Hi there! And THANK YOU! for your interest in one of my residential rental listings. Before you move forward with applying, I have a few questions to ask you below. The credit and background check portion of the application is not refundable, so I want to help make sure you have the best shot at being approved. By presenting things the way they’re requested by the landlords and property managers, it offers you a much stronger assurance your application will be considered quickly and with minimal concern on their end.
READ EVERYTHING BELOW and ask me if you have any questions. Applications are done online only; no paper applications are available, and only the applications I provide are accepted. (No third party applications, such as from other websites or agents.) I know it seems like a lot, but I'm thorough. Even if I'm representing the landlord in this deal, I am doing my best to serve you. I always say if you doubt my sincerity in wanting you to get the apartment, know this: I work on 100% commission, and everything I do up until the deal is done is at my expense. So yes, if for any other reason, you getting approved is a benefit to me, too!
The application may ask "Kale Agent Name". Please be sure to type "Lori Dake" (me!) for distribution purposes. I do not receive the applications directly, or immediately. When you finish your application, you will receive a confirmation. I suggest you email me a screenshot of the confirmation, or you can forward the confirmation email to me. That way, I can be sure to request it from my office. The usual reason for delay is either due to applying over the weekend. Or, the electronic screening process at Resident Research is backed up, and their office hasn't sent the results to my office yet.
If you were sent here by your agent, you may type in your agent's name in the comments/remarks section at the end, making mention of the date and time they showed you the unit. This helps to ensure established agency is respected.
When you apply, please be sure to use your legal name and have the information ready to go. Please note I do care about you! If you have a preferred name and you perhaps haven't had it changed by the courts yet, kindly let me know! If you have your credit frozen, be sure you unfreeze it before applying. And, the person you list as your landlord needs to either be the actual owner of the property, with their phone number, or the property management company's name and their office number.
Additional documents needed are proofs of income and government-issued photo ID, as jpg or pdf only, please. "Apple pictures" (. heic) do not transfer well with the application.
To further stress, for your tenancy verification(s), which is the part that often takes the longest to process, I need to be able to contact them. If you have/had a private landlord, I need that person's name and their phone number - not your roommate or the maintenance person who collects checks. If your rental was with a property management company, I need the company's name and their office phone number - not the specific property manager. The office folks are the ones who will have your history on file.
PLEASE NOTE some landlords and property managers will not discuss your tenancy with me until you have given them permission. This is one reason not to blindside your landlord, because I will be verifying viable information!
STANDARD EXPECTATIONS set by every landlord and property management company I work with includes having 3x the rent and no eviction records. That means if the rent is $1,000 per month, the combined monthly household income should be at least $3,000. And, the applicant does not have any eviction records.
If your application is declined, again, there is no refund. You will receive an Adverse Action notice that will be signed by the landlord who declined your application. You will be able to use that to obtain a copy of your credit report.
And please be aware, unless specifically noted, per office policy, every listing I have welcomes "Section 8" (e.g., CHA, HUD, Housing Choice) applicants, which abides by Illinois' Source of Income law. And, in order to abide by Fair Housing standards, all of my rental listings are marketed and shown until a lease is fully executed, or the listing has been canceled or has expired. Kindly review the listing's minimum requirements noted in the description. Everyone is given the same opportunity and is held to the same standards. :)
Kale Realty of course also complies with the Cook County Just Housing Amendment. A link to that information can be found here.
So let’s begin with the checklist!
1) Have you contacted me by phone, text or email to ensure the unit is still available, and have you received a positive confirmation from me? Remember, the application fee is not refundable. I can try to use your application toward another one of my listings, but it's definitely important to ask me what the status is before hitting "submit".
2) Have you seen the unit in person before applying?
2a) If not, have you confirmed with me the landlord or property manager will consider your application “sight unseen”? Unless otherwise confirmed from a specific landlord or property management company, part of a complete application includes a unit being actually viewed. Video walkthrus are provided to help you decide if you'd like to invest time in physically viewing a property. Video walkthrus don't show everything, like water temp and cellphone coverage!
3a) Note: If the listing says "Available now", that means it's vacant. Most landlords will expect a lease to begin no later than the first of the upcoming month, if not sooner. Are you prepared to start a lease quickly? Just FYI: You don't have to physically move your stuff in on the lease start date (but you do need to do the other stuff that's stated on the lease).
4) If you are currently renting, have you given notice to your landlord you intend to move? Again, please don't blindside your landlord.
5) If you will be introducing an animal to the unit, do you have its recent vaccination records available?
6) If the landlord or property manager approves your application, are you prepared to sign a lease immediately and doing so electronically, including having all the monies available as described in the listing? (Remember like I said above: Unless I'm told to stop, I keep marketing and showing it until that lease is executed, because otherwise that's not fair to the public. "Executed" means you've signed your share of the lease, you've turned in all monies due, the landlord signed their share, and you received a copy of the lease!)
7) Is everyone else who will be living in the unit, who is 18 years or older, also ready to apply, with all points as described above?
NOTE: Only legally married persons may apply jointly. Everyone else needs to do an application separately!
8) If you have already discussed with me the need for a cosigner, is that person also ready to apply with all the points as described above? You gotta ask up front, because not every landlord or property manager will accept a cosigner. And even if they do, they may have very specific terms on that! Some will only accept for income - not for rental history or credit.
8a) Unless otherwise noted, cosigners use the same application as the applicants and pay the same fees. The application process ensures cosigners are viable; they have great credit and the funds necessary to cover the entirety of the rent beyond their own financial obligations. Cosigners would state they are cosigning for the applicant/s at the end of the application in the remarks/comments field, as there may be multiple application packages. Cosigners agree they are signing onto the unit - not a specific person.
9) Do you have your photo ID and proof of income ready to be uploaded, preferably in .pdf format? (A government-issued ID is what's needed here, like a driver's license, state ID, or passport.)
10) Is your ID clear and easy to read when printed, without any flash or blur, and is your proof of income intact – the way you received it? Do NOT send me a cropped image of your deposit. Send me your bank statement or check stub. And, W-2s, and other tax documents, are not accepted. That just tells me you earned money, at some point, within that particular tax year. Your proof of income needs to be from the most recent month.
11) If you are uploading an alternative form of ID and/or proof of income, have you asked me if what you are sending is acceptable? If the application does not accept your upload, you can email or fax it. (Yes, I still have a fax number. I send/receive at least one a month.)
12) If you do not have a social security number, but you are over 18 and intend to reside in the unit, you must still complete an application. You may enter all zeroes in that field (000-00-0000).
13) And please remember to type in Lori Dake as the "Kale Agent" name. That's me. If you don't put my name in that field, even if you have your own agent or were sent here by a landlord to fill out an application, your application can be sitting in limbo at my office. They don't know to whom to distribute your application! Again, I do not receive the applications immediately, or directly. They are done by a third party service (Resident Research), who sends the results to my office, who then sends the package over to me.
*** Oh and just to be certain, as a few folks have made a mistake on this, please note dependants are not other people who would be applying. They are "applicants". Thanks! That means every person 18 years and older who will be living in the unit (your adult child, your significant other, or your roommate), even if they don't have any sources of income, need to do an application.
And please note, if an automatic result says "approved", it is only a pre-approval. Landlords/Property managers always make the final decision.
And one more thing: DO NOT FILL OUT SOMEONE ELSE'S APPLICATION. Every person needs to fill out their own application for themselves, and everyone needs to have their own email address. If you don't have an email address, there are many free websites out there that invite you to create one.
