Once your bankruptcy proceedings are finalized, you may be eager to have a fresh start. Your plans may entail obtaining a rental apartment; this is especially if you, unfortunately, lost your home in the process. Though, this may pose some difficulty. Read on to discover whether you can rent an apartment after bankruptcy and how a seasoned Rockland County bankruptcy attorney at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq. can help make this possible.
Am I able to rent an apartment after my bankruptcy proceedings?
You may not be permanently barred from renting after your bankruptcy filing and proceedings. But your bankruptcy may just make obtaining a rental apartment all the more challenging.
This is because a prospective landlord may run a background check on you before approving or denying you one of their rental units. This background check may consist of looking into your credit report. Unfortunately, your bankruptcy history may remain on your credit report for the years following your filing date. More specifically, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy may take 10 years to be removed while a Chapter 13 bankruptcy may take seven years.
In a situation like this, there may be a stigma surrounding a bankruptcy history. That is, your prospective landlord may prefer to choose an applicant with a clean history over you. Rest assured, this discrepancy is not the end-all-be-all for your application. There may be other ways in which you can win over your prospective landlord.
How can I better my chances of renting an apartment?
Understandably so, your bankruptcy filing may have been an isolated incident that is now behind you. So it should not serve as a permanent reflection of your ability to be a responsible tenant. With that being said, you must encourage your landlord to look past your bankruptcy filing and instead pay attention to your trustworthy qualities. Initiatives that you must take are as follows:
- You may show your prospective landlord that you have significant savings and a consistent income that will allow you to meet your monthly rent payments.
- You may show your prospective landlord that you have remained at the same place of employment for a considerable amount of time.
- You may show your prospective landlord that you have maintained full-time employment for a considerable amount of time.
- You may show your prospective landlord that you have met your monthly rent payments at your previous rental apartments.
- You may show your prospective landlord that you have been considered a good tenant at your previous rental apartments.
If you are struggling with obtaining housing following your bankruptcy, you need a competent Rockland County bankruptcy attorney by your side. Contact The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq. to retain our services today.
