An Open Letter To Seattle’s Landlords
I am a small business owner in Seattle. I am well educated, well-mannered, rarely drink and don’t smoke. I often work 12-hour days locked away in my office. I have a few close friends, but throwing a party would be difficult. I have $2000 saved up for an first apartment.
I sound like a perfect tenant, right? And yet…you won’t rent me a decent apartment in Seattle to save my life.
You seem to focus solely on one thing: My past.
Oh that and my 3 digit credit score that starts with a 4.
Not A Huge Risk Anymore
It’s really too bad. I’ve had an office lease for 2+ years. My business is booming, and my personal debt will be gone (read: bankruptcy filing) very soon. And yet you still can’t look at me as a whole person.
All you see is my past. Foreclosure. Bankruptcy. Late Payments.
None of those words explain me now, or where I am headed, but that is how you define me.
Happy To See Me
You seem so happy to see me when I meet you to look at a place. I’m well-manicured, fit, friendly…the perfect tenant. You even get excited when I say, “Sure, I’d love to take the place”. But then you rely on the 3rd party company to make your decision. It’s as if meeting me didn’t matter at all.
The report comes back on me, and my past. And it’s not good. You call me disappointed with the results, reading them to me as a parent would a bad-report card to a child (I only got two B’s in High School, by the way).
Office Life
And so I live in my office. I’m going on two months now of sleeping on a camping pad, spit-showering in the bathroom, and wondering to myself how long before a tub of margarine goes bad at room temp. I am always up and out of the office before my employees arrive.
New Friends
About a month ago I began volunteering at a homeless outreach program downtown. It’s now the highlight of my week. I have more real conversations with the homeless in Seattle than I do my own friends. They think I am helping them, but its really the other way around.
I am lucky. I am blessed. I have a stable source of income. I am young and healthy. I have great family and friends and even health insurance. I have $2000 in my bank account right now saved up for an apartment. My homeless friends are lucky to have $2 saved up for a bus pass.
Look Beyond Our Past
All I’m asking is that you look beyond someone’s past. Look beyond that 3 digit number every once in a while. Maybe you don’t realize the power that you have. The ability to grant someone a place to call “home” is not something to take lightly.
So you won’t rent to me. That’s fine, I’ll survive. But if you won’t rent to me, a business-owning middle class white male, because of my past…What chance do the poor and the undeserved in our city with equally as checkered pasts have?
The answer? None.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Listen Kid,
I know that you are frustrated. I know that you’ve gone through a lot and it’s been emotionally and physically draining on you. I’ve been following your story and I feel for you, I really do.
But speaking as a landlord, it’s unfair to cast us all in a bad light. Your credit score is pretty important to us and I’ll tell you why. We don’t know you. Yes, you show up to meet us well-dressed and spoken, but so does the alcohic who’s been fired three times in the last two years and is likely to be out of income again soon. And the geeky guy in a wrinkled shirt with long hair who mumbles just happens to be a computer programmer who earns a fair salary every year and pays his bills on time.
You see, renting out property isn’t a charity to us. It’s a living. When we get a bad tenant it can easily destroy a year’s worth of profits. First we have to wait for non-payment. Then we have to evict, which can take months (depending on the tenant’s sob-story). Then we usually have to pay for costly repairs because a person facing eviction doesn’t tend to care for a property. And during all of this time, we still have to make mortgage payments, because our credit scores are important to us too.
A professional landlord could be potentially be financially ruined by only one or two bad tenants. And history shows us that people with low credit are far more likely to be bad tenants than people with good credit. It’s not much and it’s certainly not true in all cases, but we don’t have anything else to judge by.
I know you’d be a great tenant. And I feel horrible for your plight. But if you take away a landlord’s use of credit scores, what’s left to help us make a good decision? What you really need to do in your situation is either get someone to co-sign on a lease for you, or find some people who are looking for a roommate.
Great post. And the landlord comment makes a lot of sense too. You can repair your credit score fast….focus on that and I think a roomate might be a good thing for you. Have you thought of that?
I’ve been following your story for a while, and I do admire your efforts to recover from past mistakes, but I disagree with the tone of this post. Your past matters and effects your life. The facts are that you’re currently in debt, have gone through a foreclosure recently, are about to go through bankruptcy, and have missed payments to creditors within the past year. Why would anyone trust that you’d meet your responsibilities now?
