To apply for one of our properties, all people over 18 years-of-age that plan to live in the property need to submit an application online or in our office. The fee to apply is $30/per adult. (Note: if you choose to apply in our office, we can accept cash or money order only. We do not process credit or debit cards.)
With the application submission, the following documents are required:
- Photo ID
- Social Security card
- 2 most recent pay stubs
- 3 months of recent banks statements.
During the application processing:
1) We Look to See that You Can Pay the Rent
We require verifiable income and the easiest way to verify that is to have 2 paycheck stubs that show you make enough income to cover, rent, utilities, and other living expenses. We also can use Social Security award letters for proof of income, housing choice (where applicable) and food stamp vouchers. If you are receiving child support or other income, we can verify that with 3 months of bank statements. If you are self-employed, we can use 3 months bank statements and your last year’s tax return.
We take a look at 3 months bank statements to determine financial stability; to see that your income, minus your expenses, is enough to meet your payment obligations. We also look to see that there is not a history of NSFs, negative balances, or extremely low balances at the end of the month. If you don’t use a traditional bank and instead use services like Chime or CashApp, we can accept statements from those accounts.
If your income isn’t quite enough to meet the above parameters but you think you can afford the rent, we need 3 months of bank statements showing no NSF charges, no negative balances, and a balance of at least 2 months expenses in the account. If you have other information showing you can pay the rent, submit it with your application.
2) We do a Landlord Verification
We require a successful rental history. We verify with your last landlord to see if you have paid your rent on time, how many people live there, if you have pets, and if you had any lease violations.
3) We Run a Credit Report
We look to see you have at least some positive credit. We are also looking to see that you do not have any evictions or collections for unpaid rent or utilities. If you have outstanding utility collections, that can cause you to not be able to pay your rent because you have to pay the collection to get your utilities on. If you have an eviction, we are going to look closely to the landlord verification on your current landlord to see that you are now able to pay your rent.
4) We Run a Criminal Background Check
We are looking to see that you don’t have anything that would make you a poor neighbor.
You are welcome to submit a letter with your application to explain any particular special circumstances.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I APPLY?
The time to process an application is generally 3-5 business day if all necessary documentation is provided with the application. Usually what extends the processing time are rental/landlord verifications. You will be notified of the decision. Be sure to check your email, too.
If you are approved…
You will be notified and will have 24 HOURS to pay the deposit via money order or cashier’s check to hold the property and take it off the market. (If you are using a housing choice voucher, the full packet must be turned in with the deposit). After 24 hours, we may place it back on the market or offer it to the next most qualified applicant. Once paid, the deposit is non-refundable.
After the deposit is paid…
You will confirm a lease-start date which must occur within two weeks of paying your deposit. You do not have to physically move in on that date, but the lease will start then. A lease document will be created for you to sign. Once that is completed, a move-in time will be set for our realtor to do a walk-through with you at the property.
On Move-In Day…
You will need to then pay pro-rated rent and any pet deposits not already paid (only money order or cashier’s check accepted). You will do a move-in inspection with one of our realtors and receive the keys to the property.
READY TO APPLY?
Get all the details and options on our APPLICATION PAGE.