Requirements for Rental Applications 

Updated December 2023

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Thanks for your interest in renting a home from Nest West Property. Please review this overview of our Application Process & Screening Info. We review each application carefully and conduct a check of creditworthiness, eviction history, background, employment and income-verification. We clearly state these requirements in advance so you will understand if you qualify for the available rental.

 

Application Process Overview

 

Application

If you’d like to apply, please email or message us a request for an application link or apply directly through our website (nestwestproperty.com on the page for “Available Units”). If you request an application link via email or message, provide first and last name, email address and phone number for each member of your group that is 18+. We will then email you a link to complete the initial application. The initial application is easy to complete on a computer or mobile phone. You may also request a paper copy of the application.

 

Co-Applicants & Co-Signers

Please let us know at the time you request an application if you have any co-applicants that will apply with you. If you believe you will not qualify according to our Screening Criteria, you may apply with a co-signer. Please provide the same information for co-signers as requested from applicants. All applicants and co-signers will be required to complete an application and credit/background screening. All co-applicants must satisfy the Screening Requirements to qualify. If it appears you will not meet the Screening Requirements upon preliminary review, we may recommend a co-signer and note that expect to require additional deposit, even if your application is not yet complete.

Co-Signer Requirements:

• Each co-signer must complete credit, background and eviction screening and a Screening Fee.

• Co-signers must meet the Minimum Credit Score Requirement listed below.

• Co-signers must meet the Income-to-Rent Ratio Requirement listed below.

• Co-signers must meet all other credit-worthiness requirements, the criminal history requirement and eviction history requirement listed below.

• Co-signers must complete Employment and Income Verification Requirements as well as ID Verification. 

 

Credit, Background & Eviction Screening

Once you have completed your initial application, with basic background information about you, your source(s) of income and where you’ve lived, we will send an e-signature email and payment link for you and each co-applicant or co-signer. Each applicant or co-signer must e-sign the document to authorize credit, background and tenant history screening, then pay your non-refundable Screening Fee. Your application cannot be considered complete until the background screening is authorized and Screening Fee paid.

 

Screening Fee

Screenings fees must be paid before we run credit and background screenings. The non-refundable credit and background Screening Fee is $40 per person screened, unless otherwise noted. If you have already paid for and completed a Zillow Screening within the last 30 days, the non-refundable Zillow Screening fee is $10 per person.

 

Employment and Income Verification

We will also need to verify employment and income verification for all applicants and co-signers.  We only will ask you to provide income verification for any income you wish to be considered. We require the following:

• Your last two bank statements, which must show a balance and deposits reflecting the income you wish to be considered – please provide bank statements, not screenshots

• Your most recent two months’ worth of pay stubs, if your income is from a job. If you are relocating from another city or state, please provide evidence of having acquired a job locally (or an explanation about your ability to work remotely)

• If you receive other sources of income, like government support, provide government award letters and/or letters from a case manager to confirm income derived from government sources

• If you receive income from for any other source provide an explanation (pensions, annuities, etc.)

• If you’re self-employed, please additionally provide your most recent tax return and 4 additional months of bank statements (6 months total) to confirm your reported income is consistent

• Please also provide an explanation for anything unusual or uncommon about your income (like a recent vacation causing a period without pay, a lengthy medical issue or a new job you’re about to begin) and include supporting documentation

• If you have multiple sources of income for your applicant group, please list of each source you wish to be considered and the total amount of income. For example: 

John Smith - Wages - $2000

John Smith - Child Support - $1000

Liz Johnson - TANF - $900

Total: $3900/month

Income verification documents should be complete and clear, without information altered or obscured. If your or another party’s social security number is listed, you may obscure only that information. For privacy, you and each co-applicant can submit your income verification documents separately by emailing it to us. If you would prefer to mail in your income verification documents, please let us know and we will provide a mailing address. We may contact your employer, case manager or other contacts provided if we have questions and to verify your income documentation.

 

ID Verification

We will confirm the identity each applicant and co-signer by a examining a photograph of your government-issued identification, which should include a picture of you. Acceptable sources of ID include a state Drivers’ License or ID Card, US Passport or US Military ID Card.

 

Complete Applications

Once your initial application has been received and all applicants have completed an authorization for background, credit and tenant history screening, and submitted acceptable income verification documents and ID, the application will be deemed complete. If any required information or documentation is missing, we will contact you by email to request it. Please keep an eye on your spam/junk folder in case our request ends up there. To ensure that does not happen, add team@nestwestproperty.com to your email address book.

In order to receive a decision on your application, everyone in the group must complete their applications. Failure to complete an application or refusal to respond to requests for missing information for seventy-two hours or longer will result in an application being placed in Deferred status. If an application remains in Deferred status for forty-eight hours, it will be considered withdrawn. It up to the discretion of Nest West Property LLC whether to reinstate a withdrawn application or require completion of a new application.

 

Tenant Screening Criteria, Rental History Review

Once an application is complete, we will evaluate it to determine if all applicants (and co-signers) satisfy the Screening, Income, ID and Rental History Requirements. See below for more information about Application Requirements.

 

Final Review

Once an application has been deemed complete, we will begin final review for approval, conditional approval or denial. If after notifying you of your application has been deemed complete, after we begin final review of the of the application we discover missing information, the application status will be changed back to incomplete, but we will alert you via email and provide you 24 hours to respond with the missing information. If you respond within 24 hours and provide all information requested, your application will marked complete as of when it was first deemed complete. After we complete final review, we notify you of our decision via email and, if it is denied, we will mail an application denial letter to the “current address” provided on your application unless you designate and communicate another address for this purpose.

