Rent Application Criteria & FAQ's

The Virtue.Realty Team believes a qualified applicant is much more than a credit score, and we coach our housing providers and property management partners to take on a similar perspective. Looking at the overall factors of each application, we take into consideration the full spectrum - why is the score what it is? 

Did you know that educational and medical factors (such as a medical bill in open collections) can NOT count against you? That's right. Even if it's negatively impacted your score.

That said, each individual housing provider may have specific requirements that are out of our influential control, but let's keep this simple for now. Find the basics below.  

What you need to apply:

• PHOTO ID
• PROOF OF INCOME - Paycheck stubs, W2, Offer letter, Deposit logs, Unemployment Benefits, really just whatever you have available to share. 
• CURRENT/PREVIOUS LANDLORD CONTACT INFO - If you have no personal rental history, let us know! 
• $65 - Paid online, directly to the 3rd party application processor.

What's considered:

• # OF ADULT OCCUPANTS
• INCOME RATIO - How much money do you bring home each month? Typically, you want to make 3x the rent. For example, if your rent is $1,000/mo, you need to make $3,000/mo to qualify.  If there are 2+ adults in the household, the total income of all adults applies vs individual income.  
• CREDIT FACTORS - Such as age of credit, # of late payments, closed accounts and type/amount of collections.
• ESSENTIALS - Do you have open collections on items such as housing, gas/electric, phone, cable, or internet provider?
• DEBT - How much credit card and loan debt revolves monthly? (excludes Medical and Educational expenses)
• MAJOR OCCURANCES - Bankruptcy, Repossessed car, Eviction, Foreclosure, Identity theft etc.
• LANDLORD VERIFICATION - Especially for those who're paid cash, don't have established credit, or other 'risky' scenarios, this verification speaks volumes. The current/previous landlord answers a few simple questions to verify your rental history and ensure there are no pending evictions. 

How we can work with you:

WE WANT TO HELP! Let's start there. We're all humans here - life happens, sometimes for worse rather than better. We're not here to judge, just tell us honestly about the circumstance that negatively impacted your profile.  Did you file bankruptcy after going through a divorce and then lost your job due to the pandemic and the next thing you know, your car is reposessed? OK! Maybe your situation isn't quite as extreme, or maybe it is, but there are a few options. 

• WRITTEN EXPLANATION - this is best typed into a document and added as an upload in the "Additional Documents" section of the application. You can also email this separately, or send it in a text for all we care... We just need to be able to understand the full picture. 
• CO-SIGNER - Sometimes requested to tip the scale from allllmost denied, to definitely yes. A co-signer applies with the same process and basic criteria and is linked to the primary applicant on the back-end. 
• UPFRONT PAYMENT - Occasionally, housing providers will accept a security deposit or a few months rent upfront as a guarantee, or act of good faith. This is typically applied to First/Last month(s) rent. 

Still have questions? 

Please feel free to reach out directly. Seriously, we look forward to helping however we can! 

 

Your partners in apartment shopping adventures,

   - VRT
  brokered by Pro Invest Realty