Life After Eviction

When I was evicted from my apartment in February of 2009, I wasn't sure what to do. I had found a place that I liked that was reasonably priced and explained my situation. The apartment manager seemed very understanding and willing to accept additional deposit money. I filled out the application, paid the application fee and deposit. I then received a call from the manager saying that they would not be able to rent to me. I even offered to pay 6 months rent to no avail. My deposit was returned without the application fee. I was disappointed to say the least. Now here I was moving to another city feeling down and out and with nowhere to live. But believe it or not, there is 'life after eviction'. While you may think you'll never be able to rebuild your rental history after you've been evicted, but that couldn't be further than the truth. There are ways to prepare yourself for the inevitable, if it gets to that point.
    
     Use the time you have wisely. If you know PRIOR to being late on your rent that you won't be able to pay it on time,if at all. Now is the time to start looking around for another place. If you have had good rental history and a good relationship with your landlord until now, they will have nothing negative to say about you as a tenant at this point, because you have yet to miss your rent payment. In this situation, time is on your side and the sooner you start looking, the better. Even if the eviction process has already started, don't give up. All is not lost.

     With the flood of homes on the market, many homeowners unable to sell their homes are forced to rent them out. Add this to the units already available for rent either through apartment complexes or individually owned homes and you will find that there are plenty of landlords out there willing to give you a second chance.

     Compile a list of properties that you are interested in. Make an appointment and take a tour. Sometimes explaining your situation face to face works better than just calling on the phone and asking if they rent to people with an eviction. First response is almost always a big fat NO!! But it's harder to say no to someone that you've built a connection with. They may be more willing to hear your side of the story. That is not to say you won't still be rejected, that is still a possibility.  There will always be those who under no circumstance will rent to someone with an eviction. You just have to keep searching until you find the person that will.

     That is exactly what I had to do. Now luckily, my family and I had somewhere to stay for a few months while I figured things out. I knew I would be receiving my tax refund soon and have a little extra money if needed so I started the apartment hunt again. I found a place I liked, took a tour and filled out the application. Crossing my fingers of course. I received a call from the leasing agent saying that my application had been rejected.....again!  I talked to the manager to plead my case, explaining in detail my situation. She agreed to accept my application with 2 months rent as deposit. So although it cost a little more upfront, I was able to begin the process of rebuilding my rental history. Now one and a half years later, I have put positive space between myself and my last apartment building positive rental in the process.  So you see, there is life after eviction!