What are the Advantages of Using Property Management Companies?

Renting property will create a consistent source of rental income when tenants sign a lease that will help you to regain your total investment. Keeping track of the monthly payments, potential complaints and general administrative work are time consuming and easily cut into your available time to grow your investments. You might be an investor that has excellent time management skills, but even the most organized person needs help with the complexities involved with being a real estate investor. There are several advantages of investing into a property management company.

Why Property Management is Needed 

There are many reasons that a good property manager is needed to help you earn back the investment that you make in a vacation home or investment property in Florida. Rent collection is one of the largest responsibilities that a property manager has on a day-to-day basis. Keeping track of rent payments and missed payments is crucial to the flow of income from each rental property that you own. If you invest in rental properties that are located out of state, you will require a nuetral third party that is working for your best interest to help you maximize the rental profits earned. Routine inspections of a rental property will make sure that there is no visible damage or activities that would violate the lease agreement.

Services Often Provided By Property Management Company

While every property management company is different, there are common services that are provided as part of your rental agreement. The main goal of managing a property is protecting your investment and maximizing the profits that are earned to help you recoup your investment. Not being aware of every detail that takes place concerning your property is how small problems can add up to big losses. 

• Advertising Vacancies

• Rent Collection and Evictions

• Knowledge of Landlord Laws

• Repairs and Upgrades Assistance

• Establish and Monitor Monthly Rent Price

Hiring a propety management firm will save you time and money during the ownership period of your rental property. The monthly services fees are tax deductible and will easily be earned back with rent payments throughout the course of each year. The expert knowledge of the rental property market that property managers provide is invaluable. Property mangers know everything to know about properties and renters in the location of your rental property. First time investors can avoid errors when managing a rental property and can focus time and attention on running a successful real estate investment business. 

Why you should rent!

Renting Means More Flexibility

What if you get a great job offer, get married or have a baby and need to move? If you’re currently renting, then you simply don’t renew your lease – or sublet the place until your lease is up. However, the process of selling a house (getting the house prepped, hiring a Realtor, etc) is much more involved, time consuming, and expensive.

For instance: what if you need to move before your house sells? Or you don’t find a buyer and your house sits on the market for several years? You will be paying both rent in your new location and your mortgage payments on your unsold house. Or perhaps worse, you’ll have to pass on opportunities that you are interested in because you lack the flexibility to take advantage of them.

Renting is Less of a Hassle Than Buying

Buying a home is an investment. It takes work and it’s expensive. You can’t just purchase a home and then forget about it. There’s always something that needs to be fixed or updated. And unless you have money to hire a staff of people to help, you’ll most likely be doing it yourself. If the yard needs to be mowed, you have to bust out the lawn mower. If you want to repaint a room, you’ll have to buy some paint and get busy.

Maintaining and personalizing your home can be very rewarding once you’ve finished, but you’ll find that it’s a job that’s hardly ever complete. You’ll constantly want to update things and make it more your style, which means putting in a lot of sweat equity.

Too many things can go wrong when you own a home, whereas renting can provide a more stress-free and carefree lifestyle, especially for a young adult or young couple. After experiencing too many costly and time consuming projects with my own house, I said goodbye to homeownership and hello to renting. And I haven’t regretted it once.

Why you should rent

Renting Means No Down Payment

Renters rarely have to put more than the first month’s rent down, as well as a security deposit (which, if all goes well, you may get back anyway). But, more often than not, a down payment on a house will be between 5-20% of the asking price. Depending on the current price of the home you’re looking to buy, this could mean tens of thousands of dollars.

In a perfect world, that down payment would become equity but, as I’ll explain below, that outcome doesn’t always happen. If you want to turn your down payment into an investment, there are many ways to do that besides buying a home. Plus, if you buy a home you’ll also need to have extra money set aside for any unexpected costs that come up during the process of moving in (such as repairs that were not identified prior to the sale of the house).

