An application is considered complete when the property manager or their assigned office has received ALL of the following items either via email, fax, or physical delivery for each and every occupant that is 18 years or older and/or guarantor. these documents are to be uploaded during the online application process if possible. If you are submitting a paper application, you may provide printed paper copies of these documents at that time.
Please provide to your Property Manager ALL of the following items:
- Completed Rental Application:
- Either online at www.wpmnorthwest.com (see attached instructions) or paper version (request from your leasing agent or property manager or one of our physical office locations).
- Payment of $50 Application Fee:
- Applicant will have the ability to provide a credit card number while completing the online application, or write in their credit card number on our paper application.
- We do not accept checks or cash for payment of the application fee.
- Copy of Photo ID:
- Can be either state or government identification. We cannot accept military ID’s as they cannot be copied under law.
- Name(s) on ID(s) must match names on other documents (such as application and income statements). Any discrepancies will require applicable legal documents.
- Proof of Income:
- Applicant must meet financial requirement of earning gross income of at least 3 times the monthly rent, and provide proof of income. (See below regarding housing voucher calculations under “Income Formats”).
- Guarantors must provide proof of earning gross income of at least 5 times the monthly rent.
- See further in this document for acceptable proof of income formats.
- Agreement and Confirmation of Terms:
- Upon receipt of your application the property manager will follow up with you to confirm terms such as monthly rent, lease term, deposit, pet policy, etc.
- Please be sure to respond to this inquiry ASAP to confirm you agree to said terms.
- Property Viewing Date and Time: (SEATTLE PROPERTIES ONLY)
- All applicants must tour the interior/exterior of the property. If not all applicants are available to tour, one member of the group of applicants or another personal representative must visit the property in person and perform a video call (such as Skype, Facetime, etc.), or record a video tour of the property on behalf of those not present in person.
- Personal representative must be identified in writing to the property manager. WPM/LGA will allow our leasing agents to serve as personal representatives.
Once all requirements listed above have been fulfilled by each occupant 18 years or older, and all terms have been agreed upon, the property manager may begin the screening process. Any application with unanswered questions or missing items will be considered incomplete and may not be submitted for review. *Please note, WPM/LGA does not accept comprehensive reusable tenant screening reports*
If this property is within the Seattle City limits, the following paragraph shall apply: In the event an applicant has a sensory, physical, or mental impairment that limits a major life function, or needs meaningful access to the application form (i.e. applicant does not speak English and needs a translator) and is not able to complete an application in a timely manner, they can make a request for additional time or a reasonable accommodation to extend their application period for up to 72 hours. Please submit your request directly to the Property Manager with the requested timeline to complete the application, the reason for your accommodation request and documentation supporting your request. Upon receipt of your request, the date and time received will be noted, and you will be put into the application queue based upon order of receipt. In the event your application is not completed within the request timeframe, we will proceed with the next application in line.
ACCEPTABLE PROOF OF INCOME FORMATS:
Unless otherwise advertised, any two adult applicants may pool their gross income to meet the 3x monthly rent standard. All additional adult occupants thereafter must financially qualify individually showing proof of gross income earning 3x the monthly rent on their own. In the case of a guarantor, they are required to show proof of gross income earning 5x the monthly rent.
Please provide one or more of the following proof of income formats:
- One copy of most recent paystub
- Must include employer name, employee name and pay period on stub
- Paystub can be no older than the last 3 months
- Offer letter from prospective employer
- Must be on employer letterhead, include applicant’s name and compensation summary
- In the case of self-employment
- Provide asset statements for the last 3 months (must show name of institution, account holder name, statement date, summary of deposits and balance)
AND
- Income tax statement for the previous year (W2, 1099 or first 3 pages of IRS 1040 form)
- Proof of savings/investments
- Provide 3 asset statements for the last 3 months (must show name of institution, account holder name, statement date, summary of deposits and balance) showing a balance of three times the monthly rent for entire lease term or first 12 months, whichever is less.
* For example, monthly rent is $2500 x 3 = $7500 x 12 = $90,000 minimum balance
- Proof of alternative source of income
- May be from a lawful verifiable source other than wages, salaries, or other compensation for employment including, but not limited to: Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers or similar, social security benefits, unemployment benefits, charity programs, maintenance or child support, and/or any federal, state, local government, private or nonprofit administered benefit program (including any applicable non-domestic documents).
- In the case of providing a voucher which is less than advertised monthly rent, applicant must provide proof of income qualification for difference (aka their portion) as described above.
