Ready to Buy Your First Apartment? Here’s What You Can Afford

February 10, 2021 | By Stella M AuthorMy First Apartment

According to a recent study, 32.6% of Americans rent their homes, whereas 67.4% of American adults own their homes. These numbers reflect that homeownership has been increasing over the past few years, especially outside metropolitan areas and in the Midwest. If you want to become a homeowner but don’t want to commit to a full…

How Do Apartment Applications Affect Your Credit Report?

March 10, 2020 | By Stella M AuthorMy First Apartment

When you apply to rent an apartment, prospective landlords may pull up information on you including your criminal history, renting history, and credit report. Younger and newer renters tend to have lower credit scores than other age groups, so even college graduates earning plenty of money at their first jobs may worry disproportionately, as compared…

Is Renting With Bad Credit Possible?

October 31, 2019 | By Stella M AuthorMy First Apartment

Let’s say you’re fresh out of college, eager to live alone, and on the hunt for your first apartment. With student loans on your shoulders — and if you’ve never had your own credit card or other line of credit — you might encounter some challenges. Namely, your credit score is likely below the minimum…

How to Use Your Rent Payments to Boost Your Credit Score

December 12, 2016 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

By Christine DiGangi One of the many reasons someone might look at your credit scores is to figure out if you’re likely to repay any money you borrow, so you’d think having a history of paying a huge monthly bill on time would be good for your credit. But in many cases, one of the…

Countdown to Your First Apartment: 3 Steps to Get Ready

January 4, 2013 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

If you’ve never lived in an apartment of your own, there’s actually a lot to prepare for – it’s not simply a question of moving in. In this three-part series, we’ll give you the tips and insight you need from start to finish. First, we’ll tell you how to get ready for your search. Second,…

Credit Score Traps – And How to Avoid Them

October 18, 2012 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

What can affect your credit score? You may be surprised. Of course, delinquent payments ding it, but even if you have been a completely reliable consumer and paid every single bill, there are still other traps that can adversely affect your credit score. Alex and I learned this when we recently decided to look for a condo and…

The Latest Scoop on Renting and Your Credit Score

July 7, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

Whether you like it or not, your credit score affects your renting capability. The higher your score, the more likely you are to get a place, and the lower the score, the fewer options you’ll have. We’ve touched on this before: Alissa wrote about credit scores for renters, and I recently wrote about how to…

How to Raise Your Credit Score

January 15, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

Last week, as part of our new year’s resolution coverage, I talked about how to check your credit report. I suggested that getting the score itself is not as important, as long as the report is error-free. But let’s say you went ahead and spent the seven dollars to get your score and it was…

New Years Resolutions, Part 2: Get Your Credit Report Checked

January 9, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

Last week, I made some modest New Year’s resolutions suggestions. This week, I’m covering the big papa, the thing you’ve been meaning to do for years. The credit report. Everyone tells you it’s important to have good credit. But how can you have good credit if you haven’t even seen your report? You’ve got to…

What Kind of Credit Score do you Need to Rent an Apartment?

August 19, 2009 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

One of the most common questions MyFirstApartment has received has been about credit scores — how high do scores need to be and how can you get a higher score? As you may or may not know, there are three online sites that required by law to give you a free credit report once…