Acceptance of these Guidelines
Your application for one of our properties is being made subject to the policies and conditions described below, and any deposit you pay will become non-refundable upon your approval by us, subject to these conditions.  If you have questions about any of these rules, please ask your leasing agent or property manager prior to submitting your application.

Equal Housing Opportunity
We are committed to providing housing to our community in compliance with both the letter and spirit of federal and state fair housing laws. We do not discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, gender, handicap, familial status, elderliness or national origin.

Section 8 and Navy Set Aside
We do not currently participate in Section 8 housing or the Navy=s set aside program.

Occupancy Guidelines
To prevent overcrowding and undue wear and tear to rental units, we restrict the number of people who may reside in a property. In determining these restrictions, we comply with all applicable fair housing laws. We allow no more than two persons per bedroom, provided that all residents are related. We allow no more than one non-related person B i.e. roommate B per bedroom.

Application Process
We evaluate every application in the following manner: you must submit a written application on our standard form and answer all questions on the form completely and honestly. Incomplete applications will not be processed. If you are in the military, you must include a copy of your current orders and LES with your application. If you are self-employed, yon must include a copy of your two most recent Federal tax returns. To speed verification of your income, you may also wish to submit copies of your most recent pay stubs or documents that confirm any other income listed on your application, such as rental income, retirement pay, or child support. Everyone over the age of 18 who will occupy the property must complete the application and will be required to sign the lease. You must pay a non-refundable application fee of $25 per applicant.

We will determine whether the information you have provided on your application meets our rental criteria, as outlined below. If you do not, we will reject your application. If you do, we will check your credit report and verify your employment and rental history. If these verifications do not confirm that you meet our criteria, we will reject your application. The entire approval process will normally take about a day, but it may take up to several days depending on how quickly we are able to verify the information you have provided. If your application is rejected, you will be notified in writing and will be provided with a list of the reason(s) that your application was rejected. If your application is rejected, you may request that your application be reconsidered with additional consideration, such as a higher security deposit or the addition of a co-signer, or that you be considered for a less expensive rental unit. If you make such a request within 30 days of your denial, no additional application fee will be due, but additional time may be required to process your application.

The property will remain on the rental market during the time that it takes to process your application, and additional applications may be accepted during that time. While we will generally give preference to an application that was received first, we are obligated to consider offers to our clients B the landlord B that constitute a substantially better offer. In other words, preference may be given to another application if a higher rent price is offered, an applicant has offered to enter into a longer lease term, fewer pets would occupy the unit than under your application, or the applicant is substantially more qualified financially or based on credit, employment, or rental history. No preference will be given to another application based on any criteria which we may not lawfully use in determining eligibility for a rental unit.

After Approval
If you are approved for a rental, the property will be removed from the rental market and you will be required to sign a lease and pay a security deposit B which is normally equal to one month=s rent B in the form of certified funds (cashier=s check, certified check, or money order) within 24 hours of the approval of your application. Failure to pay your security deposit and sign a lease within 24 hours of approval will result in the property being placed back onto the rental market and other applications may be considered. If you are concerned that you may not be able to deliver the required deposit within 24 hours of your approval (for example, if you will be returning home from a house hunting trip immediately upon the submission of your application) you may submit a security deposit at the time of your application; however, no additional consideration will be given for such deposit unless and until your application is approved, and the property may still be rented to someone else if your application is not accepted. However, if you submit a security deposit with your application, and your application is rejected, the security deposit will be refunded. Your will also be required to pay your first month=s rent in certified funds at the time that you pick up keys.

Expedited Processing
Applicants with credit scores greater than 700, who have a minimum of two years with their current employer, and who have no derogatory credit information are eligible for expedited processing, which may substantially reduce the time that it takes to approve your application.

Rental Criteria
To qualify for a rental unit, you must meet the criteria listed below. If you do not, your application will be rejected.

a.       Income and Employment History

•  Your gross monthly income must be at least three to four times the monthly rent price, depending on your other debts; each unrelated application B i.e. roommate B must qualify for the property on their own; we will not add the income of unrelated people together when computing this multiple;

• You must have a minimum of one year with current employer at substantially the same income you now earn, or a minimum of three years in same field with substantially the same income level and no more than two employers within the past three years;

• If you are self-employed or receive more than 25% of your income on the form of commission, you must have earned substantially the same income for the past two years, you may be required to submit a certified copy of your tax return and/or bank statements for the past two years, and only income which was included on your tax return may be used for qualifying;

• If you are a member of the military, you may not sign a lease for a term longer than your current enlistment term or the length of time remaining at your current duty station;

