Hello and welcome to life in an AEPi house.
Living in a fraternity house is an experience to be cherished and we want to make sure you have the best possible time.
The staff of Esponda Associates help to manage the “large scale” aspects of your house, but in many ways, the people living in the house are responsible for making sure the house is functional on a day to day basis. Keeping the house clean, reporting damage, making sure that the meal plan is running smoothly (if your Chapter has one), and setting rules to make sure the house is run efficiently are all managed by Chapter leadership. We encourage everyone to play an active role in order to ensure success.
The staff member you will likely see most often is your Regional Manager, _____. Once appropriate to do so, he will be visiting the house every few weeks to check in. Please don’t hesitate to show him things around the house that are of concern, ask him questions, or provide feedback.
The housing agreement has many specifics regarding conduct and your responsibilities as a tenant that you should make sure to review. Specific rules are in place to help preserve your health and safety. We always expect you to comply with these rules and to act in a way that upholds the values and ideals of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity but this year it is especially important to do so and to pay attention to notification of changes that may be required due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We have been working with the House Manager to make sure that the chapter has an adequate cleaning plan in place for this year as well as other COVID-19 related protocols. It is imperative that you pay more attention than usual to cleanliness to help ensure a safe environment. Please review the CDC’s guidelines for group living and keep them in mind when moving-in and beyond.
With move-in approaching, here are a few things to keep in mind…
Move-In
The house will be open for move-in on _________.
Before you arrive on campus you need to have a signed housing agreement. If you do not already have a signed housing agreement, please click here to be redirected to the housing agreement page of our website.
As COVID-19 continues to be a reality in our lives, we ask that you make some adjustments to the move-in process. In order to minimize the number of non-residents in the house during the move-in process, we are limiting every tenant to two helpers. Please make sure that you and anyone who is helping you move-in is wearing a mask that covers their mouth and nose the entire time you are moving in.
To keep the move-in process as safe as possible, we will be requiring everyone to sign up for a move-in time. We will be limiting the number of people who can sign up for any given time slot in order to help with social distancing recommendations. We ask that you use your selected time slot to move your things from your vehicle into the house and do any setup that you may need help with; organizing your room can be done after your time slot has ended and any helpers have left. We encourage you to move-in as quickly and efficiently as possible. Please let your fellow Brothers finish moving in before you start to catch up, so that their helpers can leave in a timely manner; there will be plenty of time to catch up once everyone has moved in. Please also be aware that you should only park in legally designated spaces. Local enforcement tends to be especially stringent around move-in and move-out times.
We expect you to incorporate social distancing into your move-in process. Depending on your house, you may see new signage in the stairwells indicating that some are only for people going up the stairs and some are only for people going down the stairs. You may also see signage indicating that some exterior doors are now designated entrances and some are designated exits. These guidelines are there to help increase social distancing, as doors and stairwells cannot always allow people to appropriately spread out. Please make sure to adhere to these guidelines for increased safety. Please note: in case of any emergencies, all stairwells and exterior doors can be used to exit the building.
When setting up your room, please make sure there is at least 18” clearance between any sprinkler heads and your furniture or decorations. Additionally, please make sure there is nothing hanging from or wrapped around sprinkler pipes, ducts, conduits and/or obstructing windows. All doors must be able to open and close freely and cannot be obstructed by furnishings. These tips ensure compliance with local fire codes and are important for life safety. If anything is blocking egress, we will ask for it to be moved. The CDC guidelines regarding multiple occupancy rooms should also be referenced when arranging furniture.
Modifying the room (painting, flooring, changing fixtures, etc.) is prohibited by your housing agreement unless you have been given written permission from the House Corporation. This clause includes modifying the room doors (no drilling holes, no adding/changing locks, no painting the doors, etc.). We ask that you are careful not to drag furniture on the floors and that you are extremely careful not to damage the walls in the hallways and stairwells while moving furniture. If the House Corporation has provided furniture for your house, do not remove it from the room that it belongs in. At the termination of your housing agreement, you will be responsible for the furnishings that were in the room when you moved in.
Attached to this email is a room inspection form. Please make sure to note the condition of the room when you moved in and return the form so we have it on record. If your room is not in the condition that it should be when you move-in, please let us know as soon as possible so we can take steps to correct the condition. If there are any immediate concerns upon move-in, please submit a maintenance request or reply to this email with the room inspection form. If you choose not to complete and return the room inspection form, you accept the room in its current condition and understand that we have no way to know of any deficiencies at move-in. As a result, you may be held accountable for any pre-existing issues you choose not to report to us.
