Your Credit and How it Impacts Your Ability to Get Off-Campus Housing
Your credit history will follow you throughout your life, especially when you’re renting an apartment. If you’re soon to be shopping for UNC Chapel Hill apartments off campus, you’ll want to make sure you understand the role that credit will play in the whole affair. Listed below are some key credit basics that will help you get the most out of your current apartment hunt.
Thin Credit Record
If you’ve got a social security number, then you’ve got a credit history. As a student, yours might be thin or nonexistent; it might also be substantial. It all depends on your financial history. In most cases, though, university students are just starting to build a credit history, and this lack of action on your credit report could impede your efforts when you are apartment hunting.
Low Credit Scores
No credit score is a lot different than low credit scores. Low credit means you have a negative credit history, such as missing payments, closed accounts, or loan defaults. No credit history means there’s simply not enough information on your report to give you a score. What is the definition of low credit? Well, credit scores can range anywhere between 300 and 850 points. Essentially, anything under 670 is either considered fair or bad.
Guarantor
As a student, you don’t have much financial pull, especially if you have low to no credit. For this reason, many places offering student housing will only do so if the student has good credit or provides a guarantor, aka a cosigner. If you use a guarantor for your rental, then that person is on the hook for the entire lease. If you decide not to pay, then the financial burden will then shift to the guarantor. Additionally, any damages you cause to the apartment are also the ultimate responsibility of the guarantor.
Contact Lark Chapel Hill today for some of the best options for UNC Chapel Hill apartments off campus.
