Application Review Process

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Review Process Description

The following details CoSine Real Estate’s (Landlord) Application Review & Approval Process. Please read the following carefully as it contains important information about how we process applications and the timelines involved. If you actually read this 99% of your questions will be answered. We strictly adhere to all Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Laws and Regulations.

Step 1 – Apply Online

The first step is to complete an application. Each adult over the age 18 who will be residing in the rental must complete an application. We will not move forward with your application until we receive applications from everyone over the age of 18.

Step 2 – Reviewing Applications

We often receive multiple applications for our rentals. When reviewing multiple applications, we will select the most qualified applicants and begin the review process with that group of applicants. We will hold onto any other applications received and proceed with the review process for those applications in an orderly manner until the unit is rented.

We determine the “most qualified” applicant based on the data points collected in the application. We look at the length of employment, income, length of rental history, pets, etc. From these basic data points, we make a decision about who is best qualified. We always say the perfect tenant has had the same job and the same rental for 10 years. We like consistency.

We then take the most qualified applicants and process their application. At this time we run credit, check references, verify income, etc. If everything checks out we offer them the home. If they do not pass the full background check, or they change their minds, we move on to the next most qualified applicants. And so on until we have the home rented.

This means we may have your application, but we are not processing it right away. You may be 2nd in line or 5th in line. Either way, we won’t process your application until you are #1. The good thing about this is we don’t charge you to apply. We do collect payment info when you submit your application, but we will not charge you nor run your credit until you are #1 on the list.

Step 3 – Verification

At this point you were #1 on the list, and we are moving forward with your application. We will now run your credit which includes a nationwide criminal & eviction search, and a credit report which includes more detailed data than most consumer-facing reports offer. For this reason we don’t typically accept credit reports provided by applicants, but we are happy to review what you have. We will also ask you for income & employment verification and we will contact your current and past landlords and references. Income & employment verification may be provided in the form of recent paystubs or bank statements. If you want to submit tax returns we will ask for 2 years.

Once applicants provide all requested information we will be ready to provide a final approval or denial.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. Failure of any applicant to timely respond to our requests may result in the rental being leased to other parties without further notice. We consider 2 business days a reasonable amount of time to allow applicants to respond. If you need additional time for any reason please contact your leasing agent. It only takes one applicant to hold up the whole process, so make sure everyone gets us the information requested. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO STOP YOUR APPLICATION PROCESS WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU IF YOU FAIL TO RESPOND TO OUR REQUESTS.

Step 4 – Lease and Payment

Once fully approved, you must sign the lease and pay the security deposit to finalize the leasing process and hold the home. Our office will prepare the Lease and email it for electronic signature. You will also receive your Tenant Welcome email so you can login to your Tenant Account to pay any deposit or rent due. We may have specific instructions on payment based on your lease start date or other variables.

You must sign the lease and pay the deposit to finalize the leasing process.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. Failure of any applicant to timely respond to our requests may result in the rental being leased to other parties without further notice. We consider 2 business days a reasonable amount of time to allow applicants to respond. If you need additional time for any reason please contact your leasing agent. It only takes one applicant to hold up the whole process, so make sure everyone gets us the information requested. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO STOP YOUR APPLICATION PROCESS WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU IF YOU FAIL TO RESPOND TO OUR REQUESTS.

General Guidelines

We have lots of communication with prospective applicants. Under no circumstances is any prior communication, verbal, written or otherwise, to be construed as acceptance of any agreement as to the final terms of any lease. All terms are subject to change without notice. This means we may change the asking price of a rental or other terms before you sign a lease. This happened sometimes for various reasons. We will always be upfront with you and notify you about changes to our advertising or lease terms. You can always say tell us no if you don’t like any changes.

No party is obligated until a written lease is fully executed by all parties. We can change our minds and you can change your minds up until we both sign a lease. Once a lease is signed, all parties are bound by the terms of the written lease.

If there is something that is critical to you leasing a property, like the home MUST have air conditioning, it is up to you to confirm it.  Do not rely on any advertising or verbal description.

Household income must be at least twice the rent, and preferably at least three times the rent.
No evictions on your record.

No bankruptcies within the last 3 years. We may consider a bankruptcy if it has been discharged and is at least 3 years old. Any consideration to this is in our sole and absolute discretion.

Poor credit history does not immediately disqualify anyone. We like to look at the big financial picture and understand that running into hard times happens. Our primary concern is good income/employment and good rental history. If you have good income/employment and good rental history, we may still consider you even with poor credit history. Any consideration to this is in our sole and absolute discretion.

We may consider pets in our sole and absolute discretion. Every rental and every owner are different. Please understand we may answer a general question “Do you accept pets” with a yes but any final approval can only be given after we review your entire application and background check, and the details of your pets like size, number, and breed.

We follow all Fair Housing guidelines.

Thank you for taking the time to read and understand our Leasing & Application Review & Approval Process.

Search Available Rentals

View our inventory of properties and find your next home!

Apply Online

Apply online to save time, paper, and headaches!

Maintenance Requests

The fastest and easiest way to request non-emergency maintenance.

Access Tenant Portal

Pay rent, submit a maintenance request, and download documents.