I need to find an apartment but I have about $29,000 worth of credit card debt. Yes, I know it is horrible. I'm not going to write out all the reasons for why I'm that far in debt, but that is the situation that I'm in right now. My credit score is 724. I pay all my bills on time and at least the minimum (I always try to pay more) on my credit cards. I've never been evicted. I have a clean record. I have a full time job right now also. Am I going to have an issue getting approved at apartment complexes? Anyone with similar experience in Fairfax? What complexes do you recommend? Oh and I will be moving in my myself unless I can find a roommate.

Thank you in advance.

Shouldn't matter if your credit is good and you have a job or other source of income.

They should let you move in with a good credit score. the only problem you may have is how much you make vs how much your apt is.

Thanks for the feedback so far. I'm just trying to find a safe and decent place that doesn't cost a fortune.

Yeah, as long as your credit score is good, you are good to go.

Gotta ask though... how in the world did you get into 29,000 worth of CC debt?

It has accumulated for years and for many many many reasons (too many to list here)...

I have a low paying service job which is great for helping people but not great on my wallet.

When I first graduated from college I figured that I never got sick or anything so I just went with the HMO health plan... and well I broke my leg in a freak accident, few months later I got into a car accident, and hardly anything was covered by my insurance. I had to cover most of the costs.

Several major family emergencies... and they do not live anywhere close to here.

Student loans got messed up one semester in graduate school and the classes wouldn't be offered again for a year and that would put my entire program on hold. I should have taken out a private loan but instead I charged it because I was stupid.

etc etc etc.... it has been a rough couple of years

Funny thing is I don't own anything expensive or that nice.

ugh Wrote:
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>
>
> I have a low paying service job which is great for
> helping people but not great on my wallet.





So if you have a low paying job, how were you approved for that much available credit in the first place?

Good question!!! Thanks Bank of America!

Hey, that shit happens.
I got fucked for a $5000 unexpected medical bill. I thought my insurance was good. I thought wrong.
I can relate to this story.

Just a wild quess. did you have united heathcare?

Your best bet it to look for a privately owned condo for rent by the owner. Keep an eye on Craigslist. By pure coincidence, the last two places I've lived were both rented by individuals and not real estate companies or apartment management corporations.

The individuals that we have rented from have been far better landlords than any apartment community I've ever lived in. We've been able to get lower rent, more flexible terms, and our landlords are more attentive to maintenance needs.

ugh Wrote:
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> Thanks for the feedback so far. I'm just trying
> to find a safe and decent place that doesn't cost
> a fortune.

That is the tough part, it is so tough to find a decent apartment around here for a good price.

In your situation I'd think about maybe renting a room while you are getting your debt paid off.

You don't need an apartment, you need $29,000. My advise is to sell your car (if you have one), move into a share in DC where you can get by with a bike and a Metro Card, and start working at least 60 hours a week.

If you're that far in the red and have a low-paying service job, renting your own apartment might not be the best financial decision.

Getting an apartment on your own means that you will make much less of a dent in your debt.

If you can handle the rent you should have no problem finding what you want. These bozos who are advising you to rent a room have no experience or expertise.

eesh Wrote:
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>
> So if you have a low paying job, how were you
> approved for that much available credit in the
> first place?

If you have good credit, they'll lend. I'd never be able to pay off my revolving if I maxed all of my available lines. Some of mine have been open a long time and I use them once and again to keep them active. My credit score is 780.

Make sure you pay your rent with a credit card, too...

You would be better off to rent a room or a basement in someone's home and reduce your charge balances.

Right now you need to rent a room in a house and pay off your credit card debt.

Suck it up for a year or two and get on a budget.

First, I find it hard to fathom that you would have a good credit score with that much credit card debt. That being said, a good score might not be enough. Typically you need to be able to commit about 1/3 of your net income for rent. With $29K in credit card debt, you could be paying close to $800 a month just in minimum payments. A lot depends on your income.

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Donald Wrote:
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> You don't need an apartment, you need $29,000. My
> advise is to sell your car (if you have one), move
> into a share in DC where you can get by with a
> bike and a Metro Card, and start working at least
> 60 hours a week.

Wow, what world are you living in? First of all for unskilled worker he maybe working well over 60 hours a week still not get over $30,000. Raking leaves and cleaning floors doesn't pay much.

