Tenant FAQs

Answers to your frequently asked questions

• How can I pay my rent?

  Rent is payable electronically or by mailing your check, cashier's check or money order. You may personally deliver your rent payment to us during normal office hours. We have a “drop-safe” in the wall at the front of the building and you may drop your payment there 24/7. If payment is made in cash at our office, there will be a fee of $20.00 charged to offset the special trip to the bank to deposit cash. You may pay by cash at other locations without that charge - ask our office for details. Payment of rent may be made by personal check until the first check is returned unpaid.

• When is my rent late? Do you have a grace period?

  Your rent is due on the 1st and you have until 5:00 on the 3rd of the month to pay your rent without incurring a late fee.

• If I pay a portion of the rent in one day, would the system let me pay another portion the next day?

  Yes, but if the full amount is not paid by the 3rd of each month before 5:00 p.m. then rent is considered late and late fees apply.

• If I have a roommate are we able to pay the rent separately?

  You can but to avoid late fees, it is a good idea to have one person make the payment and the roommates can pay that person.

• Do you accept partial payments?

  On occasion but if we agree to accept a partial rent payment, you will be charged an additional processing fee of $25.00 for every partial payment.

• Do you accept credit cards for the rent payment? If so, what is the charge?

  You may pay on-line with a credit card but the 3rd party provider will charge you a higher rate.

• Can I make a payment plan?

  In some scenarios and circumstances a payment plan can be arranged if your payment history and conduct has been good.

• What is the late rent payment fee?

  The late fee is 5% of the monthly rent plus a non-compliance administration fee.

• Can I stop paying rent if the repairs are not made?

  No.

• Can you waive my late fees?

  Unfortunately we cannot.

• Do you need payment up front for the repairs?

  No.

• How does the Move-In Property Inspection form protect me?

  The inspection form is for your protection. It documents the condition of the property upon move in. You will be given a copy when you move in and you will have one week to add anything into the form which we overlooked along with a picture of that item. For example, if you find a broken blind that was not documented on the move-in report, submit a photo so that you do not get charged for this blind at move out.

  When you move out, a Move-Out Property Inspection will be conducted by the property manager or field inspector. Our Maintenance Coordinator will review both documents to determine what damages you will be charged for.

• How long do I have to fill out the inventory condition form?

  Once the lease is signed, you have a period of seven days.

• How do I submit the inventory condition form?

  Email to Lori@AvalonOaktree.com

• Where can I get a copy of my lease?

  We gave you a copy of your lease in your move-in packet. If you lose it, you can find a copy on your on-line tenant portal, we can email it to you or you can pick it up a copy from our office.

• Do I need renters insurance?

  Most of our properties require you to maintain renter’s insurance from the day you move in until the day you move out. Renters Insurance is very inexpensive and covers your personal items in case of burglary, alternative housing if needed due to a flood, etc. . Please refer to your lease or call our office for clarification. State Farm, Allstate, USAA, and many others provide this coverage.

• How do I submit a maintenance request?

  Upon move in, you were emailed a link to our online work order system. If you cannot find the link, simply go to our website to obtain a new link or to submit a work order HERE.

  You may also call the work order in directly to our office.

• What is considered an emergency maintenance request?

  • Flood
  • Fire
  • Plumbing emergency
  • Electrical emergency

  After hours please call the answering service for emergencies. You can reach them by calling our main number at 702-648-1299.

  If your maintenance request is not one of the above 4, please call after 8:00 am the next business day.

  Air Conditioning and Heating - If your air conditioning goes out in the summer or your heater in the winter, please call between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm. Keep in mind that the vendor cannot work on the units after dark so if you call later in the day, you will almost certainly have to wait until the next day.

  Appliances - the vendor works only Monday - Friday. This means if your oven goes out on Thanksgiving morning, the chance that you will get help is very slim. Please do a test run on your ovens a few days before!

  Plumbing - if you have an active leak, it is considered an emergency - please call immediately. For all other plumbing such as a sewage backup, clogged toilet, or no hot water please call the following morning after 8:00 am.

