Tag: apartment

How to Avoid Hidden Fees When Renting

Posted on by Allie Foard

Carrie and Ryan found the perfect apartment home to start their life as a married couple. They were so excited about the layout, the location, the dog park…everything was falling into place. After touring the community, the leasing agent printed out a price quote showing the monthly rent. She informed them that the quote would be good for 24 hours and after that she couldn’t guarantee the price would be the same. The rent was right at their budget, but they felt like they could make it work. They came back the next morning eager to apply. They had taken time the night before to look over their finances to ensure the fees aligned with their budget.fees

After submitting their application and as they were signing the lease, Carrie noticed a section that said valet trash fee, pest control, admin fee, and pet fee. The charges were adding an additional $48 per month to their rent along with $500 in fees for their pet and admin fee. Carrie asked the leasing agent what these fees were to which she replied nonchalantly, “Oh those are the fees that are added to the rent as part of your lease.” Just like that, their excitement for this apartment dwindled. This would surely push their monthly costs over their budget. They paused the application and decided to take some more time to look.

Does this scenario feel familiar at all? How often do you discover too late that the price you think you’re paying is actually the base without taxes and fees included? In a world where many companies are striving to be more transparent, we still get caught off guard with hidden or unknown fees.

While those who have been renting for years are familiar or used to fees being tacked onto the monthly rent, those new to renting or who haven’t rented in a while may be in for a shock. Apartment management companies may justify it as being “the price of renting”. And while that may be true, energetically it feels a little misleading.

fees

A “fee” may dissuade someone from leasing even if the overall pricing with rent is the same. As consumers we get turned off by extra fees and conditions. Companies are even having to be more competitive about free shipping (for example) because our society is used to having shipping free or included. When we live with those type of expectations, we expect the same to be with other purchases we make.

So how do we find a balance between being upfront with prospective renters about fees while maintaining structure within the systems in place? Let’s go back to Carrie and Ryan. How would their experience have been different if the leasing agent had told them during their tour about associated fees or when they were going through the price quote with them? It would have given Carrie and Ryan more pause (and trust) to look at their budget with the fees in mind to see if they really could make it work financially.

At Venterra, we choose to be upfront with our prospective residents about fees. We want them to know what to expect in all areas including what fees and extra costs to expect. We talk about the benefits of having valet trash and how we love our resident’s furry friends. We start talking about what to expect while touring the community. And when we provide a price quote, we include all of the associated fees, so there are no surprises. This goes for both in-person and virtual tours.

“We put all of our fees on our Price Quotes and our competitors don’t for the most part. This may leave renters feeling like we charge more in fees when in reality, we probably don’t. We’re just upfront with our costs once we capture them as a lead and can explain what those fees are,” Stephanie Gonzalez, Vice President, Property & Customer Innovation

It’s important for us to educate our prospects and let them know what to ask and look for whether they choose to live at a Venterra community or not. While it may feel like showing all the fees could be a turnoff, it’s actually supporting our prospects in what to expect. We’ve witnessed too many scenarios like Carrie and Ryan’s where they think they’re getting a better price because of how our competitors are showcasing the rent price only to find out that they’re paying more simply because the fees weren’t communicated upfront. It’s important to share this knowledge with prospective residents so they are not caught off guard when choosing the “cheaper” option.

So, what type of fees can you expect to find when renting an apartment? Every community will have some combination of rent, utilities, and charges regardless of whether they make them apparent or not. Fees can range from:

  • Common Area Electric
  • Amenities
  • Valet/Trash Fees
  • Billing Administration Fees
  • Technology Package Fees
  • Water/Sewer
  • Electric/Gas
  • Cable/Internet
  • Storage/Garage
  • Pet (optional)
  • Parking
  • Community Bundle (some combination of the above)

fees

At Venterra, we breakdown all of the fees and extra costs in the price quote and go through it in detail with our prospective residents. Transparency is important to us, and it builds an extra layer of trust between us and our residents.

It’s important that you as a customer are informed of what each community you’re interested in charges in additional fees so you can make the best decision in line with your overall budget.

So, if you’re looking at an apartment in the near future, make sure to ask about fees! And know with confidence that at a Venterra community, you’ll know all costs up front! They are listed out on every Price Quote so you’ll be well informed about what you’ll be paying each month.

If a community says they don’t have fees, you can bet they are built into the rent price. When comparing communities and rates, make sure to consider fees, whether hidden or not!

