Renting DURING a Chap 13

[isabella]

As I have stated in another thread I am relocating to the Chicago area. I am trying to find an apartment. When landlords find out I am in the middle of a 13, I am denied. I have an excellent income now, and have ALWAYS had an excellent rental history. I have tried craigs list, and it is either a scam or I am told no. I have tried an apartment locator service and the can oly show m things in bad apartments in bad areas. I am not looking for a luxury apartment , just something decent in a safe neighborhood..... any suggestions?

[NoTomatoCan]

As I have stated in another thread I am relocating to the Chicago area. I am trying to find an apartment. When landlords find out I am in the middle of a 13, I am denied. I have an excellent income now, and have ALWAYS had an excellent rental history. I have tried craigs list, and it is either a scam or I am told no. I have tried an apartment locator service and the can oly show m things in bad apartments in bad areas. I am not looking for a luxury apartment , just something decent in a safe neighborhood..... any suggestions?

When you are denied have you ever tried offering a larger security deposit? Maybe an additional 2 or 3 months deposit...

I know that might be tough since you are in an active CH13, but it might help the landlord minimize some risk.

[optimistic1]

Use an apartment location service, granted you will not be living in a luxury complex, buts its a roof over your head while you complete your plan out. Just sign a short lease in case it sucks, research the complex they give you on google to see user reviews.

[secondtimer]

I've been obsessing on how to handle this if it comes up for me.

One option I'm considering is monthly hotel/motel rental.

Comes with maid service and the rent is comparable to a regular apartment in my area.

Good luck.

[isabella]

I have just returned from a weekend of apartment searching. A discharged BK in most places is an automatic denial. Being in the middle of a 13, I am right in their as an auto denial with sex offenders and convicted felons! Extra deposits go against fair housing practices....so after 13 places (both private and complexes) I have been told no. I am beginning to freak. I have excellent income, excellent rental history and am an untouchable. :-(

I am going to try contacting more places today....one of the apartments suggested places ran by AMLI might be able to help, and another place said Lincoln properties may be workable. Maybe there is a little hope....but my this has been a horrible experience so far. My advice is if you don't have to move don't....sit tight where you are.

[tobee43]

i'm so sorry to hear what you are going through!!

may i suggest a private room in a house or share a house with someone....maybe that may work out better...if someone needs a roommate???

we looked a head a bit and secured a place prior to our filing since our credit was still intact...it was hard to pay expenses but we managed...with the help of family at first.

[nlbstr]

I went through exactly this in Chicago.

I ended up having to have my employer cosign the lease. Crazy how people can just say "No, you can be homeless" over their impression that you won't pay.

I had a woman who said "oh, bankruptcy... I hear you, it's a tough time. I filed bankruptcy 8 years ago. You can't have the apartment."

[isabella]

I am afraid a co-signer if out of the question for me. I just cannot believe that I am looking at being homeless. Even the apartment locator service thought my BK was discharged when they sent me to various apartments. I have 6 more calls in today waiting to hear some good news.

[ccsjoe]

Sorry to hear what you're going through Isabella, Chicago is very different from CA. Out here, I started looking for a new rental due to my old landlord getting foreclosed on in April. Most places we saw advertised BK ok, but no evictions or property-related lates.

[empowered]

Isabella, I know what you mean. Having filed Chapter 13 during a time of transition I had no choice but to find a new place. I had a job that paid well and had never been evicted. Like you. It became nerve-wracking to compete for places to live knowing that anyone who did a credit check would see that.

While in CA, I had had one landlord who said he did not want to check credit but this was before the 13. Though he was a businessman, his political views weren't in line with that kind of screening process. But since then, I was even turned down to get back into a building where I had lived for several years before and where I had the recommendation of the building manager based on my earlier tenant history. The property had changed hands.

I've ended up having better luck with private owners of smaller complexes and private houses though I am now in the second of two houses that I was only able to rent because they did not sell. So there's some instability in my situation that I can't afford, but must somehow tolerate. As soon as I'm working again, I'll have to save to move in case I have to leave here so that the house can go back on the market. In the end, my only defense may be to buy as soon as I can.

It's the luck of the draw. My attorneys, probably all home owners, told me that I'd just have to pay higher deposits. That's not the case, at least not for me. If you're in a competitive rental market, your credit report can be the sole determining factor in whether you get a decent place to live.

The other thing to consider besides private owners of smaller complexes (I was able to find several of these) would be less desirable ones in a good area or apartments (since that's what you seem to want) that are further out. This is really a double-edged sword since if you're pushed too far out, holding or getting a job that allows you to support yourself well becomes harder and the need for the expense of a car increases as well, and so on.

I remember that after talking to multiple landlords I began testing the waters by asking them whether they'd consider someone like myself: bankrupt, good job, no evictions. Because it was really hard for me to talk about it with a stranger who could just as easily turn me down, I would only broach the topic if I really wanted the place. But I adopted this strategy after hearing multiple landlords complain about people who would fill out the application and then surprise them with a credit report showing evictions, lousy credit, and so on. They seemed to feel upset that the topic hadn't been brought up before the application was submitted. Whatever advice I'd received about being straightforward about my situation seemed on the money, though it didn't make it easier to bring up and may not have made much of a difference in the final outcome.

Keep your chin up. You'll find something. Until then, you may just have to try to get through more rejections. What I found in the end, was something pretty nice, btw. These days you might even find nicer places as a bankrupt tenant than you'd have a chance to own.

Try not to be too discouraged.

[empowered]

I just wanted to note that my experience in California, *before filing Chapter 13* differed from cssjoe's. California can be an extremely competitive rental market depending on where you are and what you're trying to rent. In my case, before the 13 was filed my credit report showed that I paid on time with no lates. I've also been a renter for decades and had a good job at the time. Nevertheless, I was turned away from numerous places and even excoriated by a landlord who had something of a holier-than-thou attitude -- and that was when I tried to move into a less desirable area to save money. I think the rental market is a real mixed bag when it comes to the state of your credit report and bankruptcy.

[tobee43]

well, i would still attempt to find someone that needs to share a house or apt...as a room mate...it may NOT be the idea situation.....however, it will NOT leave one homeless.

using a Private party and explaining eye to eye may be helpful. i wouldn't go via an agency that can rip you off even more. i would check the newspaper and find someone that may understand and just keep making calls.

we thought ahead and secured a place prior to filing...although, i know, hindsight is always 20/20....

[isabella]

Thank you all for your help and encouragement. I would not be moving if it were not for a new job in another state. This is my dream job and it pays WAY more than my current one.

I am making small progress. I have been targeting the smaller property management companies that take care of a few buildings. I have talked to some building managers on the phone and a few think that with my good income and rental history it should not be a problem. I have appts at three more places on Friday, all look good online, have good ratings at the different apartment review sites, all in decent parts of town. As Optimistic1 said it will be a roof over my head. Hopefully this is my break. :-)

[tobee43]

i wish you the best! post when you find out something..

[isabella]

Another day of searching but there is hope! Saw three places. One is a perfect unit, great building, great location. Doesn't think the BK will be a problem given my income and rental history, just might need a a full months rent deposit, but not totally sure Place #2 Good location ,nice unit no large deposit...I would be very happy here if #1 doesn't work out. #3 nice building, well maintained but a really slimy manager that just gave me the heebie-jeebies even before he said "since you haven't been at your new employer for three years, that is an automatic $4,000 deposit, regardless of rental history or income" and that was the cheapest of the places!

It has been a horrible long journey, but I finally feel better about things than I have in a few weeks