FAQ's

Who is GTR Brokerage?

GTR Brokerage®, established in 2005, provides high-quality, single-family rental homes, townhomes, condos, and lofts in metro Atlanta.

Is GTR Brokerage legit?

Yes. GTR Brokerage is a privately owned, single-family rental home company serving the Metro Atlanta Area that has helped thousands of individuals and families, providing high-quality homes for rent. If searching for a rental home, please watch out for scams and report any rental fraud.

Does GTR Brokerage buy homes?

No. GTR carefully and responsibly helps to grow the portfolio of our owners that meet our criteria. 

Where do you have homes?

We’re proud to be a part of these communities.

Butts • Clayton • Cobb • Coweta • DeKalb • Douglas • Fayette • Fulton • Gwinnett • Henry • Newton • Pickens • Rockdale • Spalding

Rental Criteria

What’s your rental criteria?

To rent one of our homes, every applicant must meet specific requirements, including age requirements, pass background, criminal and credit screenings, and provide valid identification and proof of income. Please continue to read the questions in this section for more information on our rental requirements.

What are your age requirements?

We love residents of all ages, but applicants must be 18 or older unless deemed an adult under applicable law concerning the execution of contracts. Each person 18 or older must submit a separate Lease Application and Lease Application Fee.

What kind of information is in the background and credit screening?

A background screening will be completed on all applicants to verify creditworthiness. The consumer credit report may include payment history, bankruptcies, number and type of accounts, collection activity, outstanding debt, and credit inquiries. 

What forms of identification will you accept?

We verify identity through a simple and secure process. After you submit your lease application, all adult applicants will receive an invitation to verify their identity via email. Identity verification must be completed within 48 hours of receiving that email, or your application may be delayed or canceled.

All applicants must present valid government-issued photo identification as part of the identity verification process. Identification issued by any state or federal authority of the United States includes but is not limited to the following:

– A state-issued driver’s license
– State-issued identification card
– US passport or passport card
– US CIS Form I-551 permanent resident card
– Non-US citizens and other lawful aliens may provide a valid foreign passport as acceptable identification.

Applicants must provide a Social Security Number (SSN) at the time of application. Any applicants unable to provide an SSN will be considered as long as:

1. All other requirements of the applicant identity policy have been met;
2. Co-applicant has provided a valid SSN 

Please be certain documents are visually clear and easily legible.

Applying

How do I apply for a home?

Once you’ve found the home you love, you may apply directly to the home’s listing. A $99 application fee per applicant and clear and complete supporting documents must be submitted within 24 hours of applying, or the application will be canceled. Once you’ve applied, it will be screened. Expect to receive a decision within 72 hours.

Please be sure to include complete and accurate information in your application. Any incomplete or inaccurate information in the application may result in the cancellation of your application, expiration of specials and pricing, and forfeiture of monies paid, including application and holding fees.

Can I have multiple applicants on my Lease Application?

Each person over the age of eighteen (18) is required to submit a separate Lease Application and Application Fee. An applicant denied due to criminal or rental history will cause the entire applicant group to be rejected.

What happens if my application is Approved?

When your Lease Application is approved, we’ll contact you to confirm your move-in date and time. , Residents are required to pay a $125.00 Administrative Fee + The First Months Rent in FULL. This is considered “HOLD MONEY.” Once the hold money is paid, the applicant has 30 days to take possession of the home and pay the Security Deposit ( IN FULL). NO EXCEPTIONS. HOLD MONEY IS NON-REFUNDABLE ONCE PAID. After we confirm your move-in date/time, we’ll send your move-in cost sheet for review. All move-in funds (security deposit, rent, fees, etc.) must be paid using our online portal seven (7) days before your move-in date. We’ll send you a link where you can review and electronically sign your Lease Agreement after we’ve confirmed your move-in date. Please make sure you sign your Lease Agreement within 24 hours to ensure your Lease Agreement doesn’t expire, and your move-in date isn’t delayed. Please note that the Lease Application, even if approved, shall under no circumstances be considered a Lease Agreement or an offer to lease. No lease shall exist unless and until the parties enter into a formal Lease Agreement and the applicant pays all required fees, deposits, and advance rent.

