Apartment rental nightmare

[freeme0215]

Hi,

I recently left my home and moved to another state...

I have been looking for an apartment and am up front before I even see the apartment and state I am in a chapter 13, I am in year 4 of a 5 year plan, always on time with payments..but I have gotten a most unexpected response...

Do I have a letter from my attorney stating that I cannot add creditors after the Ch 13 was confirmed.

When I ask why they want this letter, they say it would be better if I had a CH 7 and it was closed then a 13.

At this point, I am not sure how I am going to rent an apartment, the homes I have looked to rent so far also have the OH no a CH 13...

I cannot add a creditor after the BK was comfirmed,where the debit was amassed after the ch 13 confirmation correct???????

I also have no rental history as I owed my home for the past 12 years...that is also giving them pause.

I have tried to also pay extra security, no go

Anyone know what I can do????

Thanks

[angel7821]

Are you working with rental companies? If so maybe try a private person instead of an agency. I have read posts from folks on here that were able to rent when they went with a private person. Other than that can't think of anything to help you. Best of luck on your situation.

[LadyInTheRed]

When working with private persons, you might want to wait until a potential landlord says they want to run a credit check before telling them about your BK. Some won't bother with a credit check and there is no point in spooking them if you don't need to.

As far as the letter you are being asked for, it sounds like they want to make sure you can't default on a post-petition lease and have the unpaid rent discharged in your existing case. It may be difficult to collect on a judgement while you are in Chap 13, but the debt would not be dischargeable in the current case. Ask your lawyer if he will write a letter for you that will give a landlord some comfort. The property owners really should be consulting with their own attorneys to understand the implications of renting to somebody in a Chap 13.

Re rental history, usually if you owned your home, a potential landlord looks at whether you paid your mortgage payments on time.

[bcohen]

Re rental history, usually if you owned your home, a potential landlord looks at whether you paid your mortgage payments on time.

For most people who once owned a home, but now do not, I suspect the answer to that would be "no", and this is really an "apples to oranges" comparison. It is not clear that a person's unwillingness to keep paying an underwater mortgage is a good indicator of whether they will pay rent on time or not.

[magic13]

Go to trulia . com for the area that you are looking to rent in. Ask the same question on that site and you will get agents who are willing to represent you, not at your cost but the agent fees goes to the landlord. ( you can tip them in case you need them in the future) All you have to do is sell yourself to the realtor and they will sell you to the landlord. When we surrendered our home a realtor we found on Trulia located a nice condo for us to rent in a upscale suburb. They also told us that most landlords and creditors look back only two years and you have been in your chapter 13 four years.

[filingin08]

When we looked for a place to rent we were told as long as we were in an active bankruptcy places would not rent to us. Even the cheap, rundown places. One privately owned place wanted two months rent and the one we're in now wanted one month (it's nicer). We found the privately owned through looking on CraigsList and then driving around we found a sign on a corner. Good luck! It's a stressful time, I know.

[mynameainttracy]

I guess we were lucky. We had no problems when we were only 1 year into our Ch. 13 plan. We just had to pay 1/2 months rent as a security deposit. Then when we moved out of state last year, we had more issues with being dog owners than our credit. We ended up renting a house from an individual and were completely upfront and honest with him about our financial background. He rented to us with no conditions.

[tobee43]

we rented before we filed. since we stopped paying the mortgage but it hadn't been recorded on our CR yet we thought that would be the best way to get a YES. what also helped was it was a far off relative of someone in the family. we paid 6 months in advance they were happy we were happy. at the time we didn't even have to use our names for the utilities.

[niko]

I moved several times during my chapter 13, i had only one time trouble. I let the rental agency know i have active chapter 13 and they said not a problem. But when they check my credit, their computer denied me, and they said sorry we cannot approve you. I had to file a complaint with federal housing agency and they immediately refunded me. Before i pay any application fee, i would ask in written that they will not deny based on your bankruptcy. Private people would be better. Check realtor dot com or trulia dot com. If you do not live in a major city, houses and apartment price difference may not be big. Good Luck and do not give up!

[magic13]

I moved several times during my chapter 13, i had only one time trouble. I let the rental agency know i have active chapter 13 and they said not a problem. But when they check my credit, their computer denied me, and they said sorry we cannot approve you. I had to file a complaint with federal housing agency and they immediately refunded me. Before i pay any application fee, i would ask in written that they will not deny based on your bankruptcy. Private people would be better. Check realtor dot com or trulia dot com. If you do not live in a major city, houses and apartment price difference may not be big. Good Luck and do not give up!

When you moved, did you have to modify your plan to account for the potential cost difference or did you just tell your attorney. What was the process. Thanks

[mynameainttracy]

In our case we notified our attorney when we moved (then he notified the trustee) but our trustee was awesome and never messed with our plan through job changes and moves. That said, I think our trustee is not the norm and it definitely depends on who you have.

[niko]

When you moved, did you have to modify your plan to account for the potential cost difference or did you just tell your attorney. What was the process. Thanks

All of my moves was for better pay grade. I let the attorney know and notified the trustee by change of address. They monitored my income every year by requesting my paystubs etc. Interestingly they never ask more money from me. They kept everything same.

[kjrmom911]

I separated from hubby about 4 months ago, we are still in a chapter 13. 1 1/2 years to go. I had a difficult time finding a place to rent also. I think most people do not understand a 13. There is also the possibility that you could dismiss the 13 and convert to a 7 and I am sure that has happened before. The place I ended up getting is nice and I had to pay the double the security deposit, but at least I will have rental history now AFTER I filed my 13.