Renting Means Less Risk

Risk seems to be the most commonly overlooked factor when someone is considering buying a home. It’s something I ignored too when I purchased my first home at 23 years old. The risk that comes with homeownership is high for several reasons:

• If you’re married and base your mortgage payments on two incomes, you’re in lala land if you don’t factor in the possibility of losing one or both of your incomes.
• Homeowners face a good possibility of being foreclosed on, while renters face zero percent chance of foreclosure.
• You’re at the mercy of the housing market. As seen during the recent housing collapse, when you can’t pay cash for a home, you end up running the risk of owing the bank more money than the house is even worth.

Renting Means More Money in Your Pocket

Rent is often a fixed expense. Many people think that the monthly cost of owning a home is similar to the cost of renting, but often that’s not true. For one thing, the cost of renter’s insurance is significantly less than the cost of homeowner’s insurance. Unfortunately, many people don’t accurately calculate the true cost of purchasing real estate. Homeowners need to budget for expenses like property taxes, homeowner association (HOA) fees, repairs, and lawn maintenance just to name a few.

The true cost of owning a home can be surprising, especially for a single person or couple just starting out on their own. There are also the extra expenses that pop up which inexperienced homeowners are not familiar with. All of these extra costs are avoided when you choose to rent instead of buy – which means more money in your pocket.

2957 Howe Ave  #10
Sacramento ,  CA   95821

1705 Kenwood  #D
Sacramento ,  CA   95815

Questions about the lease

How long is my lease?
The length of your lease is noted on your rental/lease agreement. 


What do I do if I have to move before my lease is up?
If you must break your lease you should contact your property manager both in writing (letter or email) and via telephone as soon as possible. Although you are responsible for your entire lease, we can go to work to find a replacement resident as soon as we receive your written notification. Once we are able to secure a replacement resident and start their rent, you can be released from your obligation. You may be responsible for advertising expenses and leasing fees as well as rent until the replacement resident's rent begins. 


What happens after my lease expires?
If you choose to stay in the property and a new lease is not signed, your agreement will continue on a month to month basis. If you have decided to move at the end of your lease, you must send us a 30-Day Notice to Vacate at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the lease. Do not move out of your property without a written notice as you will be responsible for rent for 30 days from your vacate date. 


How often do you give rent increases?
While there is no rule, we do look at rents on an annual basis to see if an increase is warranted. Some market conditions may not warrant increases for more than a year. You will receive a written notice at least 30 days prior to the increase taking effect.

3620 Morse Avenue  #2
Sacramento ,  CA   95821

$200 1st mos rent! lower level

Click for more information

How to Get Started With HomePointe Property Management

Getting started is easy!  Follow these simple steps and HomePointe will soon be managing your investment so you can experience the “no hassle” experience of doing business with HomePointe.  Call 916-429-1205 if you need any assistance at any time.

If you currently have a property manager that needs to be terminated:

1.     Check your current property management contract to see what type of notice is required. It is typical that you will be required to give a 30 day notice.  If possible, call the manager to see if they will accept a shorter notice.  Many will, especially if they know that you are unhappy. If you do not have a written contract, assume 30 days is required.

2.     Compose a brief letter as follows:  “Please terminate your services on ______________ (property address), effective __________ (date).  A representative of HomePointe Property Management will be in touch with you prior to the termination date to pick up keys and any pertinent files.  Please send remaining funds in my account directly to me including tenant security deposits.

3.     Mail or email the letter and send a copy to HomePointe.

Everyone must do this:

4.     Sign and deliver a HomePointe Property Management Agreement and a HomePointe Owner Information Sheet to HomePointe at 5896 South Land Park Dr., Sacramento, CA 95822.  You can also mail those documents to P.O. Box 221660, Sacramento, CA  95822 or fax them to 916-429-0389.  Both of these documents are available in our Owner Services Section within this website.

5.     If you have a current resident please provide us the current rental agreement.  If none is available let us know if you would like one to be completed and signed for the current resident.

6.     We need to know the current rent rate, deposit amount, and any amounts the resident owes.

7.     Provide us with keys if available. 

A Homepointe Property Management Manager will call you as soon as we receive the signed forms. Thank you for choosing HomePointe.

10 Ways HomePointe is Different

1.      We have written rental standards that assist us in locating the right resident for your rental property.

2.      We maintain a 24 hour emergency response for maintenance calls.

3.      We maintain a 24 hour rental information for prospective renters to access about your vacancy.  Our showing schedule is prerecorded so residents can easily obtain a time to see any vacancy.

4.      HomePointe tracks all maintenance performed at your property. We know what we ordered last time, who did it, and how much it cost.  We can customize our maintenance response to fit your needs.

5.      We answer our phones live during the day and all of our property managers have mobile phones.  We return calls quickly if we are not immediately available.  We have a sophisticated voice mail system that assists us in hearing exactly what you need us to do.

6.      We advertise our vacancies in more ways.  The Sacramento Bee, Homes for Rent Magazine, signage at the property, free vacancy lists, free faxing of our list, and internet listing of all vacancies, means we are doing everything possible to find qualified residents quickly.

7.      Our property managers are supported with a full accounting department, full time receptionist, and assistants that allow them to spend more time leasing and communicating with you.

8.      We are members of the National Association of Residential Property Managers that gives us access to other companies nationwide doing the same business and using similar methods. This allows HomePointe to take the best ideas and put into action for you.  Our latest idea is shortening our grace period on rents due to 3 days.  This idea will shorten the time it takes to get your funds to you.  We are mailing funds to our owners before other companies are receiving the rents!

9.      We produce a quarterly rent survey that assists our property managers in determining the correct rent for your vacancy and in determining the property rent increase amount.

10.  HomePointe property managers and our staff love to rent and manage        rental property.  We can help you!

Climate

Sacramento has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa), characterized by damp to wet, mild winters and hot, dry summers. The wet season is generally October through April, though there may be a day or two of light rainfall in June or September. The mean annual temperature is61.1 °F (16.2 °C), with monthly means ranging from 45.8 °F (7.7 °C) in December to 75.4 °F (24.1 °C) in July. Summer heat is often moderated by a sea breeze known as the "delta breeze" which comes through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta from the San Francisco Bay.

Sacramento
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.7   54 39     3.5   61 42     2.8   66 44     1.2   72 47     0.7   80 51     0.2   87 56   0   92 59     0.1   92 58     0.3   88 56     0.9   78 51     2.1   64 43     3.3   54 39 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches
[show]Metric conversion

On average, 96 days in the year experience some degree of fog, which usually occurs in the morning (tule fog). The foggiest months are December and January. Tule fog can be extremely dense, lowering visibility to less than 100 feet (30 m) and making driving conditions extremely hazardous. Chilling tule fog events have been known to last for several consecutive days or weeks. During Tule fog events, temperatures do not exceed 50 degrees.

Snowfall is exceptionally rare in Sacramento, which is only 25 feet (7.6 m) above sea level; at least once a year during the winter months, snow flakes are reported but rarely become heavy or stick to the ground. The all-time record snowfall was 3.5 inches (9 cm), which occurred on January 4, 1888. Dustings occur every 5–10 years, with up to an inch accumulation in outlying areas. During especially cold winter and spring storms, intense showers do occasionally produce a significant amount of hail, which can create hazardous driving conditions. Significant snow accumulations occur each year in the foothills located 40 miles (64 km) east of the city. Sacramento had a brief snowfall on January 28, 2002. Snow accumulation happened on December 7, 2009. Click here to see a video of rare snowfall in Sacramento.

On average, there are 74 days where the high exceeds 90 °F (32 °C), and 15 days where the high exceeds 100 °F (38 °C); On the other extreme, freezing nights occur 16 nights per year.^[17] At Sacramento Executive Airport, extremes have ranged from 18 °F (−8 °C) on December 22, 1990 to 115 °F (46 °C) on June 15, 1961.^[17]

The average annual precipitation is 17.93 inches (455 mm).^[18] On average, precipitation falls on 62 days each year in Sacramento, and nearly all of this falls during the winter months. Average January rainfall is 3.84 inches (98 mm),^[19] and measurable precipitation is rare during the summer months. In February 1992, Sacramento had 16 consecutive days of rain, resulting in an accumulation of 6.41 inches (163 mm) for the period (163 mm). A record 7.24 inches (184 mm) of rain fell on April 20, 1880. On rare occasions, monsoonal moisture surges from the Desert Southwest can bring upper-level moisture to the Sacramento region, leading to increased summer cloudiness, humidity, and even light showers and thunderstorms. Monsoon clouds do occur, usually during late July through early September. Sacramento is the second most flood susceptible city in the United States after New Orleans.^[20]

