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Qualification Criteria
Home Rental | Florida helps you find the perfect home or apartment rental for you and your family in the Tampa Bay area.
Home Rental Qualification Requirements
Our Screening Process
Home Rental Florida does business in accordance with al Federal, State and Local Fair Housing laws and does not discriminate or select applicants based on race, color, disability, sex, sexual preference, religious preference, family status, gender identity, age, national origin, citizenship status or ancestry.
Our goal as a property management company is to determine the eligibility and qualifications of applicants for the home owner of the rental properties under our management. This qualification is calculated based on a scored criteria approach, which is outlined here. Once we have completed our assessment, the information is presented to and subsequent selection of an applicant is made solely by the owner of the property in question. In this capacity, Home Rental Florida only provides tenant screening and criminal background reports to our owner clients for their review and determination. We do not choose the applicant(s) for whom to rent to.
That said, for each application we must verify various aspects of your history including your current and previous credit, leasing history, employment status, income verification and criminal background reviews.
Items We Need From Every Applicant
In order to process a complete rental application and determine eligibility for our property owners, we must receive the following materials from each applicant who is over the age of 18 who will be living at the property.
1.
A completed application for the selected property that is signed and dated by each non-married individual. Married couples may include both spouse’s information on a single application.
2.
A copy of a state issued photo ID (driver’s license, passport, military ID, etc.)
3.
Proof of legal income for all applicants that is sufficient to meet the minimum rent to income ratio desired by the property owner. Acceptable verification artifacts include, but are not limited to, perivous 2 pay stubs from active employer, proof of active and current government income (i.e. social security, disability, welfare, etc.), proof of child support or other types of spousal support, proof of retirement income (401k, dividend payments, etc.), written verification of payroll and salary from employer (if applicant is starting a new job).
NOTE: Applicants who are self employed must provide copies of the previous year’s tax returns as well as documentation of the current year’s financial performance that shows there is sufficient Net revenue to meet the minimum rent to income ratio desired by the property owner.
4.
Submission of a $50 non-refundable screening fee per application. This covers our costs for research and services we use during the screening process.
Our Scoring Procedures
We use the following scoring system to provide a numerical “Applicant Score” to use as a baseline comparison of potential tenants for our property owners.
CREDIT (FICO) SCORE
- 50 points for 750+ or higher FICO score
- 40 points for 700 – 749 FICO score
- 30 points for 625 – 699 FICO score
- 20 points for 575 – 624 FICO score
- 0 points for 574 or less FICO score
RENT TO INCOME RATIO (BASED ON COMBINED APPLICANTS INCOME)
- 30 points where rent to income ratio is 20% or less or if total financial assets in reserve is at least 6 times the monthly rent for the property
- 20 points where the rent to income ratio is 21% – 25%
- 10 points where the rent to income ratio is 26% – 32%
- 0 points where the rent to income ratio is 33% or higher
PREVIOUS RENTAL HISTORY (VERIFIED)
- 20 points if no eviction record and no more than 1 payment was late within the previous 3 years (also applies where previous address is home owned by applicant)
- 10 points where there are less than 3 late payment records in the last 3 years OR if there is no previous leasing history
- 0 points where there are 4 or more late payment records in the last 3 years OR if previous leasing history could not be verified
Criminal History
An applicant’s criminal history is assessed individually and separate from the overall scoring for eligibility purposes. For this reason, we conduct criminal background checks on all applicants. Only criminal convictions are considered in this analysis and arrests without convictions are not pertinent to this review. In addition, our evaluation primary focuses on criminal convictions for violent, sexual and drug production / trafficking offenses.
In order to fully consider your criminal history and context thereof, we ask that you please be forthright in providing any information that may be necessary to understand the situation and context of any criminal convictions.
Once we receive the information regarding your criminal history, we work with the home owner to determine whether your application is qualified or unqualified, based on the concerns for the safety of other residents or staff and the well-being of the property.
The Selection Process
Once we have received and reviewed the pertinent information used to calculate the Application Score, we convey this information in addition to any relevant background data and supporting documentation to the home owner and / or other required factions (i.e. homeowner associations, community associations, etc.).
We refer to these documents as an “Application Package” and this is presented in an unbiased and procedural manner at the completion of each individual applicant’s review.
Once the Application Package is received, they compare it to any other Applicant Packages and make a selection for tenancy, backup tenants (if applicable) and / or request additional information for further review.
At no time does the staff at Home Rental Florida select or deny an applicant for consideration of a tenancy. This is solely the right and responsibility of the home owner we manage the property for.
Once a determination has been made, we notify all interested parties as to the outcome. For those applicants who are approved for tenancy, we then begin the rental on-boarding process.
Application Policies
Home Rental Florida requires that every applicant adhere to the following application policies when applying for tenancy. We reserve the right to disqualify any applicant that does not adhere to these policies in a timely manner.
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All applications must be completed, signed and dated in their entirety – and by every applicant over the years of 18 years who will be living at the property. Only fully completed applications will be processed and incomplete applications will not be considered.
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We must verify previous rental, employment and potentially other references as part of our qualification process. As such, we ask that you please ensure that all contact information for your references are current. If you cannot provide information for us to verify various information on your Application, this may affect your Application Score.
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It is expected that you will be honest and truthful in your application and answer questions to the best of your ability. Any falsification of facts, withholding or pertinent information requested or use of language during the application process that is deemed threatening, derogatory, racist, sexist or of a defamatory nature, whether written or spoken, is cause for immediate denial and disqualification.
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We highly recommend that you view and inspect the property prior to applying for one of our properties. If you have not physically seen the property, your application may be subordinated to other applicants who have physically inspected and seen the property.
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The allowance of pets is determined on an as-property basis and may require additional information and fees associated with applying for a property. Please check pet the requirements outlined in the property description to make a determination if your pet is elligable for tenancy.
