Residents

Help for the house you rent from us.

What to do in an emergency, the small fixes worth trying before you file a request, and how moving in and out works.

Resident portal: rent & requests →

Is this an emergency?

If any of these is happening, call us now. Do not file a request and wait.

Call (404) 669-6308

Fire, or anyone in danger: call 911 first.

Water you cannot stop
A burst pipe, a leak coming through a ceiling, or water spreading across a floor. Turn off the main water shutoff first if you can, then call.
No heat in cold weather
The system is not heating and it is cold outside. Check the thermostat and the breaker (below) first.
No power
The whole house is out. If the street is dark too, it is the utility: report it to them, not us.
You smell gas
Leave the house now. Do not flip switches or light anything. Call the gas company or 911 from outside, then call us.
Sewage backing up
Sewage coming up in a tub, shower or floor drain. Stop running water in the house and call.

Anything else: file a request in the portal

Say what is wrong, where in the house, and when it started, and add a photo or a short video. That is usually enough for us to send the right person the first time. A request also puts the problem on the record with a date, which protects you as much as us.

File a request →

Try this first

An outlet in the kitchen, a bath or outside is dead

Those outlets are protected by a GFCI, an outlet with TEST and RESET buttons. It trips on purpose when it senses a fault, and one GFCI often protects several outlets further down the line. Find the one with buttons, often in a bath, the kitchen, the garage or outside, and press RESET firmly. If it will not stay reset, unplug everything on that circuit and try again. If it still trips, file a request.

Part of the house lost power

Open the breaker panel and look for a switch sitting in the middle, or pointing the other way from its neighbours. Push it all the way OFF, then back ON. If it trips again straight away, leave it off and file a request: something on that circuit has a fault.

Changing the HVAC filter

Turn the system off at the thermostat. Slide the old filter out of the return grille or the unit and read the size printed on its edge. Put the new one in with the arrow pointing toward the unit, in the direction the air flows. A clogged filter is the most common reason a system freezes up or stops cooling.

The garbage disposal hums or will not start

Switch it off first. Look underneath for a small red reset button and press it. If it hums but will not turn, something is jammed: with the switch still off, put an Allen wrench (a quarter inch on most models) into the socket in the centre of the underside and work it back and forth until it turns freely, then press reset. Never put a hand inside.

Water around the indoor AC unit

In summer the AC pulls water out of the air and drains it through a small pipe, the condensate line. When that line clogs, water backs up around the unit or a safety switch shuts the AC off. Turn the system off at the thermostat, mop up what you can, and file a request with a photo.

A smoke alarm is chirping

A single chirp every minute or so means a low battery. Replace the battery in the alarm that is chirping (hardwired alarms have a backup battery too), then press and hold its test button. Batteries are yours to keep up, and your lease asks you to test the alarms weekly. If one keeps chirping with a new battery, or goes off with no smoke, file a request that day. Never take an alarm down and leave it down.

Where the water shutoff is

Every house has a main shutoff where the water line comes in: in the crawl space, a utility closet, the garage, or at the meter box near the street. Find yours before you need it. If you cannot, ask through the portal and we will tell you where it is for your house.

If a fix does not work the first time, stop and file a request. Please do not open panels, units or walls.

Through the year

Most of this list is what your lease makes the resident's job, in plain words. The rest is what saves a pipe or a service call.

All year

Change the HVAC filter every month while the heat or AC is running.
Test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms every week, and replace batteries as they run down.
Keep the lawn mowed and watered, and the shrubs and trees trimmed.
Pest control as it is needed.
Keep the house clean, including the appliances.

Before summer

Put in a fresh AC filter before the heavy cooling months.
Keep plants, fencing and storage a couple of feet clear of the outdoor AC unit.

Fall

Clean out the gutters once the leaves are down, and again whenever they fill.
Rake leaves off the lawn and away from the house.

Before a hard freeze

Disconnect garden hoses from the outside faucets. A hose left on can split the pipe inside the wall.
On the coldest nights, let a faucet on an outside wall drip and open the cabinet under the sink.
Never turn the heat off, even if you are away. Keep it at 55 or higher.

Homes on septic

Nothing down the drains but waste and toilet paper: no wipes, grease, food, coffee grounds or sanitary products.
Add septic treatment regularly.

Moving in

1. Put the utilities in your name
Power, water, sewer, trash and gas, from the day you get the keys.
2. Have renters insurance
Your lease requires a policy with liability coverage. It covers your belongings too, which our insurance does not.
3. Activate the resident portal
Rent, maintenance requests, receipts and your lease paperwork all live there.
4. Return the move-in inspection form within 7 days
Walk every room and write down everything that is already damaged, worn or not working, with photos. Anything not on the form is treated as being in good condition when you moved in, so this is the page that protects your deposit.
5. Find the water shutoff and the breaker panel
Before you need them.

Moving out

1. Give 60 days' notice in writing
At least 60 days before you move out, in writing, through the portal or by email so it has a date on it. Late or verbal notice can cost you the deposit, however clean the house is.
2. Clean it for the next resident
More than broom clean: floors, walls, kitchen, appliances and bathrooms cleaned, nothing left behind, and a fresh HVAC filter in. Carpets need a professional cleaning, and we will ask for the receipt. If pets lived in the home, a professional flea treatment too.
3. Leave the yard neat
Mowed, shrubs trimmed, and leaves, trash and debris gone.
4. Pay the final utility bills
Every utility in your name has to be closed out and paid.
5. Return every key and send a forwarding address
Keys, garage door openers and mailbox keys, and the address where your deposit should go.
6. The deposit inspection
We compare the house against your move-in form, so normal wear and tear is not charged. Damage beyond that, cleaning left undone, and anything owed come out of the deposit, and the rest is settled within 30 days after everyone has moved out.

Utilities

Utilities go in your name from move-in. Which company serves a house depends on the street, not just the town, so check with them using your address. These are the providers our homes are on.

Griffin

Inside the city: City of Griffin
Power outside the city: Central Georgia EMC

McDonough, Locust Grove, Stockbridge

Power: Georgia Power or Snapping Shoals EMC
Water: Henry County Water Authority or City of McDonough

Hampton

Inside the city: City of Hampton

Jackson

Power: Georgia Power
Water: the county water system for your address

Barnesville

Inside the city: City of Barnesville

Natural gas in Georgia runs on Atlanta Gas Light's pipes, but you buy it from a gas marketer of your choice. Atlanta Gas Light is who to call about a gas leak.

This page is general help. Your lease is the agreement between us, and if anything here differs from it, the lease is what counts.

Questions that are not urgent: bridginginterestsllc@gmail.com