Apartment Interview Information

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Things to Remember Before an Interview

So, you were called in for an apartment interview. Whether is by telephone or by mail, whether you waited days or years, you received the wonderful news that you are scheduled for an apartment interview or you've been asked to submit documents! How exciting!

So, what are the important things to remember?

First of all, let’s talk about the main requirements.

*INCOME REQUIREMENT for low income apartments or affordable apartments in New York:

Make sure that you MEET the income requirements before you go and waste your precious time at any apartment interview. Some companies don’t tell you the income requirement because they rightly assumed that you saw the income levels in the application that you sent in to them.

Most of these applications, especially if they’re low income applications have the minimum and maximum income in the back of the last page. The only time that the minimum income does not apply is when a household has a rental assistance program such as Section 8, CityFheps, HRA/HASA, etc. Make sure that you KNOW that you fall in the right income category, because if you don’t meet the income requirement, your application WILL BE REJECTED!

If you don’t know the income requirement, then it is best if you call the number provided in the letter and ask.

*HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION for low income apartments or affordable apartments in New York:

For the household composition rules, please go to this PAGE

Just make sure that all the people that will be living with you, whom are the age of 18 and above, go with you to the interview or are mentioned at the time you submit the documents to the management company. MOST companies will waitlist your application if you decide after submitting your documents or going to an in-person meeting that you want to add or remove a household member.

Some companies exempt people that are living in Senior Assisted Homes, or military family members. 

*CREDIT REQUIREMENT for apartments in New York:

The credit requirements for low income apartments and affordable apartments in NYC has changed. Usually, apartment management companies do not go by credit SCORE, they go by how much debt you have in collections. Management companies are not allowed to consider debts that are open or debts that have been charged off. They can only consider debts in collection that exceed the limit of $5,000 per household. 

So if you have $2,000 in collections and the other adult member of your household owes $3,000 in collections then your household is not eligible. 

There is a way to get around this credit requirement for low income or affordable housing. Instead of opting for the management company to run a credit check, you can instead choose to provide them with the last 12 months of positive rental history. So if you have been paying your rent on time and have terrible credit, you can definitely get into an apartment.

YES, you CAN take in your own credit report if your credit history has been checked by another management company within the past 30 days. You can provide the company with that credit report instead of paying the $20 they will charge you if you opt into the company running your credit because you do not have 12 months of positive rental history.

KEEP IN MIND that credit checks for affordable housing should not be more than $20 PER household. The $25 per person no longer applies.

What to Bring to an Interview or Send By Email:

*Paystubs: Why paystubs?  Because they need to calculate your income. Plain and simple.

The management company needs 6 CONSECUTIVE paystubs in order to calculate your income. They cannot be from last year and they cannot be sporadic No. If your interview is tomorrow and you get paid every Monday, then you need to take the LAST 6 paystubs from the LAST 6 Mondays.

If you don’t work:

• ·        You must bring a RECENT award letter (if you receive Social Security Benefits, SSD, Pension, etc.)
• ·         If you have Public assistance/TANF, you must bring a recent award letter also.
• ·         FOOD STAMPS ARE NOT INCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• ·         If you receive unemployment or disability benefits, you have to bring proof of it.
• ·         IF YOU ARE SELF EMPLOYED, you HAVE TO have at LEAST 2 years of tax returns, including W-2’s and 1099 forms. AT LEAST 2 YEARS!
• ·         The current year’s or/and last years’ tax returns. ALL PAGES.
• ·         Not everyone is required to file taxes. So if you are exempt from filing taxes, then explain this to the leasing specialist assigned to your application.
• ·         If you have Section 8, CityFheps, HRA/HASA, or another rental assistance program, you MUST HAVE A CURRENT VOUCHER OR SUBSIDY LETTER AT HAND! The management company can waitlist you if you do not have a current rental assistance voucher.

*Verifications

• ·         Social Security cards for all household members. If you don’t have the social card at hand, you can contact the management company to see if you can go without it or with a copy.
• ·         Picture Identification for all the adults (STATE ID or DRIVERS LICENCE).
• ·         Birth Certificates for all the children under 18 years of age.
• ·         Letter of verification from the child’s school.
• ·         If an adult is in college, they need to take a letter or transcript from the college also because the management company needs to know if the student is Full time or Part time. Remember the rules on students applying to low income housing? This is why the management needs that letter.

*OTHER VERIFICATIONS

·         You will need to go to your bank (most people can just log into their banking account online) and tell them to print out at least the LAST 6 months of bank statements. All the pages. YES, management companies need to see your bank statements. Don’t worry about how much money you have in your account. I mean, the interest will be counted as an asset, but most people’s interest does not surpass $2-$3 a year, so it doesn’t make a difference.

·         If you have a retirement account, a CD, a savings account, an asset account or if you do any investing, you’d have to bring those current bank statements also.

·         Most recent utility bill. This can be anything from Con Edison to a Cable bill. Remember, UTILITY BILL. Not a bank account, not a letter you got from your granddad last year, but an actual bill under your name. If you don’t have any, then keep reading below.

·         Current lease agreement or at least 6 months of proof of rent. The LAST 6 months. If the lease is not under your name or If you live in a room, you MUST take with you a notarized letter from the person who’s name is on the lease. The letter has to say how long you’ve been living there, how much you pay for rent, and other things if they want to include it.

Unless the management company specifically writes or calls you about what they want you to bring, take all of the documents above (THE ONES THAT APPLY TO YOUR SITUATION) for a faster interview process.