RESIDENT HANDBOOK LEASES. 311 S. MAIN, NORMAL, IL

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1 RESIDENT HANDBOOK LEASES 311 S. MAIN, NORMAL, IL

2 WELCOME TO YOUR NEW APARTMENT! Young America would like to welcome you to your new apartment! This handbook is designed to help answer questions that you may have about the apartment you are moving into. Please note: the term resident in this document corresponds to LESSEE on your lease. PAYMENTS: Unless otherwise stated in your lease: Summer/Fall/Spring (the majority of leases) lease payments begin April 1 st, 2013 and end March 1 st, Fall/Spring/Summer lease payments begin April 1 st, 2013 and end March 1 st, 2014 Fall/Spring lease payments begin June 1 st, 2013 and end March 1 st, 2014 Payments are due the first day of each month, with a 5-day grace period. That is, payments received on the 6 th of the month are assessed a late fee. The late fee is 10% of the payment amount plus a charge of two dollars per day late. When submitting a check, please put the account number, apartment address, and name of the person on the lease in the memo section of the check. PREFERRED PAYMENT METHOD The preferred method of making payments is through your online resident portal. Go to and click on Resident Login. Through your portal you can : See your payment history View your ledger Make ACH payments (also known as e-check ) Set up automatic payments Request maintenance (coming soon!) 2

3 OTHER FORMS OF PAYMENT Payments can be made with a check or money order at the Young America office. There is a night drop box for payments delivered after hours. Credit and debit card payments are not preferred methods of payment and cannot be made in our office, but are accepted through an auxiliary third party site called PayLease.com. Young America does not accept cash payments or payments over the phone. PAYLEASE.COM ONLINE PAYMENTS (FEES APPLY) The payment system can be accessed at or by going to our website at and clicking on Online Payments under the Student dropdown menu. With this payment system, you can pay with a credit card or debit card. *** When registering for online payments, be sure to place YOUR correct apartment address including the correct street direction (ex. 104 W. Locust) *** All residents registered for online payments must be sure to change their apartment address online if they move from one Young America property to another Young America property at any time. *** All residents currently registered for online payments with a different management company must re-register now under Young America. Payments take 3-5 days to process with the online system. Payments will be posted on the account when it has been processed by Young America. JOINT LIABILITY The standard Young America lease is written as Joint Liability. This means that all residents signed on the lease are jointly responsible for the total monthly payment to be paid as specified in the lease. Be sure to check with your roommates to make sure that they are making their payments on time to avoid late charges, court actions, or other collections measures. Joint liability can be individualized with a Parent/Guardian Guarantee of Lease. The Parent/Guardian Guarantee of Lease needs to be filled out with ALL of the appropriate information in order to be valid. Also, the Parent/Guardian Guarantee of Lease needs to be completed by all tenants signed to the apartment to individualize the rent payment responsibility. Because the lease is Joint Liability, roommate conflicts should be handled internally, between the roommates. PARENT/GUARDIAN GUARANTEE OF LEASE In order to limit the amount of liability that a resident can face, Young America offers a Parental/Guardian Guarantee of the lease. This paperwork was sent out when you signed the lease. When all these forms are signed and returned to the office, they limit the amount of liability for which you are responsible to only your percentage of the total dollar amount of the lease. Limited liability only goes into effect when all forms are signed and returned and there are no open spots on the lease to be filled. This Parental Guarantee does not limit liability in terms of damages, fines, or utility charges exceeding the inclusive allowance. 3

