Relocating to Charlotte

I'm looking to relocate to the Charlotte area in February from Illinois. I have credit issues and I know this will make it difficult to find a place. I wanted to start looking into apartments or rental homes now. I'm a single mother with two children. My current employer is relocating to Charlotte and are looking for people to transfer. I've been with the company for over a year and I make a decent salary. I'm working to improve my credit as much as I can before I move and just need a chance.