 

What happens if my application is denied?

While we hope this doesn’t happen if your application is denied. You can contact the credit bureaus and federal agencies if something is inaccurate.

 

Am I able to transfer my application to another home listed by GTR?

Yes. You can transfer your application to another home one time for free as long as you move into the home within the original 30-day holding period. All other application transfers will require you to reapply, canceling the current application and forfeiting the holding fee.

 

Can I make changes to my application after I’ve submitted it?

Yes, however, any changes to the application, including changes to the move-in date or adding a roommate, resident, or pet, will require a $100 Application Change fee.

 

What is The Closing Docs?

The Closing Docs is a secure third-party automated income verification service that verifies and reports your income to GTR Brokerage, through a process you control, by securely aggregating deposit history from your bank account(s). All adult applicants must complete the process within 24 hours of receiving that link, or your application may be delayed or canceled. Suppose you have questions about the income verification process. In that case, you will have direct access to The Closing Docs support team once you apply and receive the invitation to complete the income verification process.

 

How will the information on my application be used?

The information you provide in the Lease Application, or information we obtain with your permission in the rental application, will not be sold or distributed to others. We will use that information to decide whether to enter into a Lease Agreement with you and for all other purposes relative to any future Lease Agreement between us, including the enforcement of the Lease Agreement.

 

Fees and Payments

We try to make it as easy as possible to make payments.  Currently, you can pay in the following ways:

Bank Account Auto Pay
Have your rent automatically deducted monthly from your bank account with a $3.95 convenience fee. Enter your bank account and routing number, and your rent will be paid on time, every time.

Pay Rent Online
Prefer to pay with a credit card?  Once you’re ready to pay, login, create an account, add a credit card, and pay online. Please note: each credit card payment requires a 5% convenience fee.

Pay by Money Order, or Cashier’s Check
We do not accept Money Orders, Cashiers, or Personal Checks. 

PayNearMe 
We now accept cash rent payments through PayNearMe at participating locations near you! For more information, please tap here.

The payment due date can be found in your lease.

Suppose the banking institution for your payment method reports insufficient funds available for your payment. In that case, your application may be canceled, or asked to pay with guaranteed funds (cashier’s check or money order) within 48 hours. A $45 Insufficient Funds (NSF) Fee applies to any payments denied because of insufficient funds.

Lease

Once your application is approved, one of our team members will create your Lease Agreement via Authentisign. The entire process is completed online using e-signatures. Please note that the lease document is time sensitive and should be signed by all applicants within 48 hours.

Please tap here for more information about renewing your lease.

You should receive your renewal offer via email approximately 60-75 days from your lease expiration date. 

Your renewal email will provide you with the name and contact information of your Renewal Specialist, who will be able to assist you.

We work hard to price our homes as fairly and affordably as possible. Rental rates take into consideration all aspects of the house, the market, and comparative rates of similar homes within a radius surrounding the home using the most currently available data. Rest assured that even if the rent increases on your home, it is reasonably priced and likely even slightly below full market value. 

Moving In

Move-in costs vary depending on the home you choose and the specifics of your application. For example, depending on the house, you may be subject to monthly Pet Rent, monthly Pool Fees, and specific utilities. These details will be provided to you before you move in. All move-in funds (Security Deposit, rent, fees, etc.) must be paid seven (7) days before your move-in date. Payments made within seven (7) days of the scheduled move-in date must be made through your resident portal.

**A 5% Convenience Fee will apply to payments made by credit card.

Move-in Orientations are available Monday through Friday between 9am and 2pm local time. Please Note: Move-in Orientations can only be done with an adult who is listed on the lease. Learn more about the Move-in Orientation here.

