If you’re thinking about filing a bankruptcy case, and worried about where you will live after you file, Maryland attorney Brett Weiss has some practical advice:
* Skip the large traditional apartment complexes (for example, Royal Crest in North Andover, although there are many others). They often have inflexible rules about credit checks.
* Concentrate on individual landlords, who may be more interested in whether you have a job or check coming in than any specific credit number. Luckily our area, whether you are from North Andover, Lawrence, Haverhill, Salem, Methuen or so on is chock full of houses owned by “mom and pop” landlords.
* If by chance you find a nice place, look into a rent-to-own arrangement. That way, if the market recovers, you could be building up a down payment toward ownership again. If it doesn’t, you just keep renting.
No matter what you hear, filing for bankruptcy rarely means not having a roof over your head!
By Doug Beaton