As foreclosures increase, the former owners with mortgage history stained flooding the rental market. Unfortunately, owners often hesitate to hire applicants whose credit reports show a history foreclosures, short sales (when a home is sold for less than the amount owed on the mortgage) or deed in lieu of foreclosure ( when an owner gives a home to the lender to end the foreclosure process). hire applicants with other credit problems such as overextension on existing credit lines or public records related to collections are often rejected by the owners as well. Some owners conditionally accept candidates with questionable financial stability, ask the rent for another month at the front, a security deposit more or a co-signer.
Trish Lynch, a trainer and former credit counselor at ClearPoint Financial Solutions, suggests that homeowners who are facing foreclosure start looking for a rental before the process foreclosure is complete, because lenders can not report foreclosures to credit reporting agencies until the procedure is complete. "You want to look for the rental before the foreclosure hits your credit report," she said. "Because after that, it becomes much harder to find a rental."
If you are concerned your credit history, a credit monitoring service can keep you informed of any changes to your credit, and even help you determine the best strategy to improve your credit score.