“How does a retiree who has a limited fixed income (and relies on the asset to make a living) help his/her S/D secure a rental apartment when the annual income of their loved one is not higher than 40 (I think this is the magic number) times of the monthly rent?”
What an incredibly pointless, unhelpful, and untrue reply!
So in your world 45 year olds do not have children nor do people under age 62 retire, and of course every child becomes fully financially independent before the age of 20.
I ran into this exact problem after my last job ended (I was 55) and my younger son was leaving the dorm and trying to rent an apartment in Boston. I had almost no income, but fortunately some financial cushion. The rental agent was a real pain in the butt, first requiring me to cosign the lease, then asking for bank statements. I asked how much they needed to see, and I showed them one bank statement with the required amount. They still were not satisfied, and we went back and forth a few times until they finally just stopped asking (and approved my son’s lease). So, I don’t have a definitive answer on how you can get a given rental agent to approve your application. It can be, and often is, a real pain. Part of it must be maintaining a good credit rating even as your income drops.
I wouldn’t worry about Facebook. I have my settings locked down pretty well. I(credit card) along with two of my kids (debit cards) were all victims of fraudulent charges even though we all had our cards in our possession. I think it was one of those skimmers on a gas pump if I had to venture a guess. At any rate, I use a credit monitoring service at one of our banks, and we all use credit karma(which is free). It’s not a matter if you will be a victim, it’s when. There’s almost no getting around it these days.
Our S wanted to rent in DC/VA. We went out there to look at places with him. He brought his offer letter from employer and we brought our checkbook. He made the 1st appointment of the day to see his 1st choice and we all went. It was a very nice unit and the owner was renting it because she had married and was living in her new spouse’s unit she was impressed that we parents flew from HI and came with S to see unit and agreed to rent in the spot, after seeing S’s job offer letter that showed his annual salary. We wrote a check – may have been security deposit + 1st and last month’s rent (can’t remember). That was all she needed, plus signed lease. I believe the offer letter showed a gross annual salary that was about 33x his monthly rent. No other financial docs were required and no credit check was done.
I recognize this may be an anomaly because credit checks are frequently done by the landlords I know. S has always had credit scores in high 700s as long as he’s cared about such things. We have not been involved in any of S’s subsequent rentals but he has moved at least twice since and is again renting a condo unit directly from an owner in another city in VA.
NJRes-
Did you retire at 55 or was this a parting of the ways? Not too many are fortunate enough to retire at 55. When I was 55 mine were still in college or just barely out. Now, in my advanced and semi-retired age, they are on their own