Renting an apartment in the U.S. -- credit?

[tkelt 11]

Hi everyone, another question from me! ... lol

I have my K1 visa, and I am intending on crossing the border on August 3rd. My fiancee currently lives in an apartment complex, and I am applying to be listed on the lease and considered as a tenant. The landlord explained that I have to undergo a credit check, and that they will be able to see my credit score. I was under the impression that Canadian credit is useless in the U.S.

The thing is -- I have not so great credit here in Canada :/ made a lot of dumb mistakes when I was younger, working on getting it fixed now but obviously it won't improve drastically in the next 3 weeks.

We have a cosigner who is willing to sign for me to be considered as a tenant and really I'm just being added on the to the lease because I wont be able to work anyway and my fiancee has already been paying the rent consistently on time for a year and has been a model tenant. She is terrified she will lose her apartment. We're both next to broke from this entire process and a move would be impossible.

I guess my question is -- will they be able to see my Canadian credit? If it's a bad score and they decline me, will a cosigner enable me to become a tenant? I'm so worried

Is there a better forum for me to post this? I dont' want to keep clogging up this Canadian forum but you guys have been so helpful throughout the process so I just thought I'd check.

[bestluck 71]

Unfortunately, your Canadian credit history cannot follow you to the United States. While credit reporting companies like Experian have operations in multiple countries, the information they maintain in the individual nations cannot be transferred across national boundaries for several reasons.

The first is simply a matter of law. Laws governing credit reporting differ from nation to nation. In some instances the laws prohibit the transfer of information across borders or have restrictions on such transfers that effectively prohibit them.

Another complication related to the law is that if the information is transferred, the companies reporting information would have to comply with the laws governing credit reports in the nation to which you moved. A Canadian company could find it very difficult, if not impossible, to meet the U.S. Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements governing the reporting of credit history information, for example.

The second issue is that credit reporting itself is often very different from one nation to another. For example, information included in credit reports in one country may not be included in the one to which you move. In some nations, credit reports may be linked to more than one person. For instance, the credit histories of everyone who shares a common household address may be tied together, whereas in the U.S., each individual has their own unique credit report.

Third, technologies used in credit reporting may differ from one country to another. The software and systems used to collect and maintain credit history information may simply not be compatible, and so impede the ability to transfer credit history information.

For these reasons, credit histories do not follow you when you move to the U.S. from Canada or other countries.

Thanks for asking.

[tkelt 11]

Unfortunately, your Canadian credit history cannot follow you to the United States. While credit reporting companies like Experian have operations in multiple countries, the information they maintain in the individual nations cannot be transferred across national boundaries for several reasons.

The first is simply a matter of law. Laws governing credit reporting differ from nation to nation. In some instances the laws prohibit the transfer of information across borders or have restrictions on such transfers that effectively prohibit them.

Another complication related to the law is that if the information is transferred, the companies reporting information would have to comply with the laws governing credit reports in the nation to which you moved. A Canadian company could find it very difficult, if not impossible, to meet the U.S. Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements governing the reporting of credit history information, for example.

The second issue is that credit reporting itself is often very different from one nation to another. For example, information included in credit reports in one country may not be included in the one to which you move. In some nations, credit reports may be linked to more than one person. For instance, the credit histories of everyone who shares a common household address may be tied together, whereas in the U.S., each individual has their own unique credit report.

Third, technologies used in credit reporting may differ from one country to another. The software and systems used to collect and maintain credit history information may simply not be compatible, and so impede the ability to transfer credit history information.

For these reasons, credit histories do not follow you when you move to the U.S. from Canada or other countries.

Thanks for asking.

well honestly this is pretty good news. I was worried that my poor credit would prevent me from being able to get an apartment. it's weird because when I spoke to the landlord she said that if they put in my Canadian SIN that they'd be able to see my credit report? but perhaps she was just mistaken. hoping they'll just accept our cosigner and be done with it.

[NikLR 13,230]

nope you start over from scratch unless you make effort not to.

[bestluck 71]

Most of landlord didn't check Credit score in Florida They just want to check background and References and First Month and last Month Security deposit

Good luck

[HollywoodNorth 22]

Same here, I had bad credit when I left Canada a decade ago. Never had any issues getting an apartment in LA, as long as you have a deposit and "no credit" is better than bad credit down there. Worse case you get a co-signer or pay extra deposit.

Deposit depends on the landlord, places that charge first + last month up front isn't going to care about "no credit". They may run a lexus/nexis check (not a credit check)and see if you have any evicitions.

Some apartment management companies may offer low move in costs or even none, but those ones may want to see proof of a job at least or a co-signer.

I wouldn't volunteer too much information to your landlord. I've had Canadian friends shoot themselves in the foot so to speak, and were discriminated against by landlords [national origin] either by denial or having their rental deposit doubled or tripled.

Welcome to the US, forget about the Canadian credit you got a blank slate here!

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Most of landlord didn't check Credit score in Florida They just want to check background and References and First Month and last Month Security deposit

Good luck

Not where I live in central Florida...they all seem to ?

[NikLR 13,230]

They wanted my SSN for a check to add me to my husband's lease. It was dumb because he'd already had the apartment for a year and was just renewing the lease. Like durrrr.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I see from your comment that its needed for occupancy or do you have to be on the lease to live there period? Its not a major concern for immigration going forward as long as you have other co-mingled financial assets. I lived in my now husband's home rental for the first year and then we bought a house after a yr still all under his name since my lack of credit brought the mortgage rate we could get way up so we skipped me then. We added me on to the deed and then onto the mortgage when we refinanced once I had some decent credit under my belt.

Some folks here strive to get their Canadian credit brought down, but in your case I'd just leave it be if its not good. Start fresh with the methods people recommend in other forums once you have a job and go from there - new credit is a nice perk if you need it thanks to the immigration process.