More of the Townside Resident Handbook
(15) GENERAL MAINTENANCE - PLEASE REVIEW THESE ITEMS CAREFULLY AS THERE ARE MANY TROUBLE SHOOTING TIPS WHICH COULD SAVE YOU MONEY IN LESSEE/TENANT CHARGES TO YOUR ACCOUNT. JUST THE LABOR COST ON ONE CALL CAN BE $55-$125 DEPENDING UPON THE TIME OF DAY OR DAY OF THE WEEK. OWNERS REVIEW THE MAINTENANCE HISTORY ON A PROPERTY AND CAN INSTITUTE SPECIAL PROCEDURES WHEN MAINTENANCE REQUESTS SEEM EXCESSIVE.
EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE - If you have a genuine emergency, call our office number 552-4000. During office hours, we will respond; if it is after hours, you will receive an emergency pager number and instructions on how to use the pager. Before you hang up, please leave a message on our voice mail explaining your problem. Include your name, address, and phone number. This information serves as back up in case the pager call is not properly executed. You must have a touch tone phone to use the pager. After you hang up from voice mail, dial the pager number, wait for the tone, then enter your seven digit telephone number, and hang up. Do not hesitate too long after the tone. Enter your number carefully. Whatever number you key in will appear in our emergency pager to the person who is on call. They will contact you with further information. In the meantime, do everything you can to minimize the damage. If there is a leak, shut the water off. If it's coming from a neighbor, try to find the neighbor and have them shut off their water. You are responsible for damages as a result of your negligence to minimize them. In the winter time, no heat is considered an emergency; however, LACK OF AIR CONDITIONING IN THE SUMMER IS NOT. In any situation, Townside reserves the right in its sole and absolute discretion to determine if your maintenance request is an emergency or not. You may be asked to wait until the next business day for the repair depending upon the problem.
LOCKOUTS - You may also use the emergency pager for lockouts. There will be a fee payable at the time of entry to the unit. At the present time, the fee is $50.00; however, this fee is subject to change without notice. You must be on the lease and present an I.D. to prove your identity. Townside may require you to use a professional locksmith when there is no one available to assist you. This is merely a service that can be provided at our discretion but is not guaranteed under the lease. During regular office hours, you may come by our office and borrow a key at no charge; it is due back the same day. If Townside sends someone to let you in during office hours, there may be a charge.
WHAT ITEMS ARE MY RESPONSIBILITY AS A LESSEE? - You are responsible for consumable items such as light bulbs, appliance bulbs, batteries for the smoke detector, furnace filters, drip pans, range hood filters, shower curtains, and florescent light tubes. You are also responsible for any invoice which was the result of negligence, misuse, duplication, or abuse by the lessee. DO NOT OPERATE ANY OF YOUR APPLIANCES AND LEAVE YOUR RESIDENCE AS THERE COULD BE A MALFUNCTION IN YOUR ABSENCE WHICH CREATES MAJOR DAMAGE TO YOU AND/OR YOUR NEIGHBORS. IF THIS OCCURS, THE COST COULD BE CHARGED BACK TO YOU.
PLEASE COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR ROOMMATES and do not duplicate work orders. Make sure all residents are aware of the maintenance request you have made and are familiar enough with the problem to describe it to the contractor if needed. Please communicate with your roommates before turning in a maintenance request to include all of the problems you are experiencing rather than calling every few days for a repair. If a repairman is dispatched and finds there is no problem, the service call will be billed to you. It costs a minimum of $55-100 to get a contractor to your door; therefore, please combine items or you may be charged for excessive and frequent maintenance items.
TENANT CHARGES: IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE BEEN TENANT CHARGED IN ERROR, YOU MUST SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST IN WRITING ALONG WITH EVIDENCE SUBSTANTIATING YOUR CLAIM BEFORE ANY ADJUSTMENT OR WAIVER WILL BE CONSIDERED BY THE PROPERTY MANAGER. This also applies to late fees and security deposit charges. If previous charges exist on your account, all outstanding amounts will be paid FIRST, followed by the current month’s rent, thus leaving your rental account with a balance due along with applicable late fees.
CLEANING: REMEMBER that you are responsible for the proper use and cleaning of your residence's furnishings and fixtures. Negligence in cleaning can often cause irreparable damage for which you will be responsible. You are also responsible for promptly reporting any problems to the Realtor to avoid further damage to the item. IF YOU ARE LEASING A FURNISHED UNIT, ITEMS MAY OR MAY NOT BE REPAIRED, REMOVED, OR REPLACED AT THE OWNER'S DISCRETION. THE BROKEN ITEM MAY JUST BE REMOVED FROM THE INVENTORY.
BLINDS - Some windows and glass sliding doors have drapes and/or blinds. If the unit does not have any, then the doorwall/window treatments were not provided. You are responsible for whatever is provided with regard to maintenance and cleaning.
