SUMMARY OF RENTAL STANDARDS

Welcome to our community. In order to reside in our community, we require each applicant and each adult occupant to meet certain rental criteria.  Before you complete a Rental Application, we encourage you to review these requirements to determine if you are eligible.

 

Please note that these are our current rental criteria nothing in these requirements shall constitute a guarantee or representation by our community that all residents and occupants currently residing in our community have met these requirements.  There may be residents and occupants that have resided here prior to these requirements going into effect; therefore, our ability to verify whether these requirements are met is limited to the information we receive from various resident reporting services. 

 

An application must be submitted on each resident 18 years of age or older.  Husbands and wives may complete one application.  Roommates, guarantors, and unmarried couples will complete separate applications.

 

Terra Management utilizes a credit scoring system that incorporates a statistical model comparing information on your credit profile, such as bill-paying history, the number and type of accounts, late payments, collection actions, outstanding debt, reported rental history, and the age of accounts, to the credit performance of consumers with similar profiles.  (A credit scoring model only uses information on the applicant that pertains to credit, it does not use certain characteristics like-race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or familial status in its calculation.)  The scoring system awards points for each factor and considers income, monthly rent, and overall credit history to evaluate how creditworthy you are.  If there is limited credit history available, items A and B below will be used to evaluate your application and additional deposits or Guarantors may be required.

 

  1. INCOME- All applicants are required to have a verifiable income.  Proper verification must be provided.  The combined income must be at least 3 times the monthly rent.
  1. Income must be verified by one of the following ways:
      • Last two most current and consecutive paycheck stubs.
      • Current US bank account statement shows 3 times the monthly rent multiplied by the lease term.
      • Three most current US bank account statements with consistent deposit entries.
    • If self-employed:
      • Tax return from previous year signed and dated by a Certified CPA accompanied by two current, consecutive bank statements.
      • Current US bank account statement shows 3 times the monthly rent multiplied by the lease term.
    • If newly employed:
      • Offer letter from the employer stating base salary agreement or commission structure.  Employment acceptance, hire date, and income must be verified as part of the application approval process.  Employment must begin within 30 days of the lease start date.
      • Current US bank account statement shows 3 times the monthly rent multiplied by the lease term.

 

    1. Other verifiable income sources may include the following:
      • Child support, grants, pensions, Social Security benefits, GI benefits, alimony, disability benefits, unemployment benefits, trust funds, assets receiving dividends, and savings accounts.
    2. If verifiable income falls below our requirements and the applicant qualifies in all other areas, then a guarantor may be used to achieve approval.  Guarantors/Co-Signers must be related to the applicant, makes 5 times the monthly rent, and meet all other general requirements. Guarantors/Co-Signers must be US citizens and provide valid ID to confirm signature.

 

  1. RENTAL/MORTGAGE HISTORY 
  1. Six months satisfactory rental history or proof of home ownership may be verified for each applicant.  Satisfactory history is defined as no more than one late payment, no more than one returned check within a six-month period. 
  2. All lease obligations must be fulfilled at current residency prior to approval and residents must have given adequate notice to vacate.
  3. Any money owed to a previous landlord(s) must be paid in full. Documentation is required.  The previous landlord must also state that they would be willing to re-rent to the applicant.
  4. If the applicant is a first-time renter, additional deposit may be required equal to one month’s rent and/or a Lease Contract Guarantor.
  5. If the applicant is a home owner and in default or foreclosure or a Renter with an eviction on their record the application will be denied.

 

    1. CREDIT 
      1. All applicants must have some positive credit.
      2. Additional deposits may be required based on credit rating.
      3. Any applicant that receives a negative check writing report will be required to make all payments in certified funds only.
      4. All bankruptcies must be discharged. Active or open bankruptcy filings will not be accepted.  Documentation is required.

 

        1. OCCUPANCY GUIDELINES
          1. All residents and all occupants must be listed on the Lease Contract.

One Bedroom - No more than two persons.

Two Bedroom - No more than four familial status occupants or 3 persons

Three Bedroom - No more than six familial status occupants or 3 persons

1. A family may occupy an apartment if the family does not exceed two persons per bedroom plus a child who is less than six months old and who sleeps in the same bedroom with the child’s parent, guardian, legal custodian, or person applying for that status. Residents who have a newborn less than six months old at the time of rental application or lease renewal and whose newborn has reached six months of age during the lease term will be required to transfer to another apartment with more bedrooms within 90 days of the end of the lease term, whichever is the later date.

 

2. For the purposes of this occupancy policy a “family” shall consist of the following persons:  one or more individuals (who have not attained the age of 18 years) being domiciled with: (1) a parent or other person having legal custody, with the written permission of such custody, with the written permission of such parent or other person.  The term “family” shall also apply to any person who is pregnant or is in the process of securing legal custody of any individual who has not attained to age of 18 years.

