OUR APPLICATION SCREENING GUIDELINESALS
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650 or higher credit score preferred
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2.75x the rent amount in income per month
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No felonies (< 7 years old)
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No gross misdemeanors (< 3 years old)
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No violent crimes
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Good rental references (Past 3 years)
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Good personal references
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No recent evictions (< 3 years old)
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No recent bankruptcies ( < 5 years old)
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No recent judgments (< 3 years old)
To verify your stated credentials, Bright Idea Properties will collect, review & verify the following information:
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Identification
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Income & Employment Documentation
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Rental History
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Credit History
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Criminal History
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Eviction Records
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Public Records Search
THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE APPLYING
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A current State or Government Issued Photo ID is required at the time of application submission.
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Each person over 18 years old that will reside in the unit must submit a rental application & pay the application fee.
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All adult applicants must qualify individually for the credit, criminal and rental history criteria.
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There cannot be more than 3 unrelated adults residing in any property, regardless of the number of bedrooms.
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Application Fees must be paid prior to processing the rental application.
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Application Fee: $55/adult
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The application fee is NON-REFUNDABLE & includes application processing costs.
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Renter’s Insurance is required
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If you have a current mortgage reported on your credit history, you will be required to show 2.75x the rent amount in income PLUS the additional mortgage amount.
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You will need to provide closing documents to prove your home will be closing prior to move-in.
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You will need to provide a current lease if your property is rented and you want to count it as income
APPLICATION PROCESSING TIME
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We begin processing all completed applications within 48 business hours of receiving them.
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Note that an application must have all necessary documentation and information to be considered completed.
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We often find that contacting landlords, employment, or personal references cause the longer delays in completing the application verification process.
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Please let your references know that someone from Bright Idea Properties will be contacting them and they need to respond promptly.
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Bright Idea Properties reserves the right to deny tenancy if we are unable to contact your current or previous landlord(s), employer(s), or references.
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Units are rented on a first-come, first-serve basis. ● The first approved applicant with the security deposit paid in full will be considered first.
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Rental applications must be approved before Bright Idea Properties can accept any security deposit monies.
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Deposits MUST be paid within 24 hours of application approval.
CREDIT HISTORY
● While your credit score is important to us, it is not the sole determinant of credit approval. We will review & consider your entire credit health & history to make a determination about your ability to pay the rent consistently.
● We are not looking for student loan debt or medical bills. However, if you are behind with any of the following & it is clear that your low score is a consequence of non-payment, it is likely that you will be denied tenancy:
● Electric Bills
● Water Bills
● Garbage Bills
● Phone Bills
● Internet Bills
● Car Payments
● Credit Card Payments
● Mortgage Payments
● Other Significant Payments
● Applicants w/bankruptcies must show proof of discharge to be considered.
● After discharge, we may require the applicant to show nine (9) months of positive established credit.
PUBLIC RECORD SEARCH
Bright Idea Properties may run a public records search through the Minnesota Judicial Branch website. We will use your full name & date of birth to access any existing records.
Should any crimes that you’ve been convicted of surface as a result of this search, we may utilize this information in determining your approval or denial for tenancy with us.
CRIMINAL HISTORY
● Bright Idea Properties can deny tenancy based on information in your criminal history. Revealed information that may result in denial:
● Any conviction or any other determination or adjudication in the juvenile justice system;
● Any conviction for misdemeanor offenses for which the dates of sentencing are older than three (3) years;
● Any conviction that has been vacated or expunged, or for which the applicant received a stay of imposition of sentencing and complied with the terms of the stay;
● Participation in or completion of a diversion or a deferral of judgment program, including stays of adjudication and continuances for dismissal or without prosecution;
● Any conviction for a crime that is no longer illegal in the state of Minnesota;
● Any criminal conviction for felony offenses for which the dates of sentencing are older than seven (7) years; however, per the law, a landlord may deny an applicant who has been convicted of the illegal manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802) or for those same offenses that mandate denial of tenancy in federally assisted housing subject to federal regulations, including but not limited to when any member of the household is subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement under a state sex offender registration program; or
● Any criminal conviction for the following felony offenses for which the dates of sentencing are older than ten (10) years: first-degree assault (Minnesota Statutes Section 609.221), first-degree arson (Minnesota Statutes Section 609.561), aggravated robbery (Minnesota Statutes Section 609.245), first-degree murder (Minnesota Statutes Section 609.185), second-degree murder (Minnesota Statutes Section 609.19), third-degree murder (Minnesota Statutes Section 609.195), first-degree manslaughter (Minnesota Statutes Section 609.20, subd. 1, 2, and 5), kidnapping (Minnesota Statutes Section 609.25, subd. 2(2)), or first-degree criminal sexual conduct (Minnesota Statutes Section 609.342, subd. 1(b) and (g)).
