Don't want to take job if we can't find a place to live. (Irvine: fit in, real estate)

[Hoping2Move]

Hi everyone,

Well our story is probably not new. My husband had a great job with a solid six figure salary and during the bust last fall his company shut down his division.

Now up to that point we had stellar credit. We had a good amount in savings. We assumed it would take 3 months to find a new position. It has taken almost a year. In that time we have liquidated all of our savings and investment account and used every bit of credit to get by. Up until May, we were able to keep on top of our payments but with maxed out cards and rates continually being raised we fell behind.

Currently, we are current never late on our house payment, no judgements or evictions, we are current never late on utilities. We are current never late on our car payments. The only thing we are late on is our credit cards. We basically have had to choose between food and shelter or paying on our cards. Something had to give.

We tried for months to get help from our credit card companies with either temp lower rates or a forebarrence of some sort. We have been denied help on everything. They basically told us because we were current they would not help us. We then paid late and were told they wouldn't help us until we were current. Nice run around.

Now we finally have a job offer that will transfer us to Orange County. Our house will be sold and we will rent in OC (couldn't afford a house if we had stellar credit). His job will be in the solid six figures with a strong company. The company doesn't care about his credit because it is obvious it was due to job loss. They advised us to take the job, move and file BK to start over.

We are conflicted. We really need this job but we don't want to take it if we will be homeless or stuck in an apartment with 2 kids and a dog. We don't need a big house but we do need good schools and a kid friendly area.

How hard will it to find a home to rent with our current credit issue? Will a landlord or leasing company understand??

[bhcompy]

Individual/private landlords(which are common in most of OC) will have a lot better time understanding than a big prop management co like The Irvine Company. I never had your problem, but I have negotiated with individual landlords on other issues that were contentious with our application with success. You may have to take an apartment though. What city will the job be in?

[Hoping2Move]

Thank you so much for your reply. His job will be in Irvine. If we take this position, the company pays relocation and sets us up with a Realtor. We are hoping that a realtor would be able to negotiate on a house for us to rent but don't want to set ourselves or a realtor up for failure if the rental climate is a definite no.

We have friends there and they say that more people than admit are suffering and their credit is being affected. They say that since we have stellar credit up until about 5 months after layoff and still have good secured credit that some landlords will understand. We haven't discussed the relo details with the company but we are hoping that the company will step in and rent something for us to begin with and hope it is a house. They do put people in corporate housing and since we have kids and a dog we hope it isn't an apartment.

We have little kids so we will decline the position if we won't find a decent place to live besides an apartment.

We have looked online at Ladera Ranch, Coto and Irvine. Our monthly budget for rental would be approx. $3000k a month.

[missionhome]

Mission Viejo has nice single family homes for $3000 per month or less in rent. It is a safe community, family friendly with good schools, and close enough to Irvine to be a good commute (closer than Coto or Ladera Ranch).

Check out pictures of MV in the "Pictures of Orange County thread" and search some other posts about the city. Let me know if you need more details.

[Hoping2Move]

Thank you Missionhome,

I do love Mission Viejo. We actually used to live up north of LA and we drove to meet friends and attend Mariners Church. We want to be close to church and I remember MV quite well but not neighborhoods.

With our recent layoff and history will we be able to find a rental or will we be turned away because of it??? We would like to find a long-term rental.

[bhcompy]

I would hesitate to rent anywhere in Ladera Ranch or Coto. The houses are too new and too many people are getting swindled out of deposits and rent by rental owners in foreclosure. You'll have better luck in MV and Irvine, and your rent will probably fit in MV. You may want to check parts of Aliso Viejo and Lake Forest as well if you want that upscale south OC lifestyle

[Hoping2Move]

Thank you for the warning. We wondered about that. I do love the Ladera area because we have such young children but I am thinking either Irvine or MV would probably be best. I am not familiar with AV or LF but if the schools are good then I am open.

Thanks for all the input. We love it out there and would really like to come back. If we have to rebuild after the devastating layoff then we would rather rebuild out there.

I don't care what anyone says, you get what you pay for when it comes to where you live. We have lived in several states and the states that cost more, cost more for a reason. They are nicer to live in.

[missionhome]

Originally Posted by Hoping2Move

Thank you for the warning. We wondered about that. I do love the Ladera area because we have such young children but I am thinking either Irvine or MV would probably be best. I am not familiar with AV or LF but if the schools are good then I am open.
.

Aliso Viejo and Lake Forest are both nice too. Check them out. Aliso Viejo schools are very good, Lake Forest schools are great to so so (there are a few you might want to avoid).

[Karen Balkin]

Hi there,

As a real estate consultant, I have some positive insights for you. Landlords want renters they can count on and trust. Even if your background check displays low credit scores and collections, going ahead and explaining to a prospective landlord that you can pay your rent on time and what your unpaid bills are about can help you immensely.

I just went through this with clients of mine whose renter lost her job. I advised them to take up their renter's proposal to lower her rent until she got back on her feet, and they did. The renter had had a stellar record of paying on time for 20 years, she just needed a break. For my clients they didn't have months of a vacancy and they helped someone out for a time.

So be upfront and tell landlords all about your great history of paying bills and mortgage on time. Individual landlords are interested in your character. They are people, too!

Good luck! There is a rainbow behind the clouds, hang in there!

Karen

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[Hoping2Move]

Thank you Karen!

We really want to take this job but we are obviously thinking of our kids first. I appreciate the encouraging words and do always believe that honesty takes us the farthest.

Missionhome your pictures are great! It reminds me of why we would like to be back. There is just no place like orange county.

Thank you!!! Everyone has been so helpful.