So if you’re looking for an apartment with no surprises – check out Venterra’s communities and put in an application today!

Questions to Ask on Your Apartment Tour

Posted on by Mark Laufhutte

Apartment searching can be difficult, overwhelming even, especially if you are in a city filled with communities to choose from.

apartment tour

That’s why it’s always recommended to take an apartment tour of your options to get a first-hand feel for the type of living experience you would have, should you decide to sign a lease.

At Venterra, we love tours as they give prospective residents a chance to walk through the community, view the amenities and see their potential floorplan in person. Whether our prospects are taking an apartment tour with a leasing agent, or utilizing Venterra’s self-guided tour option, we always recommend that they ask questions. After all, they are signing a contract for a lease, and we wouldn’t want any surprises to pop up later on.

What we have found over the 20+ years that we have offered tours is that sometimes renters might not know what questions to ask, especially if they are first-time renters. That’s why we’ve put together the following list of questions that will help any renter get the answers they need to find the perfect home for them.

Application Process:

  • What is the application process?
  • Is there an application fee?
  • How do you decide on approval?
  • How many paycheck stubs do you require?
  • How do I add an additional applicant or occupant to my apartment?
  • What if my roommate has to move out, can they be taken off the lease?

Venterra’s Advice: The application process should be simple and seamless. In fact, with SMARTLEASING by Venterra, all you have to do is 1.) complete the 5 minute form 2.) click submit 3.) get approved in 5 minutes – and you don’t pay any fee’s until you’re approved! Typically, apartments consider 3 things when processing applications: criminal history, credit history and current income and will ask for your two most recent paystubs.

Lease Logistics:

  • How long is the lease term?
  • How much is rent? Does pricing fluctuate?
  • What is included in the rent (utilities, electricity, trash, etc)?
  • How much do utilities cost, on average, if they are not included?
  • Will I need someone to co-sign my lease? Is a guarantor a co-signer?
  • How many people are allowed per apartment?
  • Is a security deposit required?
  • Is renter’s insurance required? If so, is there a minimum coverage required? Do you have a recommended provider?
  • What forms of rent do you accept? How can I pay rent?
  • What happens if I have a late rent payment?
  • How often does rent go up, and by how much?
  • Are there plans to update the building?

Venterra’s Advice: Good property management companies will offer flexible lease terms that allow you to choose options that work best for you. While pricing can fluctuate daily and costs can vary per property, it is important to be upfront, honest and realistic with your leasing consultant about your budget, that way they can ensure they set you up for success.

Community Amenities:

  • What community amenities does this property offer?
  • Are there any restrictions of use on the amenities?
  • Are my guests allowed to use the amenities?
  • Are the amenities available 24/7 or are there specific hours of operation?
  • Do your community areas offer free wi-fi?
  • Are there any planned upgrades to the amenities?

Venterra’s Advice: Be sure on your apartment tour to get a full understanding of when and how you can use the community amenities. For instance, you wouldn’t want to cancel your gym membership for a community gym that doesn’t allow 24-hour access, would you?

Personal Apartment Amenities:

  • Does the apartment come with all appliances (oven, fridge, dishwasher, washer, dryer, etc.)?
  • What finishes are used throughout the apartment?
  • How am I able to access my apartment?
  • What internet/cable providers do you offer?
  • Am I allowed to paint the walls and/or hang pictures?
  • Are there any restrictions on decorations?

Venterra’s Advice: This is your opportunity to ensure you get the perfect apartment for you. Voice your opinions about lighting, finishes and personal décor with your leasing consultant during your apartment tour to make sure they understand your vision for the space. That way they can notify you when the apartment with your dream view of the skyline becomes available!

Access and Maintenance:

  • What are the leasing office hours?
  • How are maintenance requests made?
  • What is the average response time for a maintenance request?
  • Is 24-hour emergency maintenance available?
  • What is the parking situation? Can I have multiple cars? Are there any restrictions on cars?
  • How secure is the property? How is access to the apartment being handled?
  • Do residents consider the complex safe at night?

Venterra’s Advice: Access and maintenance are essential questions for your everyday living. Be sure you understand the parking situations and that access to your community and unit are easy whether it be through a key, fob, or code. Unfortunately, maintenance issues don’t always happen during business hours. So it’s important to know if resources are available to you 24 hours a day and that your problems will be fixed for you in a timely manner.

Guests:

  • What is the guest policy?
  • Is there a limit to how many guests you can have at once?
  • Where do guests park?
  • How are guests able to access the community?
  • Is there a clubhouse? Can the clubhouse be rented?

Venterra’s Advice: Most renters have friends, cleaning services, or maybe even dog walkers that will need to access their unit at some point. Understanding the guest policy will help make their visit enjoyable from parking to accessing the property to entering your unit.

Pets:

  • How many pets can I have?
  • Are there weight restrictions?
  • What are the costs associated with pets at the community? Is there a monthly pet fee or pet deposit?
  • Can I pet sit for a friend?
  • How can I register my pet with the office?
  • Are there restrictions on where pets are allowed on community grounds?
  • Do you have a place where I can walk my pet?

Venterra’s advice: All communities should love furry friends, we know we do! In fact, we love them so much that we allow you to have up to 3 of them! We’re pretty alone in that respect as most communities only allow up to 2. With that said, If you’re a pet parent, be sure you understand any restrictions and costs associated with adding pets to your lease as well as what community amenities your pets can have access to run-off energy!

Referrals:

  • Do you have a referral system? Do I get a reward for referring residents?
  • Do I get referral rewards for referring to a sister property?
  • Can I receive referral rewards after I move out?

Venterra’s advice: Want to get paid to have someone you know move into your community? If so, you better ask if that’s a program the community you’re looking at offers! Through Venterra’s resident referral program, residents will receive a credit on their account for every resident they refer. To top that, Venterra even offers rewards for sister properties, if you refer someone to

another Venterra community, even in another state, you will receive the referral reward.

Packages:

  • How do I receive packages?
  • Can I pick up packages 24/7 or are there specific hours?
  • What happens if I am late to pick up a package?
  • Am I able to send packages through the community?

Venterra’s Advice: Don’t wait until the holidays when your 20 packages are on the way to realize your community doesn’t have a place to deliver them or you have limited access to pick them up! Ask these questions upfront so there are no surprises down the road.

Lease Renewal and Cancellation:

  • Can I transfer to another apartment?
  • How are apartment lease renewal rates selected?
  • When will I be notified about my apartment lease renewal options?
  • Is there a penalty for breaking my lease contract?
  • What happens if I don’t submit 60-days’ notice for my apartment?

Venterra’s advice: Things can change and most property management companies get that, offering varying degrees of flexibility. What if you need to upgrade to a larger apartment at the end of your lease? Or downsize after your roommate moves to a different city for that job offer? At Venterra, transferring apartments at the end of your lease is always free!

Now that you’re equipped with the right questions, it’s time to find the perfect home for you! Schedule an apartment tour today – we’ll be ready to answer any and all of your inquiries! Or if you’ve experienced a Venterra tour with someone from our leasing staff, leave us a google review and let us know if it was helpful!

New Venterra Community: The Villages at Oakleaf

Posted on by Mark Laufhutte

We have added yet another amazing community to our growing portfolio in the Sunshine State, The Villages at Oakleaf!

The Villages at Oakleaf, a 512-unit, garden-style multifamily, located within the Oakleaf Plantation master-planned community consists of Gemstone, Fieldstone, Cobblestone, and Village at Oakleaf Plantation in suburban Jacksonville, Florida.

The Villages at Oakleaf is the only apartment community in Oakleaf Plantation, giving it unique access to the centralized multi-million-dollar community recreational amenity center, which includes swimming pools, a water park, picnic areas, sports fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, and indoor fitness centers. What more could you ask for?

The community is perfect for growing families, with many floorplans offering 3- and 4- bedroom options, as well as many kid-friendly amenities including a playground. The area is known for its desirable school system and all three schools to which The Villages at Oakleaf are zoned are highly rated and within walking distance!

Oakleaf offers excellent connectivity to residents, with First Coast Expressway within 1.5 miles of the property. The Oakleaf Town Center, a 44-acre regional lifestyle center featuring Target, Publix, Walgreens, PetSmart, Starbucks, and Epic Theatres, is located within 2-miles of Oakleaf, providing convenient day-to-day shopping needs.

We know Jacksonville is a popular location for renters, in fact Jacksonville was ranked as the fastest-growing Florida city by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020, ranking 9th in the country in terms of highest migration in the U.S.

We will implement our resident-focused programs such as the Live it. Love it. Guarantee.™, the 48-Hour Maintenance Guarantee, SMARTHUB, as well as our overall commitment to providing a world-class living experience for which Venterra has become known.

