Make sure that all deposits and charges have been paid in full PRIOR to moving in. You will not be able to move in if you have outstanding charges or items due.  

We will not be taking any in-person payments on August 1. All rent payments will need to be made online through your tenant portal, mailed to our office, or placed in our drop box by the 1st of August. 

Your online portal will always show the full amount due for the unit, not by tenant. This means that each month your portal will show the full amount due for the rent, it is not divided by tenants. Each tenant will need to make sure they edit the amount they wish to pay before submitting their monthly payment or setting up their auto pay. Setting up an auto-pay for "Pay Amount in Full" will pay the full monthly rent, not the rent agreed upon between roommates. Please keep that in mind when going to set up your account. Unique Apartment Homes is unable to stop or alter any payments made through the portal. 

Rent can be paid through the online portal using a card or ACH account by making a one time payment or setting up autopay. Rent can also be paid with a personal check or cashier's check made out to the entity name stated on your lease and in your move in email. 

If you choose to mail in your rent payment, please send it to:

Unique Apartment Homes

2408 Chamberlain St #101

Ames, IA 50014

Your move-in email goes over more detailed information about utilities you're required to have in your name by August 1. Only one tenant in the unit will need to set these up for the full unit.

If you have any questions regarding what services you're responsible for, please check your lease agreement first, which is available through the portal. 

Utilities are billed directly to the unit from the provider and will be paid to them directly. Unique Apartment Homes does not bill for utilities unless you have not set them up in your name. If you have not set up utilities in your name by August 1st you will receive a charge on your portal including an admin fee until you have set them up.

Alliant Energy

Services can be set up through their website or by phone, 1-800-255-4268.

City of Ames

Services can be set up through their website or at City Hall, 515 Clark Ave.

Make sure that you have notified the post office of your forwarding address/new address. There may be pieces of mail that get sent to you throughout the year that are not addressed to you. If you do receive items in the mail that are not yours, please write "Does not reside at this address return to sender" on the piece of mail and drop it in the outgoing mailbox. The post office will handle it from there and get those delivered to the right place. If there are multiple items you can bundle them together with a rubber band and bring them to the post office.

Packages will be placed by the mailboxes or your unit door depending on the carrier (USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, Amazon) as they all deliver differently. Make sure to include delivery instructions as this helps with correct deliveries. We also HIGHLY recommend deleting any old addresses through any delivery services/providers to avoid sending something to the wrong address. If you are unable to located your package you must check with the correct carrier. Unique Apartment Homes is not responsible for any lost or stolen packages, or items delivered incorrectly. If you get a package delivered to your unit that is not yours, contact that carrier service or place it by the correct unit door. 

Any and all deliveries that are misdelivered or missing are to be handled with the carrier service. Unique Apartment Homes does not accept any responsibility for lost, stolen, or incorrect package deliveries.

All tenants are REQUIRED to obtain renter's insurance by August 1st and submit proof of insurance through the online portal. Each tenant is required to have an active policy for the duration of their lease term. If you have roommates, you can each have your own policy or you can have one policy but it MUST list all of your names. Make sure the address listed on your policy is your apartment's FULL address (it should not be any previous addresses, parents' addresses, etc). This must be an LLI (limit of liability) policy and cover a minimum of $100,000.00.We strongly recommend adding coverage to protect your personal items as well. You are welcome to use any insurance provider you choose, when using an outside provider you will just need to upload a copy of that policy to your portal. Your online AppFolio portal also offers policy options should you choose to use AppFolio for coverage. If you choose a different provider, you can submit coverage proof by:

1. Select the "Insurance" tab in your portal.

2. Fill in the required fields.

3. Upload your declaration page or certificate of insurance below the required fields. 

Once your insurance policy has been reviewed, you will receive an email stating whether or not the policy meets our requirements. 

ANY TENANT WHO FAILS TO OBTAIN AND PROVIDE PROOF OF INSURANCE THROUGH THEIR ONLINE PORTAL BY AUGUST 1ST WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY ENROLLED IN THE PROPERTY'S INSURANCE PROGRAM AND THE COST OF THAT COVERAGE WILL BE CHARGED BACK TO THE TENANT AS PERMITTED UNDER THE LEASE AGREEMENT. IF YOU OBTAIN COVERAGE AT ANY TIME DURING THE MONTH YOU WILL BE CHARGED THE FULL AMOUNT, IT IS NOT PRO-RATED OR REFUNDABLE.

DO NOT LIST MAINTENANCE REQUESTS ON YOUR INSPECTION PACKET - THEY WILL BE FILED AWAY AND WE DO NOT REVIEW THEM FOR MAINTENANCE. ALL MAINTENANCE REQUESTS MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH THE ONLINE PORTAL.

