I didn't even get the chance to rent from them. I am local and looking to move in with a friend from out of state. We go and look at the house, it looks like the perfect one for us! I understand wanting us to walk through the house ourselves and checking it out, due to Covid safety precautions. But the man who showed us the place was simply unhelpful. Didn't give us any info on the property at all except to tell us what we'd have to pay for. Oh well, we thought, the house looks lovely and just the right size for us. We apply online ($60 for a single application, which is on the steeper end for application fees compared to other properties I've been looking at). We then try to email everything required on the application (two forms of ID, last thirty days of income, tenant ledger, and if there is no tenant ledger, a bank statement showing rent being deducted).
I send a tenant ledger/letter from my landlord, plainly stating that I have lived AND worked on the property for the past three years (I was a groundskeeper/manager on a horse farm where I live), and that rent was deducted each month from my pay check. Garner tries to tell me that they need a bank statement, even though the tenant letter clearly states that the rent was already deducted from my paychecks. THEN, after submitting paystubs for two different jobs in the last 30 days (I had recently changed jobs and had income from both new and old job in that time period) I was told that, since I was no longer working there, that they wouldn't count the income. ALL they had asked for was the last 30 days of income. THEN, they told me that I had to have a written letter from my current job, explaining when I started, what my pay was, and whether I was full or part time, all because I had been working there for less than 90 days.
Meanwhile, they are giving my friend/roommate the same difficulties because she is moving from out of state and between jobs. I totally understand wanting to make sure tenants can pay, but she is easily able to pay three months rent UP FRONT, to show that she can afford to live on the property, not to mention she is a college graduate and professional whose job is in high demand right now, and is on track to be hired promptly. They decide to discount her 30 days of pay stubs as well because she had just finished up at the job a week and a half prior.
Long story short, we got rejected on our application on a technicality, because even though she has more than enough saved up to pay at LEAST three months rent in advance, my salary alone does not make 2.5x the amount of rent. They said ONLY my salary counts (although just barely, since I've been employed less than 90 days) because I am the only one currently employed, which I find hilarious because my unemployed friend has more upfront cash available to her than I do by FAR.
Oh, and they dragged this out over the course of five days, emailing us each time to have us jump through yet another hoop or accommodate their ever-changing requirements. I've clearly dodged a bullet. read more