Resident FAQs

Answers to your frequently asked questions

Current Residents

• You have a property I want to rent. How do I apply?

  Find the property on our website and click “Apply Now” above the map of the property location. Please note that you must view the property in person before your application will be processed.

• If more than one party is interested in a property, how do you decide who gets to rent it?

  In compliance with the Fair Housing Act, we must accept the first qualified applicant who completes our application and passes our credit and background check. To ensure consistency, our properties are offered on a “First Call, First Serve” basis. All properties are actively marketed until a lease has been signed and a deposit has been paid.

• Do I pay the first month’s rent and last month’s rent with my security deposit?

  In most instances, renters are required to pay their security deposit and first month’s rent before moving in.

• How old do you have to be to apply?

  Applicants must be at least 18 years old.

• Is the security deposit refundable?

  Yes, the security deposit is refundable assuming that all provisions of the lease have been met.

• Who needs a co-signer?

  A co-signer is recommended for anyone with a credit score lower than 600, or a gross monthly income less than 3x the monthly rent.

• Who is responsible for paying for repairs & maintenance requests?

  Typically, routine maintenance and repairs are the responsibility of the resident, such as changing furnace filters, thermostat batteries, light bulbs, etc.. In the unfortunate occurrence that an appliance breaks or plumbing fails, the owner will be responsible for it. However, residents should always read through their lease carefully to be sure they understand what they are responsible for, and then call us if there are questions.

• What is your late fee policy?

  Unfortunately, we are generally unable to waive late fees. Due to fair housing requirements, potential liability, and out of a general sense of fairness, we need to treat all of our tenants the same and not give some tenants preferential treatment. It wouldn't be right to charge one tenant a late fee and waive a late fee for another tenant. Landlords also depend upon those late fees, because most of them don't own their houses free and clear. They usually have a mortgage payment to make, so when the rent is late, they pay their mortgage payment late, and their bank charges them a late fee. So they're usually using the late fee that the tenant pays to pay off their own late fee.

  However, there are some very limited circumstances where our policy allows for the waiving of a late fee:

  • As part of your Resident Benefit Package, you are entitled to (1) late fee waiver per lease term. This late fee waiver only applies to the initial late fee charge as outlined in your lease. Subsequent daily late fee payments, service notice charges or any other costs incurred to enforce the payment of your rent as outlined in your lease cannot be waived at any time.
  • If your rent is only late due to something caused by us, then we would agree to waive your late fee. For example, if you had an automatic payment setup in your Resident Portal for the 1st of the month, but our computer system went down and didn't process your payment on time, that would be our fault, and we would waive your late fee (provided you promptly make payment after finding out that your auto payment didn't go through).
  • If you've just renewed your lease and it's the first month on the new lease, and there are new charges or higher rent, and you simply forgot to update your payment amount, we will waive the late fee if you get the extra amount you owed to us no later than the 7th of the month.
  • If you're a brand new tenant and have some confusion setting up a payment on the Resident Portal and it doesn't go through, then we'll agree to waive the late fee provided that you pay no later than the 7th of the month.
  • If you're a brand new tenant and you accidentally forget to include the payment of a fee such as pet admin fees or a lease admin fee, but you paid the normal rent on time, then we will agree to waive the late fee if you pay the additional amount you missed no later than the 7th of the month.
  • If you have accidentally underpaid by less than $5.00, then we will agree to waive the late fee if you pay the remaining amount no later than the 7th of the month. Please note that if you do this repeatedly, your request for a late fee waiver will be denied. This should be a very rare occurrence.
  • If you have experienced the death of an immediate family member in the prior thirty (30) days and have been overwhelmed with funeral arrangements and/or grief. "Immediate family member" includes only the following relatives of the people named on the lease: spouse, child, mother, father, sibling, grandparent. Documentation of the relative's death is required.

  These are the only circumstances under which we will agree to waive late fees. While we sympathize with tenants who are going through financial difficulties, have had deaths or illnesses in the family, or are experiencing other hardships, we simply cannot allow these circumstances to interfere with the enforcement of the lease. Our clients, the landlords, pay us to collect the rent, and we have an obligation to them to do just that. It is sometimes a difficult position for us to be in collecting rent from someone who is going through a hardship, but we have to do our job. We hope you can understand.

