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You are here: Home / Archives for renting

renting

Why Does a Rental Application Require So Much Personal Info?

January 8, 2016 by khproperties 3 Comments

Rental Application

When you’re looking to rent a house in San Antonio, you’ll eventually need to fill out a rental application. A lot of people hate filling them out for two reasons – one, there’s a lot to be filled out and two, the rental application asks for a lot of personal information. We thought we’d go through the application and look at the reasons behind some of those questions and what landlords and property managers are looking for. We can tell you from experience, the better job you do filling out the information requested on the application, the quicker and smoother the application process will go. And take our advice – you’re better off being open and honest on the application, because if the person processing it finds bad things that you “forgot” to mention, chances are your application will be denied.

The Rental Application and Personal Information

Social Security Number – The big one. Everyone questions why a social security number is required on just about anything. We’ve been taught to guard this number with our life and worry anytime someone asks for it. In the case of rental applications, it all comes down to your credit. Landlords want to be sure you’re creditworthy and they will run a credit report on you in order to avoid potential credit problems. Every property manager and landlord has their own set of criteria of what is/is not acceptable, but everyone of them will be looking to your credit for answers on whether or not to approve your application. In some cases, your social security number will also be cross checked with your name in various databases looking for criminal records, eviction filings, and even for odd behavior with your social security number (such as multiple names being matched up with the same number – a typical indicator of identity theft).

Emergency Contact – On the Residential Lease Application (we use the Texas Association of Realtors (TAR) form, which is quite common), there is a section asking for an emergency contact. The reason for this, is that on the Residential Lease (also by TAR), there is a section (Paragraph 34.F.) that covers what happens if all the legal residents of the rental die. It’s a horrible thought, but the landlord must know who to contact and it gives that person certain legal rights to access the property, remove property, and receive refunds of the security deposit.

Other Occupants – You must let the property manager know who all is intending to live at the property, their relationship to the applicant, and their ages. In most cases (we adhere to this rule), all applicants over 18 years of age must fill out a full application. Even your 20 year old son who’s living with you, but isn’t responsible for paying the rent…his application needs to be run to check his background and any potential issues that may come up.

Former Addresses – The rental application will ask where you lived previously and this will be used to verify rental history. The application may ask for other prior addresses as well (our application asks for the last two addresses). The most important thing you can do here is provide good contact information for your current landlord or property manager. If you leave these blank, the person processing the application will have to hunt down this information, which will slow down the approval process.

Current/Former Employers – Same thing goes with this section, make sure you’re providing good contact information (and preferably more than one way to contact the person). This information will be used to verify employment, length of employment, and income. If you’re self-employed or the owner of your company, you may be asked for additional documentation in order to show income and work history.

Various Questions – The TAR Residential Lease Application has a series of questions of the second page with Yes/No checkboxes. This is definitely a section you want to fill out completely and, as I mentioned at the start of this post, honestly. If you say “No” to “been convicted of a crime?” and the processor finds evidence to the contrary, you may find your application denied.  Make sure that you have your name cleared from a criminal record with the help of Manassas criminal justice lawyers who have been known well for their high reputation in this field. A landlord may be able to work with you if you’ve had credit problems, been convicted of a crime, been in bankruptcy, had a foreclosure, etc., but if you’re not telling them the truth, you’re going to wind up being denied. Make sure you approach a law firm who are helping clients struggling with debts as they are the ones who can understand your current financial position and suggest ways to lead a better life by clearing all the debts that are piled up on your head.

Authorization to Release Information – The last page of the TAR Residential Lease Application allows people to provide information to the property manager so that they can process your rental application. We send this authorization to your employer and former residence to obtain employment/rental history and sometimes your Tampa expungements records will also be checked to know whether you are a good client or not. If we don’t have this page signed, most companies will not provide us that information and without that information, we cannot process your application.