INCOME VERIFICATION
We calculate your income by your NET income. Your net income must be at least 2.75 times the monthly rent amount. Proof of income is required for employed and self-employed individuals.
Self Employment- Income Documentation Required
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Bank Statements For Past 6 months
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Previous Years Tax Returns
Non Self-Employment- Income Documentation Required
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Copies of your last 3 pay stubs
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Tax Returns (*If applicable)
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OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT INCOME:
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Unemployment is not an approved form of income.
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Demonstration of successful rental history with an income LESS THAN 2.75 times the rent amount will be considered acceptable and meet the terms of the income qualification standard.
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In order to qualify for this exception, you must have a 12-month successful rental history.
RENTAL HISTORY
● You will need to provide a rental reference which confirms at least 36 months of valid & verified rental history from a third-party landlord.
● If you do not have sufficient rental history, we may require a double deposit and/or a co-signer.
● Rental history that includes: evictions, 2+ late rental payments/year, eviction(s), numerous lease violations, abnormal property damage, unauthorized tenants or pets, improper notice to vacate, three or more late notices within a year, pest infestation that is due to tenant negligence, noise or nuisance violations, two or more NSF charges, or money still owed, you will not be approved for tenancy with us.
CREDIT SCORE ACCEPTANCE POLICY
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650+ - Accept w/standard deposit
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600 - 649 - Conditional approval. Potential double deposit and/or cosigner needed.
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550 - 599 -Potential denial. WILL require a double deposit and/or a cosigner.
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Unless there are obvious reasons that the credit score is this low, such as student loan debt, bankruptcies that have been discharged, or medical bills.
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If there’s other applicants that qualify and one doesn’t due to a credit score in this range, we may ask for a double deposit and/or cosigner depending on the scores and situation of the other applicants.
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549 or lower - Automatic denial even with double deposit
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Unless there are obvious reasons that the credit score is this low, such as student loan debt, bankruptcies that have been discharged, or medical bills.
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If there’s other applicants that qualify and one doesn’t due to a credit score in this range, we may ask for a double deposit and/or cosigner depending on the scores and situation of the other applicants.
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These scores are determined by Real Page and we will be determining eligibility per their combined score method. We will take the higher of the two scores. As of (02/16/2024).
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Amount that can be in collections: < $1,500 (As of 05/14/2024)
VIOLATION & EVENT OCCURRENCES THAT WILL LIKELY CAUSE A DENIAL
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Any felony offense or conviction less than 7 years old.
Felony convictions in this list:
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Acts of violence
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Sex crimes
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Illegal manufacturing or distribution of drugs
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Any collection filed by a property management company or previous landlord.
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Unlawful detainers less than 2 years old at time of application.
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Evictions less than 3 years old at time of application.
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Money owed to a prior landlord.
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Documented complaints and/or damages.
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Multiple late payments.
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Multiple notices to pay or vacate.
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Poor landlord reference.
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Failure to comply with housing assistance program requirements while receiving benefits.
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Unverifiable social security number or proof of legal.
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Untruthfulness on your rental application.
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Collection filings caused by breaking a lease agreement.
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Outstanding bad debts being reported on credit report of more than $250 but less than $1000 may be accepted with proper explanation and proof