Before you apply

Before you apply#

Requirements for Rental Applications#

Thanks for your interest in renting a home from Nest West Property LLC. These criteria apply to Oregon residential rentals. Separate criteria apply to commercial space, standalone parking or storage, manufactured-home or RV spaces and regulated affordable housing. Each property’s location and program rules determine which additional requirements apply. We review credit, permitted eviction and criminal records, income and rental references.

We provide equal housing opportunity. We do not discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, familial status, disability, lawful source of income, actual or perceived immigration or citizenship status or any other status protected by applicable law. Local protections also apply, including Eugene and Springfield protections for age, ethnicity and domestic partnership status.

Contact team@nestwestproperty.com to request a reasonable accommodation, a paper application by mail or help identifying an application access option. You may make an accommodation request orally or through a representative.

Application Process Overview#

Application#

If possible, apply through the “Available Units” page on our website or request an application from us. We prefer to process applications submitted through the portal but can process paper applications. Request a paper application if you cannot apply through the portal. On written request we provide alternatives to portal-only identity verification, document submission and review or signature of legal agreements. See our contact page for our mailing address or contact us to request an in-person submission arrangement. Request language-access time or a disability accommodation as early as practical.

Household & guarantors#

Co-Applicants & Co-Signers#

Each proposed resident age 18 or older must apply. Financially responsible applicants are evaluated on their combined, documented household income and their individual screening results. Minors do not submit financial applications. A nonresident co-signer, if accepted, is a guarantor who signs a separate lease guarantee and does not receive occupancy rights. A live-in aide or an approved nonfinancial adult occupant is not required to meet income or credit criteria solely to occupy the home but must still qualify through background screening.

The property disclosure provided before any fee states whether guarantors are accepted and what conditions may be offered. A preliminary discussion of a guarantor or deposit is not a final approval. All accommodation requests receive individual review.

Co-Signer Requirements:#

• Each guarantor completes an application, identity verification and authorized credit screening.
• The standard minimum credit score for a guarantor is 700.
• A guarantor must document gross monthly income of at least 3 times the monthly rent for the home.
• We review a guarantor’s verified financial ability and relevant credit obligations.

Screening, fees & documents#

Credit, Background & Eviction Screening#

We obtain your authorization before ordering credit or background reports. We may use a screening company, credit reports, public court records, public records and verified references. We confirm relevant results before making a decision and do not rely on an automated recommendation alone. You may dispute inaccurate report information with the reporting company and give us corrected information.

Screening Fee#

For a home within Eugene city limits, the screening fee is $10 per person screened, including a guarantor. Outside Eugene the screening fee is $45 per person screened. Screening reports are valid for 60 days.

Employment and Income Verification#

We verify only the income and assets you ask us to consider. Provide documents suitable for verification. We may request clarification or additional records needed to verify amount, availability and continuity of income or assets, with an explanation of what remains unverified.

• Bank records or savings: provide recent statements showing account ownership, the relevant deposits or accessible balance.
• Wages: provide recent pay stubs covering two months’ wages or reliable employer verification. A signed offer letter may establish expected income if recent pay history does not reflect expected income.
• Benefits or housing assistance: provide an award letter, program confirmation or equivalent evidence. A case-manager letter is acceptable when it verifies the income or assistance you want considered.
• Pensions, annuities, support payments or other lawful income: provide records reasonably showing the amount and expected availability. You may choose which lawful income sources to submit.
• Self-employment: provide your most recent tax return or business bank records sufficient to establish recurring net business income before personal income taxes. We may request up to six months of relevant records when needed to assess variable income. Gross business receipts alone are not personal income.
• If income has recently changed, explain the change and provide appropriate evidence. You do not need to explain a medical condition, diagnosis or disability. Ask us if a reasonable accommodation is needed.
• If the household has multiple income sources, list each source you want counted and the combined monthly amount. For example:

Ask for a non-digital submission option if needed. We will explain any redacted information needed for verification. We may verify records with contacts you identify.

ID Verification#

We verify each applicant’s and guarantor’s name, date of birth and physical appearance using any identification permitted by ORS 90.306. Options include a Social Security card, certified birth record, permanent resident card, visa, ITIN card, passport, driver license or other government ID and nongovernment identification that permits reasonable verification. We do not inquire about immigration or citizenship status. Any exceptions to ID requirements required by a federal rent-subsidy or affordable-rent program are handled under that program’s separate rules.

Application review#

Complete Applications#

We record your application as complete when your application has been received and all required applicant-controlled items for your household have been received by our team. The required items are the application, identity verification, financial documentation for financially responsible applicants and required screening authorization and fee payment. We will inform you what is materially missing and how to supply it. We communicate through email unless you designate an alternative contact method; check email and spam.

For homes in Eugene, the listing identifies the application opening date and time and the open application period. We decide applications in the order received and offer tenancy to the first qualified applicant. A written request for extra time for language access preserves the request timestamp if the application is submitted within 24 hours.

