Current Tenant Resources

Pay Rent

Pay online with Zellepay, an ACH bank transfer, or Venmo, check, money order or cash — pick what's easiest.

Questions about your balance

Not sure what you owe? Need an extension? Need a payment history letter for parents or a co-signer? Call or text the office at (765) 729·1786 or email rentatbsu@yahoo.com.

Submit a Maintenance Request

Texting is the fastest way to reach us. Snap a photo of the issue, send it to the number below, and tell us what's going on.

Lease documents

Our standard lease template is available below. It includes the Pet Addendum and the Parental Guaranty Addendum.

This is a template — your signed lease is the binding agreement. If anything in this PDF conflicts with what you signed, your signed version wins. Lost your copy? Contact the office at (765) 729·1786 and we'll send it.

View Lease Template (PDF)

Utilities Information

Tenants are responsible for setting up and paying their own utilities at most properties. Set up accounts in your name to start the day your lease begins — don't wait until move-in. Check your lease for the exact breakdown of what's included.

City & County Services

Energy

Internet & Cable

Resident Handbook

Your lease is the official document — if anything here conflicts with your lease, the lease wins. This is the plain-language version: how the house actually runs day to day.

Quiet hours & neighbors

City of Muncie noise ordinance is 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sound that carries past your property line during quiet hours is a problem — for the city, for your neighbors, and eventually for us. Be reasonable.

Guests & overnight visitors

Have people over. Have people stay over. But a guest who is sleeping at the house more than 7 nights in any rolling stretch is no longer a guest — they're an unauthorized occupant. If someone is effectively living with you, they need to be on the lease.

Pets

Pets are allowed per your lease, with a pet deposit paid up front. They need to be listed on the lease — not added quietly after move-in. The deposit covers reasonable wear; anything beyond that (urine saturation, chewed trim, deep stains, persistent odor) comes out of your security deposit at move-out.

Parking

On-site parking is provided at every property. Use it. Don't park on the lawn, don't block your roommates in, and don't leave dead or unregistered vehicles on the property — those get towed at the owner's expense. If your house has assigned spots, sort it out with your roommates and stick to the arrangement.

Trash & recycling

Toters out Tuesday night, picked up Wednesday morning. Bring them back in the same day. All trash needs to be bagged and inside the toter — anything stacked next to it won't get collected. If you're throwing out something big (couch, mattress, mini-fridge), leave it out Tuesday night.

Smoking

No smoking inside any of our houses. Period. This includes cigarettes, cigars, weed, hookah, and vape. The smell embeds in walls, carpet, and HVAC, and the remediation cost will absolutely exceed your deposit. Smoke outside, away from the building, and dispose of butts in a real container — not the lawn.

Maintenance & emergencies

You don't have to decide what counts as an emergency — text us and we'll handle the rest. Send a photo and a description to (765) 729·1786. We try to respond within one business day, usually much sooner.

The only exception: if you smell gas, exit the house immediately and call 911. Don't text us first, don't flip light switches, don't grab your stuff — leave, then call. Full maintenance details →

Lockouts

Locked out? Call (765) 729·1786. There's a $20 lockout fee. We'll come let you in as soon as we can — daytime is faster than 2 a.m., but we'll come either way. Don't pop a window. Don't kick a door. Both cost more than $20.

Subletting

Subletting requires written approval from the office in advance. Don't post your room on a Facebook page and hand keys to whoever responds — that person isn't on your lease, has no security deposit on file, and we don't know who they are. Talk to us first.

Walls, painting & decorations

No painting and no alterations. Don't repaint a room because you don't like the color. Don't install shelving that requires drilling into studs. Don't swap fixtures.

For hanging things up:

• Small nails and screws are preferred — small holes are fine.
• 3M Command strips are fine when used per their instructions (light frames, decorations).
• Avoid sticky-back blue tack, duct tape, gorilla tape — they pull paint off the wall and we charge for the touch-up.
• Holiday lights indoors and outdoors are fine.

Smoke alarms & safety

Every house has working smoke alarms — Indiana law requires it. Your job is to keep them working:

• Don't disable them when you burn toast. Open a window instead.
• Replace 9V batteries when they chirp. If you can't reach it, text us.
• If an alarm fails completely, text us and we'll replace it.
• Tampering with or removing an alarm is illegal under Indiana Code and is grounds for serious deposit deductions.

When we'll enter the house

Indiana law lets us enter for repairs, inspections, and showings with reasonable notice, by text. We will not show up unannounced. The two exceptions are emergencies (active leak, fire, gas) and situations in which a propertry has been abandoned. In all other cases you'll hear from us first.

Security deposits

Under Indiana law, your security deposit is returned within 45 days of move-out — but the clock doesn't start until you give us a forwarding address in writing. If we deduct anything, you get an itemized list. The biggest deposit-savers are:

• MoveOutShield to document the place at move-in and move-out.
• Keeping walls and floors clean, refraining from smoking inside, keeping blinds intact, and minimizing pet damage.
• Following the move-out checklist.

Renters insurance

We strongly recommend renters insurance. Our property insurance covers the building, not your stuff. Most carriers will sell you a renters policy for about $10–15 a month — Lemonade, State Farm, Geico, USAA, whoever. Get it.

Move-Out Checklist

Your lease tells you when to be out. This page tells you how to be out.

2–4 weeks before move-out

• Plan your trash haul. Couches, mattresses, mini-fridges, anything that won't fit in a toter — it's on you to get it gone. Don't leave it on the curb hoping it disappears.
• Schedule any DIY cleaning. Carpet shampoo, oven cleaning, bathroom deep-clean. DIY is fine.
• Patch larger holes. Small nail holes from picture hangers are fine. Anything bigger than a nail (drywall damage, anchor holes, kicked-in panels) needs to be patched and touched up, or photographed and reported now so it's documented as pre-existing if it isn't on you.
• Cancel your utility accounts with end dates matching your lease term. Don't shut them off early. Don't leave them on for someone else to inherit.

The final week

• Clear out everything you own. Closets, attic, basement, garage, shed, driveway. If you're not taking it with you, get rid of it.
• Trash to the curb in your toters. All bags inside the toters — not stacked next to them, not in the yard. Sanitary won't take what's outside the bin.
• Yard cleanup. Free of all debris, trash, pet waste, and any fire-pit remnants. Yes, including the firepit itself if you built one. Leave the yard like you found it.
• Pets are your problem. Hair, dander, dirt tracks, urine stains, chewed trim — none of this is normal wear and tear. Vacuum thoroughly, address any damage.

Move-out day

• Broom clean every room. Sweep, mop, wipe counters and appliances, empty cabinets. This is where most tenants lose money. "Broom clean" doesn't mean spotless, but it means a reasonable person looking at the house would say "yeah, that's clean enough." A film of grease on the stove or trash bags in a closet doesn't clear that bar.
• Document with MoveOutShield. Walk every room. Photograph the good and the bad. The app does the heavy lifting — your job is to capture it, and send the report.
Via MoveOutShield (preferred)

When you're done

• Call or text us at (765) 729·1786 to confirm your move-out is complete. We'll meet you or relay key-return instructions at that point.
• Send us your forwarding address so your deposit can be returned (Indiana requires within 45 days):
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Tenant FAQs