Renting With Us

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Each applicant must have an individual credit score of 600 or higher. If any applicant in a group falls below 600, the group's application will be unable to be approved.

Applications will be unable to be approved due to past-due balances, general collections, charge-offs, or bankruptcies filed within the past 5 years.

An 'Unable to Score' status requires a qualified co-signer if all other criteria are met. Without an approved co-signer, the application will be unable to be approved. See the Co-Signers section for details.

We evaluate credit scores and monthly expenses using reports from AppFolio (typically sourced from Experian). To ensure consistency, we are unable to accept reports or scores from outside sources such as Credit Karma.

If your credit score changes within the 90-day application period, please note that a new application and application fee will be necessary.

Your gross income must be at least three times the monthly rent. We also review your credit report to ensure your current debt load allows you to comfortably afford the rent.

To be considered, income must be reliable and easily verifiable. Please note that we are unable to accept investment income (including, but not limited to, bank balances, stocks, day trading, cryptocurrency, or broker and investment disbursements) toward your qualifying total.

Accepted Documentation:

• Standard employment: two most recent pay stubs showing the employer's name, applicant's name, pay rate, hours worked, pay period date range, and pay date
• New job: A copy of the official job offer acceptance document is required; this is not satisfied with a job offer letter. Instead, this is the document you signed, physically or electronically, to formally accept the position. This document needs to confirm your name, anticipated start date, anticipated gross (yearly or monthly) income, and the employer's name, as an offer letter alone does not confirm that the position was accepted.
• Job transfer: letter from your employer stating the applicant's name, transfer date, and expected monthly gross income
• Self-employment: Tax returns from the last two (2) years, including IRS Form 1040 (Page 1), Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business, all pages, including any attached Form 4562 – Depreciation and Amortization), and all 1099-NEC and/or 1099-MISC forms received, showing your name, tax year, and income.
• Social Security, disability, or pension: official benefit letters stating the applicant's name, benefit amount, and effective date range

Please Note: We CANNOT Accept:

• Bank statements
• Venmo, PayPal, Apple Cash, or similar payment apps
• Screenshots of pay stubs
• Unsigned job offer letters
• W-2s for standard employment verification
• Transcripts from payment platforms such as Lyft or Uber (PDF copies from your platform's support team showing your name, pay amount, and date range are accepted)
• Bank statements showing pension or Social Security deposits (an official letter from the SSA or pension controller is required)

A general rule: if income is not reported for tax purposes, it cannot be accepted as verified income.

Helpful Links:

Documentation Examples

Obtain Social Security Benefits Letter

You must have been with the employer you will be working for while living in the home for at least 12 months in a row. Time spent at previous jobs, or jobs you are leaving soon, does not count.

We verify employment by sending an email form directly to your employer. To avoid delays, please keep the following in mind:

• Provide a direct email: You must provide an email address for a direct supervisor or HR department. These email addresses should share your workplace domain where applicable. General website contact forms are not accepted.
• Have it ready: If you don't have this email address handy, please save your progress and return once you have it. We cannot complete your verification without it.
• Third-party services: We do not use third-party verification services like The Work Number. These services often charge a fee that is nearly double the cost of our application, and we choose not to participate in order to keep your application costs as low as possible. If your employer uses one of these services, you will need to work with them to ensure they complete our email form instead.

If you meet all other requirements but fall short on the employment length, you have two options:

• Provide a co-signer: You can use a qualified co-signer to back your application.
• Pay a double deposit: If you (and all group applicants) have a credit score of 700 or higher, you can choose to pay a double security deposit instead of using a co-signer.

At least one applicant in your group must independently meet both the income and employment requirements.

Additionally, every other adult (person residing in the home 18 years or older) must have their own verifiable income, either through employment or a qualified fixed income source. If any adult in the household does not meet one of these criteria, a co-signer will be required, provided all other application requirements are met.

Do not have someone submit a co-signer application unless we have requested one. Co-signers are only permitted in specific situations, including: credit report returns "Unable to Score," applicant does not meet the employment length requirement, full-time student applicants, or group applications where one adult does not have qualifying income or employment but meets all other criteria.

To qualify, a co-signer must meet the following requirements:

• Financial & Credit: Have a credit score of 680 or higher, with no past-due balances, collections, charge-offs, or bankruptcies.
• Employment: Be actively employed with the same employer for at least 12 consecutive months (may not be retired).
• Income: Have a gross income of at least three times the rent, with a manageable debt load.
• Application: Pay the standard application fee.