We normally allow three business days to provide missing application items after notice. We will then send a final notice after closing the file as deferred. We consider reasonable extensions and accommodations.

Tenant Screening Criteria, Rental History Review#

We evaluate each resident applicant or guarantor against the property criteria. Combined income is evaluated for the financially responsible household. We review exceptions and accommodation requests before issuing a final decision.

Final Review#

After review we issue approval, conditional approval or denial in writing. A conditional approval identifies the unmet criterion, approved condition (deposit or co-signer), amount and deadline. If additional applicant-controlled information is needed, we will explain it and normally allow three business days, subject to reasonable extensions.

For a denial we provide written reasons within 14 days, identify any reporting company whose report contributed to the denial, explain why any supplemental evidence considered did not qualify for approval and explain our review process. When a consumer report contributes to denial or a less favorable condition, including a guarantor or higher deposit, we provide an adverse-action notice when communicating that decision. It includes the reporting agency’s name, address and telephone number, that the agency did not make the decision and cannot explain our specific reasons, your right to dispute accuracy or completeness and your right to request a free report within 60 days. If we used a credit score, the written notice also gives the score, its range, key adverse factors, date and provider as required by federal law.

Approval & signing#

Rental Agreement Process#

If approved, you have 48 hours after the offer to confirm acceptance. The offer states the proposed lease start date, rent, deposits, any pet charges and move-in payment. We consider reasonable start-date extensions, disability accommodations and time needed for rental-assistance approval or inspection. After you accept and receive the complete documents, we normally allow 2 business days to sign the rental agreement or a written agreement to hold the home:

• Sign the rental agreement and pay the amounts due. Move-in payments must be in certified funds. We provide a written itemization of rent periods, deposits and credits.
• OR
• Or, after approval and before entering the rental agreement, sign a separate agreement to hold the home and pay a holding deposit equal to 25% of one full month’s rent. Before collection we provide a written statement of rent, fees, required deposits, the terms for executing the rental agreement and the conditions for refund or retention.

Holding agreements & deposits#

A holding agreement allows five additional calendar days to execute the rental agreement and states an exact deadline and agreed start date. When the rental agreement is executed we immediately credit the holding deposit against amounts due. If the agreement is not executed because we fail to comply with the agreement to execute or you reject it after discovering material habitability defects under ORS 90.320(1), we return the deposit within five business days by mailing it by first-class mail.

Security deposits#

The property disclosure states the base security deposit and any possible additional amount before a fee is collected. A separate pet deposit may be required if applicable. We do not charge a pet deposit for an animal approved as a disability accommodation. Any conditional deposit is explained in writing.

Credit & income#

Tenant Screening Criteria#

1. Credit Score Requirement#

• Standard minimum credit score for financially responsible applicants: 675
• Standard minimum credit score for an accepted nonresident guarantor: 700
• A lower score may be considered with a qualified guarantor or an additional deposit. We review the underlying record and relevant supplemental information. Thin credit, no score or unavailable United States credit history receives alternative review using verifiable payment history and financial records; it is not an automatic failure. We will communicate final conditions in writing.
• We obtain your authorization before a credit report. We review accuracy and the actual obligations reflected in it.

2. Credit Worthiness Requirement#

We review the following documented credit issues, subject to the exclusions and individual review below. To be approved, applicants may not have:

• Unpaid utility debt or a utility payment more than 90 days late during the past two years
• More than three reported payment delinquencies during the past two years. We count one delinquency per account per monthly billing period, (excluding medical debt).
• Verified unpaid obligations to a former landlord from a tenancy that ended within the past five years, excluding disputed amounts not substantiated and all unpaid rent that accrued from April 1 2020 through February 28 2022, including protected rent in judgments or collections.
• These concerns receive individual review. We may consider corrected information, repayment evidence, a qualified guarantor or a disclosed lawful deposit condition. A condition must address the documented concern and comply with the property’s published terms and applicable law.
• We verify relevant credit information with authorized reports and supporting records. Protected rent cannot be counted indirectly through a reference or collection entry.
• A bankruptcy filing within the past five years prompts review of current ability to pay and obligations that remain legally payable. It is not an automatic denial. We do not treat a discharged debt as an outstanding payable obligation.

