Frequently Asked Questions.


Application Processing

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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.