I know that sounds harsh, and from reading your blog I believe you’ve turned the corner and are probably a good risk. But there are other people who don’t have your poor credit score that also want apartments. There are consequences to your actions and this is one of those consequences. I’ve learned that you don’t trust people based on a friendly demeanor, good looks, and a smile; you evaluate people based on their actions and track record. Unfortunately your recent track record isn’t very good.
There is good news however. Credit scores don’t stick around forever. Even the cold blooded credit agencies recognize that people make mistakes when they’re young and change their ways, with the work you’re doing you’re well on the way to repairing your credit. It seems that this is one of the lessons you’re learning: There are consequences to your actions.
I’m tellin ya… check it out down here in Tacoma…
That same 1 bedroom would probably be 650 a mo. AND you’d get a washer/dryer.
Getting someone to cosign is probably your best bet. Perhaps your dad? If he’s reluctant, offer to give HIM a deposit of the money you would save.
$2000 cash sounds like a lot at first, but that’s only two months rent at the places you’re looking at. They wouldn’t be likely to rent to someone with less than that that had immaculate credit. I wish the landlord would have suggested how much more than a normal deposit it would take for him to consider someone with such poor credit. After all, at some point the deposit is large enough to cover the risks. I think that the idea about a offering a deposit to a cosigner is a good one. Then you don’t have to worry about convincing the landlord to accept an extra large deposit instead of good credit. Get yourself up to $4000 cash and try again.
I’d also consider Federal way, Seatac… they have no City B&O tax from what I hear… Maybe Auburn or Kent Also.
In tacoma though, you could probably rent a 2 bedroom house (albiet small, around 800-1000 sf) for the rent you want to pay.
heres another idea… trying to think out of the box entirely…
Consider if you need your employees all that badly and consider a move to a place that is really cheap to live but still has the internet service you need…
Like somewhere in wyoming, or montana…. Klamath falls, OR is really nice. No traffic, Oregon Institute of Technology is there, so there is broadband internet.
Anyway, just a thought.
Kind of a weird thing, but I envy your position right now… maybe not the debt part, but the ability to basically do what you do from wherever you want… I’m tied down to what I’m doing and if I want to keep doing it I need to be in a metropolitan area.
I like the idea of trying to save 4K for a place. I think that is what I will do, but that might put my bankruptcy filing back a bit. I don’t want to file with 4K in the bank. Spending 4K on housing though would be a valid expense and not hurt my filing though from everything I’ve read.
The Landord. Good to hear from you! I’m not saying throw out the credit score completely, it obviously does have a good amount of merit. I just wish Landlords wouldn’t be a slave to the score.
Klamath Falls would be nice! Someday I would like to live/work in a very rural area. But I was thinking maybe when I’m in my 30’s. And I do need to stick close to Seattle for the near-term future. My employees live here, and one of them is very vital to the business right now and doing a great job.
bottom line: maybe being able to put down 4 months rent (4K’ish) will do the trick? We’ll see.
i was a seattle landlord for ten years. conclusions: (1) not everyone checks credit score, (2) probably everyone should. why? because credit score usually tells you a lot. still, it’s business. offer a larger deposit.
Stick with it buddy. Check around for a real estate investor that’s trying to rent his place out. They will usually let that stuff slide just to get someone inside their place.
It’s horrible that we’ve all been reduced to our credit scores but that’s exactly what’s happened and we’ve all allowed it to happen. It never used to be like this. I am very aware of how important my own score is and have done my best to protect it at all costs. It’s a sad world we live in these days and unfortunately I see it getting only worse.
As a fellow Landlord, the Landlord above said it well. The LL simply has NOTHING else to go on. A few points:
1. It scares me every time I get a new tenant in a unit worth $200k, and I have a $1k deposit. It costs $1.5k just to refinish the hardwood floors if they mess those up. Regardless of who it is, the LL is taking a big risk. Most want to make sure their tenants are collectible if there is damage. A low credit score indicates others were not able to collect, so the LL has to wonder if they could.
2. You will be MUCH better off trying to rent a place AFTER your BK. The LL is scared you will list them in the BK and then won’t pay the rent either. Once you declare, you cant declare again for x number of years, so you really are a much better risk for a LL after your BK.
