Southern Suburbs
“Two salaries moved between the applicants' accounts before rent and debit orders went off. The household schedule stopped us counting the same amount twice and gave us a clean figure for our affordability policy.”
— Farah, letting coordinator
Cape Town CBD
“The first estimate felt higher than a standard screening check, but the business statements were genuinely untidy. The reviewer separated client receipts from transfers and was frank about the three months that could not support a conclusion.”
— Johan, private landlord
Durban portfolio
“We received a measured range instead of one inflated average. That made our follow-up with the applicant much more respectful and kept the reason for our decision in the file.”
— Zinhle, property administrator
A file where the first impression changed
A managing agent referred an application showing regular monthly credits labelled with an employer’s name. The payslips appeared to support them. During reconciliation, the values on two deposit dates comprised salary plus expense reimbursement, while one month included a transfer from the applicant’s savings account.
The review did not classify those entries as wrongdoing. It restated recurring net salary, excluded the internal transfer and asked for one missing payslip. When that record arrived, the agent could apply the portfolio’s rent-to-income guideline to evidence that was consistently defined.
Evidence with an honest boundary
In another matter, a new sole trader supplied only three months of trading history. The records confirmed the receipts described but could not establish a seasonal pattern. Our note said exactly that. The landlord chose to request a guarantor rather than treating limited history as a false declaration.