I understand you don't want to get a credit card, but building your credit is very important. I would get an AmEx Corporate Card for starters. Since it has to be paid off every month, you won't find yourself in debt. But I would rec. getting a Visa/MC, just to start building your credit too. I have like 20 or more credit cards. I keep transferring balances to a new card with 0% APR. Not a big balance, just enough to build my credit. I wouldn't pay the whole year up front. You could move into a place, and if the management is incompetent, you'll be screwed since you paid the entire year up-front. I would also rec. taking some classes at a college. I was in your boat, did the same thing, but ended up getting my degree while I traded full-time. An education never hurts. Plus, I learned some kinds that helped my trading. Don't know how successful you have been, but good luck. Save your money, don't buy expensive crap. Stay HUMBLE, or the market will make you humble. Do some charity work. As they say, the more you give, the more you receive. Some good books to read, not a credit though: "How to Make Money in Stocks" William O'Neill "Think and Grow Rich" Napoleon Hill "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" Edwin Lefevre Brian
I dont know if this will work where you live, but when I got my first apt with another trader friend, we had one of the managing partners of the firm write us a letter backing us up that we would be able to pay the rent. We both did already have good credit though just no proof of income at that point since it was literally a couple months after my first profitable month.
JMowery1987, Call the apartment you are interested in. They will give you better answer than this forum. Each management companies or individual set their own rule. You don't want to prepaid 12 month rent, you are giving them interest free loan. Some look for 6 months savings, some look at your tax return.
You should go in person, ask to see the apartments. Once you give it a nice LONG inspection, begin asking questions about the neighborhood, amenities etc. They will ask you where you work. Explain that you are self employed. If they turn you down, look suprised and ask to speak to the person who made the decision. Then offer to pay in advance. Scumbags with horrible credit and a good "story" rent apartments all the time. It wont be that hard. -qwik
You need to have a credit rating regardless if you are getting an apartment, buying a TV on credit or financing a used car. Go to Discover, they were infamous on my college campus years ago. They will give anyone a card. It may be only a $100 limit, but it is a start. I am assume you have positive income from prop trading. Buy your gas or groceries once a month on the card and pay the balance in full each month. DO NOT take advantage of the full credit line, you will only dig a hole you cannot get out.
If money isn't an issue, just move into a short-term corporate apartment. If you don't have bad credit, just no credit, you can get a credit card. Start using it and pay it off in full each month and after 6-8 months you'll be on your way. Seems like money is an issue though, in which case my question is: Do you think you are putting yourself under uneccesary pressure in your trading (you say you are 19 and have indicated in other threads that money is tight and that you don't currently have, but might need to get ,a job)? Just some food for thought. If the answer is yes to the above, then you need to either stay put or move-in with a roomate in a cheap situation, in which case you don't need any credit.
Lots of apartments would allow someone to stay if you paid the entire lease term upfront... usually at the manager's discretion though. Of course they always do background checks and criminal investigations but that's normal anywhere.
A couple of things. One, paying 12 months in advance will not get you an apartment. You need to have a job, a salaried job and you need to have credit. I know this sucks, but thats life. Here is why paying 12 months in advance won't work. Due to the fair housing act, if they rent to you with bad credit or no credit and turn down an african american with bad credit, they can be sued for everything they are worth. How much cash you have is irrelevant. You could have a million dollars, no landlord will risk a lawsuit to fill an apartment. Another thing, you do not have a job, you need to understand this. Working at a prop firm is self employment. You can try showing them your 1099 but 99 times out of a 100, this will not fly. The best advice I can give you is to do a sublet with roomates. Find a place with one or two other guys that is looking for a third. This usually works because the lease has already been signed and the person you are subletting from is on the hook for the rent technically, not you, even though you will sign a sublet form. Also the suggestion to rent a room out of a private home is a viable option. Usually there is little in the way of credit checks. But those are your two best options. Sorry to hear about your father.