You do not own your own home. As you file for bankruptcy, this at first appears to be a positive. You don’t have to worry about losing your house if you don’t have a mortgage to begin with. There seems to be less at stake, making it easier for you to use bankruptcy without altering your lifestyle very much.
Quickly, though, you start to wonder about your ability to rent. Is a bankruptcy filing going to make it impossible to get another home or apartment? You need somewhere for you and your family to live, and you don’t want to jeopardize that.
You absolutely can
You can definitely still rent after you declare bankruptcy. Remember, what landlords are looking for is your ability to pay the rent in the future, not what may have happened in the past.
For instance, perhaps you lost your job and that’s what forced you into bankruptcy. You couldn’t make ends meet with your new job, which came with a pay cut. However, after eliminating your debt with bankruptcy, you now have plenty of money to make the monthly rent payments. That’s what your landlord wants to see when deciding if they should rent to you.
A few tactics to rent if it becomes difficult include:
- Agreeing to put down more money up front as a security deposit.
- Proving that you do have a new job and that your financial challenges are behind you.
- Finding landlords who do not run a credit check.
- Improving your credit by paying all bills on time, spending money on a secured credit card and the like.
- Living with a roommate who also has a job and has a higher credit score.
- Getting references to back up your statements about being in a new place financially and professionally.
Many people rent successfully after bankruptcy. In many ways, renting with no debt is actually easier than renting if you have overwhelming debt in other areas. Find out exactly what legal options you have and how you can prepare for your financial future.
