foreclosure/short sale and housing help

We had a bk discharged in 6/09 and now my husband has lost his job as of 12/11. We haven't paid our mortgage since January and we are not sure what to do. We have been looking to relocate to another area in the state of Mass but we are having a hard time finding a place. We fill out the applications and we seem never to get picked. I have been told by some landlords that it is because we dont have enough money, or no job because he is on unemployment but has a job offer in the area we want to move to. So when I tell landlords that we have no rental references because we have own our own home for 18yrs. My husband is reluctant to put the house up for sale because he is afraid that we wont find a place to live. But they are going to start foreclosure soon and we dont have time to sit and wait and see what happens. How do I try to convince a landlord to rent to us? I have always wanted to do things the right way sell the house with a short sale and just move on but he is being uncooperative about the whole thing. The house is in his name only but we both did the bk. I could really use your help in this matter. What do I do about renting a place? The rental market has been really tight. We have been looking for 5 months and getting no where. Please help!!!!