I'm trying to find a new apartment or rent a room with roommates in my area. Should I tell the landlords that I'm a stripper? I assume it sounds better than graphic designer, which is the cover I use with most people. Strippers make money, right?



I'm trying to find a new apartment or rent a room with roommates in my area. Should I tell the landlords that I'm a stripper? I assume it sounds better than graphic designer, which is the cover I use with most people. Strippers make money, right?
There are a lot of threads already on here about this, so maybe run or a search or just browse through Dollar Den to get a better idea of your options.
Some landlords are against strippers because of the stereotypes, so disclosing can work against you. Others don't care what you do as long as you have references/good credit/offer enough cash upfront.
Personally, I'd go with graphic designer to avoid the potential backlash of a landlord who doesn't agree with stripping. Graphic designers make money without the negative connotation. If they're not sold, generally offering to pay x amount of months upfront (rather than just the typical first and last) will often make it a non-issue.




I'd be too afraid of getting robbed to say that I'm a stripper. Words spread around fast and people usually know we carry a good amount of cash with us.





Graphic designer with copy of drivers license And 3-4 weeks of bank deposits in hand to show income equal to 3-4 times the rent is what I'd recommend.
With the last three apartments I rented on my own, I was honest and it didn't affect me, but those apartments were run by individual landlords-not real estate management places which want all kind of tax statements and have ridiculous standards for the self employed. I phrased it like "professional pole dancer" which sounds a little better than "stripper." Kinda puts an image in their minds of you doing awesome pole tricks and having wads of cash thrown at you.![]()





Indeed, income 'verification' requirements for the self-employed is becoming an increasing issue ... particularly with 'corporate' landlords. They essentially treat an apartment lease as a 'loan' ... i.e. the 'buyer' putting down say 2 * $1000 ( or whatever monthly rent amount ) as a 'down payment', with the corporate landlord then 'lending' 10 * $1000 ( or whatever ) i.e. a year's worth of rent money to the lessee, to be repaid via equal monthly payments over the one year term of the 'loan'. As such, the 'corporate' landlords want to see the same sort of income 'verification' documents that other types of lenders do from self-employed persons ... i.e. two years worth of tax returns confirming average monthly income levels, bank statements showing regular deposits being made, etc. Also, like other lenders, 'corporate' landlords will sometimes reduce their expectations in exchange for a bigger 'down payment' i.e paying 4-6 months rent in advance as opposed to the standard 2.those apartments were run by individual landlords-not real estate management places which want all kind of tax statements and have ridiculous standards for the self employed
Where a corporate landlord is concerned, do NOT outright tell them that you work as a 'stripper'. This is virtually guaranteed to cause the corporate landlord to envision possible 'illegal' activities in their apartment building, etc. Alternately, it exposes you to being perceived as an 'easy mark' by other tenants, by apartment building maintenance staff, etc. After all, many people have the impression that a 'stripper' subjected to a robbery will be reluctant to report the theft to LE ... because doing so would also raise questions about where she works, about how much 'stripper' income she has ( or has not ) reported and paid taxes on in the past, etc.
Last edited by Melonie; 04-17-2015 at 10:48 PM.


"I work in a bar" then give the corporate name on the application.





No don't say stripper. Say graphic designer who also sells EBay & Scentsy, etc. Say your husband makes the money and wear a couple rings to sell the idea of having a man around. Landlords more often than not will f*ck with you one way or the other & having other people in the picture makes you safer.





Your FICO outranks most anything else - if you have a good FICO and you're a graphic designer you'll be fine.




Definitely do not say that you are a stripper because in most cases, landlords will hold it against you in some way. A man landlord will see you as an easy target and may be a disgusting pervert about it. A woman landlord will be judgemental and possibly jealous and suspicious, especially if she is married. Once they know what you really do, they will be on to you. Plus, as someone mentioned before, word gets out pretty fast and since people know strippers carry lots of cash, you may be more vulnerable to being robbed. Say that you are a graphic designer but that you bartend or babysit on the side for extra cash.





Ive been a renter for 30 years. I have never, ever told an apt. Manager/landlord I was a stripper. I always made up a self employed job, and had a friend's number at the ready in case they needed to verify it,.(which they never called).
Having pristine credit was what mattered the most.
When I worked a corporate job, it was easy obviously.
Nobody needs to know.
Even now that I dont have that good credit anymore, and also have 2 evictions, I STILL got into a room renting situation with old references.(once again, they never ccalled).


Just tell them that you're a self-employed graphic designer. I've never had trouble renting an apartment with my employment record. If you have good credit, the money down, tax returns and/or bank statement with a lot of cash in it then you'll have little trouble being approved. If anyone questions it, just offer to pay a few months down upfront.





