Application FAQs

You and any co-applicants must have sufficient income to be able to afford the apartment. The income must be steady, legally reported, and verifiable. Each of you must also have a good background history, and each of you must be willing and able to spend at least a full year in the apartment.

Retired persons and others who might not meet our minimum income requirements may still apply if they can show significant amounts in savings or investment accounts.

Before applying, make sure we have the apartment type you want for the target date you want. Application fees are not refundable even if nothing is available when you apply.

To apply for an apartment, you will need to:

• “Pre-qualify” for free online, by phone, or in person at a Rental Office;
• If you pre-qualify, fill out a Rental Application for each person age 18 or older, either online or on paper;
• Be prepared to upload or show a Social Security card, a U.S. Government-issued photo ID document, and proof of income for the past four weeks and most recent W-2 Form for all adult applicants. Non-US citizens will also need to provide proper immigration documents to show legal status that would extend through the end of a one-year lease. Copies of birth certificates will be needed for each minor under 18.
• Pay a non-refundable application fee of $45 online (per adult) or $65 on paper when submitting your application;

“Pre-qualifying” allows you to answer a few questions, at no cost, to see if you make enough income and can otherwise possibly qualify to rent an apartment. While it does not guarantee you will be approved, you’ll be able to quickly see if it might be worth your time and money to complete a full rental application.

You can pre-qualify on this website by clicking on “Apply Now” next to the available apartment you want to rent, and you will be brought to our online “guest card”. This is where you will submit your contact information and answers to a series of pre-qualifying questions.

Our system will check your answers to see if you and your co-applicants together have sufficient income to afford the type of apartment you want, and that there is nothing on the guest card that may require additional information or could lead to an application being denied. Please note that there is no benefit to overstating income or providing incorrect information in the guest card, as all answers are verified when an application is completed.

If everything is acceptable, you can continue to our online rental application. If you are told you may not be qualified, you will not be able to complete the application at that point, but you will still have the opportunity to discuss your answers with our Rental Office.

Before applying, make sure we have the apartment type you want for the target date you want. Application fees are not refundable even if nothing is available when you apply.

The first applicant must list themselves and the names of any other persons that will be living in the apartment (including minors) on their application. This person will be the main point of contact for the entire application process. Each adult co-applicant must have their own email address. The primary applicant will add each co-applicant’s contact information, including their email address, on the first page of their application.

You can upload clear copies of identification documents and proof of income inside the online application, or you can bring them directly to the Rental Office after the application is submitted. (Note that your application cannot be fully processed until all such documents are received.) If you are not a U.S. Citizen, you must also provide all immigration-related documents that show you are legally permitted to live in the U.S. for at least another year.

A non-refundable application fee of $45 is required when the application is submitted.

After the first application is submitted, emails will be sent to all other co-applicants with links to complete their applications. Each co-applicant must be prepared to upload their documents (or they can bring copies to us later) and pay the $45 application fee when their applications are submitted as well.

Before applying, make sure we have the apartment type you want for the target date you want. Application fees are not refundable even if nothing is available when you apply.

You can pick up a paper application from the Rental Office, or you can ask them to send one to you by mail or email. Some offices also have a box with blank applications just outside their doors for this purpose.

Fill it out completely, sign the final page, and return it with a bank check or money order for $65 for each adult listed to the Rental Office. To expedite processing, attach copies of whatever information they ask for, including Social Security cards, U.S. Government-issued photo ID documents, and proof of income for the past four weeks for all adult applicants.

Non-US citizens will also need to provide proper immigration documents to show legal status that would extend through the end of a one-year lease. Copies of birth certificates will be needed for each minor under 18.

After the applications are received for all of the adults, the Rental Office will do an initial review of the documents submitted and will contact you to let you know if anything further is needed. Note that the application cannot be fully approved until all requested information is provided and reviewed.

We check the credit and eviction backgrounds thoroughly for all persons age 18 and older. There should not be any civil judgments, bankruptcies, previous evictions, or collections of any kind in these records. We also verify your current employment information and we contact your current landlord for a reference. 

In Pennsylvania and New York we also do criminal background checks at the same time as the other checks. In New Jersey, criminal background checks are only done after a conditional approval is offered, and only after a secondary rental application is submitted.  Click here for the NJ Fair Chance in Housing Act – Disclosure Statement for more information related to criminal background checks.

Please note that any false, misleading, or exaggerated information on an application could result in an application being denied, even if the applicant may actually be qualified.

