Resident's FAQ

Rent Payments

There are several convenient ways you can pay your rent to us each month:

  • Pay online from your bank account anytime; (free)
  • Pay online by debit card anytime; ($6.95 fee)
  • Pay online by credit card anytime; (3.5% convenience fee)
  • Set up a recurring AutoPay bank account payment on any of the first five days of the month, to have your rent taken automatically from your bank account. (free)
  • Pay by personal check, certified check or money order to our rental offices; (free)
  • Pay by phone from your bank account or debit/credit cards anytime; (convenience fees for debit/credit cards apply)
  • Pay with cash at stores close to home using our CashPay service. Ask your Rental Office for details; ($3.99 fee. Cash is never accepted at the Rental Offices.)

See the Rent Payment Options section of our Resident’s Corner page for full details. Note that personal checks and online payments may not always be accepted, for legal or other reasons.

There is no better way to treat all residents fairly, and to get everyone in the discipline of paying on time each month, than to have an across-the-board late-fee and court-filing policy that is stated clearly and enforced evenly.

  • On-time payment of rent is critical to our business. Without prompt rent payments, it becomes harder for us to pay our expenses.
  • Going after unpaid balances is a time-consuming and very unpleasant part of our business. The more our residents pay on-time, the more we avoid unnecessary notices, paperwork, and costs, and the more we can concentrate on serving everyone better.
  • Paying on-time saves our residents a lot of money in late fees and other fees.
  • We always get requests to make exceptions to our policies. We have found that most exceptions invariably lead to requests for more exceptions, and very often lead to broken promises.
  • The farther a person falls behind in their rent, the harder it is for them to get back on track and the more likely they will eventually be evicted. By filing court actions when we do, we are often stopping someone from falling too far behind, which can actually help to save them from a true financial disaster.

When you sign your lease, you agree to be responsible for the legal costs we have to pay for to enforce the terms of the lease (including non-payment). This is standard practice for most apartment management companies in New Jersey and around the country.

Court fees and warrant fees are set by the courts; we only pass on what we are charged. Attorney fees are expensive, even just to file a case, and the longer it goes through the process the more expensive it gets. We do not make any profit on the court or attorney fees we collect.

Increases in rent, like increases in everything else, are necessary for two main reasons: (1) to help us pay the higher day-to-day costs that we face every year in managing apartment communities, and (2) to allow us to continue to pay for major repairs and improvements to the buildings and the apartments, now and in the future.

What kinds of higher costs?

The biggest yearly increases lately have been for our heat/hot water services, water/sewer services, property/liability insurance, and our employees’ salaries and benefits. We are also faced with increases in many of our maintenance and supply costs, despite our ongoing efforts to control them.

We are also faced with new regulations every year from our city, state and Federal governments. We realize that many of these regulations are necessary and improve the safety of our properties, like testing for lead paint and the installation of 10-year smoke alarms. Unfortunately, complying with these new regulations usually requires us to spend a lot of money on new items, systems, or contracted work.

What kinds of improvements are being made, and why?

Our company’s mission has always been to continually improve the properties we manage, so we can keep residents happy and make our communities more desirable places to live. We have spent over $3 million in building improvements in each of the last few years, and we have no intention of slowing down.

You’ve probably seen some of those recent improvements at your community, whether it be new windows or doors, roofs, gutters, paving, landscaping, painting, or other work. We also make a lot of major improvements every year that you don’t see — in our heaters and water heaters, electrical, plumbing and sewer systems, office systems and equipment, and other facilities inside our buildings. In addition to what we have already done, we always have a number of major improvements planned for the future.

Moving Out

If you have signed a one-year lease or a one-year lease renewal, you have agreed to stay until the ending date of your agreement. You can move out without penalty on the last day of the current lease term as long as you give us sixty(60) days (two full months) written notice in advance to move out.

If you are staying month-to-month, you must still give us at least 60 days written notice to move out, and you must include the date you are moving on the notice; this date must be the last day of the month.

Either way, be sure to move everything out and return all of your keys to the Rental Office by the move-out date indicated on your move-out notice. If the keys are not returned by then, you will be charged double the daily rent for the extra days until they are received.