3. a)Try a large apartment complex. Often they are more willing to rent without a credit check or with a low credit score. b)The idea of using your father as a co-signer or guarantor on the lease is also good if he will do it. Then the LL has the assurance of someone who is collectible to fall back on. You won’t actually cost your father any money as long as you are paying the rent. c) look for people looking for a roommate and get a real inexpensive place and keep the office.
Hang in there – you can get your credit score back up, and this will one day be behind you. I’m confident you can do it as you have the correct attitude.
Here is one idea ask the person that rents out the office to you to a) write you a letter of recommendation or if you rather not b) ask him for a payment history sheet for your accountant…shows these to landlords as proof that you are a good tenant and that you haven’t missed any payments.
Also are all these landlord’s hard pulling your credit history? If you so you already know the negative effect that has on your credit. As well they will look and see “Temco Housing Ltd. has looked at this guy last week, wonder why they didn’t approve him, better just avoid him”
Just to chime in my 2 cents again.
DK – “Slave to the score” sounds harsh.
You are an employer. Let’s say that a guy applies for a job, and you discover that he was fired 2 months ago because he lost his temper at work and attacked a co-worker. Do you think it’s fair to consider that information when deciding if you’ll hire him?
What if he seems like a nice guy now? What if he says he’s turned a corner? Do you think it’d be fair to not hire him because of his past?
Also you should know that recent regulatory changes have made it much much harder to get a person’s cerdit report. Independant landlords are now in situations where they can no longer really get the report, but can only get the score. And when I see a score in the 400’s, I don;t know why it’s so bad. Is it a long history of never paying? Is it just one bad move? I tend to assume the worst.
http://lordingtheland.blogspot.com/2007/06/new-credit-report-laws.html
I think you’re focusing too much on the credit score itself being in the 400s. They’re looking at your report in terms of how you go about paying bills and such. Having a recent foreclosure, a ton of unsecured debt and possibly not being current or having late payments on accounts shows up as huge red flags to a landlord.
You mentioned report cards in school. How many colleges will consider entry to someone with a GPA in the 1.5/4.0 range? Most likely the answer would be probably none even with academic probation. When you are at the top not only are they more than willing to accept you, it is possible they might give out a scholarship. Our ’scores’ are a performance rating that says something about our character.
Employers also look at your credit report and use references to find out what kind of person you are. You operate your own business and appear to be doing very well with it. That is probably the first step to helping your situation out.
I really don’t like this post Debt Kid. You left out that you got into trading early and hid all the problems from your friends, family, and probably yourself. Now your head is back on straight and moving in a positive direction. When you have fallen down a huge mountain, how easy do you think it will be to climb back up it? Nobody is willing to rent to you right now because they see you as a high risk due to your past. You are not defined by your score, but your past has been logged through your credit report history.
I don’t mean to rip on you. Some advice I can offer is to maybe get copies of the checks you have made payments for your office. If you can maybe get more of an interview with a landlord rather than filling out an application just waiting to be denied, maybe YOU can impress them enough to take a chance on you. All they want from you is to pay rent on time or early and take good care of the place. Good luck.
Maybe you should take a different approach. Don’t wait for them to check your credit score. Be up front and honest about it. Tell them what happened, why it happened, and what you are doing to correct it. Something like “I want to disclose up front that my credit score is terrible. I got in over my head with day trading, but have spent the last 8 months working to correct my mistakes. I haven’t day traded since last year, and will never do it again. I take responsibility for my mistakes and am working to pay off my debts. Since then, my business has really taken off, and my income has grown substantially. You can see I have a clean history of paying rent on my office. I will gladly pay a larger than normal security deposit and would be willing to accept stricter lease terms if you would work with me.”
Then see what happens.
I’m not sure if I’ve missed something here, but a “live/work space” as it’s called in the UK should bring the focus somewhat away from the individual and focus more on the business credit risk.
If DK has paid rent for a substantial amount of time on a dedicated office, then surely that should count an awful lot towards the risk?
I’m not a landlord, but the business entity, with employees and a track record could be a good basis for a credit score.
In many respects, in the UK a limited company is scored separately. If it has a positive balance sheet and has been trading usually for more than a year profitably, then the credit scoring usually doesn’t go beyond an assessment of that entity.
