Resident Application Screening Criteria

Revised July 2020
 
All persons 18 years of age or older, not dependents, will be required to complete separate applications. Applicants with adult dependents will complete a joint application. The term "applicant(s)" under this criteria means the person or persons that will be signing the Lease as "residents"; the term "occupant(s)" in this criteria means the person or persons that are authorized occupants under the Lease. It is the policy of this community to comply with all applicable fair housing laws including those which prohibit discrimination against any person based on race, sex, religion, color, familial status, national origin or handicap.

1. Occupancy Guidelines. The following occupancy standards apply based on 2 persons per bedroom, plus one per apartment.
 
One Bedroom- Three Persons
Two Bedroom- Five Persons
Three Bedroom- Seven Persons
 
* Residents who exceed these occupancy standards during the lease term, will be required, upon the end of the current lease term, to either:
 
i. Transfer into another available apartment which has more bedrooms; or Move out
ii. Rent for the new apartment will be at the rental rate at the time the lease is entered into the new apartment.
 
2. Age. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older unless deemed to be an adult under applicable law with respect to the execution of contracts. In respect to property jurisdiction within state law, some applicants will be required to provide current proof of emancipation.

3. Credit. A credit report will be completed on all applicants to verify credit ratings. Income plus verified credit history will be entered into a credit scoring model to determine rental eligibility and security deposit levels. Unfavorable accounts which will negatively influence this score include, but are not limited to: collections, charge-off, repossession, and current recent delinquency; and open bankruptcies and/or bankruptcies that fall within a 3-year period will result in an automatic denial of the application. Applicants with little or no credit history will require an additional deposit or guarantor

 
ADDITIONAL SECURITY DEPOSITS WILL BE REQUIRED FOR ALL CREDIT RECOMMENDATIONS BELOW AN ACCEPT LEVEL, NOT INCLUDING A DENY RECOMMENDATION.
 
4. Income. Gross income for all applicants will be combined and entered into the credit scoring model for income eligibility. All applicants will be asked to produce current consecutive pay stubs from within the last 4 weeks from the application date. If handwritten pay stubs are supplied, the documents must be notarized to be deemed sufficient. Applicants must have a minimum combined gross income of 3 times the monthly rent. Additional sources of verifiable income may be considered. These sources may include: child support, grants, pensions, GI benefits, disability, trust funds, social security and savings accounts. (Applicants must supply six current consecutive months of bank statements if any of the additional sources of income listed above cannot be provided directly from the supplier.) Some credit scoring results will necessitate further income verification. In such instances, verification with employer will be completed or applicant may be asked to produce additional financial statements or records. 

5. Employment. If employment is to begin after the application date, a "letter of intent" to hire from the employer must be provided. Applicants that are self-employed or unemployed must provide the previous year’s income tax return and the previous two month’s bank statements, or twelve months of financials statements and must exhibit no negative references. 

6. Criminal History. It is the policy of this community to obtain information on past criminal activities of prospective residents. Such criminal information may include arrests, convictions and pending criminal actions. This community shall not deny applicants solely on the basis of arrests or pending criminal actions. Those may be included with other factors that may as an aggregate be determined to warrant denial. This community shall not allow persons who are on any sex offender list. Likewise, persons with criminal convictions which relate to the manufacture or distribution of controlled substances shall be denied. Persons whose convictions relate to possession of controlled substances may be accepted if they provide evidence of completion of a treatment program. Persons who have convictions involving violence, gang activity, arson, and injury to persons will be required to provide additional information to establish that they do not pose a risk to the property or the other residents. In evaluating prior criminal history, this community will consider the type of crime, severity of the crime, and the length of time since conviction and release. Terms and conditions of parole and probation may also be considered. Each case will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Denied applicants may petition for reconsideration by providing additional information regarding mitigating circumstances and other information that may assist the community in a review of the applicant's criminal history. 

7. Rental History. Some credit scoring results will necessitate an evaluation of rental or mortgage payment history for the last 24 months. In these instances, applicant must have a minimum of 6 month's cumulative verifiable rental or mortgage payment history within the last 24 months. If a previous landlord cannot be contacted, 6 consecutive months of proof of payment and a copy of the lease contract must be provided. Applicants not having verifiable rental or mortgage history will be required to pay an additional deposit equal to one month's rent. Applications will be automatically denied for the following reasons: 
 
i. An outstanding debt to a previous landlord or an outstanding NSF check must be
paid in full
ii. A breach of a prior lease or prior eviction or in the process of eviction of any applicant or occupant 
 
Guarantors. Guarantors will be accepted for applicants that do not meet the required rent-to-income ratio or credit. Only one guarantor per apartment is permissible. The guarantor will be required to complete an application and pay a full application fee. Guarantors must have a gross monthly income of 5 times the monthly rent and meet all other qualifying criteria identified in this screening criteria. The guarantor will be asked to sign a “Lease Contract Guaranty” to support the “Apartment Lease Contract”. 

Falsification of Application. Any falsification in Applicant's paperwork will result in the automatic denial of Application. In the event that an Applicant falsifies his/ her paperwork, Owner has the right to hold all deposits and fees paid to apply towards liquidated damages.