Steps of Screening
- Identity Verification
- Credit Score Verification
- Collections and Bankruptcy
- Verification
- Income Verification
- Eviction Verification
- Housing History Verification
- Household Animal Review
- Criminal Verification
City of Detroit Ordinance
The rental or lease of this property must comply with the City of Detroit Ordinance regulating the use of criminal background checks as part of the tenant screening process to provide citizens with criminal backgrounds a fair opportunity. For additional information please contact the City of Detroit Office of Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity.
Application Screening Details
Order of Applications Received
Real Property Management Main’s Screening Specialists will take applications on a first-come, first-served basis.
Communications
Throughout the application, the Screening Specialists will communicate with the applicant through the application Chat feature when more information is needed to proceed with the application processing.
Identity Verification
Once the application is submitted, the Screening Specialists will asses the ID Documentation. Applicants must provide a valid ID and must provide a selfie that matches the photo of their valid ID. The name from the ID must match the self-reported name and name from the Credit Report.
Acceptable Forms of Identification
- Passport
- All Countries Drivers License
- All Countries ID Card, All Countries
- Asylum Approval Letter
- US Green Card
- All Countries Visa
- All Countries
- Passport Card
- All Countries Work Permit, US
- Military ID, US
- Tribal ID, US
Credit Determination
Screening Specialists will asses the TransUnion Resident Score, or simple average of scores in the case of a group application for meeting the threshold.
Score Range | Decision |
350 – 550 | Decline |
550 -650 | Conditional |
650 – 850 | Approve |
No score | Conditional |
If the credit score is disqualifying, the Screening Specialists will decline the application, send borrower communications, and provide adverse action notice as appropriate.
Credit, Collections & Income
Bankruptcy and Collection History
There must be no Chapter 13 bankruptcies open, discharged, or dismissed reported in the last 7 years.
There must be no Chapter 7 bankruptcies open, discharged, or dismissed reported in the last 7 years. Collections must be within the specified ranges.
The sum of the open collections with high-risk types (previous landlord) must be less than $1.
The sum of open collections with low-risk types (child support, utilities, consumer credit, bank debt, auto loan) must be less than $500.00.
If the bankruptcy and collections history is disqualifying, the Screening Specialists will decline the application, send borrower communications, and send adverse action letter as necessary.
Income Verification
Once the application proceeds to income review, the Screening Specialists will assess the applicantsʼ past two months of income using either their linked payroll account, linked bank account, or uploaded
documents.
Screening Specialists will perform a calculation to determine income. Net income must meet a 2.8x rentto-income ratio as determined by the screening criteria for the portfolio.
The Screening Specialists will determine if the provided proof of income documentation meets the recency requirement.
Income Determination
If the applicant fails the income criteria, the Screening Specialists will request the applicant add a guarantor. If the applicant does not respond or cannot provide a guarantor, the Screening Specialists will decline the application, send borrower communications, and provide adverse action notice as appropriate.
Applicant Income Threshold Criteria
Income to Rent | Decision |
Less than 2.8x | Decline |
More than 2.8x | Approve |
Guarantor Income and Credit Threshold Criteria
Income to Rent | Decision |
5.4x or less | Decline |
5.5x or less | Approve |
Guarantor Credit | Decision |
Less than 700 | Decline |
Income Verification
Acceptable Documents | Requirements | Calculation Method |
Personal bank statements | Covers 2 months | Sum of income transactions |
Business bank statements | Not allowed | Not allowed |
Social security statements | Benefits statement is valid | Benefit amount converted to monthly |
Offer letter | Letter is valid. Job starts within the next 45 days or within the past 15 days |
Convert to monthly amount |
Alimony statement | Statement is court-issued | Monthly amount on statement |
Child support statement | Statement is court-issued | Monthly amount on statement |
Leaving and earning statement | Statement is valid and passes fraud checks | Monthly amount on statement |
Disability benefit letter | Benefits statement is valid and passes fraud checks | Monthly amount on letter |
Award letter for Financial Aid with specific housing amount | Has valid proof enrollment | Award amount counts directly against rent. Remainder after subtracting voucher amount subject to RTI ratio. |
Award letter for Financial Aid not specific to housing | Has valid proof of enrollment | Converted monthly amount on statement treated as net income |
Housing Voucher (includes company paid) | Statement is court-issued | Monthly amount on statement |
401k/pension statement | Statement is valid and passes fraud checks | Monthly amount on statement |
Total liquid assets | Not allowed | Not allowed |
Animal Verification
Applicants are expected to provide details on all household animals. If animal is ESA or Service certified, please disregard filling out any details on your animal during the application process to avoid charges.
Please be sure to let your screening specialist know if your animals are certified, as additional documentation may be required of you to verify certification.
Pet fees will not apply during occupancy for verified animals with ESA or Service certificates.
Evictions, Rental History and Animal Verification
Evictions
If eviction history is reported, the Screening Specialists will decline the application, send borrower communications, and provide adverse action notice as appropriate.
Rental History Verification
The screening specialists will request that applicants provide contact information for landlords from the last 3 years if applicants were renting and on an lease agreement, or, proof of ownership if owned during the past 3 years.
Our screening specialist will reach out to past landlords to inquire on their experience with the applicant as a renter by having them fill out questionnaire.
If contact information or proof of ownership cannot be provided the application may be canceled due to uncompletion.