Due to circumstances of the physical, mental, and social variety, there are many things that I, a fully formed adult, have not yet done on my own. Given certain limitations over the past 20 years, I am a little late to some of the parties. For instance, my credit score. I don’t have one. Well, I do, but I am what is called “credit unscorable,” meaning I have very little activity, credit-wise. But, I do have a little debt. My husband is “credit invisible,” meaning he has absolutely no credit history, and no debt attributed to his score. That is at least something we can build on, I knew none of this until I started looking for an apartment, another grown-ass human thing I never really did before.
Now, this is not my first apartment, but in the past it was different. It was desperate. First, there was an emotionally unstable anciet landlady who barely spoke English and tried to evict us for “no GD reason,” as per the cops that showed up Easter Sunday to make sure we were out. So, we moved quickly to a dump that was available and rented out by an LLC who kicked us out 2 years later to renovate (I’ve yet to see that happen, PS.) So, again, desperate, we move to a place owned by a landlord who makes unstable landlady look like my lovable grandmother and literally causes both my husband and I to catch a PTSD diagnosis from our respective psychiatrists. Desperation again, and I find this place: a nice apartment just the right size at the right price with a good landlord who makes me feel at ease.
Now, six years later, and time for change. The rent elsewhere has skyrocketed, and they know they are losing money on us. We know we have outgrown where we are. And so, I make the decision, for the first time, to move on. What I want is for them to fix this place up and get more money for it. That might sound weird, but this has been my home for six years, and I want only good things for it and the people who provided it to me. When the billion bucks was on the table for all of us last week, Mark and I were talking about what we would do with a bunch of money…not even a billion, but enough. I’d leave some for my landlords, so they could update. Like a thank you, because it might be their house, but for a while, it was my home. And their kindness over the years helped heal some of the scars left on me from my previous landlord. I am appreciative.
But I am broke, so instead I’m just going to try to clean the hell out of the carpet, which has seen 6 years of my kids growing up and God knows how long of the family of toddlers that lived here before us. I am PRAYING there are decent hardwoods underneath this thing for them.
But I digress…
So in looking for an apartment, sans desperation for once, I am encountering moments of adulthood I was not previously familiar with. Like, credit scores, and their total ineffectuality when it comes to renting property. Why, landlords of Buffalo, does my credit score apply? Just ask for a rental receipt. I don’t know how you budget, but rent always gets priority in my house. I will take a shutoff notification from the electric company and I will take a deferral on my student loan and I will take some bread from the food pantry, but you can be absolutely certain I paid my rent. But no one keeps track of that.
Then I go to a showing and learn of a software called Avail that lets landlords use rent payments to apply to your credit score. I don’t know why EVERYONE isn’t using this, but if they were…I wouldn’t be looking to rent an apartment right now. I’d be taking out a loan with my good credit to put a down payment on a house that’s mortgage is HALF MY CURRENT RENT.
It’s a flippin’ scam, kids. Adulthood is a scam.
Y’know, I’ve yet to buy a car that I didn’t find on Craigslist, also. I can’t wait for that day, I’m sure my head will explode in a similar fashion.
Anyhoo…I continue with my apartment hunt. I plan to be out the last week of September, so if anyone in the Buffalo area knows of anything available then…hit me up. Unless they want a credit score, in which case they can GTFO.
Ham 'N Eggs 