Rent & Deposits
Bills will be sent to you via email and a copy may be sent to your parent or guarantor if you have asked us to do so. Deposits are past due. If you have not already paid the deposit, please submit it immediately. Balances can be paid by signing into your RentCafé account and making a payment or by sending a check to:
Esponda Associates
8815 Wesleyan Road
Indianapolis, IN 46268
If you wish to set up a payment plan, please send an email to [email protected].
Conduct and Damage
We expect that you treat the fraternity house as you would treat your own home. The House Corporation covers normal repairs needed from wear and tear but all tenants are jointly responsible for the damages in the house. When damage occurs, we recommend that the Chapter report the accountable party or parties to us immediately so that the cost for the damage can be assigned to the tenant. We also recommend the Chapter establish and utilize a Judicial Board to hold specific individuals accountable. Any damage that goes unreported, or for which accountability cannot be determined, will be paid for by the Chapter or split evenly among all tenants.
Health
Due to the communal nature of a fraternity house, certain measures must be taken by occupants to ensure that the house remains a healthy and pest-free environment. We highly recommend that all spaces be kept tidy. Common spaces should have Chapter scheduled cleaning times and/or a janitorial service to maintain their good condition. It is a good idea to use disinfectants such as Lysol in your regular cleaning process. Frequently touched surfaces and/or highly trafficked areas, such as doorknobs and stairwells, should be cleaned daily.
An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 and other contagious diseases exists in any place where people are present.
By being on the premises you are acknowledging that an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 and other contagious diseases exists in any place where people are present and voluntarily assuming all risks related to exposure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, senior citizens and persons with underlying medical conditions are especially vulnerable. Health and safety measures have been taken for the safety of our tenants and their guests but each individual is responsible for use of the premises and personal conduct that promotes their own personal safety. All persons on this premises must follow all posted instructions and comply with all current national, state, and local law, regulations and guidelines. By being on this premises you agree not to hold the owner, lessor, operator, tenants, chapter, fraternity, guests, vendors, contractors, directors, officers, employees, agents, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury whatsoever.
For up to date information regarding COVID-19 related best practices, please refer to the links provided next to your school on this chart https://www.aepi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/All-Regions-COVID-19-Status-rev1.pdf
Your agreements prohibit furniture from second hand stores or websites like Craigslist to protect you against pests such as bedbugs, which have become more common in recent years. These pests are a costly and uncomfortable issue and are often transmitted on used furniture. If bedbugs are found in the house, costs associated with the remediation process may be assigned to anyone who has violated this policy.
Safety
Safety is our top priority. We endeavor to make sure that the house is safe for you and your Brothers at all times but we require you to work with us in this effort. We visit each property regularly, but we are not there in the middle of the night to make sure that everyone has safety on their mind.
Please make sure that your conduct helps us to keep you safe. Be conscious of things like closing and locking exterior doors and not taking on dangerous activities like smoking or burning candles in the Chapter house, which are prohibited by the housing agreement.
Please respect the integrity of all life safety systems such as smoke detectors, fire alarm panels, fire sprinklers, extinguishers, door hardware, etc. and report any problem that you may notice. “Bagging” or removing smoke detectors or tampering with safety equipment can create an extremely dangerous environment for you and your Brothers and is illegal. If noticed, we will take immediate action to correct the situation and any cost of correction and system recertification will be billed back to you.
Maintenance Requests
Just as is true with any property, there are times when things break, wear out, or need adjustments. Please notify us any time you find maintenance is needed by filling out a maintenance request form through our website, by calling our office, or by sending us an email. Sometimes, simple repairs can be handled by an especially handy Brother, but often a vendor is needed. Our staff is happy to coordinate repairs with the House Manager. Vendor work requested by the Chapter may be billed back to the Chapter if the work that is needed is a result of damage.
The Chapter is responsible for providing toilet paper, paper towels, soap, light bulbs, and other normal small items required to maintain the house. Each Chapter should have a small budget for these items which can be accessed through the House Manager. The Chapter should be self-sufficient in regards to the small items mentioned above. Vendor bills for these items may be billed back to the Chapter if it is determined that the Chapter is responsible for the task themselves.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Thanks and have a great day,
Scott