Sacramento has been noted as being the sunniest location on the planet for four months each year, from June through September. It also holds the distinction as the sunniest month of any location in the world; July in Sacramento averages 14 hours and 12 minutes of sunshine per day, amounting to approximately 98% of possible sunshine.[1]

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 472,178^[3], it is the sixth-largest city in California and the 35th largest city in the U.S. Sacramento is the core cultural and economic center of the Sacramento metropolitan area which includes seven counties; with an estimated population of 2,527,123.^[4] Its metropolitan area is the fourth largest in California after the Greater Los Angeles Area, San Francisco Bay Area, and the San Diego metropolitan area as well as the 22nd largest in the United States. Sacramento was cited by Time magazine as America's most ethnically and racially integrated city in 2002.^[5][6]

Sacramento became a city through the efforts of the Swiss immigrant John Sutter, Sr., his son John Sutter, Jr., and James W. Marshall. Sacramento grew quickly thanks to the protection of Sutter's Fort, which was established by Sutter in 1839. During the California Gold Rush, Sacramento was a major distribution point, a commercial and agricultural center, and a terminus for wagon trains, stagecoaches, riverboats, the telegraph, the Pony Express, and the First Transcontinental Railroad.

California State University, Sacramento, more commonly known as Sacramento State or Sac State, is the major local university. It is one of the twenty-three campuses of the California State University system. University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, is located in historic Oak Park. In addition, the University of California, Davis, is located in nearbyDavis, 15 miles (24 km) west of the capital. The UC Davis Medical Center, a world-renowned research hospital, is located in the city of Sacramento.

Maintenance Services

No management company would be complete without the ability to handle every conceivable maintenance issue at your property.Homepointe Property Management is unique in that we use a combination of our own handypersons and a variety of independent contractors that give you and your property both quality work at reasonable prices and quick turnaround.

Management Clients

Our current clients benefit frominspections performed prior to a resident moving into the property, annual inspections, and a detailed inspection at the time of a vacancy.Owners will be contacted regarding any work that is needed.Owners can order additional inspections if need be. Your resident will be instructed to contact our office for any maintenance they need. All owners have the option of performing their own maintenance or employing contractors of their choice.

Maintenance Only Clients

HomePointe will customize a maintenance program for those owners that collect their own rent, but want to have their tenant call us for maintenance.Our management fee is discounted and these clients will benefit from having all maintenance documented and scheduled as quickly as possible.

On Call Clients

Any person can call our office to request maintenance.In fact, other management companies use our office to get reliable service and quick turnaround of their maintenance.

Ordering Maintenance

Call us at 916-429-1205(HomePointe)

Call us at 916-429-1305(RAM Property Services)

Use our Online Maintenance Request on this website in Maintenance Services.

Fax our form located on this website in Maintenance Services.

Our maintenance staff will help you every step of the way.

Contact us today.

Don't forget that this weekend is Mother's Day. 

Ready to move?  Well check out our schedule for showing and if you happen to be in the area feel free to stop by and check one out.  http://www.homepointe.com/schedule_list.asp

Want more information?  Go to Facebook and "like" our page and be kept up to date there as well.  Facebook

Maintenance Services

No management company would be complete without the ability to handle every conceivable maintenance issue at your property.Homepointe Property Management is unique in that we use a combination of our own handypersons and a variety of independent contractors that give you and your property both quality work at reasonable prices and quick turnaround.

Management Clients

Our current clients benefit frominspections performed prior to a resident moving into the property, annual inspections, and a detailed inspection at the time of a vacancy.Owners will be contacted regarding any work that is needed.Owners can order additional inspections if need be. Your resident will be instructed to contact our office for any maintenance they need. All owners have the option of performing their own maintenance or employing contractors of their choice.

