How to Rent With an Eviction

Life is hard and bad things happen to good people. Regardless of your situation, having an eviction on your record is a giant "black eye" when it comes to renting moving forward. Most landlords and their agents will leave you "on read" if they know you have an eviction. That being said, you need a place to live! COMING IN HOT: tips how to secure a rental property if you have an eviction on your record!

1. Work With an Agent - No, we are not just saying that to selfishly plug. We are saying that because, as a renter, you are not paying the agent, the property owner is, whether that is an apartment or a house, or any other type of dwelling. An agent has direct information that a normal consumer does not have access to that can help save you time on your search. 

2. Honesty is the Best Policy - If you think you are going to squeeze by and nobody will know, you are wrong. The types of checks done in these situations are very thorough. Plus, you may end up paying application fees just to get denied and those are non-refundable in most cases. Have your explanation ready, maybe even have a personal statement typed up to submit!

3. Enlist the Village - REFERENCES at this point will be your best friend. Employers, creditors, past landlords or complexes that you have good relationships with, anyone, outside of family, that can attest to you being reliable financially, will help dramatically! If you are fortunate enough to know someone who will cosign for you, that is a heck of a someone to know and will make a huge difference!

4. Raise the Stakes - Make it worth the landlord's risk by offering more than asking price. You know how it looks, and you want to prove your bad luck is over. Make the landlord feel a little more confident by going above and beyond on your offer. Offering a larger security deposit might also entice a landlord!

5. Did Someone Say Sublet? - Often overlooked, subletting is not usually allowed in leases. Essentially, you are looking for someone who has time left on their lease and needs to leave, often preventing them from a default. In Texas, someone leasing needs the permission of the landlord to sublet. If it is not an official sublet, maybe you know someone who has a room or space to rent while you build back. A lot of times, Real Estate Agents have quite the network in regards to people looking to "alternative" measures to rent space!

6. Privacy Please! - With evictions, we would absolutely avoid any management companies. They have iron clad rules they must follow and will not budge. Private landlords are going to be your key. Private landlords are more likely to listen to a story than a computer is and if they have had the property on the market for a while, they may be looking to make a deal.

In Conclusion....

Working to get the eviction removed should be taking place this whole time. Whether you work with a company to do so,(we know a great one!)or you are looking to pay it off on your own, not having this on your record for the full 7 years would be a big boost to your future. Otherwise, every time you look to make a move, you will have to come back and read this article again!!