However, we see numerous credit reports with collections and judgments stemming from past rentals the consumer had.  With the increasing emphasis on credit scores in our society, including rental and employment applications, as well as home and auto loans, it is important for people to take every step possible to protect and build their good credit.  Check out and use these tips from a previous article on our site:

What To Do When Leaving a Rental Property:
1) Take pictures (with date stamps) of the empty house or apartment during the final walkthrough with the landlord.
2) The final receipt showing your last payment should state “Paid in full as agreed, zero balance due.”
3) If leaving the lease early, and someone from the management company says there will be no penalty, no fees and no further money due, get all of that in writing with an employee signature and a date on it.
4) Do not leave the keys with someone else to turn in for you.  Do everything in the official exit process yourself.  Until you have your signed exit papers, you are not free and clear.
5) Request a specific date for your deposit to be returned by.  Leave a forwarding address for your deposit to be mailed to.  If necessary, set an appointment, in writing, to go back and get your security deposit.
 

What To Do Before Renting:
1) Get a copy of your credit report to assure complete accuracy and no surprises.
2) Read the entire lease agreement, even the small print.  Remember – no surprises.
3) Request a clause in the lease allowing for early termination with no penalty in the event of job transfer or reduction, medical issues, home purchase or other possible events that may be applicable.
4) If something is explained verbally that differs from the lease, get it in writing from the landlord, with date and signature.
5) Any payments in cash should have a detailed cash receipt; keep a copy of all cash receipts.

You can read this article from June 2009 for more information.  The most important thing to remember for any financial transaction is to GET IT IN WRITING and then keep a copy of that written document.

A Credit Check-Up from Complete Credit Services can provide specific details on how to build your credit scores based on your current information and accounts.  This may be the year to stop renting and become a home owner.  Your good credit can make that happen.

NOTE:  All of the above is for credit building information and personal reference only and should not be taken as legal advice.  Seek legal counsel with specific questions pertaining to leases and landlord/tenant law in your city and state. 

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Sound familiar?  You HAVE to get “everything is fine” in writing!  Those companies change hands, managers move on, your contact is nowhere to be found.  You have no proof and a big ding on your credit for something that was taken care of years ago.

You can get more details here in a previous article we wrote on the topic.  Another one we see is cable company equipment.  If you turned the box or receiver in and didn’t get a receipt, it might show up as a collection on your credit file.  Yeah, this really happens.

So please remember to GET IT IN WRITING.  And save the paper.  It can make a world of difference when you are correcting your credit reports and building better credit scores.

Because we work with people to build better credit scores for whatever their financial goals are, most of our site has information that can be used toward getting good credit.

This article offers suggestions specifically toward those people in an apartment or rental property on how to keep their good credit after moving out.  We have seen countless credit reports with collections and judgments listed from apartment management and utility companies and so many of the stories sound the same.  So here are some tips to keep your good credit.

1) Before you sign a lease, request a clause that lets you terminate early with no penalty for whatever reasons you can foresee as possibilities.
           Home Purchase
           Medical Issues
           Work Transfer or Relocation 
           Loss of Job or Reduction in Hours
           Need to be Caretaker for Parents

2) When moving out, give notice as early as possible.  Check your lease for the minimum time required and try to do it even earlier if you can.  A written letter with a follow-up phone call are the best ways to give notice.

On your letter, put your full address and unit number and be sure it is dated. Then put the address of your manager or landlord.  In the body of the letter include lots of detail: what day you’ll be moving out, whether you will be getting another tenant (if your lease allows) and if you plan to do the cleaning to get your deposit back.

Be sure to have all involved roommates sign the letter and also provide a forwarding address to which your security deposit can be sent. Keep a copy of your letter and either deliver it in person, send it certified mail or get delivery confirmation.

3) If there are maintenance or repair issues that are not resolved and you must move to protect the health of you and your family, document it.  Take photos with that day’s newspaper in it to prove the date that the issue occurred.  Keep detailed records of every attempt you make to report it and what you were told in return.  This historic record showing you tried to resolve it with good communication and by following the established procedure can be very helpful down the road if they try to collect the rest of the lease from you.