4 LEASE DATES Unless otherwise stated in your lease: Summer/Fall/Spring occupancy dates are June 18 th, May 11 th, 2014 (Saturday) at 12:00 Noon Fall/Spring occupancy dates are August 17 th, May 11 th, 2014 (Saturday) at 12:00 Noon EARLY MOVE-IN AGREEMENT Young America offers an early move-in date for residents. To qualify for this, you must fill out an early move-in form and return it to our office by May 4 th, The form is found on our website at under the Student dropdown menu, then Online forms. Early move-in will not be granted for properties where renovations, remodeling, or new construction is taking place prior to the lease date. Lease Term Early Move-In date Last day to Turn in Form Summer/Fall/Spring May 11 th, 2013 at 1:00 PM May 4 th, 2013 There are several conditions that go along with taking the early move-in option: 1. All roommates must sign Young America s Early Move-In Agreement. 2. Young America will not prepare and clean the apartment prior to the early move-in date. Therefore, in exchange for approximately 6 weeks of additional occupancy (at no additional charge), the residents agree to accept the apartment in an as-is condition, with respect to cleaning. The residents are still required to leave the apartment in a clean condition when they vacate the property at the termination of their lease. 3. Young America will still fix damage to the apartment (that existed prior to your move-in date). You must call your maintenance number to have these items fixed. Please be patient, as this is the busiest time of year for our maintenance staff. Emergency maintenance items will be addressed immediately. 4. Two (2) payments are due from all residents on the lease and any open spots (regardless of which residents plan to actually move in early) on the lease before any keys will be issued. 5. Each resident is required to pick up a pre-approved early move-in pass at our office. Our accounts manager will confirm prepayments have been made and the early move-in agreement has been signed. The pass is issued ahead of time to streamline the process on early move-in day. Passes will not be issued on the day of early move-in. 6. Young America has the right to revoke the early move-in privilege for any resident at any time. 7. Residents are not permitted to drop off any personal belongings in the apartment prior to the lease date, unless the early move-in has been signed and granted. 8. During the summer, the RESIDENT agrees and understands that independent contractors may be doing work in the apartment. CLEANING & EARLY MOVE-IN: Young America will not be able to clean the apartment and the residents will be fully responsible for any necessary cleaning. The residents will be responsible for cleaning the apartment at the end of the lease. Carpet will be professionally cleaned at some point during the summer. 4

5 PAYMENTS FOR EARLY MOVE-IN: Two (2) PAYMENTS are due from each resident on the lease (regardless of which plan to move in early) as well as any open spots on the lease prior to move in. These payments must be made in full before any keys are issued. Example: 101 Apartment St. #4 is a four bedroom for $2000 per payment, residents pays $500 each. At move in time Joe, Mark and Ted have each made their 2 payments but Ben had only made one. In this scenario, $500 is still due before a key is issued to anyone, regardless of whether Ben plans to move in early. A question we get often is, Do I have to make both payments at once? You must make your scheduled April and May payments on time, which would qualify as 2 payments in. PRE-APPROVED MOVE-IN PASS: Young America requires a pre-approved move-in pass for early move-in s wishing to move in on May 11 th, Residents without a pass will not be able to pick up keys until Monday, May 14 th, Each individual on the lease who chooses the early move-in option must have a move-in pass (issued earlier in the week) in order to move in early. The pass can be picked up by a roommate, provided the conditions are met. We will begin issuing passes on Monday, May 6 th and stop issuing on them on Friday, May 10 th at noon. In order to obtain the pass, the following conditions must be met: The early move-in agreement must be signed by all parties on the lease Two payments are required from every person who will be living in the apartment, including: o Payments on any open spots (planned roommates who have not yet signed the lease) o Roommates that Young America placed together independently KEY PICK-UP TIMES May 11, :00 PM 5:00PM Summer/Fall/Spring Early Move-In June 18, :30 AM 5:00 PM Summer/Fall/Spring Standard Move-In August 17, :00 AM 3:00 PM Fall/Spring/(Summer) Standard Move-In Keys can be picked up at our office on 311 S. Main St., Normal, IL. If you cannot pick up your key during these times and you have been approved for move-in, you can come in any time during our regular business hours after the date that applies to you. Try your keys as soon as you get to your apartment, even if the door is unlocked. If you have a key problem contact our office immediately, as after-hours lockout calls are charged to the resident. Once you know your key works, take the tags off immediately so a lost/found key is not able to be tracked to your apartment. Residents moving from one apartment to another apartment within Young America in May 2013: o Residents will be allowed to stay in their first apartment until noon on May 11 th, o Residents must have the early move-in form filled out for their new apartment in order to pick up keys on May 11 th, 2013 at 1:00PM o All other early move-in procedures apply including having the early move-in pass. 5

