935 John St. Kalamazoo , MI 49001
Phone (269) 342-1488 Fax (269) 385-2089
Email: inquiry@hmsys.com

We are writing you a letter to explain our move in process so everyone understands the way things work. Our office gets very busy around this time of the year and sometimes it takes a while for someone to get back with you on questions. I am hoping this letter will explain some of the things that are commonly asked questions. As some of you may already know from contacting us many of you will be moving into houses that are currently occupied. This means that there is only a period of about 1 week between the time that they move out and the time that you move in. This makes the possibility of moving in earlier hard to say the least. We are more then happy to work with you in the case that the house or apartment you are moving into becomes vacant early but we can not promise any move in date earlier then the date on your lease. Here is the answer to many FAQ's!

When is our rent due?

Your September rent is due the day you pick up your keys to the house, then on September 1 st you will owe the prorated amount for the number of days you lived in the house. The rent starts the day you pick up your keys regardless if you actually move in that day or not. The only exception to this is when your move in date lands on Sunday.

What do we have to do before we can move in?

Every person in the house must have the applications, co-signers applications, lease signed, a notarized copy of the co-signed lease, the cleaning fee, the security deposit, and the first month's rent.

Can you explain the cleaning fee process?

When you move into your house or apartment you will be expected to clean the unit yourself. We do not expect that you wait to have the unit inspected before you move in or begin living in your unit. We provide a list of things we will check when we come through for the inspection. Once this is complete you MUST contact our office, schedule an appointment to have your unit inspected, and submit the cleaning checklist in order to receive your payment for cleaning. This amount is 90% of the cleaning fee you paid. This policy applies everyone unless stated otherwise on your lease. We have no preference on who actual does the cleaning as long as it is done to our standards. If you wish to hire a company or individual to do the cleaning for you that's fine but please remember if it doesn't pass our inspection you will be asked to correct the issues that we point out. Your check will processed within approximately 30 days from the date of the inspection. We will begin scheduling cleaning inspections mid September.

Will the utilities be on in the house when we move in?

If you are required on your lease to pay utilities such as gas, electric, water, trash then we recommend you contact these companies at least 2 weeks prior to your move in date. At no time are the utilities put into the owners name therefore if you do not do this there is a chance that you will not have power or water to clean with.

Where do we get our keys?

You pick up your keys at our leasing office. It is located at 935 John Street . You will also receive a packet of important information. You CAN NOT just go to the house or apartment and begin moving.

What do we do about parking?

We provide each tenant with a parking tag that goes in your car unless you are renting a home that already provides parking that is not shared with any other house or apartments. Guest parking is always on the street. Do not allow your guest to park in the area that is provided for other tenants or their cars will be towed at their expense. We will need your license plate number when you come in so that we can record which parking tag was assigned to each person. That way there is a way to track this if a car needs to be moved for plowing, repairs, etc.

How do we mark down the condition of the house when we move in?

We provide you with an inventory inspection form that you will be required to fill out thoroughly and return to our office within 7 days of moving in. There are a few things that you should check that may not be specified on this form such as screens and storm windows in each room, check all the drains to see if they are draining correctly, and make sure you specify any furniture or personal belongings that may have been left in any area of the house including the attic and basement areas.

How do we report maintenance problems?

First I would like to remind everyone that we do our very best to make sure that all major problems are taken care of prior to your move in. There are times were it will take some extra time to get something repaired. We have a very limited amount of time between tenants to make sure things get done. If once you move in you find that there are things that need to be fixed which you will find in most cases you can go onto our website under �Housing in Kalamazoo � and fill out a maintenance request form. That comes directly to the office and then we will issue the work order out to a member of our maintenance staff. We try to get these requests taken care of with in a couple days of the time it's put in. There may even be times that we can come out the same day. We will contact the phone number or numbers provided to us at the time of move in to let you know when we will be out to correct the problem. We are not able to give you an exact time that we will be there but we will try to do our best to give you an idea of when it will take place.

Do we have to be home to have a maintenance problem taken care of?

We will let you know what day we will come out and take care of the problems in the house. We send keys to the houses with the maintenance person working on that work order so if no one will be home they will come in and take care of the items listed on the maintenance request. The maintenance staff is instructed to only repair the items listed on the maintenance order, if you find additional items you must submit another request to get it taken care of.

Can we make changes to our house/apartment?

We do not allow our tenants to paint or make changes to the interior of the unit without written permission from our office. You must provide us with a color sample of the paint that you wish to use prior to purchasing the materials. We prefer to stick to pastel or neutral colors. We do not reimburse you for your time or materials unless clearly stated in the written permission given to you by our office. If you color is approved conditionally that means we will require you to paint the room back to the original color before you leave. If that is not done you will be charged at the end of your tenancy for repainting that room. We do not allow you to put up wallpaper or borders.

When are we charged a late fee?

A late fee is charged to your account on the 4 th calendar day of the month if any of the rent checks are received late. We have a drop slot in our front door that you can put your rent in if it is after business hours, on the weekends, or on a holiday. Please remember that rent is due on time regardless what other things are going on in your life such as vacations or breaks.