What are apartment amenities? 

Your monthly rent isn’t always a flat rate that only includes the apartment rental itself. It can also include certain utilities like water, sewer, trash, and recycling. Utilities are typically attached to a service provider. For example, the electricity bill would come from WE Energies, here in Wisconsin. Oftentimes, landlords will consider cable and internet as a utility, as well. Perhaps one of the communities you visited offered free WiFi, that would be an included utility.

Pools, community rooms, and even granite countertops fall in the amenities category. These are usually things that bring convenience or extra comfort to your living experience.

When touring an apartment, it’s important to discuss the rent, amenities included, and the utility costs with the property manager. Additionally, all of these should be listed clearly on your lease paperwork. So ask your landlord to point those out when signing your lease.

Community Amenities

Your lease may be a year long or you may stay in your new apartment for years to come. Here are some of the most popular apartment amenities to consider when searching for that perfect place to call home.

Parking and Storage

Street parking in Wisconsin is more than just inconvenient. No one wants to worry about leaving their car exposed to snow plows, being snowed in, or any other accidents. Thankfully, a ton of communities offer on-site parking, underground parking, or personal garages.

If you’re lucky, you’ll find an apartment that includes both parking and storage in the total rent price. Storage is essential in apartment living. Christmas trees, bicycles, and even seasonal clothing can all be securely reserved until you need them again. Double check if a storage unit is included during your next showing, you’ll be happy you did.

Fitness Centers

Say goodbye to gym memberships and fees! Finding a community that offers an on-site fitness center could be a great option to save money every month. Don’t forget to discuss when the fitness center is accessible and when it’s closed. If you tend to exercise late at night, this may not be as big of a win as it seems.

Online Tenant Portal

What is a tenant portal exactly? It’s a fast and secure way to pay rent online, view payment history, submit maintenance requests, and perform a number of other important renter services. These options are available to access on any smartphone, tablet, or PC. Renter’s are prioritizing the ease of using these tools and having an online tenant portal has become a must-have feature!

Other community amenities to consider are things like a playground, pool, community room, and pet-friendly outdoor spaces.

In-Unit Amenities

Appliances

Standard appliances found in every apartment would include a refrigerator and stove/oven. Surprisingly, those could be the only appliances included at certain communities. While touring apartments, don’t assume that what you see is what you get. Oftentimes, community rooms are decked out with stainless steel and granite, but the apartment rentals are not. Shocking, we know.

Think – convenience. Dishwashers, for instance, are extremely convenient, but it’s possible to get by without them. Garbage disposals, microwaves, and laundry could be of higher importance.

In-unit washer and dryer are considered essential to certain tenants. There are renters happy to share on-site laundry facilities, or even provide their own washer/dryer if there are available hookups for them. When deciding for yourself, consider the building size you would be sharing the laundry facilities with or if you’re okay going to a laundromat down the street.

Security

You don’t have to live in a high-rise to have security features available at your community. It’s often overlooked, but asking about features like locked entry with in-unit intercoms, security cameras, and FOB access are extremely important. These can all help keep you safe and even keep your packages safe.

Patio or Balcony

Outdoor space usually takes the form of a balcony or patio attached to your apartment. There’s value to these private spaces that go way beyond the square footage they bring. They are extensions of your home. Enjoy grilling, a potted garden, and a hot cup of joe at sunrise. Amazing views make these apartment add-ons even more delightful. There may be a cost to having a balcony with your apartment. However, in these socially isolated times, it may well be worth it.

In-unit amenities could also include things like a fireplace, stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops.

Every renter is different and sometimes, you can find everything you want, just not all within the same community. We’ve given you some examples of common amenities found nationwide. Consider what features fit your lifestyle the best and will ensure a living experience that is both convenient and comfortable.

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Typical Maintenance Requests

Typical maintenance items include clogged toilets, light bulb replacements, and garbage disposal concerns. These are requests residents are able to resolve themselves in a lot of instances. Battery replacements for a smoke detector or garage remote are two other examples.

When to submit these types of requests?

Cathedral ceilings are such a perk! The only downfall is when you notice a light bulb burned out and you can’t reach it to replace it. This is also the case if you hear your smoke detector chirping, but you cannot access it from a small step ladder. Submit a request for direct maintenance whenever safety is a concern, like climbing a tall ladder.

Many times, residents may even have questions as to what sort of light bulb or battery to purchase. Our managers can share links to different retailers that sell each type of bulb or battery used at their property too.

Anyone who’s ever clogged a toilet and experienced the fear of rising water knows how important it is not to test the porcelain God’s. Should you not succeed you may end up flooding your bathroom. Instead of avoiding eye contact with your property manager, maintenance staff, or potenial downstairs neighbor for the remainder of your residency, we suggest submitting a maintenance request right away.