To hold an apartment, you must pay a non-refundable rent deposit equal to one month’s rent by bank check or money orders. Since we cannot actually hold an apartment for you without this deposit and someone else could beat you to it, you need to do this as soon as you can after you are fully approved.

When your rent deposit is paid, you and our rental staff will work out the date that you will expect to move in. That date is important and cannot be changed in most cases.

Since committing to an apartment for a year is a serious financial obligation, and since there are strict rules and policies that all of our residents must follow to keep everyone safe and comfortable, you should review a standard blank lease before giving us a deposit, to see if you have any questions or concerns about the rules and policies contained in the lease. Putting a deposit down on an apartment means that you are agreeing to sign the lease and that you will accept the terms on it.

All of the following is to be done at least one full week before your move-in date:

• Pay the balance of any required monies in full to the Rental Office (by bank check or money orders only).
• Sign your lease agreement and all other required documents, but only after you understand all of your legal responsibilities. Be sure to ask any questions you may have before signing anything.
• If you have your own renter’s insurance, email or bring in copies of the declaration page(s) from your current policy. It must have the new apartment address listed, and must list our company as an Interested Party.
• Make sure any gas or electric utilities are put in your name ahead of time, so that they are turned on and working at the time you move in. Some offices require new residents to bring proof that this has been done before the office can give out the keys.

Please note that if any of these items are not taken care in advance, there could be a delay in giving you the keys, but you will still be responsible for the rent from the date that was agreed on.

Once you are ready to move in, carefully check the condition of your apartment and notify the Rental Office of any problems or defects immediately. This will protect you in case problems are found after you move out.

Most of our Rental Offices can help you get a good deal on TV, phone, and Internet service for your apartment, through special contracts we have with the local telecom companies. Ask for details. Please note that personal satellite dishes are not permitted in most locations

If the reason you can’t move in is because the apartment is not ready for us to give you, you will not be charged until it is ready.

However, in all other cases, keep in mind that the apartment has been taken off the market for you from the time your rent deposit is paid. In return for us holding it for you, you are agreeing to pay the rent from the agreed-upon date forward, even if it turns out you are not ready to move in by that date.

If you have to postpone your move-in date for any reason, you will still be responsible from the date we agreed on. Postponements are only allowed if the lease has been signed and the monies have been paid in full.

If you have to cancel your move-in, or if you don’t complete all that is needed to move in and we have to cancel it, we will try to re-rent the apartment as soon as possible, but you will be responsible for the rent from the move-in date you agreed on to the date of the re-rental, or a $150 cancellation fee, whichever is higher. The sooner you let us know of a cancellation, the sooner we may be able to re-rent it, and the less of your money that will be lost.

In almost all of our apartments, we have found that one or two people can sleep in our bedrooms comfortably; any more than this can create an overcrowding situation. The states and most cities we operate in also have laws that limit the number of people in an apartment, based on the number of rooms and the square footage of the rooms.

In most of our cities, children under age 2 are not counted as occupants, but some cities count children as a legal occupant when they reach their first birthday. Before applying, be sure to ask what the local requirements are if you don’t know.

Not all of our apartment communities allow pets, but some do for an extra fee and non-refundable deposit. Check our website page for the apartment community you are interested in, or you can call the community and ask what the policy is. Bringing a pet in without approval is a violation of the lease – if an unauthorized pet is seen in an apartment or on the grounds, the resident will be fined and the pet will have to be removed immediately.

We fully comply with the ADA requirements to permit service and support animals in our apartments. However, before an animal can be brought into the community, we would need to review the documents related to the animal, and in most cases will need to verify the need for the animal with the treating health care provider. Only when this process is successfully completed, and a specific lease addendum is signed, can the animal be permitted in the apartment.

Many tenants believe they are covered by our insurance if something happens to their belongings, if someone is injured in their apartment, or if they accidentally cause damage to property or an injury to someone else on the property. The truth is that none of this is covered, and you could be sued if you are responsible for causing damage or injury.

Renter’s insurance with a minimum of $100,000 liability coverage is now required at most of our apartment communities. We do offer an excellent new renter’s insurance program available to everyone for a reasonable monthly fee, that never expires and can be paid with your rent. You can sign up for this when you sign your lease, or at any time after. Ask your Rental Office for more details.

You can also purchase renter’s insurance from a number of local insurance agents, but you must list Corsa Management as an “Interested Party” or “Additional Insured” on the policy, and proof of insurance will be needed before you can move in. You or your agent will also need to provide us with proof of current insurance every year whenever a policy renews or expires.