Please tell me if this sounds sketchy to you or if it's normal and I'm just being paranoid:

I'm trying to get an apartment, it's the 2nd apartment I've ever had on my own. The same company owns and manages the building.

I submitted an application and paid a $400 move in fee 3 days ago. I sent in my W2 forms, recent bank statement, and my last 2 pay stubs at their request. They wanted a cosigner because my income is less than 3x the rent, which is standard AFAIK. I got my mom to cosign, and she sent in the application yesterday, along with her tax forms and proof of income documents. The woman I've been corresponding with at the company said my application was officially approved yesterday.

I told them I could move in on the 15th and pay 1.5 months rent when I sign the lease, and they said that's cool.

Today the woman from the company texted me saying the 1.5 months rent must be paid with a money order or cashier's check. Is this normal? I automatically associate money orders with scams.

She also today said she needs to see documentation of the $15k in stocks I said I had. Before I sent in the application, I asked if I needed a cosigner and told them my income and that I had $15k in stocks, but that didn't make a difference to them. They only cared about income. They said I needed a cosigner. Now all of a sudden they're interested in my stocks after my AND my cosigner's applications were approved?

Sketchy or no?

I would really suck for me if this was a scam cuz it's a sweet apartment and I've given them $400 already.

Are you a minority?

I'm a white dude, 35 yo.

According to https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclope...ent-rules.html So that makes it seem like money order isn't weird. Google Illinois tenant "money order" for probably all the info you need. Hard to tell if your landlord is sketchy, but if you've signed a lease, you have lots of rights.

They probably think that you're borderline acceptable financially and want to see that you can come up w/ cash, at least this time.

in my experience, this is not abnormal.

Come to think of it, last place I rented required first and last month's rent by certified check or money order.

I've had that too, but the stocks thing seems really bazaar to me.

We have to pay rent for our house via money order.

Which is an absurd inconvenience, because it makes me go to the ATM, make multiple withdrawals because of the $500 limit the ones around me have and then go to the grocery store to get multiple money orders because again, there’s a $500 limit on each.

Ok, so money order not sketchy I guess, but still idiotic and an unnecessary pita imo.

What about the timing of asking me for documentation of my stocks? I was told on the phone before I sent the application that illiquid assets didn't matter to them and they only take into consideration liquid assets/income/credit rating when deciding to approve tenants/cosigners. Now all of a sudden after I'm approved based on that criteria and they said they're sending the lease today, they want to know about my stocks? For what?

FWIW, assets are considered “liquid” if they can be converted into cash rapidly without significant loss of value. Stocks of publicly traded companies fit that description unless we are talking about an amount that would change the stock price.

why not go to a post office and get $1,000 ones bypassing ATM?

your bank might issue a > $1K money order and not even charge you a fee, depending on what kind of account you have

I totally agree with that. However, the woman I talked to before I sent the application explicitly did not. She referred to stocks as illiquid and said they don't matter in terms of my app being approved/denied or needing a cosigner or not.

thats alot of info for a company to request. but in your area it may be standard. its their place and if you want to rent it you have to abide by their rules .
remember they get taken all the time by people leaving on the rent or destroying the property.

on all my places i get first, last, and a full month, or they dont move in. thats standard in my area. no other requirements if they seem okay.

if you lied about the stocks then you are out of luck. after you are in they may take a bank check or even cash. which some companies dont take.
why dont you just get the cash from your bank and get a m.o.

but it seems like you cant afford this apartment anyway so you should be renting something cheaper

I recently became a property manager for a 285 unit complex and we require all money paid at move in to be certified funds. After move in you can pay with a check or whatever, but that initial payment must be certified. Probably a function of too many people being given keys and then the first check bouncing. I would say no funny business here.

The grocery store only accepts cash for money orders, the post office at least accepts debit cards. Which doesn’t help me, because I only have credit cards. The bank I use for all cash related things is located in a country that doesn’t even know money orders and where checks haven’t been a thing since the 80s.

Besides that, I can’t remember going to the local post office without having to wait in line for at least 10 minutes. So I try to avoid that place.

I most definitely can afford this apartment, and I most definitely did not lie about the stocks.

Maybe the reason why landlords get "taken all the time" is because they're dumb and only look at a prospective tenant's income while ignoring their expenses and financial responsibilities.

If my income was double what it is now, but I had 5 kids, hoes in different area codes, drove an overpriced sports car, had student loan debt, cc debt, a medical condition that requires expensive prescriptions, a slot machine addiction, etc, there's no way I could afford this apartment. But I would've been approved without needing a cosigner because they never asked for any of that info.

Im required to pay with money order or cashiers check where I live. Its mildly inconvenient, have never had to do that a previous residence.

Worked with a real estate office a couple years ago and this was the standard for larger property managers, especially if the units were less expensive. The woman responding to you might not even have the final say in it and just organizes the paperwork and her manager suddenly decided he wanted to see something.

Would you give them that info even if tasked? You're getting a bit worked up over a money order and some stocks!

Many landlords pull credit reports all the time and that generally gives you a good picture of debt to income.

I think it's also possible that the woman I've been talking to is just incompetent/old. She sounded like an old on the phone. She also sent me a few wrong number texts yesterday lol. Maybe I should just ask to talk to her supervisor.

if your income is less than 3x the rent you cant afford the place. that is standard.

since you have the stocks just show them your statement and your good to go. have fun in your new apartment.

several of those things you listed are illegal for them to discriminate on, and they certainly check credit history

seems like your question is answered in that this is not uncommon at all for the first payment

Is your mom poor too? Maybe there ended up being a red flag on her.

Grunch: standard. They want some money up front before you have a chance to bounce a check on them.