Dunno if it's all bad. Say you're a mustachian who's FIRE, so no pay stubs to present. Say you've been traveling around the world for a year or two and landed in a new city where you have few connections, but want to rent an apartment. What I don't get is who would take the risk if/when she bails on the rent? I know there are other workarounds, I'm just thinking about why anyone other than someone with a terrible employment and/or payment history would be willing to pay for it. That's all I have.
If you are FIRE, I would assume the conversation would go like this
Landlord: You don't seem to have any recent work or rental history. You will need a co-signer.
FIRE: You're right, I am retired and like to travel. I have one year's worth of rent up front if that helps.
Landlord: Sure, here are the keys.
Then you proceed to negotiate lower rent because you are paying one year up front.
Assuming you're working with an individual landlord with a brain, and not one working for a big property management company with stupid rules.
I was unemployed when trying to move into my current place (just moved to town). Showed proof of assets since I didn't have an income yet - One account with 1.5x total yearly rent, plus an offer to show other accounts if necessary. Even mentioned being debt free, in case it made a difference.
It didn't. The exact response was "That's great, but what happens to that money as you spend it, if you don't have an income? You won't be able to pay us anymore."
Well... if I spend my money PAYING YOU... then yes, that pile of money would shrink... because YOU'RE GETTING PAID... so... You're an idiot?
Found a job quickly enough that it wasn't a problem in the end, but I still can't believe the stupidity.
Two or three years back, I offered to pay a former landlord the whole year up front for a discount. He told me that he hadn't heard of anybody doing that since the 1980s, while awkwardly laughing and acting like I'd just grown a second head.
I clearly need to start working with individuals instead of companies.