HOW TO COMPLETE OUR ONLINE RENTAL APPLICATION:
- Go to http://www.wpmnorthwest.com/
- Select the property you are interested in and click APPLY NOW
- Complete the rental application.
- You will be prompted for a credit/debit card to pay the $50 application fee.
Please note that in some situations, such as multiple/competing offers, if an application is not screened, the application fee will be refunded. In most cases this refund will occur within 7-10 days; for extenuating circumstances this may take longer.
If you do not have access to a computer, please ask your leasing agent for a paper application to fill out or you can visit any one of our offices listed above to request a paper application in person. Should you need to deliver any applications or other documents in person you can do so at any of our 3 office locations.
| Seattle 819 NE 65th Street Seattle WA 98115 Main: (206) 527-0400 Fax: (425) 242-5226 | Bellevue 700 112th Ave NE, Ste 203 Bellevue, WA 98004 Main: (425) 455-5515 Fax: (425) 242-5226 | Mill Creek 15418 Main Street Unit M102 Mill Creek, WA 98012 Main: (425) 672-2000 Fax: (425) 242-5226 |
Business hours are Monday through Friday 8:30am – 5:00pm. We are closed in observance of all major holidays. If your application/screening process is run initially, not resulting in a lease, and then at your request transferred to another WPM/LGA property with different screening guidelines, the necessary portion(s) of the screening, if applicable, will be run again and may result in an additional screening fee.
If your application/screening process is run initially, not resulting in a lease, and then at your request transferred to another WPM/LGA property with different screening guidelines, the necessary portion(s) of the screening will be run again and may result in an additional screening fee.
OUR CRITERIA FOR TENANT SELECTION:
Your credit screening will be completed by our 3rd party vendor AppFolio. We recommend that if you have a “freeze” currently placed on your credit, you have it “lifted” prior to your screening. You may also wish to consult www.AnnualCreditReport.com to do a self-credit look up prior to applying. Should you discover any outstanding debt you may consider paying it down prior to application.
We require a positive credit history with:
- Minimum credit score of 660 (lack of credit score shall not necessarily constitute denial)
- No more than 20% of derogatory accounts
- No more than $500 worth of accounts in collection
- No non-discharged bankruptcies, or any discharged within the past 3 years
- No money owing to a previous landlord (with the exception of unpaid rent between 3/1/2020 – 12/31/2021)
- No landlord/tenant dispute judgements in favor of landlord within the past 3 years
LANDLORD REFERENCES:
Each applicant may be asked to demonstrate a pattern of meeting rental obligations, leaving prior rental properties in good condition and not having a pattern of complaints from neighbors. Applicants can have no prior evictions, and are asked to demonstrate references for positive rental or mortgage history over the last 36 months (this may include any applicable non-domestic documents). Please note that your application will ask for contact information for the current/previous landlord, including email address, and they must take or return inquiries made to them from AppFolio within 48 hours of initiation of screening or we may move on to the next application.
LEASE OVERLAP:
Screening results will be impacted if there is more than a 60-day overlap between the proposed lease start date on your application and the remainder of your current lease term, if applicable. If such overlap exists, we may require a written agreement from your current landlord that releases you early from your current lease agreement.
CRIMINAL HISTORY:
History of criminal activity on the part of any proposed occupant which presents a danger to persons or property or the peace and enjoyment of other residents or members of the community could negatively impact your application. When evaluating any past criminal convictions (if allowable), we consider the nature (whether it indicates a potential risk to person or property or shows incident(s) of identity theft) and severity of the crime and the amount of time that has passed since the criminal conduct occurred (beyond 7 years for felonies and beyond 3 years for misdemeanors will not be considered). If you have any mitigating factors you wish us to consider, please bring them to our attention. Individual assessments may be performed and additional charges to the applicant may apply. The criminal history portion of your screening will be conducted in accordance, if allowable, with the current legal requirements of the jurisdiction in which the property you are applying for is located.
ANIMALS ON THE PROPERTY:
If you intend to have a pet on the property you must obtain permission in advance. All animals must be properly licensed and you may be asked to provide a record of current immunizations. Service/Companion animals are defined as an animal that provides necessary medical or emotional support for the benefit of an individual with a disability. In this case, you may be asked to provide written documentation of the animal’s status as a service/companion animal and/or photograph(s) of the animal(s) in order for your application to be considered complete. Before any animal may reside at the property, you will need to be granted written approval.
