FORECLOSURE NO LONGER SEEN AS A 'KISS OF DEATH'

TAMPA, Oct 12, 2008 (Tampa Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- PPS | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Florida's real estate crisis means thousands of people with credit sullied by foreclosure are out looking for rental housing.

Problem is, a foreclosure is one blemish landlords typically won't overlook.

But that is changing.

Many Tampa Bay area apartment complexes -- most notably larger ones owned by corporations -- are becoming much more flexible on credit problems caused by foreclosure.

"Not everyone being foreclosed on is a deadbeat person," said Nena Gang, executive vice president of the Bay Area Apartment Association. "Apartment communities are mindful that they need to help these people find a place to live, as long as they have good credit otherwise."

Some companies, such as Camden, which owns 12 complexes in Tampa, recently implemented a Foreclosure Forgiveness program. A foreclosure in the past 12 months won't count against applicants, said Ed Malone, regional vice president for Camden.

Malone said the company chose that time frame because the program is designed to help people who lost a home during the housing bust.

"Many of these people were good renters before but got enticed by mortgages they really couldn't afford," he said.

Deposits Are Required

Renters who take advantage of the program, however, have to pay a deposit, unlike those with good credit. For some, the amount adds up to a half month's rent, Malone said. Camden is not charging people with good credit because they are trying to help people during the credit crunch.

"We know that people moving into apartments right now don't have a lot of cash on hand."

There were 14,960 foreclosure filings in the Tampa metro area during the second quarter, according to California-based RealtyTrac. That's up 159 percent from the same period a year ago. Florida had the second-highest number of foreclosure filings among all states in August. There were 44,000 default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions that month.

Many of those people wind up at Apartment Hunters, which helps clients find complexes they may be interested in. Rob Blumstein, the manager, said the company has noticed a big uptick in the number of people with credit trouble, especially foreclosures.

Some, he said, show up after they've been turned down by multiple complexes. Blumstein said a foreclosure used to be "the kiss of death" on an apartment application. A growing list of complexes, he said, are revising policies so they can be more flexible.

Balancing Their Risk

But some still get turned down if they have other credit problems.

"The apartment companies need to fill up the units to get rent, and they need to balance how much risk they can take on," he said.

Post Properties, a company with several properties in Tampa that tends to operate more upscale complexes, changed its application requirements a few weeks ago so it could be more flexible on foreclosure credit problems, said Anthony Everett, a spokesman for Post.

"You have to look at the overall credit crunch," he said. "When there are a lot of foreclosures in the marketplace, people need apartments."

Post's rent is typically higher than many other Bay area complexes ($850 to $2,000) so families moving from a home may be interested in some of their luxury apartments, he said.

"These are very unique times so we need to scrutinize each application in a unique way," Everett said.

Still, he said, the company wants to make sure renters can afford the monthly rent payment.

"We'll do them a disservice to put them in a unit with rent higher than they can make."

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804.

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