How do I prepare for my move-in?

As a new tenant, here's what you need to know before moving in to your new home!

Congratulations on finding a new home! 🎉 While this is an exciting new life experience, you may feel a little in the dark about what you need to do before moving into your new place. Accomplishing the following should help you to feel more prepared for this big step.

• Showing, application, approval, and lease acceptance

  After you have seen the property, submitted an application, and received notice that they are approved, our team will issue a lease agreement and collect move-in charges from all financially responsible adults.

  Not all approved applicants will be sent a lease agreement. We will consider applicants who are most qualified first on a first-come-first-served basis.

  Our company may receive many qualified or approved applications and will decide who to send a lease to based on who best qualifies for the property. Some deciding factors may include income, credit history, move-in date, agreed rent and deposit amount, rental history, or background report outcomes. 

  As a company, we do business following the Federal Fair Housing Law and welcome Persons of all Races, Color, Religion, Sex, Handicap, Familial Status, or National Origin.

  Once you have been accepted for the property, you will be issued a lease agreement and will owe move-in charges. All parties must sign the lease agreement, and all move-in charges must be cleared/processed before proceeding with moving into the property or removing the listing for public display. Until this occurs, other applications may be considered.

• Set up your tenant portal, AppFolio.

  • Before proceeding, you'll want to ensure your portal is set up. You can see more information about your tenant portal and how to utilize it here. 
  • Our team will help you get set up by emailing you or texting you a link to the portal, or you can access it through this link.

• Pay your move-in charges and sign your lease.

  • Ensure your move-in charges have been submitted before your lease begins and that all financially responsible parties listed on the lease have signed. Failure to sign your lease and pay your move-in charges will result in an insecure agreement, meaning the property is open to other applicants and may still be listed for rent to the public.

• Move in walkthrough and key transfer

  After the lease agreement is signed and move-in charges are paid, our team will coordinate with you on the move-in date and will meet the you for a walkthrough of the property. At the move-in walkthrough, the following will occur:

  1. Key Transfer
     1. The keys to your new residence will be given to you. You will only be issued a single copy unless multiple are readily available, and one copy will be retained by our team. Our staff will use this copy only when giving you 24 hours' notice to enter or upon your approval.
  2. Property Inspection
     1. The agent will inspect the property's condition with you present to note any pre-existing damages for our records and to see if any items need to be addressed before moving in or in the coming weeks after moving in.
     2. The agent will also instruct the new tenant on how to submit work orders for anything pre-existing that may need to be remedied. 
     3. It is important to note that the tenant is accepting the unit AS-IS upon signing the lease agreement.

• Transfer utilities.

  You would have been provided a list of the utility providers for the home. Within a week or so before moving, you will need to contact these utility providers:

• • Advise when to transfer services (the day you move)
  • Give your name and number
  • Set up billing and online accounts
  • Please provide these account numbers to your leasing agent
    • This helps us if there is ever a maintenance emergency at the property where we may need to supply the information to the utility provider

• Set up cable, phone, internet, and security systems.

  • Before moving in, you will want to shop for providers and confirm they service your area. While these are options, sometimes these services take a few days to install, so calling ahead to advise them of the closing date can help you avoid going a few days in your new home without service. 

    • These services are optional, and we don't require you to use any service provider in particular.

Need approval for phone, cable, or internet setup?

• Forward your mail and update your address.

  • If you plan to receive mail at this address, now is the time to set up mail forwarding through the USPS. You may also want to contact credit card companies, banks, or other mail services to let them know about your new address. 

• Collect keys, garage door opener, etc.

  • During the move-in walkthrough with the leasing agent, you will collect the keys, garage door opener, and anything else you might need (for example, a garage door code or gate code).
    • Remember that these will not be provided to you before your lease begins and your move-in charges have cleared the bank account.

• Hire a moving company.

  • You may be lucky enough to have some friends or family to help you move to the new home, but if not, you'll want to coordinate a moving service on the day of possession of the property. 

Move-In! 🎉

What happens now? Read more about being a tenant with CPMS, including how to submit a maintenance request, how and when to pay your rent, and more!