Are you looking to move to Florida or interested in The Villages at Lakeland? Check out pricing and availability here! If you find something you like, with Venterra’s SMARTLEASING application process all you have to do is 1) complete the 5 minute form; 2) click submit; 3) get approved in 5 minutes – and you never have to pay any fees until you are approved!

Venterra Delivers 1 Millionth Resident Package!

Posted on by Mark Laufhutte

What’s better than coming home to your apartment and having a new package to open? If you ask us, nothing! That’s why we’re so proud to have reached two package delivery milestones – installing our 50th SMARTPACKAGE locker system and safely delivering 1 million packages to our residents.

To celebrate, we gave a $500 Amazon gift card to the lucky resident who received the millionth package!

“Since having the SMARTPACKAGE lockers installed, our residents are now able to conveniently retrieve their deliveries without the limitations of the office hours. Before this amenity, we accepted and held packages in the leasing office, which limited our residents to either waiting until their schedules aligned with our hours, or having it delivered to their door, exposed. With the SMARTPACKAGE system, residents have an increased sense of safety and ease of use,” said Jo Canares, Community Manager at The Vinings in Stafford, TX.

The average American receives 21 packages over the course of the year – that’s almost two packages a month (no judgment). To add to that statistic, during the pandemic eCommerce sales increased by 25% with consumers spending more time at home than ever before and shopping from the convenience of their computers, phones, and tablets.

While witnessing online shopping and package deliveries soar over the past year, Venterra has been hard at work installing SMARTPACKAGE Parcel Pending contact-free package management systems to offer safer, easier ways for residents to retrieve their packages with a touch-less experience and no human interaction involved. Through SMARTPACKAGE, our residents no longer have to come to the leasing office to pick up their packages. They can simply scan a barcode or push a button on Parcel Pending’s mobile app to enable package pickup without even having to use the locker kiosk touchscreen.

Additionally, Venterra’s SMARTPACKAGE lockers offer several additional benefits for residents including:

Security:

In January of 2020,1.7 million stolen or lost packages were reported per day, leading to upwards of $25 million worth of items. When it comes to SMARTPACKAGE, there is maximum security with built-in cameras capturing each and every delivery and pick up. The package is secured in a specific lockbox until it is picked up by the resident, taking out the fear of porch pirates or someone getting the wrong package.

24/7 Access:

Long gone are the days of rushing home to get to the leasing office to grab your package before office hours are closed. Had a long day and the last thing you feel like doing is going to grab your package? Totally fine. The SMARTPACKAGE system provides residents 24/7 access, allowing them to pick up their packages on their own schedule.

Vacation Mode: 

When you’re going on vacation, you don’t want to have to worry about not being able to pick up the late package with the bathing suit you ordered being gone when you come back. Within the Parcel Pending App, residents can jot down out of town and return dates to avoid incurring storage fees after 2 days.

Customer Service:

Let’s say for some reason the door to the locker you need isn’t opening, or you find yourself needing to call customer service for some other reason, Parcel Pending provides access to the customer care team 24/7/365 via phone or email – so no need to worry!

Automatic Integration:

We are often asked how long the process will take to set up the locker system. Luckily, the process couldn’t be more hassle-free. Our residents are automatically set up through integration with Venterra’s property management system, making for a frictionless user experience.

Not only are these package systems convenient and useful for our residents, but they are also a design piece that we look forward to creating for our residents as well! Each SMARTPACKAGE system is customized to that specific property, using a design that best represents the city or community to provide a further sense of home for our residents.

Time is valuable – that is something we certainly understand. With the integration of SMARTPACKAGE, our residents and our staff get time back in their day. Packages are now rarely touched by a leasing agent, maintenance crew or any other Venterra Employee. That’s Parcel Pending’s promise: Courier to locker to customer. So now, you can spend more time relaxing at the pool and our staff can focus on creating a better living experience for you.

“The SMARTPACKAGE integrations have automated the last-mile delivery experiences at our communities. We have received positive feedback from our residents, who now are able to pick up their packages at their own convenience, and we look forward to further installing the SMARTPACKAGE systems across the rest of our portfolio,” said Venterra Chairman, Andrew Stewart. “By installing SMARTPACKAGE devices in 50 of our communities over the past year, we are able to meet our residents’ demand for quick and secure package delivery. We are confident in the systems’ ability to streamline the entire package and management process, providing a better experience for residents and package delivery companies alike,” added Venterra CEO, John Foresi.

Click here to find a community equipped with a SMARTPACKAGE locker in your desired location!