A "Lease Takeover" is when two consenting parties, with management approval, agree that one party can take over a lease and assume ALL responsibilities including:

• Outstanding rent or fees not paid by the exiting tenant.
• Outstanding utility bills not paid by the exiting tenant.
• Damage to the unit or house created by the exiting tenant.

Outgoing tenant: must pay a $500 change of lease/tenant fee prior to the initiation of any change of lease paperwork, and must obtain the signatures of all other lessees (and co-signers) in order to be removed from the lease. New applicants must be approved by Bellingham Leasing, Inc.

Once you have completed this lease takeover/change of tenant application, it is your responsibility to contact our office to let us know which unit you are applying to takeover a lease for.

*If you are adding on to a lease during a Renewal Period, please keep in mind that the Current Tenant, whose lease you are joining, has an assigned deadline for the completion of Renewal Documents. This includes having a new tenant application processed & approved. If your application (as incoming tenant) is not processed within that deadline, additional lease paperwork will be necessary, and may result in a $500 Change of Tenant Charge described above.

Security Deposit: The security deposit was paid to Briarwood Joint Ventures by the exiting tenant when he/she rented the dwelling will be kept in a trust account. No funds will be given to the exiting tenant. When the lease expires and keys are turned in, the new tenant on the existing lease will receive whatever funds remain after carpet cleaning; cleaning and/or damage charges are deducted.

It is common for the incoming tenant to give some funds in the form of security deposit reimbursement to the exiting tenant at the time of signing the lease takeover, however, this is entirely between exiting and incoming tenants; Sycamore Corporation/Briarwood Joint Ventures will not take part in these negotiations.

Damages: It is important for the incoming tenant to ask the exiting tenant for a copy of the “Move-in Condition Form.” This is a form received at move in by tenants to document pre-existing damage to the apartment or house. This form is then used at move out to determine if any damage is the tenant’s responsibility. The incoming tenant will assume all damages, even if caused by the exiting tenant.

Lease and Other Documents: If taking over a lease, please ask the exiting tenant for copies of all documents. If these documents are not attainable, our office will provide documentation if we retain a copy. Please be aware that we cannot provide copies of something that was never submitted to our office. Before committing to a lease takeover, it is important that you read all the legal documents, and discuss any questions with the office staff.

***Pets***
Briarwood Terrace has a no pet policy, unless approved in writing by Owner or Agent. Approval of any pet is at the sole discretion of management, regardless of breed, size, temperament or age. Final management decisions are not open to further negotiation on pet approvals. New animals will not be added to a lease which already has animals.

If approved, Tenant(s) must pay the following fees and deposits:
$25.00 Pet Application Fee - (per pet), application fee will be assessed with other move in charges, monthly Pet Rent - not to exceed 2% of monthly rent or a Pet Deposit, not to exceed 30% of the monthly rent.

If your pet application is not approved, and your pet is found to be in the unit, a $500 fine will be assessed. Payment of this fine should not be construed as a pet fee, deposit or any other form of permission to keep said pet.

*ESA & Service Animals: No fees or deposits are associated with the approval of your animal. Tenant(s) must provide a letter from a qualified doctor, printed on company letterhead, signed by someone with authority and dated within one (1) year from the date of this form, along with proof of vaccination, spay/neuter and proof of registration for any dog, as is required by the City of Bellingham.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office (360)733-6800 or you may email us at

Management@sycacorp.com

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RENTAL APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS / CRITERIA

Important note to Applicants:
Applications are reviewed on a first complete application submitted, first reviewed/considered. Applicants are responsible to verify, based on the criteria laid out below, rather or not they meet the qualifications to be approved. Application fees are non-refundable.

HOW TO APPLY:
Submit application for chosen property via our website, BellinghamLeasing.com or OperaHouseApts.com. There is a $50.00 Application fee per applicant or cosigner, this fee is required upon submission of an online application. All persons 18 years of age or older, must submit an application; Paper applications upon request. We accept exact change cash, money order or cashiers check.

All roommates/co-signers must complete a separate application and provide all documentation for your application to be considered. Once all parties have submitted their applications, please contact our office to notify us of your submission as well as who the Primary Roommate (primary point of contact) will be for your group.

Please do so by emailing: Management@Sycacorp.com

An application is considered incomplete for a unit if:
a) Missing ID
b) Missing cosigner form
c) Missing rental reference
d) Missing roommate application and/or related cosigner form
e) Missing pet documents
f) Unpaid application or cosigner fees
g) Illegible application or cosigner form
h) Incomplete/inaccurate information on the application
i) We may deem an application incomplete for reasons other than items listed here.