Second how is he going to get jobs in Northern Virginia by Metro? Jog from a bus stop with rake and chainsaw in hand?

Next time pull your head out of your ass and realize not everyone work in an office job in DC.

If you want to get out of that debt you need to look at either getting a better paying job or cutting expenses somehow.

well, you didnt say how much you make - take home, in terms of income. if i had to guess, 29K worth of CC debt is going to be at least 1K a month, if not 1250 to 1500 a month, just to pay the minimum payments.

a one bedroom apartment, true 1 bed or a studio, is going to cost over 1K month in rent alone. probably more like 1100 to 1200 a month unless the apartment is located in little Tijuana or little Saigon.

a 35K a year income, depending on whithholding settings, will net one around 1300+/- take home per paycheck. anybody can do that math..... if one is making 65K, then take home will a little less than double that, so say 2200 a paycheck, which is a little more manageable. but you still have the utilities and such to take into account as well as paying more than the minimum on the CCs to get that debt down.

if you havent done so already, look around for CC deals where they offer 0% or a really small interest rate on X-ferred balances for X amount of time. Since your credit is "good", you shouldnt have a problem getting one. Take a card with the highest interest rate and X-fer all, or as much as you can, onto the new card. close the old card immediately and cut up the new one, then make what would have been the minimum on the old card towards the new one, at the least. youre paying mostly balance, and will help getting that balance down much much quicker.

checkout craigslist and the newspaper's for rent sections for rooms to rent. apartments are hot right now due to the housing market, so deals will be few and far between. however, lots of people have been hit by the economy and are struggling to make payments on things, and are renting out rooms, or basements, to people for additional income.

good luck.

I guess I guessed that he was a server or bartender or something of that sort when he said he worked in the service industry. You can make more money in the service industry in DC than you can in Northern Virginia where people drink less and tip shittier. Cool comment though. I especially liked the mean part at the end. You really got me there.

PoorBoySandwich Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Donald Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > You don't need an apartment, you need $29,000.
> My
> > advise is to sell your car (if you have one),
> move
> > into a share in DC where you can get by with a
> > bike and a Metro Card, and start working at
> least
> > 60 hours a week.
>
> Wow, what world are you living in? First of all
> for unskilled worker he maybe working well over 60
> hours a week still not get over $30,000. Raking
> leaves and cleaning floors doesn't pay much.
>
> Second how is he going to get jobs in Northern
> Virginia by Metro? Jog from a bus stop with rake
> and chainsaw in hand?
>
> Next time pull your head out of your ass and
> realize not everyone work in an office job in DC.

Find a place near a lot of retail/restaurants so you can get a second job. Since this is Fairfax Undergound, I would suggest sharing a place in the Fair Lakes area.

Why wait? Contact Sharon Bulovas office and ask about one of those luxury condos for people on welfare. She will be happy to help you out.

You need to make getting out of debt your number one priority. You will never get ahead with that hanging over you. If you put your money into apartment rent, you are flushing it down the toilet. You need to live as cheaply as you can for a while. A room or basement is good advice on here.

There is nothing wrong with renting if you are possibly moving in a few years or job prospects take you elsewhere.

Of course there's nothing wrong with renting. There's only something wrong with renting more than you can afford. When you have CC debt that is high, I would say that you can't afford not to try to pay it off and keep your rent as low as you can.

actually I work for an apartment community and unless it shows negatively on your credit you should be fine. most places (depending on the system in place there) will either ask you to pay an additional deposit or approve your application with conditions and you must meet their qualifications before they approve your application totally. depending on your income, you may also need to pay an additional deposit if you don't make 3x the monthly rent in gross earnings per month. alot of places also have you pay an application fee and if you are denied your out nothing but the application fee...maybe try somewhere you can afford and like in your target area and submit an application, be upfront and tell them what your situation is, most times the people working there can tell you what the landlord will and will not work with or how to approach it.
private owners are more flexible with working with you, however you also run the risk of them not paying the mortgage with your rent and finding out the hard way that the place is in foreclosure, so its best to be upfront with anyone you intend on renting from to make sure it is legit and worth paying for.

but 1st and foremost is make sure you can afford to rent a place before you overextend yourself and end up getting evicted. it costs you a lot more in the long run after attorneys, collections agents and damages are racked up.