Financial Documents – Depending on the rental property management professionals, how they process their applications, and your personal situation, you may be asked to provide financial documents – anything from tax returns to pay stubs to bank statements. Typically, more documentation is required if you are self-employed or don’t have an easily identifiable source of income from a job (for example you’re living off of a divorce settlement or a trust fund). It’s the job of the person processing your application to try and get a complete picture so that they can recommend approval or denial of your application and depending on your situation, they may require supporting documentation. Rentals are much like mortgages in that the landlord is trying to mitigate their risk and take on the best qualified applicants as tenants.

image courtesy of PHOTO/arts Magazine

Filed Under: Renters and Landlords Tagged With: renting, rental applications

Renting in a Hot Rental Market

June 18, 2013 by khproperties Leave a Comment

Apartments

Rentals are flying off the shelves.

San Antonio has been experiencing a hot rental market since last year and it doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon. While the sales of homes have picked up, there are still plenty of renters out there and the inventory of property rental listings goes quickly. Since landlords know they can fill their rentals rather quickly, the application process has tightened and property managers are being more restrictive with their criteria for approval. In order to get the rental you want, you need to prepare yourself, be ready to act fast, and know the common issues property managers are looking for in applications.

Rules of the Rental Road

Prepare now. Gather all the info you’re going to need. Most applications will require your current and previous address, with contact info for your landlord or property manager. Fax numbers and email addresses make the process go much smoother. Same thing goes for employers. When your rental application is run, the property manager will check your rental history and verify your employment. If they have to track down these people, the application process gets slower. Any bottlenecks could cause you to lose the property. Don’t let something so simple cause problems. Also get copies of your drivers license ready (for everyone over the age of 18 that will be living there). Make a couple of copies in case you apply for more than one rental property. If you’re self employed, be prepared with copies of bank statements and tax returns. These will speed up the process greatly.

Money orders or cashier’s checks. Your application fees should be in certified funds. Cash is accepted by some property managers. Property managers can’t accept your personal check with a rental application because they will have to wait for the check to clear before processing the app. Again, anything that slows the process will hurt your chances.

First come, first serve. It’s a fast moving rental market and some properties can wind up with multiple applications. Most property managers run by the rule of “first come, first serve,” but not all do. Be sure your agent hand delivers the application to the office and checks to see if the property is still available. You may have to apply for more than one rental property, so be sure your agent is on top of it. If they’re not, find someone else.

Honesty is the best policy. If you have credit issues or a criminal record, tell the property manager up front. Write up a brief explanation and provide it with your application. Sometimes a simple explanation can help you overcome the obstacles. It’s not the job of the property manager to ask, so tell them upfront and let them decide. The more data you give us, the better we can process your rental application.

Pets. We’ve been seeing a lot of this as an issue. It’s up to the landlord to decide on pet policy, but almost no property manager or landlord will accept what are known as aggressive breeds. While your pit bull or rottweiler may be the sweetest dog on the planet, this is a blanket policy for most. The reason isn’t because they don’t like these dogs, the true reason comes down to insurance. While you maintain renter’s insurance, the homeowner/landlord needs to maintain their own insurance policy and insurers are not willing to take the risk associated with these dogs. If you have one, know in advance you may not find a rental very quickly. Here’s a list of points for Private Dog Training Vs. Group Classes and also on the most common aggressive breed dogs: Pit Bull, Doberman Pinscher, Rottweiler, Akita, Chow-Chow, Presa Canario, Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Russian Shepherds, German Shepherds, Great Danes, St. Bernards, Boxers, and Dalmations – mixes apply too.

Additional Documents. Most property managers will have you fill out and sign some additional forms, typically known as “rental criteria” forms. These forms explain to you what you can expect during the application process and what the property managers are looking for. They also detail why your rental application may be denied. These are important forms, in our office, we will not process an application without them.

Complete package. Every property manager has their own set of rules, but we will not process a rental application until we have the complete package. If anything is missing or we still need more information, the rental is still considered on the market and we will continue accepting applications on the “first come, first serve” basis. Do yourself a favor and follow the tips and advice above and you’ll better prepared to find the rental you want in a hot rental market.

image courtesy of blackTanso

Filed Under: Renters and Landlords Tagged With: rental market, renting

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