Do I qualify?
We are not going to answer that on a web page. What we can do is tell you exactly what stops people, so you are not paying $25 to find out something we could have told you for free.
The number one reason, and it is not close
1Rental history
Two things stop an application cold:
- an eviction filed in the last 3 years, no matter how it turned out, even if it was dismissed or you won
- money still owed to a past landlord from the last 7 years
Before you pay anything
If either of those is true and unresolved, please do not spend the $25 yet. Get it handled first, then apply. We would rather tell you now than take your fee and deny you.
We also need your full address history for the last 3 years: every place you lived, with dates, even if you were staying with family or not paying rent anywhere. A gap with no address does not work. If you can only give us one address, we still need at least the one before it.
What you can do about it
An old eviction judgment is not permanent. In Milwaukee County you can often settle it and get it marked satisfied, usually cheaper and simpler than people expect. Paying off an old landlord balance does the same. If you cannot pay it all at once, a documented payment plan you are current on can be enough.
How to settle an old eviction judgment
If you are working on one of these now, tell us when you apply. It matters that it is being handled.
The number two reason
2Income
Your household needs to earn at least 3 times the rent each month, before taxes. Add up everyone who works. There is no single number, because our homes are not all the same rent.
If you use the payment plan, the test is 3 times your rent and your monthly option fee added together, because you are paying both every month. Tick the box below and it works that out for you.
Work it out for a specific home
Your household needs to earn about $3,585 per month before taxes.
That is about $43,020 a year for the whole household.
- Unemployment payments do not count toward the 3 times figure, because they run out. We are looking for income that will still be there at the end of a lease and again when a bank looks at you for a mortgage. Wages, benefits, disability, child support, retirement, and self employment all do count, if you have proof.
- We look for 4 months at your current job. A job change within the same line of work is fine if the two together add up to 4 months.
- Bring proof of income dated within the last 30 days. Self employed means we need your most recent tax filing and your 1099s, showing business profit. The whole list of what to bring is here.
If you have rent assistance, read this part
We count rent assistance as income, not as a discount on the rent. The 3 times test is against the full rent, not your share of it.
If the rent is $1,000 and assistance covers $700, the test is 3 times $1,000, not 3 times your $300. Your $700 counts toward the $3,000, so you would need about $2,300 of other income.
Rent assistance has more detail than fits here. The full approval criteria covers it exactly.
The number three reason
3Money to move in
Aim for a minimum of $5,000 if you are on a payment plan. A more expensive house needs more, and paying your Cash for Keys in full needs more.
This stops fewer people than you would think, because it is the one you can do something about. Families raise it from tax refunds, savings, help from family, and putting money aside over time.
One thing before you count on it: we cannot accept Emergency Assistance as part of your move in money. It is available to you as a resident once you are living here. It just cannot be used to get in.
See exactly what Cash for Keys covers, and both ways to pay it
4Paperwork that quietly stalls an application
Pet screening for every applicant even with no pets, a co-signer if you have been on a lease less than 12 months, a past due gas or electric bill, and making sure everyone 18 or over is on the application. All fixable before you start, and all covered here:
Things people worry about that are not the problem
- A low credit score. Our written policy says it plainly: your score is not a deciding factor. We look at how much debt you carry and whether it would get in the way of paying rent.
- No credit score at all. Some of the strongest applicants we see have never borrowed money.
- Debts you are paying down. Debt you are handling, or will handle in the future, is very different from money you owe a landlord or utility.
- Not owning anything yet. Nobody in this program so far owned a home before they started. That is the point.
Want the whole thing?
Our full written approval criteria has everything else: background check rules, the pet policy in detail, and how we choose between two strong applications. Same document our staff uses.
So should you apply?
If your rental history is clear and the income works for a home you want, apply. Everything else on this page is workable, and we would rather look at your actual application than have you talk yourself out of it.
Two things to be clear about first.
This is a homeownership program, not a rental. Our homes come with the right to buy them, and the whole thing is built around you buying this particular house. If you are looking for a place to rent for a year or two, none of this will make sense and the money to move in will not work in your favor. Nothing wrong with traditional rentals. This is just not one.
Showings come after approval. We schedule private showings for approved and nearly approved applicants. That way the people walking through a home are people we can actually rent to, and you are not spending an evening on a house that was never going to work. Here is the whole process.
Not there yet?
We do not have many homes and they do not come up on a schedule. Tell us what you are looking for and we will email you when one opens up.
It is free, it is not an application, and every email has an unsubscribe link.