Comments on: What You Need to Know About Rent Guarantors

By: Alissa

Alissa — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 02:03:31 +0000

Hi JW –

That’s strange…mainly because I’m surprised that with San Fran rent, so many renters don’t need guarantors. I’d try to either find the individual landlord (through friends/word of mouth) or do some street canvassing. Otherwise, keep your head up! It’s not ideal to have to use a guarantor, but it can be a necessary evil in a crowded rental market. I might also try a different agent, as landlords usually only get to consider one offer at a time and, therefore, should just be considering you vs yourself, if you know what I mean? Good luck!

By: JW

JW — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 20:51:08 +0000

I’m currently doing to apartment hunt in San Francisco. My friend and I are looking for a place and have been using my parents as a guarantor in all our applications. We haven’t gotten a place. Finally a rental agent was kind enough to inform us when we asked for a guarantor form that having a guarantor actually hurts our application and that if anyone applies that doesn’t need a guarantor, they will get the place. So that sucks. And offering to pay months in advance doesn’t work with housing agencies because they don’t have anyway to hang on to the money (that is appealing to landlords/owners, but in San Francisco, you never actually are dealing with them; you are always dealing with an agency which is only interested in how you look on paper).

By: Sisko

Sisko — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:58:15 +0000

Here’s a link http://nyti.ms/f2uaHU to another article about guarantees. It seems some landlords in NYC now require that guarantors live in the region, which makes it more difficult for people moving from out of town. The girls profiled were able to get around the requirement by having parents put several months of rent into escrow.

By: Alissa

Alissa — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:31:32 +0000

Hi Julie,

Unfortunately, you likely won’t be able to include such an addendum. Landlords just want to make sure that their rent is covered — and don’t really care who is doing the covering. Both parents will have to agree to cover the entire apartment. I’m sure you and your future roommate are responsible though, so you shouldn’t have a problem long-term!

Sorry I don’t have a better response,

Alissa (MyFirstApartment)

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:24:07 +0000

I am in the process of signing a lease with my roommate with our parents as guarantors. Since our parents don’t know each other, they want an addendum stating that they are only responsible for their own daughter’s rent and utilities. How should this be worded?

By: Sisko

Sisko — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:40:37 +0000

Hi Carolina,
Thanks for your great comment. It pointed out to us how we missed one crucial detail in the post. The 40 times salary requirement refers to annual salary, not monthly salary. NYC is tough for renters, but even here the landlords are not totally unreasonable. So, if AZ renter’s income guideline is 3-4 times your monthly rent, it works out to 36-48 times in annual salary, in the same range as the NYC number.

By: Carolina

Carolina — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 02:44:16 +0000

Wowsers! I’m glad I don’t live in NY! Most places here don’t have any actual income ‘guidelines’ in place, although my complex does. However, it is only FOUR times the rent. My boyfriend’s old place required an income 3 times the rent (he just bought a condo, so he’s feeling great now!) Anyway, I cannot BEGIN to imagine having to earn FORTY times your rent. I’m absolutely positive that there are NO rentals with that requirement in AZ. It is probably against the law…and it should be. The ‘rule of thumb’ that I was brought up with was that rent (or mortgage payments) should NEVER be more than 1/3 of one’s NET earnings. But, apparently most people in NY are forced to live far below their means if they wish to rent? This simply makes NO sense to me. My mind is not wrapping around that. It “does not compute”. I would have to live in a dump were that the rule here, as I don’t know anyone who could co-sign for me. I really feel sorry for you guys. (BTW, my rent is $1,600 per month here, but I get a LOT for my money. It’s like a resort, and I LOVE it! Plus, it’s HUGE, large enough for 2 people (at least)if I ever, for some reason, needed a roomie. You guys should move here! They have even larger units, big enough for 4 people, for just over the price you quoted!) With every amenity you could dream of. And, they DO consider the income of each person on the lease.

By: Donna

Donna — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:44:12 +0000

It depends on what the lease says about the guarantor’s obligations. The Guarantor clause in NYC residential leases typically includes the following provision: “the Guarantor further agrees that his guaranty shall remain in full effect even if the Lease is renewed, changed or extended in any way….” If your lease includes this provision or a similarly worded provision, the guarantor’s obligations would remain in effect even though the guarantor did not sign the “addendum” or see it. (I’m assuming that the “addendum” was legal and complied with terms of the lease for making changes to the lease.)

By: Sisko

Sisko — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:26:25 +0000

Leslie has emailed a question: “If the renter signs an addendum but the guarantor doesn’t see it or sign it are they responsible or is it enforceable?” Can anyone provide an answer?