Resident FAQs

General Concerns

• How do I pay rent?

  Cashier’s Check, Money Order, or eCheck online through your Resident portal. Speak with your manager if you do not already have a Resident portal.

• Do I need Renter’s Insurance?

  Yes, we require all Residents to obtain a Renter’s Insurance Policy. These are often between $10-$20/month and depending on the plan will protect you and your property in instances of injury, theft, fire, etc.

• What utilities am I responsible for paying?

  Typically, all utilities, which can include Water, Trash, Sewage, Electricity, Gas, TV, Cable, Internet, Phone, Alarm, and other secondary services. HOA fees are typically covered by the landlord. You are responsible to switch these services into your name.

  Utilities covered by the landlord will be stated in your lease agreement.

• When is my property manager allowed to inspect my property?

  Anytime with a notice of inspection delivered within the time-frame allowed by state law and your lease. In most states, this is 24-48 hours before entry. In instances deemed an emergency, such as smoke or fire, flooding, or reports of violence or major damage, a manager may enter immediately after knocking on the door and ringing the doorbell with no response. Inspections are generally conducted quarterly.

• What happens if I cannot be at home for an inspection?

  When possible, we are happy to work with Residents to be at home for inspections. However, we have time limitations and are not required to work around your schedule. If you are not home or cannot make an inspection, your manager will knock on the door and ring the doorbell prior to entry.

• What happens if I refuse to let the manager or owner enter after they have provided proper notice?

  You will be in violation of your lease agreement and the laws that govern the rights to owners. It will be the decision of your manager whether or not to reschedule.

• My neighbors are disturbing me, what should I do?

  We encourage all Residents to work out their differences with neighbors peacefully and directly whenever possible. If you have attempted a resolution without success and the neighbor is also a Resident of a property or unit managed by Northpoint, please inform your manager in writing of the nature of the problem and the steps to resolution you have already taken. Your manager will investigate and inform you what can be done. Northpoint has no control over the behavior of neighbors who live in properties we do not manage. Any criminal complaints must be brought up with the police first and a case number provided if action on our part is requested.

• I have a friend/family member who wants to stay for an extended period. Do I need to gain permission first?

  Any person not listed as a Resident on the lease who stays for longer than 14 consecutive days or who is regularly staying at the property overnight (weekends, holidays, when in town every month, etc) must be authorized ahead of time or as soon as you are aware of the need. Any person 18 or older will need to have a background check conducted at your/their expense and approved by the landlord if they are to become a permanent Resident. We encourage you to consider adding to a lease and screening fiancés, boyfriends and girlfriends, or any other significant other who may stay with you regularly.

• What happens if I move a pet in without notice or “pet sit/watch” for a friend or family member?

  Any unauthorized pets, EVEN FOR A DAY, are a violation of the lease and may result in a loss of your deposit or even eviction. We encourage you to simply ask your manager for permission. If the pet will be at the home for an extended period of time or permanently, a pet deposit may be required.

Communication and Emergencies

• How soon should I expect a manager to respond to my non-urgent emails and calls?

  You can usually expect a reply to non-urgent emails and calls by the next business day. You may not receive a response on the weekends or holidays. Northpoint’s policy is that managers return any inquiries quickly and professionally; therefore, you can expect the manager to respond as fast as prudent and possible.

• What is the difference between emergencies, urgent issues, and a non-emergency?

  • Non-Maintenance
  • Emergency: There are no non-maintenance emergencies, except for police involvement, that require calling your manager on a holiday or late at night. If you email your manager, they may respond at their discretion outside of non-business hours. 
  • Urgent: Your manager will contact you no later than the next business day, usually the same business day depending on when you call or email. Urgent matters are anything that is time sensitive. This includes tax information, a current ledger balance before paying rent the same day, adjusting a meeting or same-day inspection time, or other similar issues. Urgent issues are not common. We encourage you to preface urgent emails with “URGENT” or “Time Sensitive” in the title.
  • Non-Emergency: Your manager will contact you as soon as possible to resolve your concern, answer your question, or provide a timeline to resolution. Most communication falls into this category. It includes disputing a ledger balance or charge, updating contact information, inquiries about lease renewals or informing of departure, and payment verification.

