Need a Place to live? ........... Have Bad Credit?..... Cant Move? ......Live in a Motel?
It seems that money can buy almost anything these days,
and one such thing available for struggling renters to purchase is an apartment
lease cosigner. A cosigner service provides consumers who otherwise cannot
qualify to rent an apartment or home with a guarantee of rent payment to the
landlord. While it is an interesting and intriguing concept, it’s also
important to fully understand how cosigner services work so you can weigh the
various pros and cons. Be sure to learn more about the background information –
including risks and costs – before jumping in.
Who
Can Benefit From a Cosigning Service
Whether you qualify as a renter for an apartment or home
depends on several personal financial factors. Your credit score is the major
contributing factor: If you have a low credit score because you have a poor
credit history (or if you don’t have much of a credit history at all), a
cosigning service can make the difference between being able to rent a place or
being denied. Another primary contributing factor is your rental or
home ownership history. Those who are just starting out and don’t have a
significant rental history can also benefit from a cosigning service.
How
It Works
In essence, a cosigner service acts as a lease guarantee
program. This means that if you default on your rent payments, the cosigner
service guarantees your landlord, management company, or apartment complex that
your rent will be paid for a certain period of time.
1.
Submit an Application and Application Fee
The first step to buying a cosigner is to submit an
application. You can submit an application whether you’ve already been told
that you cannot qualify for a rental on your own or prior to finding the
apartment or home you wish to rent. Along with the application, cosigner
services generally charge an application fee, which may range between $50 and
$225.
2.
Receive Approval
Once you receive approval of your application, you can
start your hunt for a place to live. You receive a certificate from the
cosigner service that tells the apartment complex or landlord how much of your
rental amount the cosigning service guarantees.
3.
Rent a Place to Live
Search for your home just as you would without a
cosigner, and when you submit the rental application, submit the cosigning
certificate with it. If you already found the place you wish to rent, submit
the certificate to the landlord or management company for verification of your
cosigning arrangement. Sign the lease, and your cosigning service guarantees
the lease as your cosigner.
4.
Pay Rent
You must pay the monthly rent payment to the landlord,
management company, or complex.
5.
Pay the Cosigning Company the Cosigning Fee
Cosigning services charge in different ways and at
different frequencies. Some charge a percentage of the rent as a one-time,
upfront payment that you make to them, such as 10% of the annual rent amount.
Other cosigning services spread the payments out on a monthly basis, so you
eventually pay 75% to 110% of the monthly rent payment.
Service
Companies
While there are a number of cosigner services popping up
on the Internet, three of the most popular cosigning services are:
WeRent For You Nationwide Apartment Cosigning Services - is Fast and
Efficient than any other Apartment Cosigning Service. Does not charge any
upfront fee’s, but charge a criminal background fee $175.00 in additional to a cosigning fee equal
to first month’s rent at time of approval with the community, tenants are able
to move in their new home within 72
hours from full approval. They sign 98% of all leases.
Co-Signer.com.
This company guarantees a rental lease for 90 to 180 days. Initial fees to the
consumer include a $50 processing fee and a $75 fee to cover a credit and
background check. Once the consumer agrees to use the services of
Co-Signer.com, the cosigning fee is due upfront and in full. For a 90-day
guarantee, the fee is 6% of the annual rental payment, and for a 180-day
guarantee, the fee is 10% of the annual rent payment. For example, if the
monthly rent payment is $2,000, then an annual rent payment is $24,000. The fee
for a 90-day guarantee would be $1,440, and $2,400 for a 180-day guarantee.
Wecosign.
This service charges a $100 upfront application fee that is refunded to the
applicant if the consumer is unable to sign a lease. This service also spreads
out the cosigning fee into 12 equal payments for a 12-month lease guarantee.
The cosigning fee is 10% of the monthly rent. For example, if the rent is $2,000
per month, then the cosigning fee is $200 per month. For high-risk consumers,
WECOSIGN can ask for the cosigning fee totaling six months’ worth of payments
upfront. Using the same $2,000 per month rent, this equals an upfront fee of
$1,200.
Insurent
Lease Guarantor Service. Insurent charges one lump sum that
equals an upfront payment of 75% to 95% of one month’s rent for a 12-month
lease guarantee. This particular service does not charge an application fee;
however, if the applicant is not a U.S. resident, the service fee is 110% of
the monthly rental amount. Therefore, if the monthly rent is $2,000, Insurent’s
one-time fee ranges from $1,500 to $2,200.
Final
Word
Everyone needs a little help sometimes, and if your
credit history, or lack thereof, prohibits you from renting a place to live,
then a cosigning service is one option to consider. While it may be expensive,
hiring a service to act as your cosigner relieves you of having to ask friends
or family members for money, allowing you to rent the place of your dreams on
your own.
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