3. Income-to-Rent Ratio Requirement#

• Minimum gross monthly income (combined): 2.5 times the monthly rent.
• Minimum gross monthly income for a guarantor: 3 times the monthly rent.
• Divide verified average monthly gross household income by the monthly rent. We normally use 3 months for variable income but consider reliable evidence of a new or changed ongoing amount. Deduct confirmed rent assistance paid toward the rent before applying the ratio and do not count that same assistance again as cash income. If assistance pays all rent, no rent-income ratio is required for a zero tenant rent share. Examples: For $800 tenant-paid rent and $3,000 income, the ratio is 3.75:1. For $1,000 tenant-paid rent, 2.5 times rent is $2,500. For $1,600 rent with $1,000 confirmed rent assistance, the $600 tenant share requires $1,500 at 2.5:1.
• If combined income falls below the ratio, we review any documented savings alternative and available guarantor option. A possible conditional is not guaranteed approval.
• We verify income through the source-appropriate records described above and reasonable alternatives. Contact us if you have difficulty producing the records.
• We consider documented lawful income you submit, including wages, benefits, pensions, support payments, self-employment and housing assistance. We combine income without regard to marriage or family relationship.
• If you have no current income but document accessible savings of at least 36 times the monthly rent, you satisfy this income requirement. Example: At $1,000 rent that is $36,000. This does not automatically satisfy other screening criteria. Ask us to review mixed income and savings or restrictions on asset access individually.

Pets & background screening#

4. Pet Restrictions#

Pet permissions and pet charges are stated in the listing and rental agreement. An animal approved as a reasonable accommodation for a disability is handled through the accommodation process and not subject to pet rent, pet fees or a pet deposit. Contact us to request review.

5. Criminal History#

• We consider only convictions entered within five years before application for conduct that is presently illegal in Oregon and is permitted for consideration under ORS 90.303(3): drug-related crimes other than convictions solely for marijuana use or possession, person crimes, sex offenses, financial fraud or other crimes that affect property, health, safety or peaceful-enjoyment of others. A conviction does not automatically disqualify you.
• We do not consider arrests without qualifying convictions, pending charges, dismissed or acquitted charges, expunged or sealed records or participation in diversion, conditional discharge or deferred-judgment programs as a conviction. We do not consider medical-marijuana patient or cardholder status. Before a criminal-history denial we give you an opportunity to submit supplemental evidence and conduct an individualized assessment of the nature and severity of incidents, number and type, elapsed time and your age when they occurred. We consider rehabilitation, subsequent conduct and any correction of the record.
• We obtain your authorization for criminal screening, verify relevant record details and explain a final denial and our consideration of supplemental evidence in writing.

6. Eviction History#

• We may consider a verified judgment for possession entered against you less than five years before application, subject to the exclusions below and individual review. We do not treat the filing of an eviction case alone as disqualifying.
• We do not consider cases dismissed or resulting in a general judgment for you, judgments entered five or more years before application, sealed or set-aside records or judgments on claims arising from April 1 2020 through February 28 2022.
• We verify any relevant eviction record and allow you to provide corrected information or relevant context before a final decision.

Rental history & review requests#

Rental History Review Requirements#

Provide available contact information for your two most recent landlords and other landlords during the past five years. If you owned your home, lack rental history or cannot obtain a reference, tell us so we can consider property records or other reliable evidence. Lack of prior rental history or an unresponsive reference alone is not an automatic denial. We seek necessary consent before requesting or giving confidential reference information. A guarantor’s resident rental history is not required solely to guarantee payment. We verify the following relevant facts:

• Which eligible rent installments were due, which were paid by the due date and how many were late?
• Was there tenant-caused damage beyond ordinary wear and tear or another verified unpaid obligation, and what amount remains payable?
• Were there documented material lease violations, what occurred and how were they resolved?

The following concerns prompt individual review and may support denial:

• Fewer than 80% of eligible rent installments paid on time during the reviewed five-year period. We divide installments paid by the due date by eligible installments due, exclude protected pandemic rent and do not count a disputed error as late. For example, with 12 rent installments, 11 timely payments equal 91.67% and 10 equal 83.33%. We review context and any accommodation request.
• Verified tenant-caused damage beyond ordinary wear and tear or unpaid rental obligations that remain relevant to tenancy.
• Documented material lease violations within the past year or more than one within the past three years, evaluated for severity, resolution and relevance. We exclude lawful rights assertions, protected victim-related conduct, disability-based assumptions and unsupported allegations.

Supplemental information & reconsideration#

You may submit corrected information, an explanation or other evidence relevant to any potentially negative result. For criminal history we provide that opportunity before denial and perform the individualized review described above. You may request reconsideration by contacting team@nestwestproperty.com or using an agreed non-digital method within 14 calendar days after our written decision. We normally respond in writing within seven business days after receiving the supporting material, with reasonable extensions for access or verification. We explain why evidence did or did not resolve the stated concern. Report disputes may also be made directly to the reporting company and are not limited by this internal review period. Requesting review does not guarantee the same home remains available; applicable queue rules and accommodations still apply.

Changes to an existing tenancy#

For an existing tenancy, adding a resident, replacing a resident, transferring homes and releasing a tenant or guarantor are separate requests. Ask for the applicable written process before anyone moves in or assumes a release. A new resident’s approval does not by itself release anyone from an existing agreement. We confirm any approved change and release in writing. A refusal to release a party is not itself a notice terminating the tenancy.