• If you fail to meet the minimum employment requirements because you were a full time student during the year preceding your application, we will require a guarantor. However, this requirement may be waived if you have a masters degree or higher or hold a professional designation such as CPA and have permanent full-time employment in your field of training at the time of application; or

• If you are unemployed, you must provide a proof of sufficient income to qualify for the rental unit, and we may have reasonable certainty that such income is likely to continue for the entire lease term.

b.       Rental History

• You must have a minimum of two years or rental or mortgage history within the five years immediately preceding your rental application. Greater weight will be given to rental references from real estate companies and apartment communities than will be given to those from individuals;

• Your proposed rent must be no more than 25% greater than your prior rent;

• Your credit report must contain no derogatory rental information and you must not have a judgment or collection account from a former landlord within the preceding five years, whether paid or unpaid;

• You must not have had more than one late rent payment in the past two years, and no rent payment may have been more than fifteen days late;

• You must have met all of the terms of your prior lease, must have given proper notice to vacate in accordance with the terms of your lease, and must not have had any unauthorized pets or occupants in the property; and

• You must not have had deductions from your security deposit, for damages, of more than 25% of the total amount of your deposit.

c.       Credit History

• You must have at least two accounts which appear on your credit report which have been open for at least two years and which have been paid on time;

• You must not have had a bankruptcy within the past two years; and new credit must have been established since any bankruptcy (at least one installment loan or credit card) and have been paid as agreed for at least 12 months prior to date of application;

• You must have an active checking account;

• You must not have any unpaid judgments or collection accounts, and you must not have had more than two paid judgments or collection accounts within the preceding 24 months; except that special consideration may be granted at our sole discretion for small medical judgments or slow payments on student loans, if in our opinion there are enough favorable credit references to outweigh these;

• You may not have had more than two late payments (greater than 30 days past due) on any installment loan or credit card within the past year; and

• Each applicant must have a credit score, as determined by Equifax, of 600 or greater. Married applicants may use an average of each spouse’s score, provided that neither spouse has a score below 550.

d.       Other Factors

• The primary applicants and any additional un-related applicants (i.e. roommates) must be over 21 years of age. Co-applicants may be under 21 if related to one or both of the primary applicants;

• Any proposed pet must be at least one year old and you must have had the pet for at least one year preceding your application;

• You must be willing to take possession and begin paying rent for the unit no more than two weeks after the date on which the property will become available for occupancy; and

• You must be willing to sign a lease for at least 12 months, unless the property has been listed as being available for a shorter term.

Guarantors (or ACo-Signers@)
If you do not meet one or more of the above criteria, you may be eligible for a rental unit if you can get a third party to guarantee your lease. The guarantor must be related to at least one of the applicants and must reside within the state of Virginia. The guarantor must submit a written application along with an application fee and must pass the same screening process as any other applicant, except that a guarantor must have a minimum credit score of 700 and must have a minimum of five years of employment history with the same employer or in a related field at substantially the same income level. In addition, a guarantor may not have any judgments or collection accounts within the past two years B whether paid or unpaid, may not have had a late payment or rent or mortgage within the past 12 months and may not have more than two late payments on any other reported account within the past 24 months.

Guarantors will NOT be considered in any of the following situations: where bankruptcy has been filed within the past two years; where unpaid judgments or collection accounts exist; where a judgment for rent or rent-related charges has been filed within the past five years, whether paid or unpaid; or when B in our sole discretion B an excessive number of late rent payments have occurred within the past 24 months, whether or not a judgment was obtained.

Pets
Each property owner decides individually whether pets are allowed at a particular property. To reduce the risk of damage to the property if an owner chooses to allow pets, we place special restrictions on the pets considered for a rental unit.

• Generally, no puppies or kittens, under the age of 12 months, will be considered for a rental unit because of the greater risk of damage from young, untrained animals;

• You must have had the animal at your previous rental for at least 12 months, so that we can obtain a rental reference from your previous landlord;

• No more than two pets will be considered for a property, and in case of smaller properties or community associations which restrict pets, we may limit you to one pet; we may also limit the size of the pet that we will allow in a property;

• Because many insurance companies have determined there to be a greater risk of liability from certain breeds of dogs, we generally will not allow rottweilers and pit bulls in a rental unit;

• If we allow you to keep a pet, you will be charged additional monthly rent of $25 per month for each pet. This amount could be higher for pets above 25 lbs. or for properties which rent for more than $1000 per month.

• If you have questions about whether your pet qualifies for a particular property, please ask your leasing agent or property manager prior to submitting your application.