 

Rental Agreement Process

If you are approved to rent, it is expected that you will promptly complete the rental agreement process, pay the first full month’s rent, as well as your security deposit and any pet deposits, if applicable. After approval of your application, we will provide you 24 hours to confirm you wish to move forward with the rental agreement process. Once you have confirmed you wish to move forward, we will draft your rental agreement and you will then have 48 hours to do one of the following:

• Execute and sign a rental agreement to begin within five days. The rental agreement will be provided in electronic format unless otherwise requested. Pay the first full month’s rent, plus any prorated rent (if moving in after the 5th of the month) for the current month as well as the security deposit by cashier’s check, money order or wire.

OR

• Execute and sign a deposit to hold agreement and pay a non-refundable deposit equal to 25% of the first full month’s rent.

If you choose to execute and sign a deposit to hold agreement, you will have five additional days to complete the rental agreement and pay the first full month’s rent, plus any prorated rent (if moving in after the 5th of the month) for the current month as well as the security deposit. We expect you will begin financial responsibility for your rental within one week of an approved application. We will consider reasonable requests to extend your start date, but we reserve the right to move on to the next approved applicants if you do not comply with the deadlines outlined. If you have signed a deposit to hold agreement and paid a non-refundable deposit, but do not complete the rental process within the time allotted, you will forfeit your non-refundable deposit and your application will be terminated.

 

Tenant Screening Criteria

 

1. Credit Score Requirement

   • Minimum Credit Score Required for Applicants (Without Co-Signer and Additional Deposit): 675

   • Minimum Credit Score Required for a Co-Signer (If a Co-Signer is Required): 700

   • If you do not meet the minimum required credit score for applicants, a Co-Signer will be required and we reserve the right to require an additional deposit

   • We will confirm your credit score with a credit check, for which you will need to provide an authorization

2. Credit Worthiness Requirement

   • In the last two years, you must not:

I .Have any unpaid utility bills, or utility bills paid more than 90 days late

ii. Have more than three bills paid late (excluding medical debt, which we do not count) reflecting on your credit report

iii. Owe money to a previous landlord for a rental from which you moved out in the last five years

• If you do not meet the credit worthiness criteria for applicants, we may still approve your application conditioned on providing a qualified Co-Signer and/or we may require an additional deposit

• We will confirm your credit worthiness with a credit check, for which you will need to provide an authorization

• You must not have a bankruptcy within the last 5 years

  3. Income-to-Rent Ratio Requirement

• Minimum Required Income-to-Rent Ratio for Applicants (Combined): 2.5 : 1

• Minimum Required Income-to-Rent Ratio for a Co-Signer: 3 : 1

• To calculate Income-to-Rent Ratio, divide your average monthly gross income over the past three months by the monthly. Examples: if rent is $800 and you make $3,000 per month, $3,000/$800, the Income-to-Rent Ratio is 3.75:1. For a rental with a monthly rent of $1,000, you must document minimum gross income of $2,500 per month to satisfy this criteria

• If you do not meet the Minimum Required Income-to-Rent Ratio criteria for applicants, a Co-Signer will be required and we may require an additional deposit

• We will confirm your income by reviewing your pay stubs, bank statements and other supporting documentation

• You may count all sources of income, including wages, government benefits and other sources of income for which you can provide documentation

• If you do not have current income, but possess savings equal to at least 36x the monthly rent, you will satisfy the Income-to-Rent Ratio requirement.

4. Pet Restrictions

• You may only have pets if allowed in the rental, as specified in rental property listing and the rental agreement

5. Criminal History

• You may not have any criminal convictions or pending charges (unless not resulting in conviction) for any crimes that are defined as: person crimes (causing harm to another person), sex offenses, crimes involving fraud, theft, forgery or deception, crimes that may adversely affect rental property or crimes that could affect the health, safety or right to enjoyment of the premises for other residents, the rental property owner or property managers

• Criminal arrests will not be considered if you are currently participating in a diversion program, or if conditionally discharged or deferred

• We will confirm your criminal history with a background check, for which you will need to provide an authorization

6. Eviction History

• You may not have prior evictions or eviction charges within the last five years unless the cased was dismissed or resulted in a judgment for you (e.g., you won the eviction case in court)

• There are some exceptions for evictions that occurred during the first 2 years of the coronavirus pandemic

• We will confirm your eviction history with a background check, for which you will need to provide an authorization

 

Rental History Review Requirements

 

Your application and those of your co-applicants or co-signer must contain current contact information for your previous two landlords and any you must list any other landlords over the past five years. If you owned your own home and did not have a landlord during this time, please list yourself as the contact and we will confirm this by reviewing property records. We will contact your previous landlords and confirm the following:

• Was rent was paid on time and if not, how many times was it late?

• Did your tenancy cause damage or required repairs after move-out in an amount exceeding the security deposit?

• Did you have any rental violations?

The following will result in failure to satisfy the Rental History Review Requirements:

• Failure to pay rent on time at least 90% of the time

• Tenancy that caused damage or required repairs after move-out in an amount exceeding the security deposit

• Any rental violations within the past year or more than one within the past three years

 

If you do not meet our Tenant Screening Criteria, Income Verification or Rental History Review, you may request an opportunity to explain, justify or negate the relevance of the negative information. Please write a detailed explanation of why your situation merits an exception to the requirements. We will consider the context around any negative application components. We will consider all additional information and documentation you wish to submit as part of this review. If you submit additional context, information and documentation, we will provide you a copy of the decision in writing.