Yes, however, any changes to the application, including changes to the move-in date or adding a roommate, resident, or pet, will require a $100 Application Change fee.

Yes. You can extend the hold on your current home up to seven days before moving in for a non-refundable fee of $250.

Maintenance and Service

You can learn all about home care and resident maintenance responsibilities on our “Home Care & Maintenance” page here. On this page, we cover resident responsibilities, maintenance emergencies, and more.

You may place a service request online by tapping here. You may either place a new service request or check the status of an existing request.

Before you submit a service request.

Please review our policies around home care and resident responsibilities.

Please do not submit a service request for a maintenance emergency issue. Instead, give us a call at 678.304.6473.

While every service request is important to us, depending on the number of requests in your area, it may take some time to respond and resolve the maintenance issue. We work hard to respond to you within 24 business hours for non-emergency maintenance requests. For emergency requests, we will respond to you within 2 hours.

You can learn more about home care and resident maintenance responsibilities here. A maintenance emergency is dangerous, threatens the habitability of the home, or could cause damage to the property. Emergencies include:

  • – Fire – call 911 immediately, then contact us at 678.304.6473
  • – Gas leak – if you smell gas, please exit the home and immediately call the fire department. Once the home is safe, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us so we can fix the issue
  • – Electrical issues– sparking, fire (call 911), smoke, overheated fixtures
  • – Lack of Heat – if it poses a documented health risk
  • – Lack of Air Conditioning – if it poses a documented health risk
  • – Heavy Structural Damage –  roof, foundation, or walls
  • – Plumbing – flooding or breakdown of fixtures

 

To report an emergency maintenance issue, please call 678.304.6473 Ext 15. If you place an emergency maintenance request, we’ll contact you within 2 hours.

We can perform maintenance requests for your convenience even when you’re not home. When you submit a service request, you will be asked to provide Permission to Enter so that we can perform the work in your absence. 

Pets

Yes. With owner approval. We understand that pets are part of the family, so we allow most domesticated pets. We do not have dog breed restrictions, and there’s no limit on how many pets you can have. 

Please tap here to learn more about our policies regarding pets.

Certain breeds require additional liability insurance coverage. Please remember that some cities and Home Owner Associations (HOAs) do. Before applying for a home, please check with the city and contact us to see if the Owner and HOA for the home have pet restrictions.

Yes. A non-refundable Pet Fee in the amount of $300 per pet will be charged prior to move-in. Additionally, monthly Pet Rent of $35 per month, per pet, will be added to your rent. Verified service or assistance animals are allowed and are not subject to the Pet Fee or Pet Rent. Certain breeds require additional liability insurance coverage. Please tap here to learn more about our policies regarding pets.

We use a third-party screening service and requires EVERYONE to complete a profile (No Pet/Pet/Service Animal). This process ensures we have formalized pet and animal-related policy acknowledgments and more accurate records to create greater mutual accountability. Any fees associated with the third-party screening are non-refundable, if you are not sure a property allows pets please contact us to verify.

Moving out

Let us know that you’ll be leaving home by completing our NOTICE TO VACATE FORM (tap here). Once you’ve submitted the form, our team will be notified. Please let us know 60 days in advance (as required by your lease) of your requested move-out date to avoid additional fees.

If you’re preparing to move out, please take some time to read our Moving Out Process. It’s filled with information that will help you transition out of the home as quickly as possible. 

The Pre-Move Out Walkthrough is a home inspection completed by the resident 60 days before your lease expiration date.  This inspection aims to help you prepare for moving out and ensure you get as much of your security deposit back as possible. We use third-party software using your mobile phone. 

The Pre-Move Out Walkthrough is very important, and we require that you complete the inspection.

If you are near the end of your lease and you have not had a Pre-Move Out Walkthrough, please give us a call at 678.304.6473

Your Security Deposit refund will be mailed within 30 days of your move-out date. Please provide us with your new address to ensure that you receive your Security Deposit as quickly as possible.