6 MOVE OUT MAY 2013 Unless your lease says otherwise, move out is Saturday, May 11 th, 2013 by Noon. Residents not moved out by noon will be issued a $1,000 fine per day, per their lease All of your personal items must be removed from the apartment by your move out day. All personal items left in the apartment will be billed out as trash left behind. DO NOT accommodate future residents who wish to place their possessions in your apartment prior to their lease date. RESIDENTS MOVING TO AN APARTMENT WITH A DIFFERENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY WILL NEED TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS WITH THE NEW COMPANY IF THE LEASE DATES DON T CORRESPOND. KEY RETURN 2013 Unit Entry Keys, Mailbox Keys, and Security Door Keys must be returned to our office at 311 S. Main. DO NOT leave them in the apartment. o Residents mailing keys to Young America after their move-out date may be subject to a lock charge. o There will be a $75-$100 lock charge if ALL unit keys are not returned. (See lock and key replacement form at YARealty.com) o When you drop off your keys, you will be asked to fill out a key return form. You can drop off keys for roommates only if you have their forwarding information. o Keys dropped off without a key return form, will be considered unreturned and will be subject to our standard key and lock replacement charges. Bedroom Keys should be left in the bedroom door knob prior to vacating the apartment. SECURITY DEPOSIT RETURN 2013 Deposits will be mailed to the address that you provided to us on the key return form. Deposits will be mailed within 30 days of the lease expiration. Your security deposit on file with us does not represent the limit of your liability. Charges to your account that exceed your security deposit will be invoiced to you, payable within 10 days. The apartment must be left in a clean and undamaged condition upon move out in order to ensure the return of your entire security deposit. This includes: o Fridge cleaning o Oven cleaning o Shower/Toilet/Bathroom cleaning o Vacuuming o Removing tacks and nails from walls o Removing all trash and personal items from the apartment If you took Early Move-In at the beginning of your lease and the apartment was not cleaned when you took occupancy, you must still clean the apartment prior to moving out in order to avoid charges to your security deposit. 6

7 MAINTENANCE Young America offers 24-hour maintenance to our residents. Residents with a maintenance request must call the maintenance department for service. At the time of move in, the first person to pick up keys is given a magnet with your assigned maintenance person s direct phone number. From the hours of 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, you may call about any service you need. After 5:00 P.M. and on weekends, calls will be forwarded to an after-hours call center. Only emergencies will be address after hours. Please do not call the office with maintenance requests! Residents that would like to have their apartments painted must contact the maintenance department directly to schedule this. We highly recommend non-emergency maintenance requests be submitted by or through our website. This allows our maintenance department to have a clear punch list of items requiring service, and it also allows Young America to more properly track the status of your service request. You can accomplish this one of several ways: Navigate your tenant portal ( and submit a New Service Request. Please remember that emergency maintenance MAY NOT be submitted by or through our website. Examples of Emergencies No heat No water Broken pipes No power Leak in ceiling Excessive noise from a neighbor Safety Concern Any item that is time-sensitive for the physical condition of the property MAINTENANCE INSPECTION WEBSITE You will be given instructions for filling out a Move-in Inspection Form. This must be completed within 1 week of your move-in date and submitted to Young America electronically (so we have a date stamped record of when the form was received). Further instructions on submitting the form will be given at the time of key pickup. Please be thorough when filling out this sheet and mark down which bedroom or bathroom the damages are located in. Please remember this is only an inspection sheet. You must contact maintenance directly in order to schedule the repairs of these items. You can find the Move-in Inspection sheet at 7

8 PARKING POLICY Young America s buildings are either numbered or stickered lots. Please check the following list to see if your apartment has numbered parking spots or parking stickers. Cars must be parked in a lined spot at all times. Cars cannot be parked on the grass, on a sidewalk, behind a roommate s car, or in front of the dumpster. Only one (1) car is allowed per lined spot. Always make sure that your car is parked within the yellow lines of a spot and that it is not encroaching into the next spot. Please be sure to lower the volume of music when driving into the lot. The parking area for houses is either in the driveway or on the street, depending on the property. For driveway parking please be sure not to block sidewalk access. If there is any confusion regarding the parking, please contact our office (or the phone number of the posted towing company) immediately. NUMBERED LOTS Refer to your lease as to whether your apartment offers a stickered or numbered parking lot. The numbered lots have the apartment number painted in the spots. Example: If you live in apartment #1, you are only allowed to park in the spots marked with the number 1. You are in control of these spots. If someone is in your spot that you did not authorize, then YOU must call the towing company (posted on the lot) and have them removed. When you are on the phone with the towing company, find out where to safely park while you wait. STICKERED LOTS Refer to you lease as to whether your apartment offers a stickered or numbered parking lot. With these lots, you must have a valid sticker to be able to park in the lot. The stickers are available at our office The stickers that are issued will go to the specific car that you listed on the parking form. The stickers are not interchangeable. If you get a new car or have a temporary car, you must get a new sticker. Stickers will be issued prior to the start of the fall semester at our office. Please bring your registration and license plate information. It is the resident s responsibility to pick up their sticker, and towing charges will not be reimbursed. Young America will not reimburse any money associated with a tow. EXTRA PARKING If you are interested in obtaining extra parking, we do offer parking spaces for sale. Refer to our office or our website for information on location and rates. Payment is due at the time of the transaction. Parking spaces for sale will not be held or reserved. 8

