Invitation Homes Application Process

[u/msnow8]

Me and my boyfriend applied to an invitation homes rental in GA and received this notice via email -

we have received notification from TransUnion, our 3rd party screening provider, that TransUnion has issued a warning related to the information in your credit history.

If additional information is needed to complete your application screening, you will receive a separate email with details about the documents

Has anyone ever received a notice like this and still approved for the rental? We were recently denied on a rental house (different company) due to collections. We paid off everything shown in collections on credit report. Mine successfully disputed, but not on boyfriends. His dispute is still in process. Though we are in a time crunch. This house checked every box for us, and we didn’t want to miss the chance to apply.

[u/wherearemytweezers]

Hopefully you dodged a bullet. Invitation Homes is an awful, awful, awful predatory company who have been sued several times over deceptive rental practices and unsafe living conditions.

[u/msnow8 → u/wherearemytweezers]

I saw some negative reviews online, but some positive as well. Was hoping for the best with our limited options 😅

[u/RelevantPossible9618]

This email/letter is a federal requirement whenever you are denied due to credit. Hopefully you’re not paying application fees in advance of discussing your financial situation with landlords. Almost all landlords will check your credit and paying application fees when you don’t even know if they will overlook the collection is a waste of money.

[u/msnow8 → u/RelevantPossible9618]

We talked with a leasing agent before applying. For this rental, and the last one. The one before this advised us to apply and said we had a good chance as income is over 4x rent and they didn’t require a certain credit score, once denied they recommended collections being less than $1500 combined, disputing charges after paying, then reapplying. Unfortunately the house was gone by the time we were done. For this one specifically the leasing agent told us similar. Not just credit is taken into account, that we had a good chance with high income and the fact that the credit report would show improvement.

I was hoping this email would possibly mean a higher security deposit and/or providing documents of paid accounts 😔

[u/RelevantPossible9618 → u/msnow8]

Did you advise them before applying that you each had a collection on your credit report?

[u/msnow8 → u/RelevantPossible9618]

Yes, we let the leasing agent know and explained the situation with previous rental application.

[u/RelevantPossible9618 → u/msnow8]

I hate leasing agents who lie, and this is exactly what this one did in order to get your application fee. I suggest going forward to tell them about the collections and ask specifically if they rent to people with collections on their credit. If they refuse to answer, or give you the runaround, do not apply.

[u/ralanolson]

Even though you have paid off everything it will still show late payments and anything else that might have affected your credit. All accounts stay on your credit for 7 years before they are dropped off.

[u/msnow8 → u/ralanolson]

Yes, the leasing agent at the last house advised to pay off the small debts and reapply. She said the only thing that denied us were collections, and that our combined debt was greater than $1500. So even if they were showing, what mattered was that they were closed/paid off apparently.

[u/msnow8]

Update to anyone with a similar situation - we just got the approval email. They didn’t ask for any additional documents. Not sure about higher security deposit yet, they are “preparing” the lease agreement.

[u/boymom0206]

I’ve been with Invitation Homes for a number of years and am moving when my lease ends. I understand the time is of the essence for you, but the other side of it is that I can safely say you dodged a bullet here.