Why New York City renters should know what Insurent is

EXAMINER.COM

By Alicia Schwartz

I have not made it a secret that I am a huge fan of the lease guaranty program Insurent.  When I was a broker the biggest issue I had was good people with good salaries not qualifying for the apartment because they didn't make 40-50 the monthly rent. The second biggest issue I had were parents not wanting to be guarantors for their kids because of the amount of paperwork involved. Insurent is the magic bullet that actually fixes both of these issues. Brokers, renters should rejoice that Insurent exists!

Insurent in simple terms is a program that enables renters to quickly qualify and get the apartment they want if they have good credit (not perfect)  and a solid salary (27.5 x the monthly rent)  by acting as the renters co-signer (guarantor) on the lease. Many management companies automatically accept the Insurent program. To see a full list click here. Landlords accepting the Insurent Lease Guaranty Program presently represent over 67,000 units at over 670 buildings. The list grows weekly as management companies are wising up to hard economic times and accepting Insurent as finding qualified guarantors and highly qualified renters are now rare. By accepting the Insurent Program, the landlord can turn “lost deals” into closed leases for credit-worthy U.S. parties and foreign renters without U.S. based credit history, at no cost to the landlord. Foreign renters was actually my third largest problem as a broker, no landlord wants to deal with the paperwork or rather lack their of for foreign renters even though they have monies and good credit in the country they are from. Insurent seems to be the band-aid for this problem as well.

For renters the Insurent fee is on average between 66-78% of a month’s rent. For those of you using a broker you know that a brokers fee is about 1.5-2 x the monthly rent. Insurent ends up being a necessity for many renters who are just trying to make it in the big apple or who want to renegotiate rents for upcoming leases. For “credit-worthy” renters, it enables them to quickly obtain the apartment of their choice at a reasonable fee. Many of the leases that Insurent has guaranteed could not have closed as the renter didn’t have a guarantor who made 80 x the monthly rent, or didn’t have the additional cash resources to put up 3-6 months of additional cash security to a landlord. And do not worry in a fast moving rental market: Insurent qualifies people on-line within one hour and normally issues the guaranty to the landlord within 24 hours.

New York City renters who have good credit, a good salary by normal standards, and you know who you are... go to Insurent.com. If you live in a building or want to live in a building that currently does not accept Insurent tell your landlord they are going to be losing a ton of business to buildings that do accept this program. Insurent will quickly become part of the renter's vernacular in NYC.

HAPPY HUNTING.



Insurent now included in most NYC Rental Websites as a "necessary rental resource"

Insurent Lease Guaranty Service is now incorporated by tens of NYC rental listing websites and is viewed as a necessary rental resource by sites like Rentenna, Urbanedgeny, Brickunderground,  Urbansherpa, HowToRentinNYC and Streeteasy.com.

From Rentenna:

"We at Rentenna support the Insurent Guarantor Program because there is no other service like it in the New York City area and it is desperately needed. The strict criteria that landlords impose on renters such as making 40x their monthly rent is ludicrous and what they ask of your potential guarantor (usually a parent/sibling) is more paperwork than adopting a child. For a fee less than a broker, they will act as your institutional guarantor. Owners win because they don’t have any risk.  If you default, Insurent pays. You win because Insurent’s criteria into their program is A LOT easier than a landlords and you can quickly get your dream apartment within 24 hours of applying."

From HowToRentinNYC.com:

"Insurent Lease Guaranty is the first and only institutional guarantor of residential leases. What is a guarantor? A guarantor is the cosigner on your lease when you do not meet the qualifications the landlord requires of you on your own. A standard requirement for NYC landlords is that you make 40-50 x the rent. So if you are renting a $2000 studio you need to make $90,000. It is also a requirement that you have "good" standing credit and a solid work history. Landlords want to know how YOU plan on paying the rent and if you can muster to fit into their requirements you will need a guarantor and most of the time that guarantor has to be in the tri-state area. This is because if you default and they have to come after your aunt Jim who cosigned your lease it is much easier to come after them legally if they are local. Also Uncle Jim as a guarantor is required by most landlords to make 80 x your rent so now the requirement becomes $180,000+ income which obviously in this economy is rare.

This is where Insurent Lease Guaranty comes in. They will act as your co-singer/guarantor if you make 27.5 x the rent and not 45. That same $2,000 studio now requires you only make $55,000 or if you have a roommate and your portion of the rent is $1500 that requirement becomes $41,250. They will accept you if you are a new hire, retired, or are from outside the United States. For retirees you have to show significant cash assets but you don't have to pay 6-12 months up front to the landlord now you just pay the Insurent fee and you can pay your rent monthly. If you do not make 27.5 x the rent and are in school Insurent will also guarantee your Uncle Jim, parents or whomever you can get to cosign the lease. Insurent's requirements are far less stringent and much less paperwork for them as well than that of the average NYC landlord."

From Brickunderground:

"Who can serve as a guarantor?

Most guarantors are parents, relatives, or friends. In many cases, landlords will require that your guarantor lives locally (within the Tri-state area). Some landlords may allow you to have a separate guarantor for each roommate signing the lease, but this isn’t always the case so if this is important to you, make sure to square away these details beforehand. If a personal contact isn’t an option, and your problem has more to do with lack of credit than bad credit, a service called Insurent will step in and act as a guarantor for a fee."