9 COMMON AREAS Common areas refer to the entrance of the building, hallways, stairwells, front, rear and side yards. Unless responsibility can be assigned to a specific apartment(s), damage to these areas will result in a charge to every resident of the building. These charges can be for excessive litter, drywall damages, damage to doors, pulled fire alarms, etc Young America will charge all residents if we do not have direct knowledge of which apartment(s) are responsible. If you have any pertinent information, please call the office or your emergency maintenance number immediately. A fine will be issued, per your lease, plus the cost of repairs or cleaning will be issued to the residents responsible for the lease violation (this includes pulled fire alarms). Please make sure to take your garbage directly to the dumpster provided. Do not leave any trash in the hallways. If Young America has to throw away a bag of your trash, a fine will be issued per your lease. Do not leave garbage in front of, or next to, a dumpster. Smoking is not allowed in the common areas. Residents or their guests will be issued a fine per the lease for violating this policy. Pulled fire alarms will result in an automatic $50 fine plus maintenance expenses for any repairs and the cost to review any applicable surveillance film. APPLIANCES & FURNISHINGS In most cases, the apartment that you have rented is a furnished unit. However, there are a few exceptions where residences are unfurnished. If you are unsure, please contact us. All of the apartments do not have the same amount or type of furniture or appliances. Please remember that it is the resident s responsibility to call maintenance if the appliances or furnishings are not working properly or if they have been damaged. When leaving the apartment during ISU breaks, do not unplug the fridge or turn off any breakers. In units with dishwashers, please make sure to use dishwasher detergent, not kitchen soap Units with washers/dryers in the unit or common hallways, please remember to clean the lint trap before and after each use. ISU SEMESTER BREAKS When leaving for winter break or any time during the winter season, please remember to leave the heat at a minimum of 55 degrees. (The heat must be left on to prevent pipes from freezing.) During a break, we may go into the unit and make sure that the heat is on. If the heat is not left on or at too low a setting, a $75 fine will be assessed. Open cabinet doors under sinks, where pipes are present, to facilitate air flow to these areas. We highly recommend that you take expensive/valuable personal items home. Young America will not be held responsible for the theft of your personal items. For this reason, we highly recommend renters insurance. 9

10 INTERNET Young America only provides Internet service to apartments if it is specified in the lease agreement. 1. Some of our properties have Ethernet wiring hardwired throughout the building. o A. Do you have an Ethernet port in your living room or bedroom? If so, plug directly into it. o B. If no, proceed to the next step 2. Many of our properties have recently been outfitted with a wireless network. A. Search for a Wi-Fi network that matches the table below B. If you do not find the wireless network, proceed to step 3 below Property Network ID Password Most Properties YARWIFI youngamericarealty Patriot Station (600 PatriotStation Written on router in Hester) [Unit] living room 3. Are you still having trouble connecting to the internet? A. Contact Connectivity U, which is Young America s provider for technical support: Connectivity U: B. During move-in times, please be patient. Calls will be handled in the order they are received. 10