Maintenance Only Clients

HomePointe will customize a maintenance program for those owners that collect their own rent, but want to have their tenant call us for maintenance.Our management fee is discounted and these clients will benefit from having all maintenance documented and scheduled as quickly as possible.

On Call Clients

Any person can call our office to request maintenance.In fact, other management companies use our office to get reliable service and quick turnaround of their maintenance.

Ordering Maintenance

Call us at 916-429-1205(HomePointe)

Call us at 916-429-1305(RAM Property Services)

Use our Online Maintenance Request on this website in Maintenance Services.

Fax our form located on this website in Maintenance Services.

Our maintenance staff will help you every step of the way.

Contact us today.

 

For investors or rental owners, tips on finding top property manager

By Robert A. Machado, CPM, MPM

I got a call the other day from an owner of a single family home who was closing escrow on a new home.

She had been trying to sell the old house, but was getting no offers.  In 30 days the new mortgage payment was to start and the prospect of making two mortgage payments plus dealing with the vacant house was going to be difficult.  Her new goal was to rent the property for a few years and then try to sell again.  This situation is occurring over and over again all over the city, county, state, and nation.

  If you need to rent one or more of your homes, how do you go about obtaining professional advice and services?  What should you consider as important?  As a service to you, I offer tips in locating a single family home manager.

  Tip #1:  Find a manager reasonably close to your property.  If the manager has to drive a long way to get to your rental they will be less likely to rent it quickly or to inspect it.  Does it make sense for someone that is a 40 minute drive from your property to manage it?  A good rule of thumb is 20 minutes travel time maximum.  The less the better.  Once exception, if the manager lives close to your property, it may be okay for their office to be in the 40 minute range (they can show it on their way to or from work).

  Tip #2:  Find a manager that markets themselves reasonably well.  If the company you are considering does not sell itself well to you, how good will they be at marketing your vacancy to prospective renters?     How does their yellow pages ad look?  How do the materials they mail you look?  How does the property manager look?  How polished is their presentation to you?

  Tip #3:  Find a manager that answers the phone during working hours.  Some have no provisions to handle problems while they are out of the office. What if you need an answer to your pressing question and no one is there to give you an answer?

  Tip #4:  Find a manager who has an emergency phone response after working hours.  How serious is the company about emergencies at your property?

  Tip #5: Find a manager who knows how to screen prospective renters.  It is my experience that not enough time is spent discussing this between owners and managers.  The company should have a written policy that is given to prospects.  Do you agree with the policy?  Beware if there is no policy!  This company could be discriminating without even doing it intentionally.  Is the written policy adhered to? How are exceptions made? Does the broker review every rental contract?

  Tip #6: Find a manager that is not too busy. The industry rule of thumb is 75 houses managed per employee.  A property manager that does their own accounting won’t be showing vacancies when rents are being posted or when reports are being generated. How do they market the vacancies during those times?

  Tip #7: Find a manager who has references with properties like yours.  A short conversation with them will reveal things like when they get their monthly proceeds, are calls returned promptly, how are the properties maintained, and how cost conscious the manager is.

  Tip #8: Find a manager who knows maintenance. Is there a contractor on staff or other knowledgeable maintenance staff? Are they able to give over the phone tips to complaining residents that may save a service call? Do they maintain a list of vendors that is used over and over? This may save you money or cost you money depending on the property manager. How do they insure they get the best price and service?

  Tip #9: Don’t over emphasize the management fee.  At least compare apples to apples. Make sure you discuss all costs.  Management fee, rental fee, advertising costs (if free, exactly what is free and what is not), inspection costs, fees for serving notices, who keeps any late fees collected, extra charges for handling maintenance, and returned check fees.  These are all fees that you could be charged for as a part of your agreement with the property management company.

 

Management Services

Leases: All tenants we rent to are required to sign our rental agreement. The HomePointe rental agreement has been developed over the years and includes many clauses that protect both the owner and tenant. In addition, all required disclosures are made to insure compliance with legal requirements. We can also put any existing resident on our lease, if appropriate.

Collections: Rents are due on the first and considered late if not paid by the third of the month. We are very aggressive about rent collections and we will work hard to get your paid on time each month. Late charges are enforced and if necessary we know all the steps to take in the event the rent is not paid. This includes action to evict the tenant.

