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Ask HN: How to find a "Founder Friendly" rental apartment?

9 points by borski ↗ HN
My friend recently finished graduate school in design, and was excited to move to Boston to finally start his own company. He had lived in Boston previously without issue, and had great references at his previous apartment, so he figured coming back to town would be cake.

What he found, however, was that the landlords he hoped to rent from were not thrilled at the idea of a tenant without a "real job". When landlords inevitably asked "what he did for a living" he quickly learned to answer "I'm a software designer" rather than "I'm an entrepreneur" (even though for me and for him, the two can certainly be one and the same).

In fact, even the rental brokers he used were wary of taking him on - they insisted that without an actual paystub or an offer of employment from somewhere, they wouldn't be able to refer him to any of their clients as "qualified". It was only when he showed the broker his bank statements - showing he had enough to support himself and his rent for a year, in cash - that they agreed to run the credit check and let him apply to rent.

I had nearly exactly the same experience when I first moved to DC, and people I've spoken to seem to agree this is a common problem. Luckily, I had a job offer I could display, but without one, I wouldn't have had any luck at any of the places I was looking.

So, my question for HN is - while you're founding a company, how do you find places to rent that are ok with you being an entrepreneur? Could you perhaps post any leads you have for apartments you like that are "Founder Friendly"?

I've set up a spreadsheet and Google form here: http://bit.ly/bMBOlW

I plan on taking the results of it and mapping it to make it useful (if you specify I can use your info in that manner) for everyone else too. I'll post this on HN in a few days.

8 comments

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citizenkeys
I have been through this exact issue myself on many occasions over the years. To most people, "self-employed" translates very simply as "unemployed".

Your best bet as an entrepreneur is to find places that are owned by individuals rather than property management companies. Alot of families have rental properties like duplexes that have been family-owned for generations. Individuals with rental properties usual don't care about your situation as long as the rent is paid on time. You can also work out deals to avoid deposits. Individually owned places also like if you can pay cash, because then they can pocket the money and avoid declaring it as income on their taxes.

Another great option is month-to-month places, even weekly rental places. Those places are a good bet because not only do they not care about your income, but they also don't require deposits. Avoiding an upfront deposit gives you more cashflow to pay rent longer. For example, saving $800 on a deposit gives you $800 worth of rent money to keep a roof over your head an extra month. You also don't have to deal with the hassle of getting utilities in your name.

Here's how you deal with big apartment complex property management companies: just lie. Seriously. And give a friend's phone number as your "employer". Make up some fake paystubs in quickbooks. Big property management companies usually hire stupid people that sit in the office all day, do nothing, and collect a paycheck. They don't verify income, or any of the other things they request. Since they don't care, neither should you. Fuck 'em.

Another final comment about big apartment complexes: at a certain point, if you know you're going to move, just quit paying rent. Apartment complexes take a hands-off approach to evictions and actually file real eviction proceedings. As such, you can sit there and live rent free for an entire month or more while they file the legal paperwork against you. Save that rent money you're not paying and save it for when you do find another place.

About moving: It's a better deal to sell your stuff on craigslist instead of move it. You can recoup some cash from the sale plus people will pick-up the stuff for free. That not only makes you money, but it also saves you from having to pay for a moving truck or the hassle of moving the stuff. Better to sell your stuff, get some cash, and then get new stuff after you move. You can get decent stuff on craigslist after you move for cheap. Plus selling your stuff lets you re-assess how much of what you had that you really want to re-accumulate.

cperciva
Individually owned places also like if you can pay cash, because then they can pocket the money and avoid declaring it as income on their taxes.

Here's how you deal with big apartment complex property management companies: just commit fraud.

if you know you're going to move, just quit paying rent... you can sit there and live rent free for an entire month or more while they file the legal paperwork against you

I know startups often skirt the bounds of legality, but encouraging tax evasion, committing fraud, and violating contracts is a bit further than I would want to go.

smiler
Advising people to not meet their financial obligations? You're an idiot, do you not have any kind of moral backbone?
smiler
I don't know if you have this in the US, but in the UK we have a concept of a guarantor for the rent for people who can't verify their income / landlord doesn't trust.

They are then legally responsible to pay the rent if you don't. However of course, if you have no problem knowing you can, then that's ok.

Does a similar thing exist in the US? In that case just ask a good friend, parents, siblings etc to be your guarantor - problem solved

ichverstehe
In Denmark almost everybody pays three months of rent up-front and what amounts to three months of rent in deposit.
threej
The easiest thing to do is to secure a cosigner prior to apartment hunting. I've never had an issue presenting a client that wasn't personally qualified by the landlord's standards if they had a cosigner. For reference I'm a broker in Boston.