Once our office has all applications / co-signer applications and additional documents, it will take 3 - 5 business days for our office to process your application. Please keep in mind we may need to talk to you during this process to clarify information or request additional things. The most time-consuming part of the application process is getting in touch with PREVIOUS LANDLORDS. You can speed up this process by making sure we have correct landlord contact information, as well as correct information regarding your prior lease dates and address. At times we may need you to reach out to that landlord to get them to respond. If we cannot verify your rental history, your application will be reviewed on the information submitted/verified, which can mean that you DO NOT meet the rental history requirement and may be grounds for adverse action, up to and including denial of your and all other applications in your group.

Once we have received income verification, all prior rental history, and credit/background checks are complete, applications will be given to the Property Manager for review. At that time we will contact you to let you know the status of your application. If your application is denied, you will receive a letter in the mail detailing this denial at the address listed on your application. We reserve the right to not disclose denial reasons over the phone.

Once your application is approved, you will be required to submit a deposit within 48 hours. We may also, at our discretion, require a Holding Fee, which will require a Holding Fee Addendum. If you have co-signers, this is where they will need to be involved and we will provide you with more information on this set up process. When approved we will provide you with a detailed email as to your next steps.

An application may be rejected due to lack of income, poor credit, insufficient established credit, debt to income ratio, 1 or more accounts showing late payments, judgements, liens, bankruptcy, incomplete or insufficient information, insufficient cosigner, eviction or negative rental history, insufficient rental history, insufficient work history,. Rejected applicants may have a chance to re-apply (provide a cosigner or correct information) but will lose their place in line for a unit until the new information is provided and reassessed. A denial of one applicant in a group can/may result in a denial of all applicants of that group.

Applications are valid for 90 days and may be transferred to any available property in our inventory, but can only be used on one property at a time.

ROOMMATES AND COSIGNERS:

Can I apply by myself and add my roommate later?

Yes, however, once you are approved, you must pay the entire holding deposit within 48 hours & sign the lease. If you sign the lease w/out the other roommates, you will be responsible for the rent & the term of the lease even if the future roommate changes his/her/their mind. It is also possible that your roommate will not be approved and you will still be obligated to the lease.

Does each person in the group need a cosigner?

If one applicant needs a cosigner, then all may be required to have one unless the cosigner you do have specifically states, in writing, that they understand and accept that the other applicants do not have one. It is important for the applicants and cosigners to understand that they are all jointly and severally responsible for the lease/unit. If one roommate does not have a cosigner, but another roommate does, then the person who is cosigning could be responsible for delinquent payments or damages to a unit caused by any/all tenants in the unit. If each tenant has a cosigner, then all are equally responsible.

Is my cosigner responsible for everyone on the lease?

All cosigners and applicants are jointly and severally responsible for the terms of the lease. When tenants, cosigners, and/or guarantors to a lease are jointly & severally liable, the Landlord may collect any or all amounts due from any one of the tenants, cosigners, or guarantors on the lease or various amounts from any combination thereof until all outstanding amounts are paid in full. In other words, if any of the responsible parties to the lease do not have enough money to pay the amounts owed or are unable to be located or simply are not paying, the Landlord can legally collect from any of the other responsible parties.

If I renew my lease, will my cosigner be responsible for the next term?

Your cosigner will automatically roll to the next term unless you reapply. This means a completely NEW application submission following the above steps and criteria. Application resubmission is no guarantee of being accepted without a cosigner. You can apply by yourself to see if you still need a cosigner or you can submit a different cosigner. You should review the application criteria to determine which option may apply to you.

When might my cosigner be called?

Cosigners are not included in all communications during application processing, nor are they notified of approval. Applicant(s) should contact the cosigner regarding the status of the application. Cosigners will be called when rent is delinquent, balances are past due, and/or if there are significant lease violations.

APPLICANT QUALIFICATIONS:

Each Applicant must independently meet the following criteria or a co-signer or other adverse action may be required.

**Employment Verification**:

Applicant(s) must have 1 year continuous, ongoing employment at the time of application. Your application may be deemed ineligible if the rent & utilities of the applied rental unit exceed 40% of your monthly gross income. It is the obligation of the tenant to supply proof of said income along with completed application. *We require submission of two (2) months pay stubs as proof of income. If you do not have access to 2 months of pay stubs, you may provide us one of the following:

1.) A letter or email from your employer which explains your employment status: permanent, temporary, or seasonal?; your number of hours worked each week; and what your rate of pay is. This letter must provide contact information for your employer so that we may verify its authenticity. --If you have just started a job, this will be the proof of income you need to supply.