  If you do qualify for one of the above circumstances under which a late fee can be waived, please Click Here to fill out the form to request a late fee waiver. Please note that even if a late fee is waived, it won't actually be removed from your account ledger until after you've paid the rest of what you owe.

• Can I do any work/make any improvements on the property?

  The terms of your lease will stipulate what you can and cannot do, but the answer is typically yes, as long as you return it to the original condition upon the completion of your lease. If you have any questions about a specific improvement or repair, please give us a call to discuss.

Prospective Residents

• Is the application fee refundable?

  NO, the application fee is non-refundable once submitted. There is no charge for credit screening reports run by our office. Our application fee covers our staff labor cost to process and score your application. Hence, our policy is that once an application is paid for and submitted to our office to start processing, the application fee is NON-REFUNDABLE. If your application is approvable, but not the approved one for the property for which you are applying, you may consider applying for other available properties that we may have, without payment of an additional application fee. By signing, submitting and paying for your application, you expressly understand this policy and agree that your application fee is non-refundable. You also expressly agree not to dispute this charge based on the outcome of your application. Under no circumstances will the application fee be refunded. We are not responsible for applications that are submitted without the required documents or missing information. For this reason, please make sure you follow all of the instructions and submit all of the information that is required.

• What's required to apply to rent?

  To apply to rent, here's what you'll need:

  • Each adult (18yrs and older) applicant must apply and each must pay a $65.00 application fee. A valid and current ID is required.
  • You will need to submit proof of income electronically, through PLAID, showing that adult combined monthly gross incomes totals at least 3x the monthly rent amount.
  • You will need to provide 2 years of accurate landlord references. Note: per FACTA Identity Theft regulations, we report false landlord references to credit bureaus and local law enforcement authorities.
  • You will need to fill out an OurPetPolicy application for at least one adult on the application. A no pets option is provided on the application.
  • TENANT LIABILITY INSURANCE is REQUIRED for all Leases and Lease Renewals. A current insurance policy will need to be provided prior to move-in on all of our rental properties.

• Do you accept housing vouchers (commonly referred to as Section 8)?

  Yes. We do accept housing vouchers as a source of income for qualifying. In order to have your housing voucher considered as part of your application, you must FIRST email your voucher paperwork (including your Rent Affordability Sheet) to us at applications@yourplacepm.com, so that we can determine if your voucher and income will qualify you for the rental that is posted. ALL application fees are NON-REFUNDABLE so it is important that you first check to make sure your voucher and income affordability are enough to cover the rent amount that is posted. Additionally, we cannot hold any rental until your voucher and lease are fully approved by the entity that is providing your voucher (including completion of any inspections) funding. Applications will continue to be processed during your approval period. If another applicant is approved and signs a lease before your voucher process is completed, that applicant will get the property. If you have questions regarding this process, please contact our office BEFORE submitting your application.

• What would cause an automatic decline?

  Evictions, unpaid balances owed to landlords, insufficient income, unsatisfactory references or a recent or non-discharged bankruptcy and more than 1 bankruptcy in the past 10 years, would all cause an automatic decline. Unqualified occupants or pets can also be a reason for decline. Felonies within the last 7 years of: illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance, illegal possession or use of a firearm, and felonies resulting in bodily harm or intentional damage or destruction of property. Additionally, an applicant may be denied due to sexual related offenses for any time period. If an applicant makes any derogatory or offensive comments, and/or acts in a threatening, combative, intoxicated or disorderly manner during any phase of the inspection, meeting or application process, the application may be denied.

• If my credit isn't perfect, can I still be approved?

  Yes, with conditions. All applications are scored using a 13 point screening matrix. Those with less than excellent credit will be required to pay a higher deposit as well as a monthly Credit Risk Mitigation Fee. Based on many years of experience, we have determined that those tenants with less than excellent credit are far more likely to pay their rent late or otherwise default on their lease obligations. This increases our workload, as we have to spend time trying to collect monthly rent, late fees and violation fines from the tenant. It also increases our risk, as it costs us money when rent isn't being paid or when tenants have to be evicted. The Credit Risk Mitigation Fee helps to offset our costs in this regard.

• What if there are multiple applications on the same property?

  We will process all applications received and either approve or decline each applicant. More than one applicant may be approved for a property. The first applicant who is approved AND pays the approved security deposit amount in certified funds is the applicant who will receive the property.