11 RENTERS INSURANCE Young America does not provide insurance for our resident s personal property. In the event that your personal property is stolen or ruined (due to flood, leaks, fire, power surge, etc.), your personal property will not be covered or reimbursed by Young America. We recommend renters insurance to all of our residents. PARTY POLICY Young America has a policy in our lease for parties. Here are some guidelines in accordance with our lease: 1. No more than 20 guests 2. Young America s residents are responsible at all times for the actions of their guests. Guests who damage property or have out of control behavior will cause Young America to fine the residents with whom the guest was associated. 3. Guests must be contained within the unit at all times. Guests should not congregate in the hallways or stairwells, or in the front or backyards. Guests must be limited to 10 people on balconies. 4. Music and guests must not be considered to be a nuisance to the neighbors. 5. Damage to property is automatically considered a lease violation for an out of control party 6. If a neighbor s loud party or music is bothering you, you should call our emergency maintenance number and the non-emergency police department immediately. 7. Repeated behavioral issues will be reported to the ISU (or IWU or Heartland) Dean of Students Office and will be handled within the conduct guidelines of the university. LEASE VIOLATIONS RELATED TO PARTIES WILL BE SUBJECT TO A $500 FINE TO BE PAID WITHIN TEN DAYS OTHER LEASE TERMS & CONDITIONS Pets: Unless otherwise stated in your lease, Young America has a NO PET POLICY. A $300 fine will be issued if a pet is found in the apartment (even on a first offense). Excessive litter: A $50 dollar fine will be issued to a unit cited for excessive litter. This applies to bags of trash left in the hallway, beer bottles, pizza boxes, trash thrown in hallways, trash thrown from a balcony, etc Loud Music: The Town of Normal has a noise ordinance. If music or noise can be heard within 50 ft. of the unit, you are in violation and can be fined up to $500 from the Town of Normal. Apartments with balconies: o You are not allowed to have charcoal grills, trash bags, or other receptacles on your balcony. o You are not allowed to hang banners or signs from your balcony. (Town of Normal code) Residents are not allowed to install nor have satellite dishes installed. All hallways and all common areas within the property are non-smoking areas. Temporary pools of any size are not allowed anywhere on the property, inside or out. Only all weather furniture is allowed on balconies or patios. The furniture provided in your unit is never to be placed outdoors. (Town of Normal code) You are not permitted to paint the unit on your own. If you would like to have the unit painted, please contact our maintenance department for an inspection and evaluation. 11

12 Residents are not allowed to change locks or install locks on the bedroom doors. If you would like a lock placed on your bedroom door, please contact the maintenance department. A schedule of key charges is available at Young America s website ( Vehicles with flat tires or expired registration are subject to inoperable vehicle fines from the Town of Normal, and may be subject to getting towed from the property at the owner s expense. These citations from the Town of Normal will be passed on to the resident(s) and will have a $50 surcharge added by Young America. SUBLEASING The Young America lease provides for subleasing under the following conditions: The responsibility for finding the sublessee belongs to the resident. The resident must have a zero balance on their account before subleasing will be permitted. The lessee and sublessee are required to sign a subleasing agreement with Young America. The sublessee must put down a new security deposit and service fee. The sublessee is bound by all the terms and obligations of the lease. There is a $100 subleasing fee to be paid by the lessee at the time of subleasing. Per Illinois law, if your sublessee fails to fulfill their payment obligations, you (as the original LESSEE) are still ultimately responsible for the balance owed on the lease. ALL INCLUSIVE UTILITY LEASES Resident understands that Young America will provide the following utilities as per the lease: Electric, Water, Internet, and gas (if applicable). Resident understands that the utilities are capped at a certain yearly allowance. Residents will receive a periodic notice from Young America that outlines the usages. Resident understands that if they exceed the included yearly dollar allowance, they will be responsible for paying all overages to Young America. Abuse and/or neglect can lead to excess usages of these utilities, which will result in exceeding the dollar allowance. Items considered neglect and/or abuse can be, but are not limited too: o Failure to call maintenance regarding a running toilet or water leak o Running the air conditioning or heat with the windows or doors open o Leaving lights and fans on, or heat on high, during a school break Resident understands that any utilities not included in the lease are the residents responsibility. Resident is responsible for connecting and canceling all utilities not included in the lease. 12

13 NON-INCLUSIVE UTILITY LEASES When you signed your lease, you authorized Young America to place one of the resident s names in the water service. If the service cannot be placed because of a bad debt account, we will use another name. In certain houses, Young America is not able to place the electric service in the resident s names. In these cases a letter will be sent to your apartment informing you of this, and you will need to call Ameren directly to put the service in your name. If an apartment has gas service, Young America is not able to place the service in your name for you. It is the resident s responsibility to call NICOR gas ( ) and have the service placed by the first day of the lease. All utility charges accrued prior to placing service in your name will be billed by Young America equally to the account of each resident YOUNG AMERICA CONTACT INFORMATION Randy Paulissen Property Manager Randy@yarealty.com Scott Lee Billing & Payments collections@yarealty.com Byron Stoller Maintenance Supervisor Lou Trunnell Maintenance Supervisor maintenance@yarealty.com InfoTech Young America s Internet Support Provider OTHER HELPFUL NUMBERS Emergencies 911 Non-emergency Police Ameren Power NICOR Gas Normal Water Department Comcast Cable ISU Help Desk HELP ISU TechZone Support InfoTech Any conflicting information between this Resident Handbook and your lease, the lease will be deemed accurate. 13