The real estate market has made a serious recovery, and in some cities and counties, the demand for homes has outstripped available units. This can also be attributed to an uptick in the job market, meaning more people are working. While this is good news on all fronts, it also means that apartment complexes are also stricter when it comes to approval requirements and now check credit more vigorously than ever before. Applicants with poor credit, or those with recent evictions, foreclosures, bankruptcies, or broken leases, find it more difficult to get approved for an apartment, condo, or townhome. The answer for most has been joint signing.

What if the relative cannot sign as a co-signer?

That’s perfectly fine. Today, you don’t need a particular person to sign anything for you. There are companies with A+ credit that offer apartment co-signing services to applicants who have trouble getting approved the traditional way due to poor credit. These companies offer their credit and finance on behalf of bad credit applicants and collateral approval.

How does this really work?

Getting an apartment co-signing service is extremely easy. As we just mentioned, there are corporations willing to risk their credit and finances to get you approved for an A+ apartment. This allows the complex to overlook your credit. The co-signer approaches the apartment complex and completes all the paperwork on your behalf, guaranteeing that you will be responsible for the rent in the event of default. It is a win-win situation for the applicant.

What is needed to qualify?

The tragic fact about apartment hunting is that if you have bad credit, you can be denied an apartment even if you have a stellar income. Hundreds of families with steady jobs and admirable incomes are turned down every day just because their credit isn’t where the department wants it to be. This can be extremely frustrating given that many of these families have just experienced foreclosure.

All you need to qualify for apartment co-signing is a good income, preferably more than $3,000 per month (this may depend on the city and state). This is because many apartment co-signing services only deal with A-rated apartments (most section 8 apartments do not participate in co-signing agreements).

You should also be prepared to pay the co-signing fee plus the first month’s rent in advance. Apartment communities require payment of the first month’s rent in advance due to the degree of risk they take by waiving credit checks on the applicant. Regarding the fee, the co-signing company asks for a fee to allow you to use your credit and finances, in addition, the company has to guarantee the rent.

Can a criminal record stop me from being approved?

There is no definitive answer to this question, as the apartments look at criminal records on a case-by-case basis. Some apartments will approve felonies as long as they don’t involve domestic violence or sexual assault and as long as they are old enough. Others have zero tolerance for any serious crime of any kind. Most apartments generally ignore minor offenses other than traffic tickets, but there are some that may use this as a reason to issue a denial letter.