  • Maintenance
  • Emergencies: Anything that requires immediate attention or else it will cause material harm to property or person, or that should be reported right away. These issues must be addressed immediately, even if it is late at night. Examples include a burst pipe or hot water heater flooding the home, sewage backing up into the home, a roof collapse from snow, or a fire. Call your manager or your local Northpoint office Emergency Phone Number immediately (if you can’t find one, you can access an emergency line through Northpoint’s corporate number at 888-889-0081). Please call 911 or your local emergency responders prior to your manager for all appropriate circumstances.
  • Urgent: Urgent issues should be addressed as soon as possible, usually within 24 to 48 hours. This includes your Air Conditioning, Heater, or Hot Water becoming inoperable. It may also include problems with your refrigerator or freezer, sprinklers that are spouting, non-emergency but large leaks, major electrical problems (such as most or all of your power failing with no neighbors affected) and backed up drains. Please email your manager or call them the following day for urgent issues. Please do not call them at night.
  • Non-Emergency: Anything that does not require immediate attention, even if it may inconvenience you. These issues are addressed by priority and the workload of our maintenance staff. Even if the repair cannot be completed for a week or two, you should be contacted within a few business days by a maintenance technician to schedule a time to make the repair. Non-Emergency repairs include a clothes washer or dryer not functioning properly or non-functional, a dishwasher not cleaning, minor leaks, running toilets, non-functional lighting, minor broken windows, minor electrical, and improvements to the property.

Repairs and Maintenance

• What are my landscaping responsibilities?

  Unless otherwise stated in the lease, Residents are responsible for all basic landscaping. This includes mowing and edging the yard, keeping flower beds weed free, keeping lawn weeds and ant mounds under control, keeping lawns watered where applicable, other basic grounds work as needed, and trimming low branches (not exceeding the height of Resident’s head), bushes, and hedges. Residents are not responsible for heavy tree pruning, large scale renovations, tree removal, or other similarly costly and potentially dangerous work unless agreed upon in the lease. Please notify your manager if any of this work needs to be performed.

• How do I know if I am responsible or the landlord is responsible to pay for a repair?

  Any repairs for damage that is not caused by you are the responsibility of the landlord. If the item is questionable, such as a clogged drain, our technicians are trained to determine the cause. Northpoint must depend on probability of failure and manner of failure to determine responsibility. Refrigerator and microwave doors usually fall off by repeated misuse, light fixtures do not typically break without cause, and drains usually clog for a reason. We recommend taking basic precautions and measures prior to calling Northpoint, such as using Draino on slow drains. If you don’t agree with the maintenance technician’s determination of fault for a maintenance problem, please contact your manager to dispute the determination.

• What are my responsibilities for AC filters, Smoke Detector batteries, and other items that need occasional replacement?

  Residents are responsible for replacing all items, such as batteries and filters, as needed, unless otherwise specified in the lease. Failure to replace batteries in a smoke detector or a filter in an AC or heating unit can lead to malfunction and damage to the home and/or injury to you. It is important that you inspect each item frequently.

• Can I perform maintenance on my own?

  Generally, no. One of the advantages of renting from a management company is that we take care of the maintenance for you. If you caused the damage, you may repair it at your cost, provided a professional job is done and it does not involve a major system of the home, such as the AC, Heater, Roof, Electrical, or major plumbing. You may also perform minor repairs such as patching and painting nail holes, adjusting and cleaning sprinklers, and replacing light covers.

• Can I request Northpoint to repair a problem that I am responsible to fix?

  Yes. Speak with your manager to review local pricing and timeframes. Northpoint, due to the volume of maintenance performed, is able to offer repair services at rates often below the standard market and with consistent quality.

• I pay more/live in a nicer house than most people. Does that mean I get priority for maintenance and other requests?

  No. All maintenance requests are handled by determining the urgency of the request as well as the current availability of maintenance technicians. While maintenance needs and urgency differs, all Residents are treated equally.

• I have a maintenance issue. I know it's not urgent, but my manager says it may be a week before it can be repaired. Why so long? Shouldn't you hire more maintenance people?

  Maintenance in property management is often unpredictable. One week we may only have a few repairs and the next week we may have dozens. Maintenance is prioritized in terms of urgency, which in turn is based on factors such as risk to Residents, risk to property, and other various important factors. Some non-urgent needs are handled the same or next day.

• I want to paint a room or make other additions/improvements to the property.

  All modifications and improvements must be cleared through your property manager in writing. Most owners are happy to help you feel at home with reasonable requests. If the answer is yes, you will be responsible for ensuring a professional job is performed and, unless otherwise agreed upon in writing, you are responsible for all labor and material costs. If an owner says no, it is final. There are no exceptions to this, and failure to comply may result in a directive to return the property to its previous condition immediately.

• Can I get reimbursed if an improvement I requested adds value to the property?

  Only if you have formally requested reimbursement for parts or labor ahead of time with your manager and received written confirmation.

• There has been a leak. What should I do?

