Can I get my Credit Contingency Fee removed or reduced?

Tenants who meet our screening criteria and get approved, but who have less than excellent credit (below 650) have to pay a monthly "Credit Contingency Admin Fee." This accounts for the fact that our experience has shown that these tenants are more likely to cause our staff additional workload due to late payments, bounced payments, and other lease violations. Depending upon how far the tenant's credit score is below 650, the fee varies anywhere from $10/mo to $45/mo.

So, is it possible for a tenant to get this fee reduced after moving into the property? It is entirely dependent upon your credit score. If your credit score improves, then you may be able to get the fee reduced, or even eliminated if you get your score above 650. Here is what the steps are:

1. We recommend finding out what your credit score is before asking us to run your reports again. This will save you the money for the application fee and lease admin fee to amend your lease if your score hasn't increased. We do not recommend using Credit Karma, as their scores are frequently different than what the credit reporting agencies show. We recommend getting a report directly from Equifax.
2. Fill out the Credit Contingency Fee Reconsideration Form .
3.  After you submit this form, we will run credit reports again for all tenants named on your Lease Agreement. It is important that you get approval for this from every person named on your lease prior to submitting the form.
4. Your credit contingency fee will be adjusted as necessary based upon the new credit scores obtained from the credit reporting agencies.
5. If you select on your form that you want to change your lease right away to the new fee, then you will have to pay a $100.00 Lease Amendment Administrative Fee for us to process an amendment to your lease. If you select that it can wait until your normal lease renewal time, then there won't be any additional charge for changing your lease. Please note that you must continue to pay the original Credit Contingency Fee until the effective date of the new lease.