rent to people just filed bankrupcy?

Question

I have a couple who are very imotivated in renting my property. The husband just get promoted and need to relocate to our area.They have stable income and most of things looked right. However, they just filed bankrupcy March 2011.
Should I consider them or absolutly no.
Thanks very much for any of your suggestion!

Robert Littke · Answer

Its getting harder and harder to tell good tenants by foreclosure and bankruptcy history. You have to dig a little deeper than a credit score. There are other indicators if you know what questions to ask and what to look for. I personally like short answers to tough questions, with eye contact. that tells me a lot.

Nate Worcester · Answer

Personally, if their income checks out and they have a verifiable rental history, I would rent to them. But i would get at least a double deposit.

Johnson H. · Answer

You have to be careful with speaking to the prior landlord because if the renters aren't paying, the landlord could lie their butt off to help them move!

Joel Owens · Answer

Actually the ones with a discharged bankruptcy are some of the best because they have almost zero debt and can more easily pay the rent.

The ones you have to watch out for are the ones carrying a ton of debt barely treading water.One little thing goes wrong and and it will all fall like a ton of bricks.

Now if they habitually filed bankruptcy that might say something.You can look up bankruptcies and history of people online using the national system.

If they have little to no money for a deposit ,bad credit,and want to move in on the weekend and say they love the place without asking questions..........RUN

Marc Heflin · Answer

My best renter is a person who filed BK. I have had him over 2 years and has never been late. He does all the minor repairs himself, and take great care of the property. 
He had to file BK due to his loan being a recourse loan and he went into foreclosure.
He wanted a place that he could treat as his 'own' and I have 0 issues with him. 
That said I would look at why they filed BK and see if it passes the sniff test.

Mitch Stephen · Answer

I think everything comes from the gut on this one...yes, you can verify some things but a fifteen minute discussion about what happened can do more to help you make the decision. I leary of people that bame everything on everyone esle. there are reason that are legit; death, ilness, accidents with injury etc., etc....but it can be hard to seperate fact from fiction.

William D. · Answer

One thing to keep in mind, under the Code once you file BK and have debts discharged you are prohibited from filing BK again (assuming it was a Ch 7) for 8 years. This is why credit card companies are so willing to lend to a discharged debtor. Your bet is safer because the threat of a discharge is gone.

If you have someone who recently filed a BK and have the income to support the rent then I would think they would be a good tenant. I would not let the BK aspect influence me (assuming everything else checks out). A decent place to live with a fair rental value is very valuable to them because they wont be getting a mortgage anytime soon given the BK filing.

While I agree with some of the posts above, BK filers, especially serial BK filers, definitely know the system. I would check PACER to see their BK filing history as part of your regular credit check.

Phil C. · Answer

How is the area you are trying to rent and do you have other (better) candidates?

When we are looking at potential renters we put much more emphasis on Income and Rental history.

"As the couple do seem to be in need for a home"

This is irrelevant.

With 3 years of good rental history I would be welcoming them with open arms...as long as their background checks out.

Phil

Rich Weese · Answer

I would normally rent to them also with little hesitation. Rich

Chris G. · Answer

This is who renters are! People who rent are renting for a reason.

Obviously people are losing their houses, so what do you expect? A lot of people will have BK's on their record. They still need to live some where.
I would definitely rent to them, especially with the news (hopefully legitimate) that they are getting a promotion.

rent to people just filed bankrupcy?

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