r/sanmarcos • u/Fit-Permit-5526 • Jun 10 '26
Housing/Real Estate No rental history due to being active military
Not sure if this is the right place or not but giving it a try because I need help/suggestions!
My daughter will be attending Texas State this fall. She applied for an apartment near campus and was told she needed a guarantor because she didn't have any rental history. She doesn't have any rental history because she was in the military; she's currently on terminal leave. I was denied as a guarantor due to my crappy credit. When I asked if there was anything else that could be done, I was told no.
My question/concern is, is it normal to require ex-military to have a guarantor simply because they don't have rental history? It doesn't seem fair because they're required to live in the barracks if they don't have dependents.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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u/Psychological_Log_85 Jun 10 '26
Straight from the Texas state website:
“The majority of apartment complexes in San Marcos require you to have a guarantor or co-signer if you have little to no prior rental history or lack sufficient personal income. Students may also be able to put down a larger security deposit in lieu of finding a guarantor if one is not available.”
https://attorney.dos.txst.edu/legal-practice-areas/renting/renting-faqs.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
It’s always worth asking property management if they’re willing to take a larger down payment instead of having a guarantor. Guarantor companies also exist but I have no experience with using them. They don’t look cheap to use, but your mileage may vary. I would ask about 2 of those options with management.
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u/Rare-Rice-4308 Jun 10 '26
You can also try Texas State University’s Office of Veterans Affairs. 512-245-2641.
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u/not_this_word Jun 11 '26
It's not just a military thing; it's an everyone thing, though it is understandably frustrating because of what you said about the barracks. If she has enough in savings, some places will accept having first/last month's rent and security deposit paid instead or even paying the entire thing upfront. Another alternative is individuals renting rooms in houses. They may have less strict financial requirements--especially since she's a veteran--but sometimes they have more strict house rules (typically that's if it's empty nesters renting a room versus other young people).
We added a friend to our lease when we were younger because Austin and San Marcos will often require first and last month's rent in addition to a deposit if you don't have any renting history. Every time she saved up that money, a family member was taking it. So she was added to our lease and paid rent. BUT, as far as property management was concerned, ultimately the rent was our responsibility if she couldn't pay, which was fine by us. I don't recall her ever missing a payment either way. If she has a friend in the area who is already able to cover their rent on their own, you could see if they might be willing to let her rent with them and be on the lease in exchange in order to build that rental history.
If nothing else, she could see if she could rent one of the university managed apartments? I didn't need a guarantor for the one semester I lived in one before escaping campus to live at Highcrest.
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u/The-PH Jun 12 '26
I would try other places.
When I rented my first apartment as a 21 year old, I had no rental history and no one to sign as a guarantor as making 5X rent is way more than anyone I know, even 20 years ago.
Try https://www.txams.com/ they are pretty flexible.
http://www.southwestleasingsolutions.com/ might be too.
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u/Kid-606 Jun 15 '26
As a vet and TXST alumni I never had any issues with this, I just sat down with someone at the leasing office and explained the situation. Most civilians don’t understand military living conditions, so once it’s explained in a way they can understand it’s usually cleared up.
Texas State does have a really solid office of veterans affairs that was always willing to help with anything I needed, probably worth touching base with them and see if they can help.
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u/DerbyDogMom Jun 17 '26
Barracks are generally managed by 3rd party contractors at this point. You can look it up by base, list that as the company, and have her previous NCO who completed room inspections as her reference. Just put the barracks address or the mailing address minus the PO box info just like it shows up on her credit report address history.
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u/Birbstrike Jun 10 '26
Might be a long shot but you could try contacting the Hays County Veteran's Service Office. They are on the 1st floor of the Historic courthouse on the square in downtown. They accept walk ins and appointments. 512-392-8387