I rented my current apartment while unemployed, and was open about that. Wasn't a problem, they didn't even make me have a cosigner. I did show them proof of assets, and they were happy with that.
Well yeah but you need the assets. Most people don’t have several months of rent in their bank account, let alone 12. So without the assumption of cashflow, that won’t fly for the average person.
My last apartment never ask for paystubs or proof of employment. I even asked if they wanted to see paystubs and they said “no we don’t ask for them”. I lived there for 3 years 🧐
My husband too. He had a trust from when his dad died that he was using for rent and school when we met. I imagine he showed the statement balance on that. I know when we moved into a townhouse for more space, we just paid the rent for the entire year at once. They put it in an account and automatically drew off of it monthly.
That was what I did when I moved to town. There was a whole circular argument about how can you pay if you dont have a job and I was like how can I get a job if I don't live here (back in the dark ages when you went door to door with a printed resume and a firm handshake...at least I still believed that was how it worked). I said, "do you want me to write a check and pay for the entire year in advance? Because I can." I showed them my account statement and they finally let me sign.
That is where I may be at. Have enough for about 2 to 3 years rent in savings. If I were going to pay a year up front I'd want a lower rate overall though. That's a chunk of change to put all at once and lose interest on, etc.
Absolutely valid point. With that much saved up, you could likely afford a down-payment on a house. It's wild how mortgage payments are often less than rent. Getting together the down-payment is the hard part. But there are also plenty of reasons to choose renting over owning. There's never a one-size fits all solution and we've each got to do what's best for our own individual circumstances. All the best to you on your journey.
Not so wild really. What you get when you rent, is guaranteed repairs and maintenance, upgrades to common areas, property taxes paid, insurance - all things you would be paying yourself if you bought your house or condo, over and above your mortgage payment.
Having owned for the last 17 years and now going thru divorce.. I dont think I want to own in my mid 50s.. if I live long enough to pay off the mortgage I wont see the other end of it. My kids might and that is a reason for some at this age to go in to extreme debt buying a house. The housing market is about to implode allegedly on the backs of China's and Koreas. Not sure how accurate that is, hopefully not till I get my 1/2 of the value of our $1mil home in divorce.
The plus side.. do whatever you want to your house. Downside, pay for EVERYTHING that goes wrong.. AC, water tank, pipe burst, flooring, appliance craps out, roof has issues. ALL of that adds up a LOT and if you DO NOT Have the funds you're fucked.
Buying to just rent out is a nightmare for most. Especially if you dont live in the area. Far too many people destroy portions of homes costing 1000s and months to repair before you can rent again and while there are some ways in some states to get the tenants to pay (sue basically), I believe I read many states protect tenants over owners. So that's not an option to me if I had the money to do so.
Honestly.. now that I am going thru divorce.. a nice truck with air stream and locations to park for week or two at a time would be perfect. The only downside that route is the $250K up front cost and the occasional maintenance on the vehicle and the pain in the ass to find places to keep it. But if you get Starlink and find decent water hookups, you got pretty much cheap living after the hefty purchase price. Only issue for me is mid 50s+ is health.. if you get health issues or such then you're having to figure that out whereever you are set up.
LOL I literally almost said that if I had to do it over again, I'd've gotten a camper van from day 1. Good luck, brother. You got this! It's gonna be tough. but it's gonna be worth it.
I didn't even have to do that. I just showed them a bank statement that showed that I received more than 3xs the amount of the rent per month. That was good enough for the leasing office.
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u/facw00 Jul 22 '26
I rented my current apartment while unemployed, and was open about that. Wasn't a problem, they didn't even make me have a cosigner. I did show them proof of assets, and they were happy with that.