"Felony" friendly place to live? (Denver: rental, violent crime)

[cully]

Originally Posted by noideaforaUserName

thank you, correct me if I understood it wrong, but I do not think isolating our family from other people would be a good idea,i would say its a little bit offensive.. my husband is a fed worker, I recently finished grad school and we have a little toddler, i consider our family pretty nice, educated and well mannered. We do have perfect rent history for the past 5-6 years, steady income etc..its just the word felony on the background check from his late teens -thats the only thing that messes our apartment search up, not the actual "felon" habits, behavior etc

No, I"m talking about where house locations are less popular with the vast majority who like to live by shops and transportation and other neighbors and walk to school, etc. etc. (me, I could live on a mountain top on thousands of acres and I have no record). Therefore someone with trouble getting a house, as you have mentioned, would then be able to grab one up in areas less commonly attractive and therefore more commonly available with flexibility in price or qualifications. One could enjoy what that offers and build references if that is what one needs.

Many many people find creativity in home renting or home buying beneficial. Whether moving out a bit, offering to manage a community, offering to pay rent while a builder is considering what he's going to do with a beautiful property (that family that got the lake thought they had gone to heaven, felt like they were back home, not isolated at all because the builder was not planning to build in isolation - bad investment - his property was on a main road in a major city. As I said it turned into lots of townhouses. And lots of the old people who used to fish in the lake were invited by this family to continue. The family left home every day to go to the school down the road and shop nearby and socialize and work with multitudes all day long).

So creativity can be excellent for someone with even a little trouble getting a home because they have a record, or because it is their first home, or because they are young, or because they have a large family, or because they love lots of pets, or because they want peace and quiet, or because they have extended family with them, or because they want to play piano at normal timbre, or because their credit is recovering, or because they cannot commit to a year's lease but want a good home, or because they are moving from out of state and the locals want local references, or because they are building their own home and can't say how long it will take or because they really prefer to listen to opera in the evening at actual concert hall sound level and can get that if they have a at least some buffer from neighbors, etc. etc. etc. You mentioned you are having one of these issues.

[noideaforaUserName]

allright, so we just went ahead and googled managing companies, the ones that have little apartment complexes. We never lived in a big apartment complex, and I dont think we would have liked it. So we found a fourplex 2br updated apt in a Goldsmith neighborhood in our price range (which was raised to $950), emailed the manager shortly describing who we were. They did not turn us around after the word "felony", and suggested to do just my husbands background check first, but by looking at the provided by us info on his felony, when, where, and what it was about they said it should not be a problem at all since it was so long ago and no other charges after that. It was still pretty risky, but after reading lots of reviews about the agency(legit/not legit etc) and requesting lots of pictures of the apartment we went ahead and paid the deposit without physically seeing the place. I hope it turns out well, we will see in couple days!thank you all for your advises!!

[jamesdenver]

Thanks for the update - and best wishes to your family.

[Saykristen]

What was the management company that you found?

[Gator CPA]

There are some aspects of American society that are plain screwed up. The issue with the OP is an excellent example. For her and her family to be having such a problem over such an immaterial transgression is ridiculous. By those standards I probably should have been executed for some of the dumb stuff I did as a teen! Best of luck to you and your family.

[billyta2pan]

2 men on fixed incomes seeking 2bdr 1bath felons fixablecredit ! eviction in 53 years over a 400.00 dollar apt? Have a great referance jericho properties lake wood co. garanteed incomes Would like a chance/oppertunity to rent and get our lives back? [email]billyta2pan@Gmail.com[/email]

[smarino]

I would agree, avoid the large complexes and management companies. They are very inflexible and care only about their policies, right or wrong. The only thing I can suggest is just talk to people. Find rentals in craigslist, look for individuals that have rentals, possibly church associations (I am not religious, but this is still a good idea), etc. In other words, look to rent from actual people, not soulless corporations. As for buying I would not recommend that. You need to see if the town is going to work for you, see if the people are a good fit, see if the climate works, etc. If for any reason you decide to move, having a property that you need to sell is a BIG hassle and can cause a lot of stress. I know, we've done it. By just talking to people you avoid all that non refundable application business too. You, and the apartment/home owners, will see right away if things can be worked out or not. I'm sure they can, it's a matter of finding the right situation.

[Zaba]

Avoid anything 'corporate' where blanket policies are in play.

For whatever its worth, I wouldn't even care in the slightest if someone had an old and/or trivial charge. "Felony" has been cheapened to the point of being next to meaningless. Yes, it's a Pavlovian cue to idiots who are too stupid to comprehend nuance so they need little 'labels', unfortunately it is a pretty accurate loser-tenant weeder but not everyone is going to hold you over a barrel for it. If it was a major crime, that's different but yours doesn't sound like that.

Honestly, if someone was up front about it with me I'd view that as being hugely in their favor however I'm very aware of the reality of the situation, how being honest is essentially cutting your own throat 99 times of 100 and how the way things work in the real world doesn't match utopian theory, you may have to lie and just keep it to yourself.

[noideaforaUserName]

allright, so we have been living here at our new place for almost 2 months now and it did turn out very well. legit company that takes good care of their properties. while it was risky it did worth it! thank you all!

[JohnnyDenver]

Absolute b.s. as to the felony conviction and housing. First of all, he's if still a federal worker after picking up a felony or having that on his sheet and then being hired by the feds, what is the problem with someone renting to you. Most federal workers have to pass a strict background check by OPM, more intense than a rental check.

It's not a sex offense or violent crime.

Did he get a deferred judgment or take a suspended?

A deferred can be removed after the deferment period has been completed. If you still live in the state when he pled, you should contact an attorney about an expungement. Each state laws are different as to expungement are different.