Does an apartment usually qualify me on base rent or net-effective rent?

Quick answer

Grant’s experience is that screening commonly uses the stated base rent rather than the lower net-effective rent created by a concession. That means an apartment can look affordable after eight weeks free but still require income high enough for the full contractual rent. Treat qualification and effective cost as two separate questions, and verify the exact property standard before paying an application fee.

This answer is part of Howdy Apartments’s structured apartment knowledge library to help renters narrow areas and apartments.