  Roof leaks - there is nothing we can do about it at night, please call 1st thing in the morning - 7 days a week.

• How do I enter an emergency work order after hours or on weekends?

  If you have an emergency maintenance request after hours please call 702-648-1299 and our answering service will connect you to the person on call.

  For emergencies during business hours please enter a request online and follow up with a phone call to our maintenance department.

• What happens during an emergency work order?

  During an emergency you can rest assured that we are doing all in our power to get the repair handled ASAP.

• Legally, how long does the owner have to make a repair?

  Within 48 hours (excluding Saturday, Sunday and any legal holidays) of receiving a work order request for a repair concerning heating, air conditioning, running water, lack of hot water or other essential service, the landlord is required to use their best efforts to remedy the situation.

• Do I need to be home when maintenance comes to my house?

  Yes. Our vendors do not have keys to your property.

• Do I have to pay a service fee?

  No. You will have to pay a trip charge if the vendor shows up at the agreed upon time and you are not home or do not answer the door. You are responsible for any damages that you or your guests have done.

• What is considered cosmetic and may not be approved?

  Cosmetic is defined as having no impact on the functionality or use of the home. For example, if you ask for a ceiling light to be changed to a ceiling fan with a light, the owner is not required to make that improvement.

• How long should I expect a call back for my work order request?

  Maintenance calls are returned the same day they are received. For faster service, Avalon uses an online software for maintenance requests and we encourage you to submit your request online.

• What happens if my AC goes out? Do I get to stay in a hotel?

  We treat AC calls as an emergency - after all, we are in the Mojave Desert.

  The landlord is not required to put you up in a hotel. You may call your renter’s insurance agent to see if alternate accommodations is offered.

• I really need to talk to someone regarding an existing work order, who do I contact?

  Please call our office and ask to speak to our Maintenance Coordinator.

• How long before my lease end date before I receive a lease renewal?

  You should be contacted approximately 60 days before your lease ends. At that time, the property manager will let you know if there is going to be an increase in the rent. Our field inspector will also be contacting you to make a Short Inspection of the property. Your lease will be sent to you via DocuSign for electronic signature. You may come to our office to sign your renewal if you prefer.

• I signed my lease renewal but got charged the holdover fee, why?

  If you did not sign your lease renewal on time, the holdover rate was applied. However, once you sign your new lease, the following month’s rent will be at the new rate. It is required to have the written lease to honor the rent rate otherwise month to month rate will apply, once the lease has been signed the correct rent rate will be charged to your ledger.

• Do I need to be at the house for the annual inspection?

  No, you are not required to be present.

• Why do you perform an annual inspection?

  These walk-throughs are needed to determine if there are any issues at the property that need to be addressed, to bring potential improvement ideas to the landlord and to be sure that you are taking care of the property and are abiding by the terms of the lease.

• I have a roommate leaving and another person taking their place, how do I make this change?

  The property manager is not required to remove a roommate even if another roommate is moving in. However, to start the process the new person must submit an application, pay an application fee and be approved to be added to the lease. If approved, there is a charge for re-writing the lease. The out-going tenant needs to sign their portion of the security deposit over to the new roommate and we must be given a copy of that documentation.

• I want to add a pet to my lease, who do I contact?

  First contact your property manager to find out if the owner would consider the pet you are thinking of getting. If you are given tentative approval, you must submit your pet application online for screening and if the pet is approved, you must sign the Pet Agreement and pay the required fee.

• Is there a charge to adding a pet?

  Yes. You will either pay a pet deposit or you will pay a pet administrative fee. You may also be required to pay a monthly admin fee based on the “paw score”.

• I want to terminate my lease agreement. Will you allow me to early terminate and if so, what will it cost?

  The short answer is that we will let you terminate your lease before the end date but you will be required to pay all costs involved in re-renting the property and rent, utilities, etc. until the day the property is re-rented.

• How many days’ notice do I have to give?

  You need to give a 30-day notice of your intent to leave. While you may turn this notice in sooner than 30-days prior to your lease termination date, you will still be responsible for paying rent, etc, until the actual end of your lease.

