Housing After BK

[nioka]

For many folks foreclosure follows bankruptcy and that leaves many wondering if they will be able to find a rental with the bk and foreclosure on their credit report.
I am in the sixty day club and eventually facing foreclosure. According to my attorney that could take 90 days or a few years to foreclose and he recommends staying as long as possible and saving all that I can. As I have never been though this before I find this situation a little nerve racking.
I turned to the web for informaton on renting after bk and I find dozens, or more, of lawyers stating that finding an apartment or house rental would not be a problem after filing bk except when dealing with major rental corporations. I also learned that since the housing bubble burst there has been a huge increase in bankruptcies and foreclosures so there are lots of people in the same boat. Another factor is that there are a lot of people out of work or working low paying jobs that do not meet income requirements for many rentals.
I called a few rentals simply to see what reaction I might get. The first one I talked to was a large complex manager. She told me that they would not accept anyone in process of bankruptcy but would after their bankruptcy was discharged. The next one I called, also a large complex, stated they would not rent to a person with a recent bankrupty but would after some time, (years), if their credit record improved. The third place was a mobile home park. The rep there told me they would be reluctant to rent to a person with a recent bankrupty but would consider it the person could put up extra security. He surprised me when he said he could help me if I wanted to buy a mobile home. (Reluctant to rent buy willing to sell)??? He said if I could put down $5k to $10k he could put me in a new MH regardless of my credit history.
I called others but I had to leave a message and am awaiting a call back.

About seven years ago I decided to move to another state and sold my home. As I didn't know what I was going to do I decided to rent for a while. I rented a townhouse in a large corporate owned complex managed by a single person. I paid $30 for the credit check and my application was accepted. After moving in I decided to take a look at my credit report and I went to the rental office and asked for a copy of the CR I just paid for and found they didn't have it. The manager told me that they never run a credit check on clean-cut looking folks and returned my money. However, when I moved in they would not take my personal check but instead insisted on a bank check.

I would like to hear how others who have been through bk, foreclosure managed to find a place to live.

[LadyInTheRed]

The third place was a mobile home park. The rep there told me they would be reluctant to rent to a person with a recent bankrupty but would consider it the person could put up extra security. He surprised me when he said he could help me if I wanted to buy a mobile home. (Reluctant to rent buy willing to sell)??? He said if I could put down $5k to $10k he could put me in a new MH regardless of my credit history.

That's not surprising. I bet he wasn't going to finance it. He was going to make a sale and knew a lender who would do the financing. Even if he was going to finance, if you put in a big enough down payment and then defaulted, he could foreclose on the MH and rent it or sell it to somebody else and perhaps still make a profit. If he rents to you and you don't pay your rent, he can evict you and then has to try to collect the unpaid rent which is more difficult than foreclosing on the collateral for the loan.

[Drazil65]

We had no problem renting after my husbands chapter 7. We ended up with a short sale on our primary about 7 months after the chp 7 was discharged. We rented a townhouse in a med size community with no problems. We did not say anything about the bankruptcy and our landlord never ran credit (we would have answered any questions she needed to ask if she had run credit) only did an employment verification to prove we were working. We looked for townhomes in particular and individually owned. Our rent is $500 cheaper than what our house payment was and we have an end unit, pool and tennis courts. All appliances were included and no yard work or fixing anything, lock it and leave it, we have been renting for 1.5 yrs now and love it!

[mynameainttracy]

We had no problem renting. We were just asked to pay a security deposit equal to 1/2 months rent.

[nioka]

I stopped by a local rental management company and asked about renting with a bankruptcy and foreclosure. I was told they have clients who are in the same situation therefore it would not be a problem. I was given an application a list of available rentals and instructions on the paperwork I would need.
They did say I would need a copy of my bk discharge. Previously I had talked to a rep from an apartment complex who told me they would not rent until the bk discharge was received. It appears that having the bk discharge is key to finding a place.

[joshuagraham]

That's not surprising. I bet he wasn't going to finance it. He was going to make a sale and knew a lender who would do the financing. Even if he was going to finance, if you put in a big enough down payment and then defaulted, he could foreclose on the MH and rent it or sell it to somebody else and perhaps still make a profit. If he rents to you and you don't pay your rent, he can evict you and then has to try to collect the unpaid rent which is more difficult than foreclosing on the collateral for the loan.

This is like a guy I know who has a used car lot. He buys cars with a ton of miles for like $1-1.5K, fixes them up for a few hundred $, and then sells them for $4-5K with $1K down and like 36% interest. As long as the car runs (and the owner remain alive!) the payments are always made. Even if the car breaks down, he can simply sell it again with $1K down again, etc.

[katztoo]

A friend who recently went through BK was able to rent a nice condo in a beautiful complex with a pool, security etc. They did not require a credit check as long as you had proof of a job making enough to afford the rent(pay stub). He did not mention his bk to them since they didn't ask. This was in Georgia.

[kornellred]

Bankruptcy is, for all intents and purposes, a non-issue when it comes to property rentals. Landlords and management entities are primarily concerned with a prospective renter's ability to afford the rental payments. Actually, bankruptcy makes it much more likely that a prospective renter or lessee can make payments with relative ease.
As someone who has been through bankruptcy twice (Chapter 7 in 1993 and a 5-year Chapter 13 bankruptcy completed in September 2012 - I can assure you that finding a place to park your bones is not a problem. You probably will have to settle for less than you desire, but that's a situation even people with no financial woes have to face on a routine basis.