Landlords: Would you rent to a family who had been foreclosed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some people foreclose on a house for different reasons. My mom foreclosed on a house, Detroit-area though, but always paid her mortgage on time. She had gotten ripped off by a contractor and she didn't have the money to re-do the repairs. Had to let the house go. Anyway, some people foreclose for different reasons.

Still not a good history , except she blames others

+1

[Anonymous]

I would want to know why the foreclosure happened and whether there are any other delinquencies in their credit history. The fact that the rent you are charging is similar to the mortgage they couldn't pay is not a great sign, but then, how long ago did the foreclosure happen? Was there a job loss, illness, divorce, or similar that caused them to go through a rough time? What is their income stream and other debt looking like right now? If they can satisfactorily explain the foreclosure, have an otherwise good credit history, and have steady income now, I would lean toward giving them a chance.

[Anonymous]

1/2 a year's lease up front

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way!! History of not paying bills is very important to me. I don't appreciate people living in a house while someone else foots the bill.

I did, great decision and here's why.
We decided to do it because the husband was a very high-paid attorney in a specialized industry (this is not a home in the DC area FWIW), they had a $3M home....lost it due to his job loss. they held on to it for as long as possible, paid all of their other bills. They lived in the same neighborhood as our home. had friends in the same neighborhood. Their goal was to rebuild their lives and their credit. we asked for first and last month PLUS security deposit. They have been in the house 5 yrs and have never not paid their rent. they take good care of the home.
if you think about it, they are a sure bet as they have no where to go! cant get a mortgage, kids go to neighborhood schools, cant afford to move....

he is an attorney you are fucked when they move out. I would avoid renting to an attorney especially one that weasel ed his way out of his debt.

This. I was gonna call troll on that PP saying they rented to a "high-paid attorney". Any landlord with any iota of experience knows you DO NOT rent to lawyers... especially in DC. Avoid the nightmare!!!

[Anonymous]

I would rent to a family who had been foreclosed on assuming they could explain the circumstances, had good references, and had a steady income. I would not rent to an attorney under any circumstance.

[Anonymous]

We rented once to a foreclosed & bankruptcy case once. But, it was also part of a divorce & business going under. So it was just the single adult from what use to be a family for our condo. He was the best renter we had, but only last a short time. Since he was very focused on recovery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way!! History of not paying bills is very important to me. I don't appreciate people living in a house while someone else foots the bill.

I did, great decision and here's why.
We decided to do it because the husband was a very high-paid attorney in a specialized industry (this is not a home in the DC area FWIW), they had a $3M home....lost it due to his job loss. they held on to it for as long as possible, paid all of their other bills. They lived in the same neighborhood as our home. had friends in the same neighborhood. Their goal was to rebuild their lives and their credit. we asked for first and last month PLUS security deposit. They have been in the house 5 yrs and have never not paid their rent. they take good care of the home.
if you think about it, they are a sure bet as they have no where to go! cant get a mortgage, kids go to neighborhood schools, cant afford to move....

he is an attorney you are fucked when they move out. I would avoid renting to an attorney especially one that weasel ed his way out of his debt.

This. I was gonna call troll on that PP saying they rented to a "high-paid attorney". Any landlord with any iota of experience knows you DO NOT rent to lawyers... especially in DC. Avoid the nightmare!!!

Explain the nightmare.. I'm not a lawyer or a landlord?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1/2 a year's lease up front

Good idea

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would rent to a family who had been foreclosed on assuming they could explain the circumstances, had good references, and had a steady income. I would not rent to an attorney under any circumstance.

Wow, seriously? Why? My DH and I are both JDs and while we have been homeowners for several years now, when we were renting we thought that being professionals was a plus when applying to rent a place -- educated, quiet, steady income, etc. And we never had trouble securing a rental even though we had pets back then. What are the negative assumptions people make about attorneys? I'm assuming it has something to do with worrying about being sued or nitpicked about repairs? Plenty of attorneys are nice, normal people, you know -- we don't have horns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Property manager here.

You have to read more into a family's foreclosure. Many families simply bought at the peak of the market and screwed up. But, they still have income.

That's the key - INCOME. If the family can show they have steady income that can pay for the rent then (if the rest of their financials are okay) it's okay to lease to them. The main focus is on steady income.

Would you rent to someone who is unemployed, has great credit, lots of cash savings (enough to pay rent for years) but is unemployed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would rent to a family who had been foreclosed on assuming they could explain the circumstances, had good references, and had a steady income. I would not rent to an attorney under any circumstance.

Wow, seriously? Why? My DH and I are both JDs and while we have been homeowners for several years now, when we were renting we thought that being professionals was a plus when applying to rent a place -- educated, quiet, steady income, etc. And we never had trouble securing a rental even though we had pets back then. What are the negative assumptions people make about attorneys? I'm assuming it has something to do with worrying about being sued or nitpicked about repairs? Plenty of attorneys are nice, normal people, you know -- we don't have horns.

I think not wanting to rent to an attorney is a mistake. I am an attorney and the good thing about us is we know we have to follow the lease terms. An attorney would never pay a stupid question like "can I let my security deposit be last months rent?"

[Anonymous]

Ask, not pay

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way!! History of not paying bills is very important to me. I don't appreciate people living in a house while someone else foots the bill.

I did, great decision and here's why.
We decided to do it because the husband was a very high-paid attorney in a specialized industry (this is not a home in the DC area FWIW), they had a $3M home....lost it due to his job loss. they held on to it for as long as possible, paid all of their other bills. They lived in the same neighborhood as our home. had friends in the same neighborhood. Their goal was to rebuild their lives and their credit. we asked for first and last month PLUS security deposit. They have been in the house 5 yrs and have never not paid their rent. they take good care of the home.
if you think about it, they are a sure bet as they have no where to go! cant get a mortgage, kids go to neighborhood schools, cant afford to move....

he is an attorney you are fucked when they move out. I would avoid renting to an attorney especially one that weasel ed his way out of his debt.

This. I was gonna call troll on that PP saying they rented to a "high-paid attorney". Any landlord with any iota of experience knows you DO NOT rent to lawyers... especially in DC. Avoid the nightmare!!!

Christ!! Why is that just about every time I post something on DCUM I'm called a troll?
If you read my post, you would see that I specifically said that the house is NOT in the DC area...the house is in a landlord-friendly state/county. Also, we have $10K of their money in first, last and security deposit AND they are very tightly connected in the neighborhood....have been living in the home for 5 years and have never missed a payment.

Also, kind of prejudiced to say to not rent to lawyers. Dontcha think? So all lawyers are the same....right?

I bet there are a ton of stories from landlords who rented to supposed "perfect tenants" i.e, great income, stellar credit and got royally screwed. So far, I'm the winner on this one.