Please Note:

• Co-signer income must be able to be garnished.
• Co-Signer income may not include funds from investments, Social Security, disability, broker disbursements, cryptocurrencies, or day trading.
• A co-signer cannot also be listed as a co-applicant on the lease.

A co-signer is intended to help with specific gaps, but they cannot compensate for:

• Unqualified Credit Score: A credit score below 600.
• Negative Credit History: Past-due balances, collections, or charge-offs on your credit report.
• Negative Residential History: Including, but not limited to, previous evictions, broken leases, or a history of late rent payments.
• Insufficient Income: A lack of qualifying income (unless you are a full-time student).

A co-signer may be unable to be approved if they:

• Do not meet the minimum income or debt-to-income requirements.
• Are not actively employed or are retired.
• Do not meet the credit or background check standards.

A Note on Shared Expenses: If a co-signer shares living expenses with a partner, their individual debt load might appear artificially high. In these cases, both individuals may apply together as co-signers to offset this. Please note that each person must submit their own application and pay the standard application fee.

Full-time students may use a qualified co-signer to take responsibility for rent payments during their lease. This shifts the income requirement to the co-signer, assisting students who may not have sufficient income or who return "Unable to Score" on their credit report during their enrollment period. This is the only situation where a co-signer may compensate for an applicant's income.

An official letter from your academic institution confirming full-time enrollment (at least 12 credit hours) for the full lease term must be submitted with your application. To obtain this letter, contact your institution's admissions office, student affairs office, or registrar's office.

Transcripts, class schedules, certificates of enrollment, acceptance letters, and emails (such as welcome or acceptance messages) are not accepted. Applications submitted without this letter will be unable to be approved.

Yes. Students must still meet all other application requirements, including a credit score of 600 or higher (or an "Unable to Score" status), no past-due balances, collections, or charge-offs, and satisfactory background and eviction check results.

No. This option is only available when all applicants listed on the lease are full-time students. If any applicant is not a full-time student, the standard application process applies.

We verify residential history by sending an email form directly to your previous landlords or property owners. To avoid delays, please keep the following in mind:

• Provide 36 months of history: You must include your full residential history for the past three years.
• Provide a direct email: You must provide a valid email address for each landlord or property owner. General website contact forms are not accepted.
• Have it ready: If you don't have this information handy, please save your progress and return once you have it. We cannot complete your verification without it.
• Third-party services: If your landlord uses a third-party verification service, you will need to work with them to ensure they complete our email form instead.

If you currently live with family or friends, or have never lived independently, you are still required to provide residential history for the applicable period. For each address where you lived with family or friends, provide the property owner's name, phone number, and email address so that a verification form can be sent to them directly. When completing your application, select the "Rent" option for these entries and enter the owner's contact information in place of a landlord's.

A background check is conducted as part of the application process. Please note that findings related to forgery, assault, drug-related offenses, or other significant results may impact your eligibility.

Each applicant must have a clear residential history for the past 7 years. If any applicant in a group has an eviction within this period, or if negative feedback is received from current or past landlords, the group's application will be unable to be approved.

Yes. Inappropriate, aggressive, or rude behavior during the application process may result in an application that is unable to be approved.

Occupancy is limited to two persons per bedroom, with no more than three unrelated individuals per unit.

All animals must be approved through PetScreening.com as part of the application process. Please wait until we notify you to begin, then complete an animal profile at fultonmo.petscreening.com. Incomplete profiles will delay your application, and any necessary fees or pet rent will be outlined in your lease agreement.

If a household pet is approved, a non-refundable pet fee of $300 per pet and a monthly pet rent of $20 per pet will apply. A maximum of 3 animals per residence is permitted, subject to property-specific restrictions. PetScreening-approved assistance and service animals are not subject to standard pet fees. Permitted quantity of pets, fee amounts, and pet rent may vary by property, so please check with our leasing team for further details.

The application fee covers the cost of obtaining background and credit reports processed through AppFolio. The fee is non-refundable.

Applications are valid for 90 days from the date of submission and can be applied to any property we have listed during that period.

Yes. Co-signers must also pay the standard application fee, as a separate report is run for each applicant.

If your application contains an error such as an incorrect Social Security Number, a new application with the correct information and a new application fee will be required.