  If it is a major leak that is damaging the property, please immediately locate the shut-off valve for the water to the area or home and shut off the water until further action can be taken. Call your manager immediately. If it is a major leak that is damaging the property and requires immediate attention, and you cannot reach your manager, please use your local 24-hour maintenance emergency number provided by your manager. You must leave a message. If it is a minor leak, please contact your manager via email or by phone the next business day.

• There is moisture on my walls and windows. What should I do?

  Moisture or condensation on walls is usually a result of improper ventilation. Please always use ventilation fans and heat lamps that are provided with the property. If the home or unit does not have ventilation devices, you must crack a window or use your own if you do not want to crack a window. DO NOT PUT PLASTIC OVER YOUR WINDOWS IN THE WINTER. If the provided ventilation equipment stops working, please notify your manager. In some areas of a home, it may be necessary to regularly wipe down or clean shower surrounds and bathroom walls, cooking areas, and window seals.

• What do I do if I see something that looks like mold?

  Notify your manager immediately to determine the cause and type of mold so that it can be addressed appropriately.

• What will the owner’s insurance cover?

  A property owner’s insurance on a rental property is designed to assist in repairing and rebuilding the home itself after major damage has occurred. It does not cover general repairs, injury or death of Residents, security, or loss of personal items.

  • Generally, except under special circumstances, the OWNER IS NOT legally responsible for loss to the Resident’s personal property, possessions or personal liability, and OWNER’S INSURANCE WILL NOT COVER such losses or damages.
  • If damages or injury to owner’s property is caused by Resident, Resident’s guest(s) or child (children), the owner’s insurance company may have the right to attempt (under the “subrogation clause”) to recover from the Resident(s) payments made under owner’s policy.
  • Following is a non-inclusive list of examples of possible costly misfortunes that, except for special circumstances, you could be held legally responsible for: 
  1. Your babysitter injures herself in your unit.
  2. Your defective electrical extension cord starts a fire which causes damage to the building and your personal property and or the personal property of others.
  3. A friend, or your handyman, is injured while helping you slide out your refrigerator so you can clean behind it.
  4. While fixing your television set, a handyman hired by you is injured when he slips on the floor you have just waxed.
  5. Your locked car is broken into and your personal property, and that of a friend, is stolen.
  6. A burglar breaks your front door lock and steals your valuables or personal property.

  We require all Residents to obtain a Renter’s Insurance Policy. These are often between $10-$20/month and depending on the plan will protect you and your property in instances of injury, theft, fire, etc.

Move Out and Security Deposit

• You have my security deposit. Don’t you owe me interest?

  No. All Security Deposits are held in a non-interest bearing account.

• Can I use my security deposit for any rent or other fees?

  No. This is specifically forbidden in your lease. Doing so is a violation of your lease contract and will result in a broken lease unless you have written prior approval from your manager.

• How long will it take to receive my security deposit after I vacate my unit?

  Laws vary state by state, but most states require your security deposit to be mailed out 30 days from the day you vacate or you deliver a forwarding address, whichever is later. A few states require it within 15 days. If you do not provide a forwarding address within a reasonable period of time, not less than 30 days, your security deposit will be delivered to the property owner.

  Security Deposit: Requirements to get a full refund of your Security Deposit. The return of your security deposit is subject to the following conditions being met by the move-out date:

  • A thirty (30) day prior written notice of your intent to vacate will be given prior to the move date.
  • There will be no damage to the premises beyond normal wear and tear.
  • The premises will be clean (including range, oven, refrigerator, bathrooms, closets, cabinets, garage and yard).
  • The carpet will be professionally cleaned by a licensed, bonded company upon termination of the tenancy.
  • All debris and trash will be properly disposed of and removed from the premises.
  • All keys, garage door openers, etc., will be returned on the day in which you vacate.
  • There will be no unpaid, late, or outstanding rent or other charges owing.
  • By terminating the lease earlier than the lease ending date, please understand that the owner has the right to retain the full deposit should they so choose. The owner is not obligated to release you from the lease pre-maturely, except where required by law.

• Am I charged for a notice to vacate if I haven’t paid rent?

  Yes. Even if you bring yourself current with rent, your manager still expended time and resources due to your failure to pay on time. You will be charged a fee of $25 due with the next month’s rent.

• Do I need to give 30-day notice that I am moving if my lease is already expiring?

  Yes. This is stated in your lease and is non-negotiable. You are responsible for rent for 30 days from the date that you provide notice in writing that you will vacate. Failure to do so will be considered a broken lease, your deposit will be retained in full, and you may be pursued for any additional cleaning or repairs that are needed.

• I am being transferred with work (or am buying a house, or can no longer afford this home) and need to break my lease. Are there any consequences?