Accounting: Our computerized accounting system is capable of providing all the reporting you need for tracking income and expenses as well as tax compliance. We keep track of all tenants payments to insure you receive what your are entitled to. Reports are sent on a scheduled date. Your proceeds can be sent to you or your bank. We can pay any or all of your bills, utility payments, mortgages, insurance, and taxes. Let us know what you need and we can tailor our program to fit you.
When your tenant vacates, we will provide all required accounting of the tenant's security deposit. All appropriate charges will be assessed and any remaining amounts owed will be reported or pursued.

Leasing Services

Evaluation: We are available to meet you at your property at your convenience. During this meeting we can evaluate the current condition of your property. We will point out any maintenance items that you should consider. You can then do the work yourself or we can provide estimates and have part or all of the work done for you.

We will also evaluate the current market rents and help you decide what rent and deposit to charge. Our Quarterly Rent Survey and our knowledge of the market will help in achieving the highest possible rent while limiting vacancy time.
Marketing: Your property will be immediately placed on our vacancy list and posted on the internet. We can also place a sign on your property (recommended), and put an ad in the newspaper. Part of our marketing program is to record a complete message of all details and qualifying information about your property in our 24-Hour Hotline. Prospects will be able to obtain complete information 24-hours a day by phone or via the internet.
Appointments will be prescheduled eliminating the need for prospects to reach someone. Your property will be shown as demand dictates. This system has proven to be successful simply because it is so easy for rental prospects to use.
Our applications are handed out during showing appointments to all interested prospects. Prospects can also obtain applications 24-hours a day at our office or at this website. We are one of the few companies that accepts applications with a credit card payment. This program has made it easy to apply and has increased the numbers of applications we receive as well as speed up the process for the applicants.
Screening: All applications will be carefully screened for credit, rental and ownership references, and income. HomePointe Property Management staff view tenant selection as one of our most important functions. You benefit from tenants who have carefully screened through a major credit bureau as well as through ownership records. Each tenant must complete our detailed application and meet minimum income requirements, rental or ownership history requirements, and minimum credit requirements.
Save Money on our Leasing Services: If you are able to show your vacancy 2-3 times per week you can save 20% on our Leasing Services. We will place your property on our vacancy list, place the advertising, record a 24 hour message which lets prospects know when you will be at your rental. We will provide you with detailed instructions and applications. All you need to do is open up your home, let the prospects take a look, and hand out applications. We will take it from there including the processing of all applications, communication with the applicants, collecting the deposit and first months rent, documenting the check in, and signing the lease.

Give us a call so we can discuss your particular situation. Our property managers will be happy to work out a leasing plan that meets your needs.

Frequently Asked Questions.


Application Processing

Click on Question For The Answer
^Back

How do I know if a property is still available?
How do I apply for a rental?
What are your qualifications to rent?
Do you take co-signers?
Do you rent to students?
What are E-Z Qualify Rentals?
How long will it take to process my application?
When will I hear from you once I turn my application in to your office?
Can I get my application "PRE-APPROVED"?
What if I have special circumstances that I need to tell you?
What is best method of communication during the application process?



How do I know if a property is still available?
If the property is listed on our website, it is still available. Since we receive applications 24 hours a day via fax, we never know when a new application may come in. When you send in your application, we will email or call you within one business day to let you know the status of your application. If another application is ahead of you, you may choose to wait or receive a refund of any fees paid. Once we begin processing your application you will either get offered the property or be rejected. If someone ahead of you is approved and takes the property, any application fees paid will be refunded if you do not find another property.

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How do I apply for a rental?
You can obtain applications at a property showing, at one of our offices, or at our website at http://homepointe.com/Application.pdf . Each adult that intends to live in the property (everyone 18 years or older) must fully complete a separate application and pay the application fee. The application can be faxed to 916-429-0389 or you may bring it to one of our offices.

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What are your qualifications to rent?
Our general guidelines to qualify are that you have a legal and verifiable income of three times the monthly rent, two recent years of favorable rental references or ownership and at least two lines of positive credit established with a creditor who reports to a credit agency. If you have an active mortgage on your credit report, that will be factored in to your debt to income ratio for qualifying. In that case your income must be three times your mortgage and rent. For credit to be considered positive the overall credit report must be 80% good. Negative credit (less than 80% positive), negative rental or lack of employment references may keep an application from being approved. Qualifications for each property are recorded on the property voice mail recording and are listed in the listing on our website. Income must be verifiable and legal to count. We do count wage statements from your employer, signed tax returns, social security, welfare payments, retirement income, investment income, student loans and grants, and food stamps to name some legal sources of income. Bank statements or balances in your account do not qualify for income purposes. Unverifiable income includes non court ordered child support, business income without a tax return, and gift money.

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Do you take co-signers?
Some properties will accept a co-signer if you lack either credit or rental references. If that is the case we will accept a co-signer that has verifiable income sufficient to qualify for both their living situation and for the property they are co-signing and the co-signer must have 80% good credit. The co-signer must fully complete our application and pay the application fee, which is non-refundable.

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Do you rent to students?
Yes, and we treat students like anyone else. The student applicant must still qualify under the guidelines for the property being applied for. We will consider all forms of income, including student loans and grants. Some properties may take co-signers to qualify for lack of income in addition to lack of credit and rental references. Just like regular co-signers, the co-signer for a student must qualify in place of the applicant.

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What are E-Z Qualify Rentals?
Some properties are noted in both the recorded property voice mail recording and in the listing on our website that they are E-Z Qualify. When listed as E-Z Qualify the property requires income of only two times the monthly rent. No credit and no rental references are acceptable. An eviction on your record will disqualify your application.

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How long will it take to process my application?
We process applications as quickly as possible. Often, we have to wait for return phone calls from landlords and employers. We must verify your employment, rental history, and credit. We need the last two years of history from your landlord(s) and this can be the most difficult part of your application to verify. We will call you if we are having trouble obtaining any information. If we cannot verify information we have to move on to another application. If we already are processing someone else's application on the property you apply for, your application may have to wait for that application to be completed. Make sure the name of your landlord is the owner of the property or the property management company. Providing daytime phone numbers can shorten the turnaround time when messages have to be left.

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When will I hear from you once I turn my application in to your office?
We will email or call and acknowledge receipt of your application within a day of receipt. If your application is not being processed due to other applications being processed ahead of yours, we will email or call you to tell you that. You can then switch to another property or wait to see if the application ahead of you is accepted or declined. If we do not process your application, we will refund the application fee. Once you application is in process we will contact you either by phone or email daily. We need ONE CONTACT per household. We cannot call every roommate.

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Can I get my application "PRE-APPROVED"?
If you have not yet come to the Sacramento area or if you just want to get pre-approved before you locate a property, write "Pre-approval Request" on the application in the "Desired Rental Address" section near the top. We will process your application and email or call you when complete. You can then select a property that you qualify for. You can switch properties up until the time you pay the security deposit. When pre-approved you will be issued a dollar rental limit and type of property you are approved for. Pre-approved applications do not receive a refund of any processing fees paid even if a suitable property cannot be located. Upon approval, your application will be valid for 60 days from the date your application was approved.

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What if I have special circumstances that I need to tell you?
Put your special circumstances in writing with your application. It does no good to explain your situation to our leasing agent or receptionist since they do not process applications. Our contract with the owner makes it very difficult to rent to you if your credit is more that 20% negative in the last two years. Bad credit (more than 20% bad), bad rental references or no rental references could result in a rejected application. In some cases we can accept no rental references if you have good credit and a co-signer. See the above question on E-Z Qualify properties for details on that program. Single family homes normally require both good credit and rental references or history of property ownership. If you have filed for bankruptcy, it must be at least 2 years ago and you must have reestablished at least 2 lines of new good credit for six months. Check our website or listen to the 24 hour voice mail recording for specific details on qualifying for a particular property. Each property may be different depending on the rent amount and the owner's requirements.

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What is best method of communication during the application process?
We prefer that your use email at applications@HomePointe.com. We will reply within one business day. We normally will only communicate with one applicant in your party or family. You can also call 916-429-1205 x 161.