Unfortunately when it comes to living arrangements you have two major obstacles: First, the insurance policies for many rental properties have restrictions against felon tenancy. Second, most city and county districts have strict ordinances against renting to convicted felons. The encouraging thing to remember is that, similar to an employment application, a number of those restrictions lift after the 7-year mark of your conviction. Try an apartment locator service such as http://www.apartments.com/. Look up “apartment locator service” and the name of the area you want to rent and usually you can find someone that is local to help you. Also, you may have better success with private owners, whose screening process is usually not as rigorous. Plus, you can build a relationship with them and boost your chance of being seen "beyond the paper".
Another avenue is asking a social worker for help. Wherever you can get food stamps there is usually someone to help you find a place to live. Along with the local Salvation Army you should be able to muster up something.
If you do not know someone that can help you find a place or get into an apartment you can always try a halfway/sober house. The upside is that you can relate with a people facing similar situations as yours. You may also be required to attend meetings designed to help you work through your situation. The rent is usually reasonable and it’s designed to give people a second chance.
This takes perseverance and humility beyond what some people ever have to consider. Good luck in your efforts.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment