Rental Criteria and Application Process

208.properties is the exclusive agent and representative of our property owners and does not, in any respect, have any fiduciary or agency responsibilities to the applicant. All federal, state and local laws are followed. Each application is processed without regard to race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity. Our team of professionals is regularly trained and educated on the latest local, state, and federal statutes about rental regulations.

We are very thorough with our screening process and will never let an urgency to rent diminish our screening requirements. Screening tenants is the most important preventative service we can provide. A problem resident can be costly. No background check can eliminate risk, but we have designed an extensive screening process that significantly lowers the possibility of complications with future residents. 

All applications must meet our rental policy requirements below. Each applicant 18 years of age and older must complete a separate application and pay the application fee of $30, which is non-refundable. Our team will save all approved applications for 30 days to be used for available vacant rental units during that period.

Each application must be completed and signed with fees paid before processing can occur. Applications are processed in the order received. Additional applications will continue to be accepted until the approved applicant has a signed and executed lease and has paid the security deposit. Processing is normally completed within 24 hours; however, it can take longer if red flags or complications arise such as difficulties contacting your past landlords or verifying employment history. A copy of the applicant’s drivers license or other federal issued ID is required and will become part of the completed application. All information on an application is subject to verification. Applications will be denied if any given information is falsified.

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verifiable gross income

Our income requirement is a minimum of three times the rent charged on the residence, locally. Employment and income must be verifiable by the property manager.

payments & security deposits

208.properties’ rents are based on current market conditions and instructions from the property owner. All payments will only be accepted online. The security deposit amount varies from property to property and must be paid with 24 hours of executed lease and/or before scheduled move-in.  Also please review our no money down Security Deposit options!

Rental history

Applicant must have good rental references for at least six of the last 18 months, unless the applicant has just sold their home. Relatives are not acceptable as rental references. An application may be denied for any of the following items: 

  • Any eviction, filed or granted, within the past 10 years.

  • History of any damage to the residence, or an outstanding balance due to a previous landlord.

  • If money is owed to a utility or property management company, it must be paid in full and a receipt presented. If the money is not paid in full, the applicant is automatically denied.

  • If the applicant has no prior rental history, then they may be asked to provide a qualified co-signer. The cosigner must fill out our application, have a credit score of 650 or higher, verifiable income of at least three times the rental amount, and be willing to sign the lease.

pet policy

If the property owner agrees to allow a pet. Pets must be at least one year of age. Puppies and kittens are prohibited. Barnyard animals, reptiles, rodents, and other mammals are also prohibited. Caretaking of any other person(s) animals or pets is prohibited. You will be directed during the application process to this page to complete your application.

*NOTICE TO ALL RESIDENTS & APPLICANTS: Everyone must complete the screening process. This is not only for pet and animal owners but also for residents and applicants that DO NOT own a pet or animal.

208.properties utilizes PetScreening.com to screen household pets, validate reasonable accommodation requests for assistance animals and confirm every resident understands our pet policies. To facilitate the screening and validation process, PetScreening offers our applicants and residents help in managing pet and animal records. 

All current and future residents are required to create a PetScreening.com profile, even if there is not going to be a pet in the home. If your home is pet friendly and a pet will reside in the home, upon completion of the PetScreening.com profile, a Fido Score will be generated for each pet. The Fido Score determines if your pet is accepted and the applicable fees that apply.

PetScreening is a simple and secure way to manage important information about your Pet or Assistance Animal. If you have No Pet or Animal you are required to complete the screening process at no charge ($0) to acknowledge applicable no pet policies.

The per pet application fee is as low as $20 for the first pet and $15 for every additional pet. Each pet profile must be processed separately but the multi-pet discount will be automatically applied to any additional pet profiles processed.

There is no charge ($0) for submitting a reasonable accommodation request for an assistance animal. It will be reviewed by our legal review team per the FH Act guidelines. Please be aware of your state’s statutes or local ordinances, if any, for criminal offenses and/or penalties for committing assistance animal fraud. Please be prepared to fill out all fields that are applicable in the PetScreening.com profile so an accurate Fido score is generated. If additional details are added later that result in a higher Fido score, tenants must update 208.properties.

Applicants and Residents are responsible for the PetScreening.com Profile Fee. Any pet with a Fido score below 2 will not be accepted. 

service or companion animals

Service or companion animals will always be accepted, provided documentation is submitted. A pet deposit will not be charged for a service or companion animal. Documentation will be required at the time of application. All provided documentation needs to be submitted on professional letterhead and includes the license number of your health care provider.

credit history

All information shown on the credit report is subject to verification, including previous address and place of employment. To ensure that all applicants are treated the same, 208.properties uses the following credit criteria:

  • 600+ — For approval with no contingencies, applicant must: meet income threshold, have no evictions, have good rental history, and have a clean criminal background.

  • 550-599 — For approval with no contingencies, applicant must: meet income threshold, have no evictions, have good rental history, and have a clean criminal background. *If no rental history is verifiable then co-signer or an additional deposit is required.

  • 500-549 — For approval, applicant must: meet income threshold, have no evictions, have good rental history, have a clean criminal background, and provide a co-signer and/or additional deposit equal to one-month rent.

  • 500 and under — Denied.

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criminal history

A criminal record verification is made on all persons over the age of 18 who will occupy the property. Causes for the application to be rejected include but are not limited to the following: First or Second Degree Murder, First through Third Degree Assault, Sexual Misconduct, Registered Sex Offender, Arson, Harassment and Stalking, Second Degree Manslaughter, Criminal Vehicular Homicide or Injury, Simple or Aggravated Battery, Any Felony Drug or Narcotics Convictions, False Imprisonment, Any weapons charge or failure to carry without a permit, Felony Theft, Felony Forgery, Felony DUI, Felony Burglary. 

approved applications

Once an applicant has provided their pet profile and resident application with supporting documents and after review its approved, the applicant will be contacted by our leasing team to set up the move-in process. At that time, the tenant is responsible to pay a one-time fee of $125.00 and stated security deposit on lease in the first 24 hours of the lease being executed. This fee covers administrative costs, such as setting up the associated tenant web portals, electronic accounts (ACH) for rent payment or invoices, personalized digital move-in reports, financial reporting, and file storage.

All approved applicants will be automatically enrolled in our Resident Benefit Package and will see an additional monthly charge of $25.00 added to the lease ledger. 208.properties has partnered with many local and national companies to provide benefical services to our tenants. For more information please click here to review what is currently offered in the Resident Benefit Package.

For additional information regarding the benefits of 208.properties Home Buyers program please click here.