To make sure you get as much of your security deposit back as possible, please do all of the following:

  • Make sure that proper written notice has been given and all rent is paid in full.
  • Leave your apartment clean, especially the appliances, kitchen, bathroom and floors.
  • Remove all belongings and trash. Do not leave behind any furniture or other items.
  • Complete the Verification of Move-Out form and return it with all keys to the Rental Office when you are completely done with the apartment. Be sure to include your forwarding address and contact info on the form.
  • Make sure all of this is done by the last day of the month. If you do not move out completely and return all of the keys by the last day, you will be charged double the daily rent until all keys are returned.

Your apartment will be carefully inspected after everything is out and all keys are returned. We will send you a final Move-Out Report, which includes a full accounting of your security deposit, interest, and final charges. The report will be sent, along with any money due to you, within 30 days from the last day of the last month you are responsible for the rent.

If our Move-Out Report shows that you owe us a balance after your security deposit has been applied, you must contact us to make payment arrangements within 10 days of receiving the report. If we do not hear from you in that time, your account will be referred to our collection agency, and if left unpaid could lead to a money judgment and/or a serious negative mark on your credit report.

If you have signed a one-year lease or a one-year lease renewal, and you are moving out before it ends, you will be responsible for all of the rent to the ending date of your lease, or until the date a new tenant moves into the apartment, whichever comes first.

If you are staying on a month-to-month basis, and you do not give us the required 60-day notice, you will be responsible for two full months of rent from the date you gave your notice, or until the date a new tenant moves into the apartment, whichever comes first.

If you do have to move out sooner than permitted, we will do our best to re-rent your apartment as soon as possible. You can help shorten this time by keeping in touch with the Rental Office, allowing us to show your apartment to prospective tenants (if needed), leaving the apartment in the best condition you can, and turning in your keys as soon as you are done with the apartment.

If both of you are listed on your Lease as co-tenants, it means we rented the apartment based on your combined qualifications, so you are both responsible for fulfilling all of the terms of your lease and any lease renewals.. If you move out without getting our approval first you will not be released from the Lease, and you could be legally and financially responsible if your roommate later causes damages or fails to pay the rent and is evicted. Note that we also do not permit removing anyone from the lease during the first year of occupancy.

If you have been on the lease for at least one full year, notify your Rental Office as soon as you decide you want to move out. If we agree that your roommate can afford the apartment on his/her own, or if a new roommate applies and is approved, you can be removed from the lease by completing a form that is available at your Rental Office. This form includes your statement that you are giving up all claims to the apartment and the security deposit, and we require it to be notarized for everyone’s protection.

Yes, as long as you are already a co-tenant on the lease, and as long as you and your current roommate have completed at least one full year in the apartment. The new person will be required to fill out an application and pay an application fee. If that person is accepted, a new lease and other leasing forms will need to be signed. (If not accepted, you will need to find someone else that can be accepted, or you will have to move out when your roommate moves out.)

If a new person is accepted, your current roommate can then be removed from the lease by completing a form that is available at your Rental Office. This form includes the statement that your roommate is giving up all claims to the apartment and the security deposit, and we require it be notarized for everyone’s protection. You may have to give us additional security deposit monies or compensate your roommate in exchange for his release.

If you are an occupant, not a co-tenant, you will also have to fill out a full application and have it approved before we can allow you to take over the lease. You will probably also need to come up with a new security deposit. If you are not approved, you will have to move out when your roommate moves out.

Other Information

If your emergency is one that requires a response by police, fire department, or ambulance, call 911 before contacting us. If it is a maintenance emergency, like no heat, hot water, or electricity, call the Rental Office during business hours or call the emergency number for your community at any other time. Speak to your Rental Manager today if you are not sure of your property’s emergency procedures or phone number(s), or if you are not sure what is considered an emergency

If you feel there is a problem with heat in your apartment, we must know the temperature before we can do anything. We try to provide everyone with at least 70 degrees in the apartments at all times, and no less than 68 degrees.

