All applicants should apply either online or at the computer kiosk in the office. The non-refundable application fee can be in the form of a money order or paid online at the kiosk.
The non-refundable Administration Fee should also be collected at the time of application to ensure the unit is held for them if they pass the screening process. The Administration Fee can be paid via debit or prepaid debit/credit card. If the applicant fails to pass screening, the Admin Fee can be refunded easily.
All applicants are required to have a valid social security number (SSN). After completing the application and paying the required application fee and Administration Fee, leasing personnel must perform the following tenant screening:
- Verify income (via recent paycheck stub, etc.) and make sure that it has been correctly entered into ResMan.
- Verify employment. This information along with their income from this job should be entered under the applicants “Employment & Other Income” tab.
- Reference check with current landlord (and previous landlord if possible). Their current address – even if living with friends or family members – should be entered as their current address under their “Addresses” tab. You can use Prospect or Previous as the address type, as appropriate.
- Upload all supporting documentation into the Documents section of the applicant’s record in ResMan.
- If all the above checks are satisfactory, then perform a credit and criminal background check from within ResMan. Make sure that you have entered into ResMan all forms of income and their SSN, driver’s license number or other form of identification. Failure to do so only increases the chance of the applicant coming back as Denied.
- Once the screening is completed, view the detailed report and save it into the applicant’s ResMan profile. If the applicant is:
- Accepted: They are approved, and you can proceed with the move-in process.
- Accepted with Conditions: Review the detailed screening results to get a better idea of why they were not directly Accepted. Can still move-in but require payment of a non-refundable Risk Fee in addition to a deposit.
- Denied: In most cases, Denied means denied. Review the detailed screening results to get an idea of why they were Denied. In rare cases, we may still be able to accept them. For example, if their credit is decent (i.e. no non-medical delinquencies), they have no housing debt and just one non-violent felony, then they may be able to move in after paying an additional Risk Fee. Check with your supervisor on these cases. They will need to approve these applicants in ResMan before you can move them into ResMan.
Notes:
- If no SSN is entered and no Driver’s License is entered then we have no way of performing a criminal or credit background check. In this case they must have Bio-Verify and must be treated as Accepted with Conditions (see below).
- If any one of the adult applicants is Denied, then treat all applicants as Denied and do not allow the others to move in.
- Save a copy of all of the employment/income verification documents, IDs and the complete screening results in the Documents section of the applicant(s) record in ResMan.
Accepted with Conditions
This is not the same as Accepted! An applicant that is Accepted with Conditions does not qualify for any move-in specials and is required to pay a (non-refundable) Risk Assessment Fee in addition to any required deposit.
Furthermore, acceptance requires a more thorough review of the screening results. In particular look at the credit history – if all trade lines are delinquent, then treat the applicant as Denied.