Rent
Our office handles rental property in and around Boston. We work exclusively with property developers, owners and landlords and offer a wide array of rental units.
What is our application process and how do we process applications?
- Online Application. This must be completed by all occupants 18 years of age or older, regardless of if they will be on the lease/responsible for payment.
- Documentation Supplied. Once the application comes through the system it sends you an autoresponder that provides you with a checklist of items that needs to be supplied. Emails to rentals@insightrealtygroup.com are sent to the agent that assisted you or put on a secure service for review.
- Credit Report (Self Supplied, Instructions Below)
- Copy of ID
- Paystub or Verification of Ability to Pay (Includes vouchers paperwork, Social Security Annual Award Letter, bank statements if applicable)
- We run your information through several systems and websites for information relevant to eviction and criminal history if a landlord has established that within their criteria.
- We package applications that are complete and meet the criteria for submission to the landlord for the review. Our office does not make the decision on tenant placement, the decision on acceptance is made solely by the landlord.
Important things to note:
- Any and all correspondence made with our office regarding your application may be shared with the landlord for review at their request, this includes emails, texts and voicemails.
- The landlord has established a criteria with our team as we list the property. That has been shared with you and available in our marketing. You should review that and make sure you meet the criteria to make effective use your efforts in finding a new home.
- Any application that has not been completed by providing the supporting documentation is considered abandoned after 3 days. Our team may not have the time to follow up on individual missing items and it is the applicants responsibility to work in a time sensitive manner.
- We continue to show units until an application is accepted.
What comes next once your application is submitted and approved?
- We send you a notice of the landlord’s decision.
- You will be presented with a lease to sign digitally, once it is signed you are responsible to make arrangements for the first month to be paid (some landlord do have online portals to make online payments, you will receive an invite)
- We arrange for a move-in date, and the tenant is responsible to arrange the change over in utilities.
- All additional expenses are due within 10 days of lease commencement or upon acceptance if under 10 days. This may include a brokerage fee if notified by the agent. Security deposit and last month’s rent, as agreed upon, are also due at this time. These payments must be made by bank check or money order, personal checks are not accepted. Security deposit and last month’s rent may be made to a landlord’s online portal if applicable.
- Keys will never be delivered to a tenant without all payments made in advance.
- At lease commencement, the tenant will receive a full set of documents in either printed or pdf email form.
How do we handle lease signing?
We use an online signature service to have all of the relevant documents signed. Some of the properties and landlords that we represent have additional items for execution like handbooks.
If the landlord has a debt to income ratio, what is it and how is it calculated?
A debt to income ratio is something found in many aspects of housing payments. It is the total cost of items on your credit report as a ratio of your total income.
- Example Criteria: 55% max debt to income
- Income weekly gross is $800. $800 x 52 weeks/12 months equals $3,466 a month
- Rent monthly is $1000
- Credit Report has monthly payments that are: car $200, credit cards $150, and student loans $75. This totals: $425
- Your Debt $1,425 vs Income $3,466 results in a 41% Ratio and meets criteria.
Do I need to supply pay stubs and credit report if I have a voucher?
Yes. Most housing programs have a tenant paid portion and the landlord is going to have us run a debt to income ratio that factors that in to ensure you are able to make those payments comfortably. This may even include alternative methods like award verification or tax returns. The landlord also needs to know that you have a credit history that shows your ability to make payments responsibly. Prior references can also be part of the process when appropriate.
What can I do if my application wasn’t approved?
Review the building criteria, see what aspects you did not meet. If you would like to request an exception to an area that you do not meet you may do so, and we will ask the landlord to review any documentation provided for a reconsideration. If you found items in error on your credit report, you should work with the credit reporting agencies and the debtor found on your credit report. If you have items within an eviction history search that you feel are in error, you should work with the court system to request corrections. A rental application is a process that works off of data provided and verified or from verifiable sources. We use sites like masscourts.org in the process. All information used in the determination by a landlord is either provided by you or found in public records/media and readily available.