After walking away w/ all your stuff....

[Blue_Ray]

After walking away w/ all your stuff from your house due to foreclosure, how hard was it to get into a rental?

What should be prepared when moving to your next hut?

Offer to the property manager 1st and last months rent?

We went out looked at some apartments and I can easily afford, but credit is going to be SO SHOT to heck that I am little worried even if we make good income to even move into a new place to live. We're worried that the property-manager might shoot us down.

Any tips??

[justbroke]

(Caveat the below with the fact that I walked away after filing Bankruptcy -- due to foreclosure -- but ended back up in my same home.)

After walking away w/ all your stuff from your house due to foreclosure, how hard was it to get into a rental?

It wasn't. I rented a single family residence. I have significant income. When my credit report was run, i explained what happened to the Landlord/Owner. He felt sorry for me... that was that. I didn't even need to deposit more than one month's rent. I moved in with a security deposit equal to one month's rent and the first month's rent. Your situation may vary.

What should be prepared when moving to your next hut?

START PACKING NOW! You should start packing 4-6 weeks before. While I was moving out of a 3,800sqft house (to a 2400sqft house), there were lots of boxes. We had a deal in the house that we would pack 2 boxes a day. This happened over a 6 week period. We had about 140 boxes in total, plus 5 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 4 living room sets, blah blah blah. That's a lot to move.

Offer to the property manager 1st and last months rent?

Some of this is controlled by State law. In many jurisdictions they can't collect "security" deposits greater than 1 or 2 months rent. What you offer is to pre-pay" a few months in advance. That's on top of security. However, I've been seeing where some "investors" (people who bought lots of rental properties) aren't even running credit if you come with first, last and one month's security. They do run "background" checks though.

We went out looked at some apartments and I can easily afford, but credit is going to be SO SHOT to heck that I am little worried even if we make good income to even move into a new place to live. We're worried that the property-manager might shoot us down.

Any tips??

Apartments are tough. Many are run by management companies that won't budge on their "standards". However, I've seen some that have relaxed their standards and understand this market.

I actually hedged my bet. I moved BEFORE I filed and BEFORE the Foreclosure Sale (was to take place). While I filed Bankruptcy 16 days alter, it was really moot. I wanted to have as clean of a credit report as possible. It's easy to explain the foreclosure. Just be honest.

Again, you may be able to go to a managed apartment complex and to the rental office and just be upfront. Start with the fact that you going into foreclosure and need a place for your family. Tell them about your REALLY STABLE JOB. They seem to like stable jobs (5 years or more) more than credit. Feel them our BEFORE you start offering months of pre-paid rent.

I want to add this too. Secure your apartment one, two, even three months in advance (some places do this). That is, that you apply up to 3 months before moving. Since your credit is run "today" rather than 3 months from now... you're okay! This is exactly why I secured my new rental home before filing for BK!

You never know.

[Hobbles]

I want to add this too. Secure your apartment one, two, even three months in advance (some places do this). That is, that you apply up to 3 months before moving. Since your credit is run "today" rather than 3 months from now... you're okay! This is exactly why I secured my new rental home before filing for BK!

You never know.

Oh, that's good info to know. I've never rented a house before and didn't think anyone would let us apply now and hold it for us for longer than a month at the most. I'll have to give that a try since we could move in within 3 months at this point. Thanks!

[justbroke]

Oh, that's good info to know. I've never rented a house before and didn't think anyone would let us apply now and hold it for us for longer than a month at the most. I'll have to give that a try since we could move in within 3 months at this point. Thanks!

While it's hard to find a house available in 3 months, there are some. This is where the landlord knows well in advance that the renters are leaving. Generally, though, rental homes show up 30-60 days before ready.

I will add that you have more luck with Craigslist and going direct to owners, rather than through any sort of Rental Management company.