Occasionally for start-up businesses, they do look beyond the limited company and into the background of the owners, but once you have a track record as a separate business identity, surely that is a basis for a creedit score rather then DK himself?
Just a thought.
I know what DK has said sounds harsh, but I also read a lot of frustration into it. I see people like DK every day, who are trying really hard to turn things around, and sometimes it just seems like you can’t catch a break. It will come. You’ve been working really hard and I give you credit for that. Keep squirreling away the money for the deposit and first/last month’s rent, and eventually you’re going to have enough that someone will rent to you.
I was very frustrated when I wrote this post. I hadn’t worked out for a few days. I worked out last night, took a shower at the gym, and cleared my head a bit.
I came back and actually did very similarly to what NCSU95 suggested. I offered to give the people a copy of my score (from july, pretty recent), and proposed a deposit amount and when I could pay both that and the first month.
If they accept it (after calling my references I would assume) then I’m going to have to scramble to pay bills this month, but I think it would work. If they don’t, well, I need to refocus (not that I haven’t been focused…) back on my income and see if I can save up a bit more….
Or, take the money I have now, and get my BK filed. And then try and get a place.
I think my problem was that I really got excited that I was for sure going to get this place. It’s a private owner and they didn’t seem to want to do a full application at all when I first saw the place.
Then I got excited because I knew I’d be out of the office soon. So, I got out of my routine at the office and it just got messy.
Business wise, I’ve got another client in my Plan B project in a free trial right now, that should turn into a sale hopefully before the month is out. And I have a lunch phone meeting from a client in San Jose tomorrow. If I can get both those clients I’ll hit my 5 client goal for this month.
Hey DK:
I am a landlord of a little condo down in Portland. My current tenant is a great guy – who, after having a bad divorce and a business fail was in much the same position as you. He was relocating from California and new his options were limited. He was upfront with me about his situation – however, he had been with the same employer for two years who wrote a letter confirming his salary and relocation. I took a risk. The second month he sent me a check that bounced. He and I discussed the situation, he sent me a cashier’s check and everything was fine. This month he e-mailed me asking I not deposit his check until after the 15th….
My take – he’s a good guy and I’m willing to give him a chance provided he’s taking good care of my property.
How did he find me and my unit? Craigslist.
I agree with the other posters – be honest with your potential new landlord about your situation and how you are working to resolve it. The biggest difference between you and my tenant? About 25 years in age – he’s in his mid-40s with a child.
Yeah, DebtKid, you might be upfront about it. It worked for me. Of course I pay alot for rent. Perhaps you won’t get a screamin’ deal. But individual landlords are sometimes willing to take a chance. I had money in the bank too, so there was less to worry about. Good luck.
OK, they countered with just doing a background check! I dropped off the application tonite. I suspect I will hear from them tomorrow or Friday.
This is my best shot at getting a decent place. I’ve wasted quite a few hours on craigslist after this place with no luck. It’s not going to be cheap. I hope I’m making the right choice in going forward with the place. I think I am. I can’t live in my office forever…as much fun as sleeping on the floor is… : )
Crossing my fingers….(and working…I need to get some more sales before the end of month…)
I’m a little confused about the whiny and entitled tone of your blog post. It makes a lot of sense to me that landlords won’t rent to you. If I were a landlord and I had a choice of renters (many of whom I’m assuming are in a strong and more stable financial position than you), I would also rent to someone else. Your financial background is a disaster. A landlord has no way to be sure of how much you’ve changed your ways. There is also little in your history (especially in terms of time) that shows you might not get right back into debt, rediscover risk investing, etc. And, as you pointed out, you are planning on filing bankruptcy which tells potential creditors that you are willing to walk away from debts. Again, why would they rent to you? No matter how much sense the bankruptcy might make to you, there are lots of people in our country who would never take the bankruptcy option and are therefore a better bet for landlords.
Also, maybe this is the universe telling you something…maybe the world is saying you should spend less on rent or you should live in your office longer and put more money toward your debts. Or maybe something else entirely.
I don’t know the Seattle market very well, but have you thought about buying a house instead?
Steve Herman
http://www.financialadvantages.com
Was that a joke Steve? Have you even read his blog?