Tenant FAQs

Answers to your frequently asked questions

• What is escrow, and how does it work?

  Each month, you pay rent that may have some added fees like the escrow. An escrow account is managed by the property manager. This escrow money is used for property expenses that you as the tenant use like the utilities, trash/recycling, lawn care/snow removal, and heat/electricity. Even though the escrow account helps with these costs, you are still responsible for any amount you owe beyond what’s covered. At the end of your lease, the property manager tallies up the expenses and refunds any leftover money from the escrow account to you. Essentially, the escrow account functions as a savings jar for covering certain costs, with any unspent funds returned within 21 days after move out.

• How do I request maintenance service to my apartment?

  Residents can login through their personal resident portal and submit a maintenance service request 24/7. The appropriate personnel will respond and make the needed repairs. Maintenance emergency service requests can be made to 715-832-1200.

• How energy efficient are General Property Management's apartments?

  We install high efficiency, natural gas furnaces, focus on energy approved appliances and have our apartments DIHLR weatherization certified. Please compare us to the competition by checking with Xcel Energy for energy consumption (measured in dollars $) by calling Xcel at 1-800-895-4999. They can compare apartments by address.

• How many bedrooms are available with your rentals?

  General Property Management, LLC offers a variety of properties for rent, ranging from one to eight bedrooms in the UWEC and CVTC areas, as well as the south side of Eau Claire and Lake Hallie.

• What are the safety features of my apartment?

  Every apartment has:

  • One smoke detector per bedroom and one per floor, minimum
  • One CO detector per floor (in our buildings that use natural gas) minimum
  • Deadbolt locks on the entry doors
  • Fire extinguishers (in buildings of 3+ units, as required)
  • Lighted entryways

• What if this is my first time renting an apartment?

  We have many tenants in the Eau Claire area that rent their first apartment with us. We are available to assist with questions and finding the right rental property for you. Please give us a call, we're happy to help.

• What is checked on my Rental Application?

  Your application is screened by verifying income (student loans, employment, grants, etc.), checking criminal background, housing references, credit, sex registry, and providing a photo ID.

• Why should I rent from General Property Management LLC?

  There are many great reasons. Here are a few:

  • Our cloud based software allows tenant interface to see ledger, pay rent, request maintenance, and more
  • We are available 24/7 for emergency repairs
  • We are Certified Eau Claire Landlords (CELP)
  • We are a professional company that does business with written Rental Agreements that clearly define responsibilities

• When is my rent due, is there a grace period, and is there a late fee if I should happen to pay late?

  Rent is due on or before the first day of the month. There is a grace period through the 5th day of the month. The 6th day the late payment fee is $50.00 plus $10 per day until paid in full. We have a financial institution returns the tenants payment for any reason, there is a 40.00 NSF Fee.

• Can you waive my late fee?

  No, unfortunately, we are required to have consistent policies across the board to keep ourselves compliant with Fair Housing regulations. Fair Housing requires that we treat everyone equally. There is no objective way for us to determine if one tenant is more deserving of having a late fee waived than another. Therefore, we will enforce late fees in every instance.

• Do you offer direct debit for rent payment?

  Yes, you can set up a savings or checking account online through your tenant portal and make a one-time e-payment or you may also set up automatically recurring monthly e-payments.

• Can you accept multiple rent payments from multiple banking accounts for one month? For example, my roommate wants to pay her portion of the monthly rent from her account while I pay my portion from my account.

  Yes, each roommate can set up a bank account or each roommate me set up multiple bank accounts.

• Can I make a cash rent payment?

  Yes, with our "PayNearMe" feature. Our office does not accept cash for our personal safety because we are a very soft target for a criminal. However, from your tenant portal you can select the option to pay with cash. The software will give you a barcode and a list of merchants that accept "PayNearMe". Using the barcode, pay the cash to the merchant for your rent payment.

• How do I request maintenance for a repair?

  The best way to request maintenance is to login your tenant portal and submit a service request.

• Do you have any emergency maintenance phone number for after-hours emergencies?

  Yes, 715-832-1200 is our 24/7 emergency phone number. Please use this number for emergencies only.

• Can I be charged for maintenance and repairs?

  If the repair is from damage caused by tenant waste or neglect, then yes, you could be charged for that sort of repair. Normal wear and tear repairs are paid for by the landlord.

• What happens if I rented an apartment and I have decided that I no longer want to move in?

  Contracts carry with them obligations. If you are not moving in to the apartment, you should contact the management company immediately and request a break lease agreement so that we may begin immediately making attempts to re-rent the apartment to mitigate the losses. The landlord will hold you responsible for the rent and utilities until the apartment has been rented to someone else. If the landlord is not able to rent the apartment for the same rent that you have agreed to pay, you will have to pay the difference. The costs of re-renting the apartment are paid by the tenant. Additionally, the management company is under no obligation to re-rent your apartment a second time before the management company rents it's other apartments. Please do not sign any lease that you do not intend to take possession of the apartment because it could be very expensive to remedy the situation for everyone involved.

• Will I receive notice before the management company or maintenance personnel or will unplanned visitors surprise me & show up at my door wanting to get into my apartment?

  On occasion the management company, landlord, maintenance, or other personnel may need to get into your apartment, however, you should always receive a minimum of 12 hour advance notice of this visit. This notice may be given to one of your household and that household member is expected to communicate that to the rest of the house. Acceptable means of giving notice to the resident of a visit are written, text message, telephone call, and voicemail. We will always give you as much advance notice as we can. If someone just happens to show up on your doorstep saying they want to come inside, please call our office at 715-832-1200 and verify this is legitimate. This is generally a very safe area, but it is a good idea to use caution.

• Do I need to get renters insurance?

  Yes, we require to purchase renters insurance in order to opt out of our master tenant liability insurance policy.

• What if I lock myself out of my house?

  We have our locks provided by Tru Lock & Security. Tru Lock keeps record of the key code and can cut you a key from record. Tru lock has 24/7 emergency service and can be reached at (715) 835-1540 or at their office located at 2080 Truax Boulevard, Eau Claire. Tru lock does of course charge you for this service. A key made during normal business hours is really inexpensive. Getting a key made during an after-hours emergency can be expensive.

• Can I paint the walls another color?

  No, you can't paint the walls another color because of liability reasons. However, if there's something you want painted there's a very good chance we'll just up and paint it for you, so please ask.

• Can I put a keyed lock on my bedroom door?

  No, if there is an emergency you're putting yourself in greater danger and the Emergency Services Personnel in greater danger when they have to come through and clear the house and they encounter a locked door they have to chop it down to make sure there's nobody in the room.

• What if I need to get out of my lease? Can I sublet?

  Please contact our office right away to get informed on getting out of your lease. We allow lease assignments to qualified applicants. We do allow university students to do summer sublets in most instances. In other instances we will not allow subleases.

• When do I get my security deposit back?

  Security deposits are returned within 21 days. If for some reason it is not a full refund, you will get an itemization of charges being withheld from the deposit. If the deposit return amount is in dispute, please contact the office to request a Security Deposit Dispute form.