• How do I give notice to vacate?

  Submit your 30-day Notice in writing to our office. You may submit this notice via email provdided you follow up with a phone call to be sure that your email was received.

• Can you help me lease another home?

  Absolutely, we can help you lease another one of the homes we manage or any home regardless if we manage it. Simply contact your property manager and they will connect you with one of our real estate agents.

• Is there a cost if a lease another home?

  There is no agent fee to the tenant when leasing a new home. The agent fee is paid by the landlord.

• Can you help me purchase a home?

  Absolutely, Not only can we help you with purchasing a new home, but Avalon has a program that allows you to get money towards your closing costs. Also, there is no real estate broker fee to the buyer, the seller pays the real estate broker fee.

• What are some typical charges applied to my security deposit?

  • Carpet cleaning
  • Light bulbs
  • Large screw holes in wall (picture nail holes are ok)
  • Grass is overgrown, bushes not trimmed
  • Garbage or items in the home
  • Broken windows, ripped screens
  • Touch-up paint

• How long does it take to get my security deposit back?

  Nevada law requires that you be sent a break down of all charges and your refund check, if money remains, within 30 days of your lease termination date. Please be sure you give us your forwarding address to ensure timely delivery.

• If I surrender keys early do I get my rent prorated?

  No. If you surrender keys and leave the home early you are still obligated to pay rent through the end of the lease.

• What happens if I do not surrender keys?

  If you do not surrender keys, you have not officially moved out. You will be charged rent and will be charged for key replacement.

• If I move out early and surrender keys, do I need to keep the utilities in my name until the end of the lease?

  Yes, as per your lease agreement, you are responsible for the utilities until the lease ends. If you do not, there is an additional charge to you.

• Do you show my property before I move out?

  While we prefer to show property when it is vacant and ‘rent-ready”, we may elect to show the property while you are there provided we place an electronic lockbox on the property and you keep your home in “showing condition”. Remember though that per your lease, Avalon has the right to install a lockbox, put up a sign and show the property the last 30 days of the lease.

• Can I use the utility concierge service for our new property?

  Yes.

• How do I apply for one of the homes you manage?

  Please go to Tenant Resources and you will find the tab to bring you to our online application. If you are in a situation where you do not have access to a computer, you may submit your application in person at our office.

• How long will it take to get an answer on our application being submitted?

  Typically it takes 2 to 3 business days. We do receive your credit report, FICO score, Criminal Background and National Eviction search almost instantly. Unfortunately, your boss and current & previous landlords are not always so quick to get back to us!

• How much security deposit do you charge the tenant?

  Typically the security deposit is equal to one month’s rent. In certain circumstances, you may be asked to pay up to 2 x deposit and last month’s rent. This is only done with the owner’s approval after consultation with Avalon Realty and Oaktree Management.

• What are your office hours?

  We are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM excluding Holidays.

• What is your screening criteria?

  Refer to our Tenant Resource page as our full disclosure is posted there for review.

• What happens if I do not pay my rent?

  If payment has not been made by the 3rd or 5th (refer to your lease) you will be served a 7-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. Whether or not we eventually have to proceed with a formal eviction depends on the specific circumstances. It is usually financially better for all involved if a solution can be worked out. If you have experienced a one-time event which caused you a financial hardship and you had paid on time up until now, then with the owner’s permission, we will do our best to work with you.

  If you have demonstrated an ongoing pattern of late payments, broken promises and/or evasiveness, then eviction is usually the best course of action.

  Each case is unique, and we make our decisions based on what is best for all involved in the long run. However, we always proceed with the legal notices required for eviction regardless of any other factors.

  Evictions in Nevada are a simple legal matter as there is no way a tenant can prevail in court if they have not paid rent and the landlord has properly executed the notices and filing unless there are significant and provable habitability factors, Full evictions, when necessary, can usually be completed within 3 weeks. If you can fully catch up with all moneys due before the “lock-out”, we can halt the eviction.