When operating vertical blinds, please make sure they are in the open position before moving them from side to side. This will avoid damage to the turning mechanisms. If Lessee wishes to leave any window/doorwall coverings at move out, he/she may, provided they are clean and in good condition unless prohibited by an individual owner. If dirty, broken or torn items are left, Lessee will be charged for their cleaning or removal. If the previous tenant left window treatments, they are accepted in "AS IS" condition and may not be repaired.
BULB REPLACEMENT - The Realtor will make every effort to have all light bulbs working at the time of move in. After move in, it is your responsibility to replace burned out light bulbs with the correct replacement bulb as specified on the fixture. Do not substitute different wattages or volts as this could cause damage to the fixture and even a fire. This includes but is not limited to the appliance bulbs in refrigerators, ranges, and microwaves. When moving in, check your refrigerator bulb as it was probably unscrewed during the time the refrigerator was turned off and the doors propped open; this prevented the bulb from burning out from constant use. Track or recessed lighting, decorative strip lighting in the bathrooms, chandeliers, and ceiling fan lights are especially vulnerable to fixture damage if the wrong bulbs are used. Bathroom fixtures with plastic lens covers and ceiling fixtures have maximum wattage regulations (usually 40 watt maximum) or damage to fixtures and covers will occur.
CARPET - A carpet wears out because of foot traffic and dirt particles that get trampled deep into the pile. Beyond the suction of a vacuum, they abrade the fibers like sandpaper and dull the carpet. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOUR CARPET IS TO VACUUM IT REGULARLY AND USE THROW RUGS IN HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS. Areas more likely to become heavily soiled include doorways, just inside the patio door, in front of sofas, etc. Vacuum twice each week lightly and once a week thoroughly. Heavy traffic areas may require more frequent cleaning. A light vacuuming is three passes; a thorough job may require seven passes. A vacuum cleaner with a beater-bar agitates the pile and is more effective in bringing dirt to the surface. Don't worry about vacuuming too much; it will not hurt your carpet. New carpet will pill or shed a lot at first and will require more vacuuming. Stains must be removed immediately; different stains require different procedures. For specific instructions, contact our office for more information.
Be especially careful with cleaning products that contain bleach, nail polish remover, nail polish, and a lot of solvents. These can permanently take the color out of the carpet, which is not considered normal wear and tear.
Be cautious with drink spills. Many red colored beverages can permanently stain the carpet. Use area or throw rugs in areas of high traffic or food/beverage consumption. As an example, the area in front of your sofa can become permanently blackened from continuous shoe dirt. If you don’t have vinyl at your entryway, a throw rug will protect the carpet from permanent staining. Also, the area at the patio doors can become ruined from tracking in dirt and grill grease.
CIRCUIT BREAKERS - Circuit breakers and fuses protect the electrical circuits from being overloaded. A circuit breaker will trip, and a fuse will blow. A blown fuse must be replaced with an identical type and size. A circuit breaker, however, can be reset. If there is a sudden power failure in lights or appliances, always check the circuit breakers or fuses first before contacting maintenance. These are located in a large metal box (usually gray in color) in the basement, a garage, a pantry, or in a closet. There may have been a power surge, which caused the circuit breaker to trip, or you may have a burned out fuse. Lessees are responsible for replacing burned out fuses; do not use pennies in fuse boxes as this is a very dangerous practice. Check each circuit breaker to determine if it is in the "off" position. Manually flip it back into the "on" position. If this does not work immediately, turn it back off, wait 2-3 minutes and flip it back to on. A circuit breaker may not always appear to be tripped or perhaps only half of a double breaker may be tripped. Try resetting the breaker anyway if it is at all a suspect. IF A CONTRACTOR IS DISPATCHED ON A CALL AND FINDS A TRIPPED BREAKER OR BURNED FUSE TO BE THE ONLY PROBLEM, YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THE SERVICE CALL.
Electrical Outlets: If an outlet fails to work, always check your circuit breakers and/or GFI breaker. Additionally, the outlet or a portion thereof may be connected to a light switch and will not operate unless the switch is on. Please check this before calling for service.
GROUND FAULT BREAKERS AND OUTLETS - All newer homes and a lot of older homes have kitchen, bathroom, and exterior electrical circuits protected by G.F.I. (GROUND FAULT INTERRUPTER) type breaker or outlets. These G.F.I. circuits are for your safety where electricity is used around water. If you have lost your power supply in these areas, it is likely that your G.F.I. outlet or breaker is tripped. Look for an outlet with a test and a reset button; press the reset button to restore power. If no G.F.I. outlet is found, then check your breaker box for a G.F.I. breaker or check in one of the other bathrooms or in the hall (can be up or downstairs) for the G.F.I. outlet, e.g. in the half bath/hall at Clover Valley Pheasant Run, Pheasant Run Crossing, etc. This breaker will differ from the others in appearance. It will have a test button, which will trip the breaker if pushed. The breaker can be reset like any other circuit breaker by turning it all the way off and then all the way on. Sometimes even the bathroom or kitchen lights are affected by the G.F.I. circuit. If a contractor is dispatched on a call and finds a tripped breaker or outlet, you will be charged.
