The amount of debt is important when a landlord determines risk but what's at least as important is making timely payments towards the debts you have. If you have judgements against you, not good. If you're in collections, not good. These types of things imply high risk to a landlord. A smart landlord looks for pattern behaviors on credit reports, both good and bad patterns. If people are living beyond their means, i.e. are in debt, then this really hurts your chances for that really nice apartment in the location that you want. One work around is to offer rent up front for a certain time along with a large security for potential damages. Often this can offset some of the negative things on your credit report. Essentially this partially transfers the risk from the landlord to you. Keep doing what you're doing, namely paying off your debt, and you'll do just fine.
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