4) Do the walkthrough yourself and take pictures while you’re with the landlord.  You can put a newspaper in the photo to show the date it was taken.

5) Get everything in writing. It doesn’t matter that you’ve become friends with the property manager and that they said “don’t worry about it”.  You need to protect yourself with written statements of anything that is in your favor.  This includes a sign off that the property is in good/acceptable condition and that you will receive your deposit back.  It also includes their agreement to release you from the contract early with no penalties.  And of course, you want something that shows you are paid in full with no balance due on anything.

6) Follow up with the utility cancellations.  When you call to cancel all of your utilities, including the cable company, get something in writing showing the last date of service in your name and something that shows you are paid in full with zero balance due.  If they have to send you a final bill, be sure to give them a new address to mail it to. 

7) Do everything yourself.  Take copies of the utility cancellation statements to the office when you turn in your keys.  Get a written receipt that you turned them in and are no longer liable for the unit. 

Know your tenant rights.  The government provides a site with links to each state’s information for consumers.  You can also see this previous article on this topic by clicking here. 

Be sure to check your credit report three months after you move out just to be sure there are no erroneous collection accounts listed for anything to do with your former residence.

If you need additional assistance in correcting errors on your credit reports, our Individual Consulting Services may fit your needs.  Our services range from $250 to $850 and start with a no-obligation credit report review to determine how we can be most effective for your credit building needs.  Contact us today for more information.

Along with many other companies, more and more landlords and property management firms are utilizing credit scores, and credit reports, in their new tenant screening.  In addition to a required score, they may check for specific items on the credit reports such as collection accounts or judgments from previous apartment complexes or landlords.

Many people are surprised to find any information about their former home on their credit reports.  Some people know about it, but feel that the information is not correct for a variety of reasons. 

These may include:
- Everything was fine in the apartment when we left and the manager said they would take care of the paperwork.
- We did the walk-through and took care of the items that were noted to get our deposit back.
- I had to move out early and was told it would be okay to break the lease by the office.
- Vandals did the damage after we cleaned up and moved out.
- They said it looked good and we didn’t have to worry about anything.
- I was told I wouldn’t owe the last two months rent.

All of these situations get the question: Did you get it in writing?  The usual answer is NO.

In all things financial, GET IT IN WRITING.  Even after someone says it is fine, good, okay, don’t worry.  Request that they put that on official, corporate letterhead, date it and sign it.  And then you take it and keep it.  Yes, it is extra effort.  Yes, it is extra paper.  And it may take some of your time.  But the little bit of time and effort spent now is nothing compared to possible time spent in the future trying to remedy the detrimental effects of a collection or judgment without supporting documentation and without a record of dates or times and the names of who you spoke to.

This is especially important with rentals as more and more companies are pursuing former tenants.  And the chances of the same person being in the office two years after you moved out to verify information are rather slim.

What To Do When Leaving a Rental Property:
1) Take pictures (with date stamps) of the empty house or apartment during the final walkthrough with the landlord.
2) The final receipt showing your last payment should state “Paid in full as agreed, zero balance due.”
3) If leaving the lease early, and someone from the management company says there will be no penalty, no fees and no further money due, get all of it in writing with an employee signature and a date on it.
4) Do not leave the keys with someone else to turn in for you.  Do everything in the official exit process yourself.  Until you have your signed exit papers, you are not free and clear.
5) Request a specific date for your deposit to be returned by.  Leave a forwarding address for your deposit to be mailed to.  If necessary, set an appointment, in writing, to go back and get your security deposit.
 

What To Do Before Renting:
1) Get a copy of your credit report to assure complete accuracy and no surprises.
2) Read the entire lease agreement, even the small print.  Remember – no surprises.
3) Request a clause in the lease allowing for early termination with no penalty in the event of job transfer, home purchase or other possible events that may be applicable.
4) If something is explained verbally that differs from the lease, get it in writing from the landlord, with date and signature.
5) Any payments in cash should have a detailed cash receipt; keep a copy of all cash receipts.

NOTE:  All of the above is for credit building information and personal reference only and should not be taken as legal advice.  Seek legal counsel with specific questions pertaining to leases and landlord/tenant law in your city and state. 

Contact us for your Complete Credit Analysis today.