Renting after a foreclosure (Eagan, Burnsville: short sale, rentals, evictions)

[wandie07]

Hi, my fianacee and I bought a home in the summer of 2008. Greatest time of our lives right? Well, 4 months after we moved in to our dream home, he was laid off from his job and has been ever since. Things were going ok at first, then in the fall everything started to snow ball. Our water heater broke down after the home warranty expired and both of our vehicles needed work done. In the mist of all of this, we got behind on our mortgage and now are facing foreclosure. This is something we don't want to do, but it is coming down to the fact that we just can't afford a $1541/mo mortgage payment. When we bought the house, together our income combined was over $100k/yr. Now, with him receiving uneployment and what I make, it is nowhere close to that. So now we are faced with trying to rent. Both of our credits are not the best, but we have no evictions and we have paid everything else on time. We just want to rent maybe a townhouse, house, or duplex by March 2010. We don't want to pay over $1,000. The goal is to try and save money. My fiancee will probably have to file for bankruptcy, so we want to save and hopefully his job will call him back and maybe in a couple of years we can try to buy again. This time we will be careful. Anyone have suggestions or know of any companies that rent to people in our situation? We would like to move to the Eagan, Burnsville, Apple Valley area.

Thanks!

[roseville lover]

When we had to move due to foreclosure the rental agencies worked with us. They said as long as everything else on your credit report is up to date, they will overlook the foreclosure.

[ET_MTB]

I hope every thing works out for you. A lot of people are in your situation. It sounds like you purchased a modest house that you could afford and the economy and some bad luck has put you in a tough situation. There are many people who brought to much house for the money they make. Good luck and happy new year.

[uptown_urbanist]

I'd look for the places that you like and would like to rent, then ask the landlord directly. The rental market seems to be pretty slow right now, so you might people willing to give you a chance. I think it will be even easier if you can offer up first and last month's rent in addition to security deposit. Do you have good references from your last rental?

You could try posting a non-location specific question on the rental forum to see if the landlords there can give you some good advice on how to present yourselves in the most positive light possible. You're certainly not the only ones out there in this situation. Good luck!

[golfgal]

Have you checked with your mortgage company about refinancing? Most companies have programs now to help people in your situation. Something worth looking into before you file.

[wandie07]

First of all, thanks for all of the feedback. After speaking to our realtor, we have decided to try and short sale our home. It will be better than going into foreclosure. My fiancee is the only one on the loan, so without a job, he would not be able to refiance or do a loan modification process. We just think it will be better this way. Our realtor advised us to stay in the home at least until the summer just to make sure things don't go haywire in the home for example pipes bursting. We want to make sure the home will be in great shape to sell. We will be prepared to pay extra when we go to rent. We just worry we are going to be stuck living in some dump because of this situation. I have a feeling the short sale won't look as bad on the credit score as a foreclosure. Any thoughts?

[maxxoccupancy]

Try naca.com They help you get all of your paperwork together and will negotiate a loan modification. They are a non-profit and don't charge anything for their HomeSave program. I'm working with them, right now. All they do is get your mortgage payments down to about 31% of your income (averaged out over two years, I think). You should also go directly through the bank (if they have a loan mod program), and consider filing for Chapter 13 as a backup. You may have to let your credit cards go (not pay them), and just focus on keeping your house. Also, don't be afraid to take the night shift at a convenience store--just to have some extra income on the side to help with the whole process. Loan mod usually stops the foreclosure process--as long as they don't already have an auction date. Even if they auction your home off, you may be able to get "cash for keys," which is usually an offer of $2-3k just to take care of the house until it's ready for auction.

[Robert P Stewart]

wandie07 - it sounds like you got pretty good advice.

In Minnesota with our redemption statutes, one can live in a home without making a payment for about 12 months before the sheriff comes a knockin' - although it does vary by situation. 12 months is the shortest I've seen.

[wandie07]

Thanks for the advice everyone. We put the house up for short sale this past Monday and we already have an offer. Did not think it was going to happen that soon. But we are happy. We tried to do everything we could before putting the house up for short sale. Since the house is in my fiancee's name and he only has unemployment as income, these loan modification companies and the bank basically said he needed a job to qualify. Besides, I know some other folks that did do a loan modification and they are still waiting for an answer and they put in their request in back in May 09. We just don't have time for that. Also, I think even if my fiancee did not get laid off, we were going to eventually sell the house as we just did not warm up to being in Cottage Grove. We much prefer the south metro. We only bought the house because it was close to his job. We have been checking around for rentals, and I think we won't have any problems renting.