Questions
What homes are currently available for rent?
Do I rent the home from the owner or from MAP?
What is the procedure for applying to lease a MAP property?
What are the financial qualifications needed to rent a MAP property?
Will I need to have a security deposit?
How long is the term of the lease?
Will I be allowed to have pets?
If I am a member of the Armed Forces and the military transfers me, what happens?
How, when and where do I pay rent?
What utilities will I be responsible for?
What upkeep and repairs will I be responsible for?
How do I go about notifying MAP when something needs to be fixed?
Answers
What homes are currently available for rent? Some of MAP’s managed properties can be seen by viewing our properties listed on MRIS, by contacting a MAP Realtor or MAP Associate and still others may be seen by having your representative real estate agent contact us.
Do I rent the home from the owner or from MAP? Once you have seen the property and make the decision to rent, the leasing process and management of the property is handled by MAP however, the lease is between the owner of the property and the tenant.
What is the procedure for applying to lease a MAP property? The lease application and approval process can usually be completed in a two step process. You simply need to submit a complete application with all of the required information and documentation. The applicant will be notified whether the application is accepted or not accepted. The entire application, credit review and lease signing process usually takes approximately 3-5 business days.
What are the financial qualifications needed to rent a MAP property? Naturally it will be necessary that you can show a steady monthly positive cash flow from all earned and unearned income received by everyone that will be living in your household. This includes money from full-time and/or part-time wages, self-employment, social security, disability payments (SSI), child support contributions, pension benefits, Veterans benefits, workman’s compensation, TANF, rental property income, dividends from stocks and/or bonds, interest from bank accounts, alimony, and other sources of income i.e. investments, etc. In addition, information obtained from credit reports and rental history information are included in the application process.
At the time of the rental application a consumer credit report and a rental history credit report will be obtained for all adult persons (18 year or older) who will be occupying the property. The credit reports are for MAP‘s review during the time of the rental application process. Cosigners are not accepted as a remedy for poor credit.
Will I need to have a security deposit? All MAP leases will require a security deposit from the tenant. This security deposit will be collected from the tenant at the time the lease is signed. Security deposits are usually an amount equal to one month’s rent. For those properties in which pets are allowed, an additional pet deposit ranging between $250.00 – $500.00 is usually required.
At the end of the lease the security deposit will be returned to the tenants, plus interest, less any deductions for lease violations or damage to the property.
How long is the term of the lease? Most MAP leases are for one year or more. At the end of the initial lease term, a new lease will be signed for 12 months or more.
Will I be allowed to have pets? Every property owner has different pet policies. It is a part of MAP‘s duties to see that the owner’s instructions are carried out in this area. For those properties which do allow for the keeping of pets, there will usually be some restrictions as to the number, size and type of pets which will be allowed. An additional pet deposit between $250.00 – $500.00 will usually be required.
If I am a member of the Armed Forces and the military transfers me, what happens? All MAP leases state that if a tenant is an active-duty member of the Armed Forces and receives official military orders to proceed to a new permanent duty station which is fifty miles or more from the tenant’s present duty station, then the tenant, upon giving MAP thirty days’ prior written notice, may terminate the lease.
The military tenant’s thirty-day prior written notice must be accompanied by a complete copy of the tenant’s permanent change of duty station orders, and the new reporting date must reasonably coincide with the requested ending date of the lease.
How, when and where do I pay the rent? All monthly rents are due in advance at the designated location identified by MAP on the first day of each month. However, tenants will be given a five-day grace period in which to pay the rent. The five-day period includes weekends and holidays. Rents not received at MAP’s mailing address during the first five days of the month will be considered late and thereby incur late charges and will be subject to collection action.
Rents can be mailed to MAP, hand delivered to our office any time of the day or night, or paid electronically. Additionally, members of the Armed Forces can arrange for the payment of rent directly to MAP by way of payroll allotments.
What utilities will I be responsible for? All MAP-managed properties, whether they are single family units, townhouses condominiums or apartments, will have separate metering for electricity, gas (when available) and in most cases water, water and sewer. MAP will assist the tenant with all initial utility arrangements after the lease is signed.
Arrangements for telephone, cable, DSL, etc. will be made directly between the tenant and the service provider.
What upkeep and repairs will I be responsible for? Inside the property, it is the tenant’s responsibility to keep things reasonably clean, so as not to cause damage to items such as carpeting and other flooring. Smoke detectors should be tested on a routine basis. Furnace filters are to be changed at a minimum of every 90 days. Care should be taken so that tubs, sinks and commodes do not overflow, as this can cause considerable damage to the property. All appliances should be used within their reasonable operating limits and never overloaded.
Outside the home, the tenant will need to keep lawn areas cut, weeds removed, shrubs trimmed, gutters clean of leaves. Snow removal from driveways and walkways are also a responsibility of the tenant. In general, it is expected that the tenant maintain the property on par with local government standards. MAP will arrange for any exterior maintenance such as painting, roofing and siding repair, deck staining, driveway capping, removal of dead trees, etc. These are items which should be pointed out to MAP’s attention during routine property inspections.
How do I go about notifying MAP when something needs to be fixed? There are several urgency levels concerning the time frame for repairs. Items which need attention, but do not create a dangerous environment or major inconvenience to the tenant and will not cause any further damage to the property should be immediately brought to our attention or during the semi-annual inspections of the property.
Items which could become a danger or major inconvenience to the tenant or further damage the property should be immediately communicated to MAP‘s office by telephone, fax or e-mail.
Tenants will also be given calling instructions should a situation occur outside of normal business hours that could be a cause of danger to the tenant or further damage to the property. Examples of this would be a fire, burst water pipes, etc.
Call or email today for additional information 888-522-3181/info@maprealtyinc.com
