Application Process:
After viewing the property of interest, if you wish to submit your application, please proceed as follows:
go to Tenant Application, then
Fill out an application.
Note: Every adult over 18 in the household needs to fill out a profile.
All of the following documentation is required for each Applicant/Co-Signer signing the lease:
- Employer’s pay stubs for the past 2 months,
- any and all proof of income (Child Support, Social Security, etc.) for the past 2 months,
- copy of your ID (must be a valid ID such as passport, driver’s license, state issued or military ID.
- bank statements showing income deposit for the past 2 months (please black out confidential information such as full bank account number, and leave out just the last 4 digits)
- w2 or 1099 for the last 2 years (or tax returns if not available)
- tenant ledger from your current landlord
A $55 non-refundable application fee is required, per adult applicant and is paid online via credit/debit card.
Resident Screening and Qualification Criteria
General Conditions:
-- All occupants age 18 and older are required to complete an application even if their income/credit is not being used to determine eligibility. For minor children we only require names and dates of birth.
-- A $55 non-refundable application fee is required, per adult applicant and is paid online via credit/debit card.
-- A valid government issued photo ID is required to verify identity (passport, drivers license, state issued or military ID).
-- All information you provide on the application must be complete, accurate and truthful. Misrepresentation or providing false information will be grounds for denial of your application.
-- Communication between Management and Resident is one important part of tenants diligence, therefore tenants are required to maintain an active email account & telephone number throughout the term of their lease.
Application Processing and Time Frame:
-- Our screening process is mostly automated, and it typically takes 2-3 business day to complete, as long as the following conditions are met:
1- EACH adult in the household over 18 fills out thoroughly an application and signs it.
2- ALL requested documentation is provided
3- ALL application fees are paid.
-- Delays are usually due to not complying with the instructions above: missing information, missing supporting documents, application fee not paid, etc. So, to make sure your application is expedited, please provide complete information on the application and ALL supporting documentation. Another leading cause of delays is not being able to obtain reference information from employers, past landlords, and references. So please let your previous Landlord(s), Reference(s), Employer know that we will be calling to verify your information.
-- We process a lot of applications each month so please understand that we can’t spend all our time begging you to give us the information and documentation to process your application. if you fail to provide our screening team with the necessary documentation to support your rental application within 3 days of our request, we will assume you wish to withdraw your application for the prospective property.
Employment / Income:
-- Applicants must have a verifiable combined gross income of at least three (3) times the monthly rent.
-- Co-signers must show verifiable income of at least five (5) times the monthly rent.
-- We will contact your employer to confirm your length of employment, your job position/title and the income amount you report on your application.
-- If this is a new job, you will also need to provide an offer letter on company letterhead.
-- Proof of income can be shown by providing all the following:
-- If an applicant is employed, then
(a) copies of Employer’s pay stubs for the past 2 months.
(b) copies of bank statements for the previous 2 months showing income being deposited.
(c) copies of W2 forms (or a signed copy of federal tax returns) for the past 2 years.
-- If an applicant is self-employed, then
(a) copies of 1099 forms from performed contracts.
(b) copies of bank statements for the previous 2 months showing income being deposited. (please black out confidential information such as full bank account number, and leave out just the last 4 digits)
(c) a signed copy of federal tax returns for the past 2 years.
-- If an applicant has another source of income such as listed below, then show us in a written and verifiable format.
- Social Security benefits
- Retirement or pension benefits
- Disability payments
- Trust funds
- Substantial savings / money market accounts
- Alimony or child support
- Structured settlement payments
-- If income requirements can’t be met then a qualified cosigner may be used to offset any income deficiency. Cosigner qualifications can be found below.
Cosigners:
If your application requires a co-signer this person is going to provide strength in an area where your application has weakness. For instance, if you have poor or no credit then someone with strong credit would make a good co-signer. If you lack income or time on job, someone with a solid employment history or strong income would make a good cosigner. A co-signer will be signing the lease agreement along with you and they will become legally responsible for the rent along with you. All co-signers must fill out an online application and provide proof of income 5 times the monthly rent amount. All co-signers must be a resident of the State of Georgia.
Rental / Residency History:
Previous 2 years rental history or residency must be positive and verifiable. If you have rented during that period then we must get a satisfactory or better landlord recommendation. We will ask about any late payments, bad checks, complaints against you, and the condition of the property when you left.
“Satisfactory” means that you gave proper notice when you left, you left owing no balance, and you had no dispossessory/evictions filed during your tenancy.
If you have previously owned a home and are now renting then your payment history should be reflected on your credit report and that will be verified. If the home was owner financed or not reported on your credit report then provide details that will allow us to verify your payment history.
Less than 2 years rental history may require additional security deposit.
Evictions:
Any eviction filing within the prior three (3) years will be grounds for denial of your application. Evictions resulting from a foreclosure of a home you owned or rented are not counted.
Credit History:
Your past payment history, debt to income ratio and credit score from your credit report will be used in making a rental decision. We are looking for things like judgments & collections (especially from previous landlords), unpaid utility bills and generally how you have paid your bills in the past. Poor credit will not generally disqualify you from renting but a higher security deposit and/or co-signer may be required as well as an increased contingent approval fee depending on the overall application evaluation.
