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STATEMENT OF RENTAL POLICIES and TENANT QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

Please note that ALL Application Fees 

are Third Party Fees and are NON-REFUNDABLE

EQUAL HOUSING: We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or

disability. All decisions are based upon 1) the financial value of the offer and 2) the credit worthiness of the

applicant. For instance, a prospect that wants to move in next week is more valuable than a prospect that wants to

move in two months from now. A prospect that offers to pay a higher rental rate is more valuable than a prospect

that offers to pay the advertised rental rate.

WE ARE AGENTS, NOT LANDLORDS: In the same way that a real estate agent can list a seller’s home for

sale, market the home, present offers, negotiate on behalf of the owner but NOT make decisions for the owner,

Magnolia Coastal Properties LLC, LLC (Magnolia Coastal) is a real estate company whose services include representing landlords by advertising homes for rent, showing rental homes, presenting offers to rent, and often managing the homes for the landlords. But we are not the landlord and we often need the landlord’s authorization in most matters. When we receive applications to rent, we process those applications and present the completed applications to the landlord along with our recommendation.

PROPERTY AVAILABILITY: Applications are presented to the landlord as soon as they are fully complete and processed. Once an application is approved the applicant is notified and asked to pay the Holding fee. Until there is

an approved applicant AND that applicant has paid the Holding fee, the property remains available.

Section 8 Consideration: Some of our clients/properties may accept applicants on some form of rental assistance such as Section 8. In those instances, the property remains on the market until all of these conditions are met:

1) The housing authority has approved the rental rate proposed for the property.

2) The housing authority has inspected and approved the property for the lease in question.

3) The applicant has submitted an application which has been processed by Magnolia Coastal approved by the landlord.

4) The approved applicant has paid the required Holding fee.

Contact us for a list of available properties that are accepting Section 8 or Housing Vouchers. 

TO APPLY: If you are serious about leasing a new home you should be prepared to move quickly. In many instances a prospect starts the application process first but did not submit all of the necessary information. Another applicant gets approved because that approved applicant submitted their information fully and their application was completely processed first. Be prepared to: 

  1. pay the application fee by electronic check or credit card when completing the online application 
  2. have the full specific address(es) of your previous residences for the last 3 years and 
  3. submit your most recent paycheck stubs, your employment information, or other proof for your source of income. 

If you are self-employed, please be prepared to provide your last two year’s tax returns. Applications are to be completed by each applicant that is 18 years of age or older. An applicant must pay a non-refundable fee for verification of information. The fee is $75 per individual. Any omissions or falsifications may result in rejection of an application or termination of a lease. We are looking for generally positive information in the following areas:

  1. Credit Check - Minimum Credit Score Per Adult over 18: 

International/No-Credit  Exception:  Applicants  without  a  U.S.  credit  history  may  qualify by providing:

An unsatisfactory credit report, which reflects current bad debts, unpaid bills, liens or judgments without resolution or recent bankruptcy information, may disqualify an applicant. If rejected for any of these reasons, you will be informed of the name and address of the credit-reporting agency from which the information was obtained. The contents of the credit report will not be revealed, per Federal law, but you are encouraged to obtain a copy from the reporting agency to check for current or erroneous information. An applicant may correct the information found in the credit report and re-submit the application, if so desired. A re-submitted application will be subject to the availability of the property originally requested.

2. Source of Income and Income to Rent Ratio - Applicant should have a net income (after taxes and

deductions) of: 

with a reasonable debt to income ratio. Income received from sources other than a salary (i.e. alimony, child support) may be subject to verification if used as part of the total income picture. If an applicant is self-employed, written verification of two previous years income must be provided.

For landlords that accept Section 8 (or related programs) a voucher from the housing authority which services

the subject property will be considered. Unemployment benefits are not considered as qualifying income in that

these payments are temporary and do not continue for the length of the lease.

3. Residence/Eviction History - Present and previous resident histories should show a record of prompt payment, notice given (if required) and nothing in default. It should be noted that an inquiry into previous resident history

might include questions about pet behavior or noise complaints in addition to rent payment.

4. Automatic Disqualfiers:

An applicant with an unacceptable background screening may try to overcome having an application denied by

increasing the amount of the security deposit offered or by providing a co-signor for the lease. If a co-signer is required, they must live within the Savannah Metro area, complete an application, and submit the application fee. The co-signor must have a credit score of 700 or higher and enough additional income to support the co-signor’s current residence in addition to the applicant’s rent. A co-signer will be fully responsible for the lease if the occupying resident defaults. If a co-signer is approved there will be a double security deposit of 2 times the rental amount required to secure the home. 

RESIDENTS BENEFITS PACKAGE:  All Magnolia Coastal Properties residents are enrolled in the Resident Benefits Package (RBP) for $50.00/month which includes liability insurance, credit building to help boost the resident’s credit score with timely rent payments, up to $1M Identity Theft Protection, HVAC air filter delivery (for applicable properties), our best-in-class resident rewards program, on-demand pest control, and much more! More details upon application. RBP Flyer Link

SIGHT UNSEEN: All applicants should view the exterior & interior of the rental or have a trusted friend or relative(s) view the rental prior to occupancy or sign the site unseen addendum, because all rentals must be accepted “AS-IS” before the application process is complete.