We recommend that you have a thermometer, mounted on an inside wall away from doors and windows. If your thermometer reads 68 degrees or more, it is not an emergency and we will not be able to address it as an emergency. If it reads below 68 degrees, you are permitted to call at any time of the day or night. Our staff member will check the temperature and if it is below 68 degrees he will do whatever he can to resolve the problem as soon as possible.

Before you call, be sure all doors, windows, and storm doors are properly closed, that all radiator valves and hot air vents are open, and that there is nothing blocking your radiators or cold air return ducts. Leave your stove, oven, and space heaters off for at least 30 minutes so that we can get an accurate room temperature. We will not be able to address any heat complaint if these guidelines are not followed completely.

Using your stove, your oven, an unapproved electric heater, or a kerosene heater to heat your apartment is a serious fire code violation and lease violation, and could result in serious illness or even death. We will not address any heat complaint if any of these appliances are being used for this purpose, and anyone found doing this could have their lease terminated.

Please notify us immediately of any conditions in the apartment that may need repair; this often prevents small repairs from becoming big ones. Requests for non-emergency repairs are to be made in writing to the Rental Office or can be entered through the Resident Portal or the property’s webpage, so they can be properly entered into our work order system. Please do not stop our staff members on the property to report a new repair, except in case of emergency. Please also respect the privacy of our on-site employees and their families by not disturbing them outside of business hours for anything besides emergencies.

We can help, but we are sometimes limited in what we can do.

If the dispute is clearly the fault of your neighbor, we can eventually stop their behavior by contacting them verbally, in writing, by legal notices, or even by eviction if necessary. This process, however, takes time to resolve, so we will monitor the situation and we will ask you to keep us posted on any additional problems that may occur after we become involved. Specific dates and times, and police reports, can help us win eviction of a problem tenant.

If we cannot tell conclusively who is at fault, we can try to arrange a meeting with you and the neighbor together to try to resolve the matter. However, if the dispute escalates, or if other neighbors are disturbed in any way, it is possible that both you and your neighbor will be required to move out.

First, ask the person calmly and politely to stop the noise or disturbance. If they do not, contact the Rental Office. If the person gives you any trouble or if the Rental Office is closed, and the noise is seriously disruptive, call the police. If the office is closed when this happens, please let the Rental Manager know about the problem the next morning.

Our insurance companies (and most municipalities) do not allow barbecue grills in most apartment communities for safety reasons. Outdoor private parties are usually not allowed because the noise level can be disturbing to neighbors, the foot traffic can destroy the grounds, and there is usually trash (and sometimes damage) left behind when it is over. Indoor gatherings must be quiet enough to not disturb your neighbors in any way.

Keeping noise down, and keeping our property looking nice, are very important concerns to us and to most of our residents. Any failure to respect the rights of “quiet enjoyment” of your neighbors is a serious violation of the lease and will not be permitted.

You can have a satellite dish in some locations, but under some very strict restrictions. Some of these are as follows:

  • Satellite dishes with a diameter of 1 meter or less are permitted, but only in spaces that you are renting yourself, like inside your apartment or on your own patio/balcony.
  • A dish may not be placed on the grounds or on any window, outside wall, roof, door, entranceway, or common area.
  • You may not drill holes, or damage the apartment or the building exterior, to install it.
  • You must have Renter’s Insurance in force at all times to cover any possible damage or liability.
  • You must sign our “Satellite Dish and Antenna Addendum to Lease Contract” before the installation can be done.

Don’t expect that your installer will know these restrictions, or you might have to remove whatever was installed and pay for any damage caused by the installation. You and your installer should speak with our Rental Manager before performing any installation.

In most cases, yes! If you are relocating, we can make it easy for you to move to one of our other apartment communities! We can help expedite the paperwork and make sure your move goes smoothly. The best news? You won’t have to come up with a new security deposit — we’ll transfer your deposit to the new property!

You will be required to fill out a new Rental Application, and acceptance at the new property is not guaranteed. Some additional security deposit monies and other fees may be required, and all rental balances must be paid in full before the move can take place. If you are interested, please ask your Rental Manager for more information.