GUARANTORS:
If you do not meet one or more of the above criteria, you may be able to qualify for a rental unit if you have a third party that will guarantee your lease. Note that the inclusion of a Guarantor (aka “co-signer”) to qualify an application is the sole option of the landlord and may be declined. The guarantor must fill out an application, pass the screening process and have gross income equal to five times the monthly rent as well as good credit history. In the case of a guarantor, an application will not be considered fully complete and received until their information is submitted to our office or directly to the property manager.
FALSE INFORMATION:
If at any time the applicant provides false information or a gross distortion of the truth on their rental application, it will result in an automatic denial. Such falsified information may affect legitimacy of tenancy if discovered in the future.
COMPETING OFFERS:
Please be aware that in a competitive rental market, it is possible that you may encounter a multiple offer situation where parties may be competing with one another. Where allowable, the terms of your offer such as start date, lease duration, etc., may be weighed against competing offers. Please inquire with the listing agent for details about any of these elements that may strengthen your application.
If your application/screening is not approved, you will be notified via Adverse Action letter explaining why, and you are entitled to contact your property manager directly and/or the screening provider of the report to discuss (you may be granted reasonable accommodation of up to 48 hours). Screening provider may be contacted at:
AppFolio Screening Consumer Relations
70 Castilian Drive, Goleta CA 93117
(866) 359-3630 | screening.consumer.relations@appfolio.com | www.appfolio.com/consumer
LEASE & MOVE-IN
Once your screening has been completed and approval received, a lease will be sent to you for review either by email for eSignature or you will meet with your property manager in person to review and sign. Once the lease has been provided to you, sign (per Seattle First in Time, a 48-hour deadline to sign is required. All other jurisdictions will also have a 48-hour requirement unless otherwise notified by your Property Manager or any superseding law) and return to our office along with the following:
- Certified funds (cashier’s check or money order) equal to first full month’s rent payable to WPMLGA, or via credit card
- For full management accounts where we will be your main contact throughout the tenancy, you will be given instructions on the various ways that you can pay rent beyond the first month of your lease.
The lease and first full month’s rent payment can be delivered to any of our three office locations. Business hours are Monday through Friday 8:30am – 5:00pm. We are closed in observance of all major holidays.
| Seattle 819 NE 65th Street Seattle WA 98115 Main: (206) 527-0400 Fax: (425) 242-5226 | Bellevue 700 112th Ave NE, Ste 203 Bellevue, WA 98004 Main: (425) 455-5515 Fax: (425) 242-5226 | Mill Creek 15418 Main Street Unit M102 Mill Creek, WA 98012 Main: (425) 672-2000 Fax: (425) 242-5226 |
After your lease has been signed, your copy will be uploaded for access via your Online Portal. As the move-in date approaches, your property manager will be in touch with you to schedule your move-in walk through. Please note that the appointment will most likely be set on a weekday during normal business hours. At this appointment, the property manager will:
- Complete, review and have you sign a move-in condition report which outlines the current condition of the property on move-in day. Please note that photos will be taken and we will provide you with a copy of the move-in report.
- Collect the security deposit which must be certified funds (cashier’s check or money order), payable either to WPMLGA or your new landlord. Credit card option available if property managed by WPM/LGA.
- Hand over keys, fobs, garage openers, etc.
- Confirm that your renters insurance policy has been initiated.
Please note: We are not able to hand over keys if we do not receive security deposit funds as described above, in exchange for the move-in condition report. Please plan ahead to ensure you have funds available. We are unable to accept personal checks for move-in funds.
If you are not able to be present for the move-in walk through you will need to assign a personal representative that will be approving the condition in your absence, and assign specific/limited Power of Attorney appointing the named representative to sign the inspection form as your authorized agent. A copy of the personal representative’s ID will be copied and retained on file. We are not responsible for damage incurred after the personal representative has signed the move-in condition report.
Once keys are handed over to you, you are welcome to move in your personal possessions any time thereafter, subject to any applicable HOA restrictions. In the case of a condominium/apartment building, you may be required to make a second appointment directly with the concierge/building manager for a building orientation, to reserve an elevator, to understand moving truck procedures, etc. Please understand that we are not able to allow personal belongings (i.e., furniture) into the home prior to the move-in walkthrough.
VIEW RENTER’S HANDBOOK BY CITY / JURISDICTION
In certain cities where WPM/LGA leases properties, there are mandatory “Renters Handbooks” that the landlord must provide to the tenant. The current handbooks, where applicable, are linked below. By acknowledging receipt of this Tenancy Criteria, you are acknowledging that you have been provided the Renters Handbook & related information if you intend to sign a lease in any of the following cities / jurisdictions.
View Renters Handbooks and Voting Information on the Resident Resources page of our website:
