It has been reported that 2010 was the worst year for homes sales in 47 years! Even then the majority of the home sales were foreclosure/distressed sales. What is it going to take to return to a modest sales year? Is 2011 going to be better? What can make it better?
You know as a property manager of over 200 homes I have seen the quality of even renters go down the tubes. To find a good tenant you sometimes have to turn down anywhere from 5-8 applicants that just really can't qualify. Much of this can be avoided. It's not just one thing. Many have evictions (several of them) and the list goes on and on. How are these people going to be able to rent forget about purchase? People need to start putting their lives back together. They need to understand that the choices they are making are going to hurt them for many years to come.
It is completely understandable when life has hit you hard with a job loss, reduction in pay etc. that you have some difficult times financially. But always walking away from your responsibilities is not a good choice. If you show some responsibility it can make a huge difference when someone needs to make a decision on whether to rent to you or not. Also one day hopefully you want to be able to put your life back together again and have that American dream of home ownership. It can be done. When you stop feeling sorry for yourself and start on a plan of rebuilding your life, it can and it will happen for you.
Some of the pitfalls to avoid if you are a complete mess in your financial responsibilities?
- Pay your utility bills! One of the biggest red flags on your credit is a utility bill that is in collections. Pay it off. Then never let that happen again. I am telling you right now that this alone can get you a turned down application.
- Pay your cell phone bills. Again for the same reasons as above. This is an everyday bill that you need and should always be current with. We know how important this communication tool is to people so if you are irresponsible on how you pay this bill, it can hurt you big time.
- Evictions- Most evictions can be avoided, period. Don't just push your limits. Most landlords understand that circumstances that lead you to not pay your rent happen. It's how you handle it that makes for eviction most times. If you call and explain your circumstances and then even if you feel you have to leave, do it the right way. Surrender your keys to your landlord/property manager. That will avoid an eviction. Don't try to go a month or two living in the home not paying the rent, that is sure to get you an eviction. So now you may be faced with an eviction, how do you find a place to live? In most cases you will have to find someone that will guarantee the rent to be paid (co-signer), a much higher security deposit. Ask about our programs that we offer at AAA Realty LLC that can help put you in a home even with a prior eviction.
- Previous Landlords- We check them. We will find out if you lie. We have ways of determining by tax records and other public records if you try to hide your previous landlords. Putting that you live with your parents or a friend, relative is a huge red flag to us. We will assume that you are hiding something and we will do our due dilligence to see if we uncover a lie. If we do, you will not only deny your application, we will also keep all your deposits because you lied and wasted our time. It's in the application. It's a serious matter. There is usually things that can be worked out so you don't leave on bad terms with your landlord. Always passing the blame just won't work. As soon as we are told all the horible things about your landlord, our antente goes up. We want to see if this is credible and make sure it is not just an excuse to not pay, etc. In most cases, let me just say, this is the case. It is in your best interest to have a good relationship with your landlord/agent.
- Employment- We verify. We want to see that you have some stability. Jumping from job to job and having time inbetween is not a good thing. We understand that times are tough and people are losing jobs. That is completely understandable. We look back over 2 years. We want to see some stability in there somewhere. After all, we need to be convinced that you will pay your rent.
In part 2 we will discuss how you can start to put your life back together and still become a responsible renter, even with the "black eye" we spoke about.
Cheers for now and don't forget to check us out on the web at http://www.aaarealtyllc.com
