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 Owner / Agent. Applicants adding onto a current lease are subject to Move in Admin fee of $150, the same as any other new tenant.

Security Deposit: The security deposit was paid to 1305 Harris LLC by the exiting tenant, upon application approval, and will be kept in a trust account, as described in the rental contract. No funds will be refunded 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 assessed.

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 This is entirely between exiting and incoming tenants; Owner / Agent will not be involved in this aspect in any way.

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. 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. By reviewing the condition checklist against the unit or house prior to signing the assignment, the incoming tenant should determine what damages the current tenant would be responsible for at move out.

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*~
Opera House Apartments 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. 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
$300 - Non-Refundable Pet Fee (per pet)
$300 - Additional Deposit (per pet)
$50 - Monthly Pet Rent (per pet)

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 the vet records listed below.

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:
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:

Follow the "Apply Now" link above. 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. Our office can provide paper applications upon request. Payments for paper applications may be exact change cash, money order or cashiers check. If you require assistance submitting your application or have specific questions not answered in this document, please contact our office.

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. 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. This is dependent upon volume of applications to be processed, and response from previous landlords for rental verifications requests. Please make sure we have correct landlord contact information, as well as correct information regarding your prior lease dates and address, as this will help us process your application more quickly. 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 that you DO NOT meet the rental history requirement and may be grounds for adverse action, up to and including denial of your application, and all other applications in your group. If your prior landlord does not have an email address we can use to verify your rental history, we will be unable to consider your rental history. We require that rental references are verified in writing, by someone with authority to answer rental history questions for your prior landlord.

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 Deposit. 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, incomplete or insufficient information, insufficient cosigner, eviction or negative rental history, etc. 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. If your application is denied, you may not be able to transfer it to another unit/property.

ROOMMATES AND COSIGNERS:

If one of the roommates is unavailable to drop off an application, can we guarantee our place in line?

To guarantee your place in line, we do need the applications & fees for all prospective applicants. Applications & fees may be submitted online, delivered by hand or mailed to
the office.

Can I apply by myself and add my roommate later?

Yes, however, once you are approved, you must pay the entire holding deposit within 24 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. When adding a roommate to a signed lease, the roommate will need to apply through the normal application process. A non-refundable $500.00 administrative "change of lease" fee will be charged with any changes of tenant/roommate.

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:

*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.
Previous Year’s W2 --this may only be used if you are CURRENTLY working at the same job for which you reported income in the previous year. YOU MAY NOT SUBMIT W2’S FOR A JOB YOU ARE NO LONGER RECEIVING INCOME FROM.

*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. You need not make visible any account numbers, nor any outgoing funds --we only need to see the deposits which you are claiming as your income. Bank statements will not be accepted if you can obtain any of the above items.
ABSOLUTELY NO SCREENSHOTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

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 dis-qualifier 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.

Rental History:
It is the applicant's responsibility to provide names, phone numbers, and email addresses of two (2) most recent Landlords or a total of 1 full year of rental history. Applicants must have at least one (1) year of satisfactory rental history from a non-related Landlord. A related Landlord is considered related by blood, marriage or prior established relationship.

Good rental references will reflect a willingness to follow the rules and regulations of the lease, pay rent and utilities on time and have a respect for other residents and property.
Mortgage payments, made on a timely basis, will qualify as a positive rental reference.
If we are unable to verify rental history, we reserve the right to deny the application or require a cosigner.
Outstanding debts to a previous Landlord, an eviction, late rent payments, violation notices, and poor rental history may cause your application to be denied even with a cosigner.
Applicants who do not have at least one (1) year of rental history may still qualify without a cosigner if income and credit criteria are met, however, an additional deposit may be required.
Applicants without either rental history, qualifying credit, or background history issues and/or without employment or income, may be approved with either a cosigner or be required to pay advance rent equal to the term of the lease and/or additional deposit at management approval on a case by case basis.
Reasons for denials may include open bankruptcies, outstanding balances to current or past Landlords, evictions, history of more than two NSF checks in past 18 months, record of disturbance of neighbors, noncompliance with rental agreement, violent behavior, involvement in illegal activity, owing utility companies, or misrepresentation or false information by the applicant on the application. * IN A GROUP APPLICATION, ANY 1 APPLICANT DENIED IS A DENIAL FOR ALL APPLICANTS.*

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
Applicant acquires no rights to a rental unit until a Lease Agreement is signed.
All Terms & Conditions are subject to change without notice. Please confirm all information prior to submitting an application.
Additional occupants (i.e,. more occupants than bedrooms) may change the terms of the Lease Agreement (ex: increased rent).
Upon approval, a $150 Administrative fee as well as a Rental Registration (subject to change when fee is changed by City of Bellingham) fee will be assessed.
When Applicant presents Management with a Holding Deposit, it is non-refundable as liquidated damages in the event applicant chooses not to enter into the Lease Agreement.
Once Applicant has been notified of approval, a deposit must be submitted within 24 hours to secure the unit. If the holding fee/Deposit is not received, management may move on to the next applicant.
Applicants are required to view the unit for which they are approved.
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