I'm always thinking up new stories to fudge when it comes to renting a place. I've learned the hard way to never ever tell them that you are a strippper, dancer, or anything relating to the sex industry. It only leads to judgement & usually works against you sadly. I will lie my ass off & say that I do graphic design, I get projects off elance.com & also work from my computer doing marketing. You can always print out recent bank statements OR past ones & just photoshop the numbers & dates if needed just to get a place asap.
"Alot of people are afraid to say what they want, that's why they don't get what they want"~ Madonna
"Respect is a dying art"
"Philosophy is the talk on a cereal box"


I always got an apartment saying I worked as a bartender or under the table or as I got older I said makeup artist for a burlesque club, all tips. As long as I showed them my deposits on my bank statement (I blacked out any withdrawls, company names, etc) and gave them 1st and last month rent I never had a problem. Most people think stripper= drugs, parties, orgies, etc





It was a trip for sure. I used to close a lot of sales by bringing my clients to the club. Everyone at work l new I danced. No big deal, prob. Because it was LA, and they don't call it lala land for nothing. I do have tons of great stories, as you can imagine. At the time, I actually thought it was quite normal. Go figure.
It was only with my housing that I instinctively knew to be secretive.





Zoe what happened? Is that ok to ask or do we just let threads fade here at SW



No clue, but I still haven't found a place yet. I've been telling the landlords that I work as a bartender and graphic designer, and when I meet potential roommates for house shares I usually tell them the truth. But so far most of the places I've viewed just aren't ideal. Either they're too tiny or really far from downtown, or I just don't like the roommates. The good news is, I have another month or two to find a place still.





I've always just bs'd around it, saying things like "I'm an independent contractor, I work out of another business, cash income". It actually embarrasses the shit out of the leasing agents most of the time when they catch on. My last 2 apts have taken a letter from the club. Agreed that clean credit and rental history has a bigger impact though.
Also, using places that have a hard time renting out can be helpful. My current apt is in BFE and was really trying to fill units, so they were pretty lenient. Didn't verify with the club, didn't care that my old complex refused to release me from that lease. They just wanted my rent and knew I had a solid credit history, so they approved me.
"People jack off with the left hand and point with the right."
"You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."
I was completely honest with my most recent landlord. He was very pleasant and not at all creepy when I explained that I had no proof of income because I only earn cash as a stripper. It most likely helped that I told him I was working my way through a nearby well-respected university, because he told me he worked his way through engineering school as a busboy or something. He actually chose me over other applicants with better credit! He's really nice to me and asks me about my grades whenever I see him.
Prior to that, I told landlords that I was living off my GI Bill money, which was a total lie, even though I was in the Army. Maybe you could say that you won a settlement or you have a trust fund or something and build up a few bank statements as "proof."
No! Don't tell the landlord that you are a stripper. Vanilla people associate strippers with drugs and prostitutes. I actually have a long time friend of the family who is a landlord. He was telling me just last week about some chick he had to evict because she was always causing problems with noise complaints from neighbors, complaints about the smell of pot coming from her place, multiple incidents of cops showing up, and had a habit of paying her rent late. He said that she was a stripper and that he decided that he won't ever rent to a stripper again. He made the blanket assumption that all strippers are irresponsible, loud, wild party animals. He has no idea what I did and do for a living. I sure as heck wasn't going to tell him. My current landlord was talking with my nosy neighbor downstairs and I overheard the nosy neighbor tell the landlord that she thinks I'm a stripper. The landlord said something along the lines of,"Nope, I'd never allow that kind of trash to live here." I'd stick with the graphic design cover.
Update: Oops, I just realized this is an old thread and that the OP more than likely found a cover story by now. D'oh! Whirlerz, I guess this can apply too. Maybe the person won't go as far as to ask what company specifically.
Last edited by WendiStarr; 08-03-2017 at 07:00 PM.





No, I'd definitely never do this, as far as I'm concerned, giving any personal info out, no matter how trivial, is handing someone a stick to beat you with!
MANY MEN WANTED TO LAY ME DOWN, BUT FEW WANTED TO LIFT ME UP
-Eartha Kitt





I think it also depends where you live. When I danced I was a renter and I never had an issue. For one, I had great credit and one of the landlords (who is a total piece of shit but had a lot of properties) flat out told me he liked renting to strippers because they always paid on time and in cash.
I must say, there are only a handful of "liberal" cities like this I can think of off the top of my head.
XoXo Gia
Danielle Fishell (the Dish): "If the Super-Star thing doesn't work out, Gia makes a great stripper name"
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