We do our very best over the few short days to make sure we get your unit ready for you. Sometimes there are items we miss or they've already been submitted and are in the process of being done. Tenants must take a week to get settled into their unit - use all appliances, run all faucets, take showers, etc - get accompanied with your unit to make sure all items are working correctly. If you submit requests immediately without using everything in your apartment or getting acquainted with the unit, you are more likely to submit multiple requests which slows maintenance down.

If you do notice there are items that need to be submitted to maintenance, they must be listed all together in one work order and only one tenant in the unit should submit the request (don't each submit the same request). This allows maintenance to address all your requests during one time and be more effective at completing requests in a timely manner. We ask that you remain patient during this time as requests will go in order of when they are submitted. Any emergency maintenance items will always go to the top of the list.

You can submit your requests by going to your online portal, click the Maintenance Tab, and click the Request Maintenance button. On this page, you'll fill out the required information and list your maintenance items. With the number of new tenants moving in, requests may take up to 7-14 business days to be completed. When submitting a maintenance request that is giving your permission/the notification that we will be entering your unit. When maintenance comes out they will knock first (if you are home, please answer the door) and will enter the unit announcing themselves if no one answers the door. If you have an animal, especially a dog, please make note of that in your maintenance request as dogs must be kenneled for us to enter your unit.

We have good relationships with our outside vendors and most of the time they are able to get out the same day or following day. However, please keep in mind that if an outside vendor such as appliance repair, heating and cooling company, etc. has to come out it may extend the time of your request as we are at the mercy of their schedule. Lastly, please keep in mind if any parts need to be ordered this may extend your request until the parts are delivered and able to be installed.

If we have preventative maintenance or projects on our end we will always notify you in advance of entering your unit via email, text, or posting of the building. If you ever change your phone number or email it is vital to notify us of that change so you receive our messages.

Please remember that maintenance does not address any cosmetic issues. These include but are not limited to marks on trim, countertop scratch, dents or scratches on appliances, etc. All cosmetic issues should be noted on your inspection packet. 

On move-in day, the parking at all of our properties will be open meaning you & anyone helping you move can park anywhere in the lot. We allow this to make moving in easier without having to worry if you're in someone's assigned spot.

The move-in email specifies the parking arrangements for each property. Each unit will receive what they need for parking with their other move-in items on August 1.

Parking will be put back into effect within 2 weeks of move in. Tenants will receive more information regarding this closer to that time.

Internet is dependent on the property you are moving into as we have multiple providers. Please read through your move in email for detailed information on your internet provider, and equipment needed. 

Throughout your lease term any internet issues, set up, or related items will be handled directly through your internet provider. Your provider will be listed in your welcome folder, we also have the associated numbers listed on our maintenance website page. The provider handles all of the back end and Unique Apartment Homes has no control over internet support.

If you plan on having a pet live with you during your lease term, it must be registered with us by July 1st. Any animals that have NOT been registered are considered illegal and are a violation of your lease agreement.

You can visit our Pet page on our website for more information and the registration page.

You are able to begin moving in at 2 PM on August 1st.

Please understand due to the vendor's schedules, we are unable to allow any tenants to move in prior to that time. Please do not call the office and ask if your apartment will be available for an early move in. We need to keep our phone lines open and available as we are extremely busy planning and coordinating with vendors in order to get everything completed. It is our policy that if an apartment, by chance, becomes available for an early move in we will automatically reach out to you, if you do not hear from us your apartment is not available for an early move in. 

Each property will have different instructions texted to the future tenants the day of move in on how to access the building/keys. Please read through the move in email that was sent to you and corresponds with your property.

If you have roommates please coordinate your move in dates with each other. For example, if one roommate is planning on moving in the 1st and the others are not moving in until the 5th you will need to coordinate with each other on getting keys. If no one is planning on moving in by August 7th please let us know as soon as possible so we can make other arrangements!

When you enter your apartment please verify that is the correct unit first. You are able to do that by checking the move-in inspection packet located in the welcome folder. This will list the address and correct tenant names for that apartment. If it is correct, you are all set and can begin moving items in. Please do not being moving any items in until you verify it is your unit!

Depending on the property you are moving into (check your move in email for more details on your specific property) you will either pick up your keys & welcome folder, or go directly to the unit. The welcome packet will list important information you will need for the duration of the lease, please read through all of it as it can answer many questions you may have. The move-in inspection packet is extremely important and will need to be completed within 7 days of you moving in. This must be turned into the office so we can file it away for when you move out of your unit. We require that the original is turned in and tenants may ask for a copy if they would like one.

DO NOT LIST MAINTENANCE REQUESTS ON YOUR INSPECTION PACKET - THEY WILL BE FILED AWAY AND WE DO NOT REVIEW THEM FOR MAINTENANCE. ALL MAINTENANCE REQUESTS MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH THE ONLINE PORTAL.