Housing After Bankruptcy Questions

[myo1974]

Hi Everyone,

Our Ch7 Bk was discharged right before Christmas this year (nice present!). It was such a relief...but now a new kind of stress has popped up...

We surrendered our home in the bankruptcy and as we live in NJ our attorney tells us we most likely have at least 2 years before anything is actually done with it. However, we don't want to wait that long to move.

We are looking to relocate to another state by the end of the summer (the company I work for has offices up and down the east coast and I have spoken with my boss who says it won't be a problem for me to do my job in another location). Now we are in the process of trying to find a place to live.

Does anyone have any experiences they can share regarding 1. renting a house after ch 7 and/or 2. renting a house in another state. This is all new to me...I still live in the town where I grew up but I am ready to make this change!

Thank you!!!

[Blossoms]

My husband and I are currently in our second Chapter 7 bankruptcy, first one filed in 2003.

We've rented two houses since then. One from 2006-2013, and the house we're living in now, which we just moved into last August. I've found that it's best to be upfront with a potential landlord about a bankruptcy, before they pull your credit (if they are going to pull it). They'll appreciate the honestly. If it was caused by circumstances beyond your control, like job loss or illness, let them know that. Most will understand.

From my experience, it's not impossible to rent after bankruptcy, as long as you have a steady income sufficient to pay the rent, stable employment history, and no eviction record.

Some landlords might want a larger security deposit due to the bankruptcy. The two landlords my husband and I have rented from since our first bankruptcy only wanted a regular one month's security deposit, and first month's rent. My brother who has bad credit however, and a prior bankruptcy, moved with his family recently to another rental home, and had to come up with two months' rent for a security deposit, plus first and last month's rent. So it really depends on the landlord.

Additionally, I think it's generally easier to rent from a small time, private landlord, if you have poor credit, or a bankruptcy, then it is to rent from a large property management company.

Hope this helped. Good luck!

[Drazil65]

Hi, we discharged in March 2011 and did a stay and pay on our primary home in this state (surrendered our home in our home state of Ohio over 2 yrs ago when we filed). We decided to surrender the home (actually ended up doing a short sale) here about 6 months after discharge. We had zero issues with renting a townhouse in our area (we were also approved for 2 other single family homes). We did stick with private landlords only and found that they were much more interested in our employment history than anything else. You will get a feel for how they operate and what is important after talking with them and then can decide how much info they need up front. Our landlord never pulled credit because our employment history satisfied her.

On the job transfer and moving to another state idea, we did it for a job transfer in 2007 (Ohio to NC) and the company paid for the entire relocation. Keep in mind it is quite expensive to move in general but relocating to another state is very expensive. So, I would suggest that you take your time as you will be able to save a lot of money if you are not paying for mortgage or rent. You will need all the moving expenses PLUS a decent cushion as there are many things that will come up in the process that you do not expect. The last thing you want to do is not have the money and have to resort to credit cards after just going through a chapter 7. This is your chance to start fresh and make better decisions this time around. So as moving to another state may be a good decision in the long run, take your time and be strategic in your planning. Take advantage of the opportunity to save a lot of money by not paying for rent/mortgage. Good Luck!

[twiz88]

Hi Everyone,

Our Ch7 Bk was discharged right before Christmas this year (nice present!). It was such a relief...but now a new kind of stress has popped up...

We surrendered our home in the bankruptcy and as we live in NJ our attorney tells us we most likely have at least 2 years before anything is actually done with it. However, we don't want to wait that long to move.

We are looking to relocate to another state by the end of the summer (the company I work for has offices up and down the east coast and I have spoken with my boss who says it won't be a problem for me to do my job in another location). Now we are in the process of trying to find a place to live.

Does anyone have any experiences they can share regarding 1. renting a house after ch 7 and/or 2. renting a house in another state. This is all new to me...I still live in the town where I grew up but I am ready to make this change!

Thank you!!!

My Bk ch. 7 case was discharged on 10/9/13. My lease ends 3/31/14 I decided to to apply for an apartment (Jan. 2014) with Home Properties and I got approved with the lowest deposit $250 I will be moving in a bigger apartment in April. I was so worried if I was to get approved based on my BK filing.

[memama]

Some people have issues, others do not. We did not have an issue with renting in another state after we filed bankruptcy in 2012. In our town, most landlords manage their properties themselves, so most people have different requirements. We were completely up-front with our current landlords about our pending bankruptcy and they did not have a problem. However, I do get nervous about moving and not being able to find a place to live. Luckily our credit was impeccable until we filed bankruptcy-never missed a payment prior to filing. So, we do have that on our side and they can see that we don't make a habit of not making good on our obligations. My best advice would be to give yourself plenty of time to find a place and if you're really nervous, try going through a private party, not a rental company