 

    1. CRIMINAL HISTORY
      1. All occupants over 18 will be checked for criminal history.
      2. Applicants with ANY felony convictions or pending felony convictions will be automatically denied.
      3. Applicants with convictions or pending cases, including misdemeanors related to sex, violence, drugs, child abuse or any crimes against persons or property will not be accepted.
      4. Applicants registered as sex offenders will not be accepted.
      5. In the event the criminal background check reveals any criminal cases, we may offer residency with documentation of dismissal or favorable resolution of the charge.
      6. The criminal history requirement does not constitute a guarantee or representation that residents or occupants residing at the apartment community have not been convicted of any of the above-mentioned crimes. Our ability to verify criminal history is limited to the information made available to us by the credit reporting services.

 

  1. INITIAL LEASE TERM - 12 Months Minimum

      

  1. RENEWAL LEASE TERM
  1. 12 Months
  2. Flex Lease Terms are available at $150.00 above current market rent.
    1. 60 day notice to vacate on the first day of any month

 

  1. SECURITY DEPOSIT: Applicant has 72 hours after the date of deposit to cancel apartment reservation and receive reimbursement of said deposit.
    1. $300.00 security deposit required. This includes:
      1. $100.00 non-refundable for administration fee. 
      2. $200.00 refundable in compliance with lease terms. 
      3. Lease Documents will only note the portion of the deposit that is eligible for refund at move out/transfer.

 

 

  1. APPLICATION FEE
    1. $30.00 non-refundable fee per applicant, unless a married couple.

 

  1. PET DEPOSIT - $300.00 pet deposit (Limit 2 Pets Total).  $150.00 is non-refundable. Pet Rent of $15/monthly for 1 animal and $25/monthly for two animals.

 

  1. APARTMENT TRANSFER- Resident(s) may choose to transfer from one apartment

to another after 6 months paid occupancy, provided they pay a transfer fee in the amount of $150.00.  All transfers must be approved by the property manager.

 

  1. LEASE GUARANTORS/Co-Signers must meet all rental criteria. Lease Guarantors/Co-Signers are not offered to applicants who are in foreclosure or have a record of eviction.

 

  1. WATER FURNITURE is acceptable on the first floor only. An insurance policy must be

     obtained.

 

  1. ANIMALS - Only dogs and cats are permitted within the following guidelines:
    1. Animals must weigh less than 35 pounds fully grown in all properties with the exception of The Sunset Towers, The Sombart, Select Units at 4000 Oak Street, and 1st Floor Apartments in the Hawthorne Building, The Notre Dame, and The Garrett.
    2. No puppies or kittens less than six months old.
    3. No exotic animals.
    4. The additional animal deposit must be paid in full, prior to bringing the animal on property.
    5. The Animal Agreement must be signed by the Owner’s Representative and Resident.
    6. No aggressive dogs.  Property management reserves the right to reject certain breeds of dogs or require a pet interview before approval.
    7. No more than 2 animals per apartment.
    8. Only the following properties allow dogs (with applicable size restrictions) - The Sunset Towers, The Washington Irving, The Sombart, The Hawthorne, 4000 Oak Street Townhomes, The Garrett, The Notre Dame, and select Westport Road Apartments.
    9. Animals used as disability assistance are not considered as animals under this policy.

 

 

  1. FALSE INFORMATION- Any falsification of information on the application will

automatically disqualify the application and all deposits and application monies will be forfeited.

 

  1. CANCELLATION OF APPLICATION- If the applicant finds it necessary to cancel a

 move-in, the application deposit will be refunded provided the cancellation takes place within seventy-two hours after submitting an application, regardless of approval status.

 

 

 

 

APPLICATION APPROVAL PROCESS- The approval process will begin when we have received completed applications from all applicants and occupants.  The three outcomes from the approval process are accepted, conditional acceptance, or denied.  Additional information and or deposits may be required if a conditional acceptance is recommended.  If you are denied credit, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act requires that the creditor give you a notice that tells you the specific reasons your application was rejected or the fact that you have the right to learn the reasons if you ask within 60 days.  If a creditor says you were denied credit because you are too near your credit limits on your charge cards or you have too many credit card accounts, you may want to reapply after paying down your balances or closing some accounts.  If you are denied credit because of information from a credit report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the creditor to give you the name, address and phone number of the credit reporting agency that supplies the information.  You should contact that agency to find out what your report said.

 

This company and its communities does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or familial status.  The undersigned applicant(s) and co-signer(s) hereby consent to allow Terra Management, itself or through its designated agents and its employees, to obtain a consumer report and criminal record information on each of us and to obtain and verify each of our credit and employment information for the purpose of determining whether to lease an apartment to me/us.  We also agree and understand that the owner and its agents and employees may obtain additional consumer reports and criminal record reports and criminal record reports on each of us in the future to update or review our account.  Upon my/our request, the owner will tell me/us whether consumer reports or criminal record reports were requested and the names and addresses of any consumer reporting agency that provided such reports. 

 

Upon acceptance of any application, a Summary of Rental Standards must be filled out and signed where necessary.