We thank you for looking to us for assistance with your residential housing needs. The owners of the properties we manage and their tenants include our co-workers, employees, neighbors, family and friends. Therefore, we feel an obligation to ensure that properties managed by Cottonwood Property Management are rented and maintained in a manner that protects the quality of the dwellings and of the neighborhoods where our tenants reside. For this reason, we utilize a thorough screening process of all applicants for tenancy based on a set of objective criteria listed below.
Once you have selected a rental, you must complete, sign, and return the following Rental Application Form. Each person over the age of 18 years who intends to reside in the subject Dwelling Unit must submit a separate Rental Application, regardless of familial/marital status or relationship to any other applicant for tenancy. If you are financially supported by someone other than yourself or if you have poor/no credit, you will also need a co-signer to complete a Third Party Guaranty Form. There is an additional $ 30 handling fee if a Third Party Guaranty is required. If you lack rental and / or credit history, you have the option of an additional security deposit. The Application and Third Party Guaranty Fees must be paid by Money Order, Check or Cash, and are due upon submission of each application.
The THIRD PARTY GUARANTY FEES ARE NON REFUNDABLE.
A photo ID will be requested at the time you submit your application. In order for an Applicant to be considered for tenancy, the Applicant must meet the following minimum requirements. If any of the following requirements are not met, a Third Party Guaranty will be required:
1. Sufficient Income -Three times the rental amount per month. Income may be combined by multiple Applicants for the same Dwelling Unit. (Permanent employment of at least 4 months at the same job is preferred).
2. Verifiable Good Credit – Credit reports will be checked with a national credit bureau.
3. Good Previous Rental History – We will make a reasonable attempt to contact previous landlord(s) and/or mortgage holder(s) submitted by Applicant; however, the ultimate responsibility for supplying this information to our company lies with the Applicant. We reserve the right to decline tenancy on the basis of our inability to contact the references provided.
4. Complete Application – This six-page application must be completed in its entirety. Failure to complete the entire application may delay processing or result in a denial of the application. Complete applications will be processed in the order in which received.
This company makes every effort to process applications within 24 hours of submission; however, processing can take several days due to inability to contact previous landlords, employers or other references. Applicants are encouraged to check on the status of an application, particularly if you have not received a response from Cottonwood Property Management within 48 (business day) hours of submission. Applications will not be “pre-screened” outside the standard process under any circumstances and incomplete or falsified applications may be rejected without further notice. All applications submitted become the property of our company. We cannot guarantee any unit you have seen to be available by the time your application is processed. Dwelling Units are rented to the first approved applicant with the full security deposit paid. A security deposit will not be accepted until the Rental Application is approved. If your application is approved and your move-in date is not immediate, a security deposit and first month’s rent will be collected in advance.
THE SECURITY DEPOSIT AND FIRST MONTH’S RENT MUST BE PAID BY CASHIER’S CHECK OR MONEY ORDER.
Security Deposits are subject to the provisions of the Montana Code Annotates 70-25-101, et. seq. In the event that, after placing your security deposit, you chose not to move into the dwelling and complete the lease term, we will deduct charges representing the actual costs involved in re-renting the dwelling from the security deposit. Those Dwelling Units that allow pets require payment of an additional Security Deposit and monthly pet rent as specified in the individual Rental Agreements of such units. Please be aware that only select properties allow pets and the presence of unauthorized pets in a Dwelling Unit is grounds for collection of additional fees and/or immediate termination of lease under our standard Rental Agreement.
Note: We DO NOT allow waterbeds, large aquariums or swimming pools.