FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Prep Fee for and what does it cover?

This is a nonrefundable fee that is used for deep cleaning the house. The cost of deep cleaning the house exceeds this cost.  There are no negotiations on this fee.

If you are renting a multi-unit house and renting more than one unit there may be multiple prep fees, one for each unit.  The landlord may waive additional prep fees in this case.

2. Who cuts the lawn and shovels snow?

Our lawn and snow service takes care of these tasks.  We cut the grass, remove leaves and remove snow that is over 2″ per snow fall from your sidewalk and driveway.

Snow under 2 ” is the responsibility of the tenant.  We will supply you with a snow shovel and ice melter for you walkway if you request it.

3. What about trash removal service?

The City of Ann Arbor will pick up the trash and recyclables that are put in the correct bins on a weekly basis.  You are responsible for taking the bins to the street for pickup on your assigned day:

Monday for houses on N. Ingalls, Hamilton, Adams, S State;
Tuesday for East University

If you leave trash on your yard, even if you didn’t put it there, you can be fined a party trash fee from the City.  You are responsible for trash, fines and fees.

During turnover at the end of April and the end of August the City provides student turnover dumpsters to get rid of excess household items including furniture located on 2000 South Industrial Hwy.

4. What happens at move out time?

Look at your lease to see when your moveout date is.  Please remove everything you came with.  If there is a question about leaving some furniture or big items, please check with the landlord to make specific arrangement.

Do not throw out furniture that was in the house when you moved in unless it was given to you by the prior tenants and is not wanted by the next tenants or you will be charged for it unless special arrangements are made with the landlord.

Contact your landlord ahead of time if you know of any specific damages.  Working out something in advance often is more beneficial to both parties then leaving a surprise for the landlord.

Please clean major dirt and debris.  This means either sweep or vacuum the floors, wipe off counter tops in the kitchens & bathrooms and empty refrigerators, cabinets, closets and drawers.

There will be a fee for excess cleaning.  Excess cleaning is the cost of cleaning the house that exceeds your pre-paid cleaning fee.

Take away all your stuff from the outside of the house too including grills, tires, trash on the grounds, beds etc.

Over at 2000 S Industrial are huge dumpsters you can use for free to dispose of all kinds of household trash.

If you decide to leave trash and excess furniture we call Got Junk to remove all excess items.  You will receive the bill plus a 20% surcharge to manage this process.  We will take a picture for your information and deduct this from your security deposit.