 Upon Rental Acceptance/Lease Signing, a $75 admin fee is due and payable when submitting Holding Fee/Security Deposit, and any applicable Pet Fee's.

THE HOLDING FEE: As described above, in order to take a home off the market the approved applicantmust pay the Holding Fee. This is normally an amount equal to one month’s rent (If a co-signer is approved there will be a double security deposit of 2 times the rental amount required to secure the home). This FEE reserves theproperty (takes the home off the market) for the approved applicant and no other applicants are considered for theproperty. When the applicant moves in to the property this Holding Fee is applied toward the Security Deposit from the applicant (new tenant). When an applicant changes their mind, for any reason, and refuses to move in, the landlord has suffered financial harm because now the property is unrented. In these instances the Holding Fee is forfeited to the landlord as liquidated damages. The landlord will not seek to recover all of the rent due under the  lease.

TO MOVE IN: The required security deposit is generally an amount equal to one month's rent (If a co-signer is approved there will be a double security deposit of 2 times the rental amount required to secure the home), less $75 for the non-refundable administrative fee, and is payable in the form of certified check, cashier’s check, or money orders. NO PERSONAL CHECKS OR CASH WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR THE SECURITY DEPOSIT! The security deposit may be increased under certain circumstances such as, marginal creditworthiness or limited resident history. The security and non refundable pet deposits are due at time of lease signing and are considered the Holding Fee. 

PET FEES: If pets are allowed at a particular property, we require all pets to be screened using PetScreening.com. Pets must receive at least a "3 Paw" score on their scale in order to be accepted. A Pet profile registered with https://magnoliacoastalproperties.petscreening.com if pet(s) are included in the household. Monthly Pet Rent is charged anywhere between $10-$25 per pet each month based on the petscreening.com FIDO score. There will be a non-refundable pet fee, as well as monthly pet rent based on the number of pets and their "paw score."  All applicants with registered service animals will also be required to complete an animal profile, at no charge to the applicant.  No more than 3 pets of any kind will be allowed and pet applications will be subject to property insurance limitations or community deed restrictions. Pet Rent and Pet Fees are not refundable. Residents must have the property treated for fleas and ticks by a licensed pest control operator and have all carpeting cleaned and deodorized specifically for pet odors by a professional carpet cleaning service upon termination of lease. Resident shall provide Management with copies of receipts for the pest control and carpet cleaning services before the Security Deposit being returned.

CHANGING THE MOVE IN DATE AFTER APPROVAL: When you submit an application you are making an

offer to rent to the landlord. In this example, the applicant offers to move in on the 10th of the month. The application is processed and approved. The approved applicant pays the Holding Fee to take the home off the market. Then the approved applicant determines that they want to postpone the move in date until the 25th. Remember that this is a single family home, not an apartment complex with several available units. To postpone the move in date is to reduce the amount of money the landlord gets by 2 weeks rent, in this example. That was not the deal which all parties agreed to initially. Understand that requests to postpone the move in date may be denied by the landlord or the landlord may want to increase the rent slightly to cover the rental income lost as a result of the postponed move in date.

MOVE IN DATE AND INSPECTION: We will provide all necessary information about your move-in, including the date and any inspection details, at the signing of your rental contract. If you fail to submit your Move-In form within 3 days of taking possession of the property, in accordance with your lease, you accept each item on the form in GOOD condition and each item must be returned in GOOD condition. Magnolia Coastal will execute a full property report complete with pictures and catalogs of all appliances,  two or more days prior to your move in.  No one enters the home after the property report has been completed to ensure that you will be the first one in the home after the report has been completed. Note that we WILL NOT review your Move-in report for maintenance issues, but rather keep it as a record of the condition of the unit at move-in. If there are any critical maintenance issues that need attention you will need to submit a work order on the tenant portal for those, otherwise as the rental contract reads, the unit is accepted “as is” condition.

UTILITIES: Be sure to place all utility accounts for your rental home in your name as quickly as possible to begin on the first day of your lease. You will need to provide Magnolia Coastal with confirmation of each utility account, emailed to Rentals@magnoliacoatsal.com. Failure to do this may result in outages and you will be responsible for all fees associated with restoring access.  Move-In may be delayed if utilities are not in your name at legal possession (first day of your lease.)


MAILBOX KEYS AND POOL PASSES and HOA’s:You will need to contact your local USPS office as soon as possible to request a new mailbox key, if one was not given to you. You may need to provide a copy of your lease to them in order for them to change the mailbox lock. We recommend that you do not delay this step as it may take the post office up to several weeks to get this completed. USPS will charge a fee, at the tenants expense, for rekeying the mailbox lock. If you live in a homeowners association (HOA) with a pool or clubhouse the owner is responsible for paying the HOA Annual Dues. You will have the right, as the tenant, to utilize these amenities. If the HOA requires a pool pass, FOB or keys it is the tenants responsibility to contact the HOA and request a pass, FOB or key, at the tenants expense, if one was not provided to you from the previous tenant. You are also responsible for abiding by the HOA Rules and Regulations. To request a copy of these please contact frontdesk@magnoliacoastal.com with your property address in the subject line.