Renting a Home After Foreclosure / Short Sale. There is nothing worse than going through a foreclosure. You have lost your home, you have probably spent most of your money trying to keep the house, and now your credit score is much less than perfect. Now you need a place to live and nobody seems to be able to help you. We would love to help you. We have been successful in helping people rent a home, when other agents failed. There are some steps to the process that can help. Below are some things we can do to help you get back into a home.

1. The landlord is concerned about your ability to pay rent each month. To help make this decision the landlord is going to check your credit report. Now we know your credit report shows you just defaulted on a mortgage so automatically the landlord is going to be concerned. It becomes our job to ease that concern. To help us, pull a copy of your credit report and email it to us. Pull Your Credit Here For Free - AnnualCreditReport.com

2. We know that you were not able to make payments on all of your financial obligations, otherwise you probably would not have foreclosed on a home. The landlords seem to automatically panic and assume the same will be true moving forward. Our experience is usually the opposite. It is our job to convince the landlord to look into the future. We need to explain to them beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will pay rent on time each month without any headaches to the landlord. To help us in this please write a letter explaining your financial situation leading up to the foreclosure and then explain how and why things are different now. This letter must make since when compared against your credit report, bank statements and pay stubs.

3. Sometimes a landlord will choose a tenant just based on their credit report, this will not likely be the case after a foreclosure. As we touched on above the landlord is likely going to want some assurance. Prepare in advance of looking for a home, copies of all your bank statements that show on your credit report as well as any that have a balance in them. Make sure the account you are cutting your checks from is included. Prepare copies of your last four paycheck to prove your income. If you have any debt that shows on your credit report as a balance that has been paid or discharged provide proof of the cleared debt.

4. Application Fees. With or without a Foreclosure, Arizona law allows a landlord to collect money in advance of your move in. A credit report and/or application fee will be the first we could run into. We have seen this fee range from $10 - $150 and is non-refundable if you are, or are not approved to rent the property. By pulling your credit in advance we may be able to save you this money on homes you apply for, but do not rent. Expect to pay the fee on the home you are approved for, but we may be able to save you this as well. Most often we see this fee as about $35. We will collect a $35 check from you when we first meet up to see homes. The check will be cashed just after a landlord approves you to rent. If you don't rent through us we will return the check.

5. Earnest Money. An Earnest Money Check will be due on the day the landlord approves your rental application and returns the contract. Earnest money is most often equal to one months rent. $1,000 a month rent = $1,000 Earnest Money. The earnest money check will be delivered to the landlord as soon as your are approved and will be cashed right away. We have run into situation when a tenant's earnest money check has bounced and we have lost the home each time. The landlord may still be entitled to the money. Have the cash ready. Earnest Money is usually paid with a personal check, but we are running into more and more situation where the landlord is requiring a certified funds check. Be prepared for either, or at least a certified funds check.

6. Security Deposits. Usually a Security Deposit is equal to one month's rent. $1,000 a month in rent = $1,000 security deposit. This money is collected at the time of move in. Cash for keys. This money will have to be in the form of a certified funds check. This money will be held for the length of the rental and returned (if owed, call for details) within 14 days of move out.

7. Cleaning Deposits. There are Cleaning Deposits and Cleaning Fees. Here we will talk about both. The first is a deposit. Arizona Law allows a landlord to collect 1.5 times one months rent in Deposits. A security deposit, talked about above, usually equals 1 times one month's rent. This leaved .5 times one month's rent that can be collected. Depending on the landlord and that landlord's representation this might be all that is charged. Most agents and landlords believe this is all that can be charges as the law only recently changed and with little press on the matter. If this is the case, Cleaning Deposits and Pet deposits would equal a total of .5 times on months rent. $1,000 a month rent = $500 Cleaning Deposit or $250 Cleaning and $250 Pet or some variation of deposits. These can be refundable or non-refundable. If the landlord understands their rights and chooses to charge additional fees then...

8. Fees. This is a non-refundable fee charged at time of move in. Imagine you have a pet. The landlord is OK allowing a pet in their property, but they want to do some cleaning even if you leave the property perfect. Maybe they believe a pet will just cause extra ware on the house. They can charge a non-refundable fee on top of deposits. We are starting to see fees averaging $250 a pet. Other times the landlord wants to charge a fee for cleanup even if you leave the property perfect. This could be any amount, but we are starting to see fees averaging $150.

9. Community Use Fees. Some neighborhoods have community centers. Sometimes there is Rec Center fee that the landlord makes the tenant pay. Other times the community center is paid as part of the HOA, which most often the landlord continues to pay. If the community center is part of the HOA fee there will likely be a Use Transfer Fee. We have seen these range from $50 - $250, are usually a one time fee and usually optional if the tenant wants use of the facilities. They always seem to get passed to the tenant to pay.

10. Landscape. Most often the cost of landscape maintenance is the tenants responsibility. The upkeep of trees, grass, weeds and such can become pretty expensive in some cases. Consider this when you fall in love with that huge yard.

11. Pest Control. This is most often the tenants responsibility and option. Personally, we say spray. We got some scary bugs in this state.

12. Pool Service. Often the Tenant's responsibility.

Example: You are renting a house for 12 months at $1,000 a month. You have one pet. The money you will need to rent this house could be as follows.

Due at Application Time $35 Application, credit fee. Non-Refundable. Personal Check.

Due at time of Contract - Personal Check or Certified Funds Check, it is open to negotiations. $1,000 Earnest Money. (Becomes the first months rent at time of move in.)

Due at Move In - Certified Funds
$1,000 First Month's Rent. Non-Refundable. Probably already paid in the form of Earnest Money.
$1,000 Security Deposit. Refundable with Conditions.
$500 Cleaning Deposit. Refundable with Conditions.
$250 Pet Fee. Non-Refundable.
$150 Cleaning Fee. Non-Refundable.
__________________________________
+ $1,000 + $1,000 + $500 + $250 + $150 - $1,000 (Earnest Money) = $1,900 (Certified Funds)(Cash for Keys)

 Remember, $1,000 was paid in advance and so was $35.

This makes the total cost $2,935 to rent a home for $1,000 a month, and their still may be other costs such as community center use fees or utility deposits.

You will also need to turn on utilities. When you purchased your home, you may have had all the utilities turned on for free. There is a good chance when the utility companies pull your credit after a foreclosure they will require deposits. These can be upwards of several hundred dollars. If money is tight, you may want to check with some of the local utility companies in advance to find out what your individual situation is going to be.