2.) Previous Year’s W2; YOU MAY NOT SUBMIT W2’S FOR A JOB YOU ARE NO LONGER RECEIVING INCOME FROM.

3.) Bank Statements showing direct deposits of your regular income --this form of proof will be accepted on a case by case basis, usually only by those who are self employed and do not have a “paycheck” to report or an employer who can verify their income. We must be able to see your name on the statement, as well as the dates and balances.
**SCREENSHOTS ARE NOT ACCEPTED AS PROOF OF INCOME.

Stability of the source of income will be considered. If you are unemployed but income requirement above is still met, the applicant may still be able to qualify without a cosigner based on meeting rental background & credit criteria. Only verifiable income will be considered.

Student loans are NOT a form of income for these purposes. Student applicants almost always require a co-signer.
Temporary or seasonal employment is not sufficient income and will require a cosigner.

**Credit**:

You must have established credit. This means: a minimum of five (5) lines of established credit. If you have collection activity, judgment, bankruptcy, or lien, this may result in the requirement of a co-signer or further adverse action up to and including denial.

If you have an eviction on your record or you owe money to a past Landlord you may not qualify.
Bankruptcies in the last 7 years will REQUIRE a cosigner, and dependent on other application information may result in denial of your application.

Adverse credit information such as 1 or more accounts showing late payments in the past three (3) years may be a disqualifier and require a cosigner.

Payment issues to utility companies or former Landlords may result in denial. The amount of late pays & amount of balance in default will be considered.

Most student loans are not considered as sufficient credit for evaluation.

Minor medical balances in defaults will not be counted as a disqualifier.

**Criminal**:

All applicants will be submitted to a Criminal Background Check as part of the Application Process.
Determination as to criminal screening will be made on a case by case basis and will be based on several factors and information. There will be no automatic denials based on crime without an analysis of the facts.

A Landlord is not required to rent to any person whose tenancy would constitute a direct threat to health or safety of other individuals or whose tenancy might result in substantial physical damage to the property of others.

Any conviction for manufacture or distribution of any federally controlled substance may result in a denial of tenancy.

If you do have criminal convictions, you may be asked to participate in an individual assessment meeting, which may increase your application fees.

Failure to meet screening criteria may be grounds for the following:

~Denial of the application

~Requirement of a cosigner who will also be required to meet screening criteria (however, the severity and quantity of negative information may result in a denial not able to be overcome by a cosigner)

~Requirement of payment of last month's rent, additional deposit, or prepaid rent for the length of the initial lease term.

~Registered sex offenders will be denied.

**Co-Signers**:

A cosigner with qualifying credit may assist you in qualifying your application if you are lacking in credit, income, employment or rental history; however, factors such as no consistent employment, bad rental history as well as significant/numerous credit deficiencies may be grounds for a denial regardless of the use of a cosigner.

Co-Signers MUST reside in the United States.

Monthly income must be more than five (5) times the total monthly rent. If multiple co-signers are received for one unit, the total gross income required would be reduced to three (3) times the monthly rent.

Co-Signers must demonstrate a positive, well-established credit history of greater than 5 years. Debt to income ratio will be considered.

Co-Signers with an open bankruptcy or a discharged bankruptcy within the last 10 years will not be considered.

Co-Signers will be required to provide proof of total household income (subject to guidelines previously stipulated regarding proof of income) and copy of ID. Submission of additional documentation may be required.

Co-Signers will be required, upon approval of applicants, to sign a Co-Signer Agreement which will become part of the Lease Agreement. Co-Signers will not be removed from the lease for any future renewal for any reason.

!!APPLICANT(S) UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING!!

1.) Applicant acquires no rights to a rental unit until a Lease Agreement is signed.

2.) All Terms & Conditions are subject to change without notice. Please confirm all information prior to submitting an application.

3.) Additional occupants (i.e,. more occupants than bedrooms) may change the terms of the Lease Agreement (ex: increased rent).

4.) When Applicant presents Management with a Holding Fee, it is non-refundable as liquidated damages in the event applicant chooses not to enter into the Lease Agreement.

5.) Once Applicant has been notified of approval, a deposit must be submitted within 48 hours to secure the unit. If the Holding Fee/Deposit is not received, management may move on to the next applicant.

6.) Applicants are required to view the unit for which they are approved.

7.) Applicants will not keep animals/pets of any kind on premises without written consent of Management. Applicant agrees any misrepresentations may result in termination of agreement(s) entered.

Anti-Discrimination:
No applicant will be denied residency based on the legally protected class status.
Application fee: $50.00