals-on-wheels representative for help.
Ask neighbors. Now is the time for people in your neighborhood to pull together. If you're out of something, ask a neighbor for help. Consider combining supplies, cooking together, sharing leftovers, trading food items. An emergency can build relationships like nothing else can.
Shop Later
If you absolutely don't need to shop right now, then don't. There will be enough other people out and about in search of food with some in a more desperate situation than you.
(2010/02/11) CONSUMER TIPS
The Leasing Squeeze ...
One of the big downsides for automakers who provide financing for vehicles through their own financing companies is that these businesses are losing a lot of money. Contributing to the losses is the huge decline in resale values on big trucks and SUVs, vehicles that General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, and Nissan have sold in abundance over the past few years.
As a result of current market conditions, GMAC, Ford Credit, Chrysler Financial and other automotive manufacturer's financing arms are losing hundreds of millions of dollars annually. In a bid to stem losses, the companies are no longer accepting new leases or severely restricting what they can offer. Clearly, one important financing option is no longer available for consumers, though there could be some benefits which are offered instead.
Can't Lease From The Manufacturer? Other Options Are Available!
For some consumers, losing the lease option means that they'll take their business elsewhere. For whatever reasons are important them, holding onto a car longer than the typical 24-39 month lease period is not something they want to do. Fortunately, there are some options for consumers to consider:
Take Your Business Elsewhere -- Inasmuch as leaving your favorite automotive brand could be a big move for you, if you want to lease a new car every two or three years, then finding a manufacturer who offers this option is one way to go.
Take The Financing Deal Or Shop Around -- In a bid to offer customers an attractive alternative to leasing, automotive financing companies are sweetening their deals. Here, you could find additional bargaining power: instead of financing your car through the dealer, take the rebate and seek financing elsewhere. Your credit union can often match the best financing rate out there allowing you to pocket the $2000 to $5000 rebate offered in lieu of financing.
Take Your Leasing Elsewhere -- If you would like to continue with your favorite brand (Chrysler, for example) and the manufacturer is no longer offering leases, you can seek third party leasing elsewhere. Your leasing options (higher down payment, bigger monthly payments, other restrictions) won't be as attractive as what you would have received previously, but this option is still available to you. In some cases you could get a rebate from the manufacturer while leasing your new car with a third party.
Even BMW is rethinking leasing which is 60% of its U.S. business. Though the German automotive company will not be getting out of this business angle completely, it just may pay for you to consider leasing elsewhere and taking whatever other incentives are being offered instead.
Clearly, the consumer is in the driver's seat as year to date vehicle sales are down by more than 10% this year. Just like in the housing market, if you are a buyer then deals can be had, but carefully weigh every offer to find the best plan for you.
(2009/12/31) CONSUMER TIPS
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