While certain items can be corrected with ease, there are things residents may not feel comfortable handling without assistance. Thankfully, we’ve created video turtorials for residents at all Morgenson Realty properties to utilize for that not-so-typical stuff. Resetting your garbage disposal or a tripped breaker shouldn’t be cause for stress or feeling inconvenienced by maintenance staff in your apartment. That same location on our website allows residents to login to their portal and submit maintenance remotely. To learn more about the benefits of submitting maintenance online, click here.

Why it’s Important to Submit Minor Requests

We rely on our residents to ensure a smaller problem does not become a much larger one. Informing your property manager of a minor maintenance matter can be a good guide of what is a residents responsibility and what is the responsibility of the property management company.

There are also times our managers can correct the issue themselves without maintenance. In other instances, we may already have a third-party vendor on-site and be able to send them over to look at your request immediately. 

Emergency Maintenance

Let us open by saying, anything you consider to be an emergency maintenance concern should be called in right away. We are lucky that our policies allow for several lines of defense when it comes to emergencies. Property Managers for all Morgenson Realty Company, Inc. locations have smart phones on their person 24/7. This allows a resident to call at any time, day or night. Our teams have saved contacts and alarm montioring companies that also communicate with them directly. Major property accidents or emergencies can set off alarms that alert our staff immediately, as well. These communications can also be received by our maintenance team.

When to submit emergency maintenance requests?

Water leaking from your toilet, dishwasher or under your sink. Your refrigerator won’t stay cool, your heat isn’t working or your toilet is running. All of these examples are reasons to submit maintenance immediately. Additionally, broken door locks or unexplained power outages, though uncommon, are serious matters that are our responsibility to fix too. For anything outside our maintenance teams capabilities, we contact a third party vendor to assist.

This is true when it comes to common area concerns too. If a resident notices water dripping in underground parking, that is cause for an emergency maintenance request. If you hear your neighbors arguing past quiet hours however, that would not be consider an emergency. Your communities emergency phone line should be used when appropriate and for serious situations only.

Why it’s Important to Submit Emergency Maintenance Requests

There are two main reasons it’s imporant to submit an urgent request. If the situation presents a safety risk or property damage – you should reach out right away.

Avoiding charges upon moving out of your apartment is also a good reason. If your toilet is running, but you never contact management, there is no way of knowing when it started. If your properties water utility bill is paid by the management company, that could lead to losing money from your security deposit.

Unfortunately, no property manager or maintenance technician can anticipate every problem. Your position as a renter is an important one in keeping an eye on your apartment home. If you’re unsure of the level of importance on a certain maintenance item please feel free to call/email/text your property manager. They will be happy to provide guidance or schedule a member of our maintenance staff to look into the concern.

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Renting has never been easier. For those of you who have yet to experience the convenience, here are 3 Reasons To Love Your Tenant Portal:

• Pay Rent

Opting for online rent payments is both secure and easy. With two options to choose from you can pay your rent worry-free in whichever way suits you best. Automatic payments provides renters with a set-it and forget-it alternative to traditional due dates. It’s as easy as choosing the date you would like your rent payment to pull from your bank account  or credit card monthly and that’s it! Scheduling your rent payment avoids the potential for late payments and late fees.

Let’s say you want to pay half your rent now and half your rent later.  Manual payments allow for that freedom. Logging into your tenant portal and scheduling a manual payment gives the feeling of sending a physical check, by having more control of when it’s deducted and how.

Split payments between roommates, co-signers, and couples too!

• Submit Maintenance Requests

No matter if it’s 2 in the morning or 4 in the afternoon, submitting a maintenance request can be done from the palm of your hand.

Enter a description of the issue, upload any photos of the item needing attention, and hit submit. That’s it! You can even check the status to see it was received, scheduled, and that it’s been completed.

Goodbye paper maintenance requests. So long late night calls to your landlord. Good riddance lingering maintenance concerns that you lived with for way too long. Bye bye bye!

• Sign, View, & Download Documents + Communicate with Management

Everything from your lease signing to your lease renewal can be signed electronically in the tenant portal. These documents are saved and can be accessed at anytime. Your property manager can also send other important documents securely and you receive notifications if a new document is shared. These can be downloaded to your smartphone, tablet, or PC.

Quick newsletters or updates about the property can be emailed and sent via text message directly from the property manager to the resident. These can even include images, helpful tips, or reminders.

Additionally, you can update your contact information and even your renters insurance, all on the tenant portal.

Accessing the tenant portal is as simple as logging into your email or clicking an app on your phone. It’s convenient, secure, and allows renters to feel connected to their community at all times. We hope this has helped ease the minds of those worried about a more technology driven rental experience.

Ready to try it? More information on how to navigate the Online Portal can be found here.

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