Bankruptcy:
Any current or open bankruptcy filing will be grounds for denial of application. Three (3) years must have elapsed from the discharge or dismissal date of any prior bankruptcy filing.
Criminal Background:
Current or pending felony indictments will be grounds for denial. Additionally five (5) years must have elapsed since final adjudication and full completion of sentence for any felony conviction. In other words you must have served all your sentence (including parole) and then have 5 years clean after that to qualify for approval.
Security Deposits:
Required security deposits are based on overall results of your application information. Standard security deposits are typically equal to 1.5 month’s rent. Some applications can be approved with higher deposit amounts and/or contingent approval fees (see below) as determined by our processors scoring system. This scoring system gives recommendations on how “low to high risk” you appear to be as a tenant, based on the information you provide. The reality is this; we’re about to hand over the keys to someone's home that is worth a lot of money so we need to feel warm and fuzzy about your ability to pay rent each month and if your credit history and overall application doesn’t show something consistent with that then paying extra money to prove you aren’t a scam artist or bum is the only way you’re going to be able to rent from us.
Administration Fee
All leases have a $175 tenant leasing fee due before move in.
Credit Contingent Approval Fee:
Depending on credit an additional contingent approval fee may be due. It has been shown through both statistical and historical analysis that an applicant's overall credit rating directly affects the risk and likelihood of default, damages and unpaid rent for the landlord. Applicants with a lower overall credit rating pose a significantly higher risk and liability. In an effort to mitigate that risk and allow applicants with a less than perfect credit rating to still gain approval for their chosen property we have implemented a scoring model that allows applicants to pay a fee to offset the increased risk and exposure the landlord faces in approving them with a lower than normal credit rating.
Average Credit Score Contingent Approval fee
700 - 850 $0
650 - 699 $200
600 - 649 $300
550 - 599 $450
500 - 549 $550
300 - 499 Contact agent
** For multiple applicants the scores are averaged. For example: John and Jane apply for a property. John has a credit rating score of 665. Jane has a score of 580. Their application score would be 623: Indeed their average score is 622.5 = 1245 (=665 + 580) / 2 applicants. Then, we round up to the next whole number. Looking at the table above John and Jane would pay $200 as their Contingent Approval fee. Applicants with no credit score showing will be assigned a score of 500 for the purposes of determining the contingent approval fee. All scores are based on Equifax’s BEACON FICO scoring model.
Pets:
We love pets and welcome them to properties where owners agree to it, however pets have the potential to cause huge property damage and significantly increase liability for the property owner, therefore the privilege of housing a pet at one of our properties comes with extra responsibilities and obligations:
- All animals must go through a pet screening process at: https://lhamanagement.petscreening.com
- Once approved, there is: $400 non-refundable pet fee per pet ($250.00 for each additional animal), due at move in; and there is an additional $50 in pet rent per month per pet.
- Pets also pay rent just like people, so a monthly pet rent of $50 will be added per pet.
- There will be an annual pet inspection performed by an independent company each year to ensure no damage to the property has occurred. Aggressive animals of any kind will not be accepted. Pets need to be house broken and no more than 75 lbs.
Payment of Rent and Due Date:
All rent payments are due on the first (1st) of each month and must be made via electronic funds transfer (EFT) from a bank checking/savings account. Our staff can get you set up on automatic drafts so you never have to worry about late rent payments.
Renters Insurance:
All leases require tenants to obtain renters insurance and list Management as additional insured. It is very inexpensive and can usually be purchased cheaply through your auto insurance provider or any number of companies. I can tell you that we see events every week where a renters insurance saved them from a major financial loss. Think about a toilet that overflows and you end up being responsible for all the damages. A storm comes through and rain destroys all your furniture and clothes. Power goes out and ruins all your food. A sewage backup forces you into a hotel while repairs are being made. I could go on and on but believe me there are a million reasons why renters insurance is a good thing and it’s money well spent.
Fair Housing:
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of the federal and State of Georgia Policies for the achievement of Equal Housing Opportunity. We encourage and support a program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.
Association Applications:
In rare instances some Homeowner / Community Associations may require a separate application. In the event that is necessary you must apply separately with the Association and that approval is a necessary prerequisite to our approval.
Leasing Consultants:
LHA Management provides leasing consultants to grant access to properties, distribute rental information, applications, rental process and application disclosures, and contracts to lease our available properties. The leasing consultant is not authorized to negotiate on behalf of LHA Management and is not involved in the application approval process. Any verbal representations are not binding. Once your application is submitted; the approval/denial process and any negotiations will be handled by the account manager of the property for which you are applying.
Occupancy Standards:
As a general rule a maximum of two (2) persons per bedroom not including infants age 4 years or younger are allowed to occupy a rental unit. To comply with many county and municipal ordinances and some community associations, we limit the number of unrelated adults who may occupy a single dwelling to two (2) adults.
Media Release:
We routinely videotape and photograph the condition of our managed properties before, during and after each tenancy, as well as market our property and business with video tours, testimonials, etc. Applicant understands and agrees our company can use these videos for any legal purpose, and accepts any risk or consequence from these videos being used in the course of business.
Thank you for your interest in a LHA Management. We look forward to your tenancy with us!
Sincerely,
LHA Management Leasing Team
