For more information on how APM can streamline your Tenant Approval  process, contact us at apminfo@acg.com

The APMI credit department provides owners with the peace of mind that every tenant must pass a rigorous screening of their financial and tenant history before becoming a resident in one of our apartment homes. Our in-house credit specialist dedicates time to each file with an understanding of each specific market and community type. Their communication with the site is essential in assessing credit worthiness and setting parameters for approval while remaining objective and adhering to the strict APMI Resident Selection Criteria. As a result, APMI is one of the lowest in the industry in overall delinquency at less than .75% of income year over year while the industry standard is closer to three times that much. We also see far less in skips and eviction costs than the average project.

Of the many advantages of having an in-house credit department, the speed with which we can approve and move in a resident to their new apartment home is paramount for both renters and owners. Additionally, the benefit of corporate decision-making allows for flexibility under changing economic conditions to housing and credit standards within each market place. Finally, the goal of APMI is to create a family-friendly environment where safety is the number one priority, thus strict criminal background standards are upheld.

Overall, The APMI Screening Process has a proven track record of achieving:

• Decreased eviction costs
• Lower legal fees
• More efficient use of staff time and office resources
• More consistent occupancy
• Less skips
• Fewer denials
• Less property damage
• Less uncollected funds
• Less files sent to collection agency
• Less tenant issues
• Less complaints
• More Cash Flow

The APMI Process
After a prospective resident has decided to rent one of our apartment homes and is prepared to leave a security deposit, the following are the steps of our approval process:


• Authorization to release personal information and criminal criteria guidelines must be signed.
• Security deposit and application fee are collected in verified funds only (no cash).
• A detailed rental application is completed outlining work and tenancy history along with current income and credit status.
• Our staff verifies its accuracy, completion and dated signature.
• All applicants are pre-screened using our Resident Selection Criteria. The following will not be accepted: fraud, bankruptcy, eviction, judgments, collections, open housing balance.
• Staff prescreens based on income requirements of between 2.5 to 3 times the rent.
• Holding agreement is filled out to expressly communicate rent, deposit, fees, lease term and concessions.
    • This also includes an agreement to setup all utilities and furnish account numbers prior to moving in, ensuring no tenant utility bills default to the property.
    • A secondary acknowledgement is also signed stating the understanding that any cancelled deposits will not be returned.
• Rented unit entered into the turnboard to communicate with staff and future residents what units are available.
• Staff enters the prospect’s information into our OneSite property management software, enabling tracking and live viewing throughout the company.
• Information entered into Alliance 20/20, a national credit partner, can give an immediate approval within 30 seconds or less pending landlord references.
• Our staff will verify the previous two years tenancy, the condition of their previous unit(s), resident issues, any late payments or NSF’s and any outstanding debts.
    • Three attempts to contact the previous landlord must be documented and dated before the file can be sent to the credit department.
• Income must be verified with current paystubs from within the last 90 days.
• All collected information is sent directly to Credit Compliance Department.
• Our in-house Credit Department reviews every application within 24 hours.
• Able to review every applicant’s FICO score within seconds from TransUnion at our nationally discounted rates.
• Co-signers, additional deposits or identification verification may be requested if an applicant does not meet our credit and/or income requirements.
All household members must be approved through this process.

Criminal Criteria

Our communities strive to achieve a friendly neighborhood atmosphere by completing and reviewing background checks on every applicant. Each community controls the goals of a family friendly environment by using our company's background check guidelines. Our screening guidelines and processes are among the most thorough in the industry, delivering information we need in order to make an educated and unbiased decision when it comes to approving potential residents.

The following shall be grounds for denial of the rental application(s).

1. A conviction, guilty plea, or no-contest plea ever for: any criminal activity involving serious injury, kidnapping, death, arson, rape sex crimes and/or child sex crimes, extensive property damage or drug-related offenses (sale, manufacture, delivery or possession with inter to sell) class A/Felony burglary or class A/Felony robbery; or

2. a conviction, guilty plea or no-contest plea, where the disposition, release or parole have occurred within the last seven year for: any other criminal felony charges; or

3. a conviction, guilty plea, or no-contest plea, where the date of disposition release or parole have occurred within the last seven years for: any misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor involving assault, intimidation, sex related, drug related (sale, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to sell) property damage or weapons charges or other criminal charges; or

4. a conviction guilty plea or no-contest plea, where the date of disposition, release or parole have occurred within the least three years for: any B or C misdemeanor in the above categories or those involving criminal trespass I, theft, dishonesty, prostitution.

Pending charges or outstanding warrants for any of the above will result in a suspension of the application process until the charges are resolved. Upon resolution, if an appropriate unit is still available, the processing of the application will be completed. No unit will be held awaiting resolution of pending charges.

* For all non-violent Felony crimes, i.e. not involving injury or such effect to another human being, which have occurred more than 10 years prior to the date of application; this event will not be taken into consideration when making a final decision on the credit file. These non-violent Felonies will not automatically deny the applicant.

We are here to work with you and to try to make your job easier. Our goal is to process and approve as many applicants as possible. If for some reason we deny an applicant, we only do so according to our guidelines and to abide by Fair Housing Laws. We must treat each and every applicant equally for we are an equal opportunity company, and we do not discriminate against anyone.

If an applicant would like to dispute their denial, they may do so in writing. They may send all credit comments/concerns to:

APMI Credit Department
110-110th Ave N.E. Suite 550
Bellevue WA, 98004