After you find your no fee apartment

After you find your no fee apartment

What You'll Need to Seal the Deal
Fees Required at Signing
Be Prepared!

What You'll Need to Seal the Deal [top]

Well priced apartments move faster than Road Runner fleeing from Wile E. Coyote. No landlord wants an apartment vacant for a minute longer than it needs to be. If you're not prepared to sign on the dotted line, then your goose is cooked, your fat is fried, and, well, you'll have to start all over.

Take this quiz to limber up for the Big Day.

1. We know you can sign your name, but can you fill out the rest of the application? To complete a lease agreement, you must provide your:

Social security number;

Landlord's name and number;

Name, address, and number of your company;

Length of employment;

Annual salary and/or total income;

Names of additional occupants;

Bank's name, address, and account numbers;

Accountant's name and number;

Guarantor information.

2. Will you pass a credit check? Do you have default debt? Student loans? Do yourself a favor and get a credit report beforehand; credit agencies will give you two per year, free of charge.

3. Do you meet the income requirements?. You might have to present a pay stub to prove that your income is 30-50 times your monthly rent.

4. Do you have a guarantor? If your income is insufficient or your credit is bad, some landlords will accept a guarantor. Some landlords might require your Guarantor to be a local or tri-state resident. Guarantors may be required to submit tax returns for the last two years.

5. Can you get a letter from your employer to confirm your current salary and length of employment?

6. Can you scare up the following documents?

Letter verifying employment;

Most recent pay stub and recent bank statement;

Proof of additional sources of income;

Credit report, or fee for credit report;

Reference from and contact information for your previous landlord;

Tax returns from the past two years; recent tax returns for self-employed tenants;

Certified checks or money order for the first month's rent;

Certified check or money order for security deposit, refundable at expiration of lease, first and last month's rent, and broker's commission, if applicable.

Fees Required at Signing [top]

You should be prepared to hand over the following payments upon signing your lease. No, you can't run to the ATM.

Certified checks or money order for the first month's rent;

Certified check or money order for one month security deposit, refundable at the expiration of the lease. If your credit history is not good, you are not a U.S. citizen, or your income is not verifiable, landlords may require greater up-front deposits;

Credit check fee from $40-$150;

Broker's commission, if applicable.

Be Prepared! [top]

Many an apartment seeker has lost his or her ideal home to a better prepared candidate. Don't let this be you.