Leasing Qualifications
Leasing Qualifications
All of our Landlord clients have different requirements for leasing their homes and properties. Below you will find the general qualifications that apply to MOST of our properties.
Occupancy, Maximum
The maximum occupancy allowed in any of our residences is 2 persons per bedroom. Children are considered persons and count toward the per-bedroom maximum. Studio and efficiency apartments are considered 1-bedroom apartments for the purposes of determining maximum occupancy. Persons applying for our homes will be declined if the number of persons that will be living in the home will exceed the maximum occupancy described here.
Income Qualifications
Generally we require applicants to earn three times (3x) the monthly rent of a given property to qualify. This can be full-time, part-time, or contract work but it must be verifiable.
Housing Vouchers as Income
We do not discriminate on the basis of source of income. However, our clients generally do not alter their requirements for creditworthiness, total income, and all other application criteria. Also most subsidized housing programs including Section 8 have other leasing requirements such as inspections that are more thorough and difficult to pass than normal rental housing inspections and sometimes considerable repairs or alterations are necessary for a landlord to accept a subsidized applicant. Not all of our landlords are in a position to wait for those inspections or complete the required repairs in order to pass them. We encourage all applicants with Vouchers to verify with us if a particular property is ready to complete these required inspections and repairs if they apply. Voucher applicants should also note on their application that they have a voucher so that it may be considered as income.
Creditworthiness
Applicants should demonstrate a strong and reliable ability to pay their obligations of any kind. As a rule of thumb we generally do not rent our properties to anyone with a credit score below 600, and applicants with a credit score of 600-649 can expect to pay 2x the monthly rent for a security deposit or secure a bond or other approved instrument for the additional month's deposit (More information on this coming soon. If the info isn't here, we have not yet implemented these procedures and only the traditional deposit is available).
Medical Collections
Medical collections are becoming all too common, even for applicants with the best history of payments otherwise. We will not consider medical collections as a negative or detracting factor for an applicant if all other evidence of creditworthiness, income and tenant history is favorable.
Student Loans
There is a lot of debate in the US about what to do with the enormous amount of student debt that graduates and students have and continue to accumulate. For the time being applicants must have all student loan debt in good standing. This is one area where we may make exceptions from time to time, but only at our and our landlord clients' sole discretion and only if all other evidence of creditworthiness, income and tenant history is favorable.
Bankruptcies
We understand things do not always go as planned. Sometimes it is important, even crucial, to press reset so you can move on and move forward. We will work with our applicants who have discharged bankruptcies if all other evidence of creditworthiness is favorable.
Evictions
Applicants no evictions in the past 5 years are encouraged to apply. Those with more recent evictions may be considered but only if all other evidence of creditworthiness, income and tenant history is favorable and if we receive glowing recommendations from your past 3 landlords in writing and we can verify that the written recommendations are legitimate. Presenting these recommendations does not guarantee the applicant will be accepted. But we will consider these as part of the decision.
Criminal History
We consider applicants with a criminal history on a case-by-case basis if all other evidence of creditworthiness, income and tenant history is favorable.
Sex Offenders
As of the writing of this FAQ, none of our residences accept sex offenders.