Showings are only available to applicants with an approved application. They are generally scheduled on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM. For occupied units, at least 24 hours notice is given to current residents.

No. Employment and rental verification is completed via an email form sent directly to your employer or landlord. If your employer or landlord uses a third-party service such as The Work Number, you will need to work with them to ensure verification is completed through our email form.

The process follows these steps:

1. Submit your application on the listing page after reviewing the requirements. Missing details or documents will cause delays or cause the application to be unable to be approved.
2. We carefully review all applications and notify you of the decision. Initial processing typically takes 3 to 5 business days.
3. Once approved, we will work to schedule a showing for you to view the property.
4. After the showing, you will let us know if you would like to move forward with the leasing process.
5. For properties with multiple interested applicants, we select the most qualified candidate. For properties listed but not managed by us, the owner has the option to review the application before proceeding.
6. Your application is valid for 90 days and can be applied to any property we have listed during that time.

Submitting an application does not guarantee approval or property availability. Application fees are non-refundable.

Applications typically take one to two weeks to complete from start to finish, depending on how quickly your employer and previous or current landlords respond to our verification requests. Initial processing of your submitted application typically takes 3 to 5 business days and may take longer during high-volume periods such as Spring and Summer.

Several steps in the process depend on third parties, including your employer and previous or current landlords, who must complete their own portions of the verification process. We have no control over how quickly these parties respond, and delays on their end will extend your processing time. The fastest way through the process is to provide accurate and complete contact information before submitting, and to follow up with your contacts directly if you are waiting on them to respond.

After the initial response, we respond to follow-up messages as quickly as we are able. For all application-related inquiries, contact us at leasing@fultonmo.com. Using a single point of contact ensures your messages are tracked and responded to in a timely manner.

Yes. If your application is approved, we will reach out to schedule a showing for the property you applied to. At that time, you can also let us know if there are other properties you would like to be considered for. If you find another property you would like to tour within the 90-day window of application submission, email us at leasing@fultonmo.com with the address, and we will follow up about next steps.

Yes. Showings are only scheduled with an approved application.

Leases run for 12-month periods, unless otherwise stated in the property listing description. Please note that a signed lease is a commitment for the full term.

We do not accept holding fees to take a unit off the market. Instead, we allow your lease start date to be up to 10 days from when you notify us of your intent to lease, or up to 10 days past the property's availability date.

Once you notify us, we will send over a lease agreement. To secure the residence, the lease must be signed and the security deposit paid within 48 hours. After the 10-day period, rent payments must commence, and you will need to have utilities and renter's insurance activated in your name.

Please note: This policy may not apply to properties that are listed but not managed by our company.

Our standard security deposit is typically equal to one month's rent. The exact amount may vary based on your credit check and employment history.

Utilities are generally not included in our rentals unless clearly stated in the property listing. If you need to estimate average utility costs, we recommend contacting the provider listed on the property page. You can also find a full directory of local utility providers at https://fultonmo.com/utility-services.

Yes, all residents are required to maintain renter's insurance with at least $100,000 in liability coverage. You are welcome to use any licensed insurance agent to set up your policy. If you are renting a property we manage, you also have the option to purchase coverage directly through AppFolio.

For single-family homes, residents are typically responsible for lawn care unless your lease states otherwise. If you live in a multi-family residence, lawn care is usually included.

At this time, we do not have any listings that participate in the HUD, Section 8, or Housing Choice Voucher programs.

Once your application is approved, we will contact you to schedule a showing. After the showing, you will send us an email to let us know if you would like to move forward with leasing the residence. Please note that for properties with multiple interested applicants, the most qualified candidate will be selected.

If your application is unable to be approved, you will receive a letter via AppFolio explaining the decision. We apply the same criteria uniformly to all applicants, so we cannot accept additional deposits, co-signers, or upfront payments in place of meeting the standard requirements.

For group applications, our system typically notifies only the applicant whose information led to the decision. If you are unsure why the application was not approved, we recommend checking in with the other members of your group.

If a member of your group is unable to be approved, they may be removed from the application so the rest of the group can move forward. However, please note that any individual who has not been approved through the standard application process is not permitted to reside in the home. Anyone 18 or older living in the residence must be fully approved and added to the lease.

Because some of our properties are in high demand, we cannot guarantee availability. Another applicant may complete their process and secure the property before you do, or occasionally a property may be removed from our site without prior notice. However, your approved application remains valid for 90 days and can be used for any other available property during that time.