  Yes. A lease is a contract and cannot be broken when it no longer suits your needs. However, Northpoint works hard to ensure Residents and owners are treated fairly and have the opportunity to move on when life circumstances change. Whenever Residents change, even if you find your replacement, owners and Northpoint will incur additional costs and risk. You should understand that since an owner does not need to release you from the lease, you should offer them an incentive to do so. The standard procedure we encourage is as follows:

  • Resident agrees to forfeit the Security Deposit in full to cover costs and be released from the lease
  • Home will be left ready for the move-in of the next Resident, as in the end of any lease.
  • Resident agrees to assist in finding a new Resident who will sign a new lease. Northpoint does not allow for sub-letting or lease buy-outs. You are responsible for rent until the day before a new Resident is paying rent for the property. The owner is required to advertise the home at the same or lower value as what you are currently renting it at. If the owner attempts to market it higher, you will no longer be liable.

  Should you fulfill these three requirements, your lease will be considered fulfilled and you will be eligible for a good recommendation from your manager. The lease will not be considered broken.

Rent Payments

• What forms of payment are available?

  Cashier’s Check, Money Order, or eCheck. If you have bounced a check with us in the past, you may not use personal checks.

• Can I pay online?

  Yes. You can pay using an eCheck through your Appfolio Resident portal! It is fast, easy, and secure. Speak with your manager if you do not already have a Resident portal.

• Can I check my balance online?

  Yes, through the Appfolio online Resident portal. You can review your entire payment history online. Speak with your manager if you do not already have a Resident portal.

• What happens when I am late?

  You are charged a late fee. Please contact your manager to let them know your plans. Repeat late offenders may be asked to leave or be evicted if the problem gets out of hand.

• What happens if a check bounces?

  You will be charged an NSF (Non-Sufficient Funds) fee. If the due date for rent has passed, you will also be charged a late fee, even if the first check was in on time. Further, personal checks will no longer be accepted and you must pay with a cashier’s check or money order.

• I mailed my rent in, but my manager says he/she never received it. What should I do?

  We recommend that any mailed funds be by check, preferably a cashier’s check or other bank issued check (your lease or past payment history may dictate you are required to pay with cashier’s check or money order). If you paid using a bank-issued check and we can verify that it was sent, you will not be charged a late fee provided you correct the error immediately. However, Northpoint is not responsible for lost rent and you are liable for any associated late fees. Proof of payment does not include money order stubs or returned mail.

• I mailed my rent in before it was due, but you didn't receive it until after the due date. Will I be charged a late fee?

  Yes. When you are late, it generates an increase in administrative costs and delays payments to owners who may also have debt obligations they need to meet. Northpoint is not responsible for delayed mail. We encourage all Residents to mail payments in advance of the initial due date. Alternatively, you can bring rent directly in to one of our offices or pay online at northpointam.com.

• I can’t pay my rent. What are my options?

  Always contact us.

• Will Northpoint ever come in person to collect rent unannounced?

  No! Unless you have previously made arrangements with your manager, collecting rent at your home is against policy. A manager you have not met before will never suddenly show up and demand rent.

• Will Northpoint please collect rent from me at my house?

  No, this is against policy. It is your responsibility to ensure your rent is in our office on time. You are renting the home and responsible for the bills, not Northpoint.

Rent Amounts and Lease Renewals

• Apartment: Why does my neighbor for the same unit pay less than I do?

  Apartments and duplexes tend to have multiple factors affecting their individual rates. This may include, but is not limited to, the condition of the unit, whether it has a popular layout or not, the floor it is located on, and the time of year it was available for rent.

• I know someone down the street who is paying the same price for a better home. I want my rent reduced!

  Rent is maintained at the originally agreed upon price. Multiple factors determine the rental value of a home, and some people even undercut the market. When your lease is set for renewal, we will run a new evaluation and discuss it with the owner. If you do not agree with the price, you are welcome to make an offer prior to signing a renewal.

• I want to negotiate better terms for my lease before renewing.

  Please speak with your manager. All final decisions are that of the individual property owner or landlord. Your manager will present all requests to the owner if you so choose.

• When can I renew my lease?

  Northpoint allows renewals starting 60 days before the expiration of the current lease. Your manager will discuss with the owner if they choose to continue renting the home, and will discuss with you if you would like to stay. If all parties are in agreement, a short lease renewal form will be completed.

• What happens if my lease expires without it renewing?

  If no new lease has been signed and neither party has provided the other a 30-day notice they are vacating, the lease moves to a “month to month” lease. All conditions of the lease remain exactly the same, but the owner can change them at any time with a 30-day notice. Either party can provide at any time during a month to month lease a 30-day notice that they are vacating or need to vacate. You will be responsible for 30 days of rent from the day that you provide written notice.