Fearful of foreclosure, more Georgia residents are renting

With the constant reports of falling home prices, predatory lending, and foreclosure fraud, it is not surprising that once and future homeowners in Georgia and throughout the country are choosing to rent apartments or houses instead of buying them. In a new survey of landlords and property managers, about half of respondents reported an increase in rental applicants moving into apartments after losing their home to foreclosure or having their apartment building repossessed.

The survey, which was conducted by credit reporting agency TransUnion, polled approximately 1,000 small property managers, each with no more than 200 rental units, and about 170 large property managers with more than 200 rental units each. About 47 percent of the respondents stated that they have seen a significant increase in rental applicants moving into apartments from foreclosed rental units or homes.

In addition, the majority of survey respondents stated that they have not had trouble finding renters even when they have increased the rent on their units. Approximately 65 percent of large property managers and 35 percent of small property managers reported that they have recently increased the rent on their properties from last year. However, 57 percent and 69 percent of large and small property managers, respectively, also reported that they have had no difficulty finding renters despite the increases.

One issue reported by survey respondents is the increased difficulty of finding qualified rental applicants. About one third of large property managers reported trouble finding applicants who could pass a credit check, possibly due to a foreclosure, bankruptcy or other financial difficulty.

Source: Collections & Credit Risk, “More Consumers Rent Due To Foreclosure: TransUnion,” 27 June 2011