The details provided below offer a helpful overview of key aspects of your home; however, please note that the lease agreement contains the full and complete set of terms, conditions, and obligations.
What to know about the Home and Services
Click on any of the topics below or scroll down
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Utilities
Heat: The home is heated by natural gas. Berkshire Gas (www.berkshiregas.com) is the provider.
Hot Water: The hot water is heated by natural gas.
Electricity: as long as your power is on and you are receiving/paying bills monthly, no further action is needed. Note that your electric bill will be paper. The utility company will mail it to the rental address. If you wish to receive e-bills or change the mailing address for the bills please contact the utility directly. If there are questions, contact Eversource (www.eversource.com).
Cable/Internet: Comcast/Xfinity (www.xfinity.com) is the provider. You will need to contact them to create an account and setup service.
Trash and Recycling Collection
Trash Collection: Trash day is Tuesday. Your trash and recycling bins need to be brought to the curb at the end of your driveway the night before, as they often collect trash very early in the AM. Trash and recycling bins need to be brought back in from the curb to their usual storage space at the end of the collection day, they must not stay at the curb all week long.
Recycling: is picked up every other week (on the same day of the week as trash collection). Click here for a schedule, follow NON-SHADED weeks on the generic recycling calendar link. Recyclables should be put in the blue rolling carts marked for recycling. Recycling is single stream (containers and paper can go in the same bins). Containers must be EMPTY and rinsed. Cardboard must be clean (no foam, plastic bags, etc. inside) and folded flat. Click here for guidelines on what can be recycled.
Important Collection Procedure: The trash provider uses automated collection trucks where the driver does not get out of the truck, therefore all trash and recycling MUST be in the bins, they will NOT pick anything up left on the ground around the bins. You may need to fold boxes flat and compress trash further into the bin to get everything to fit in for collection.
Large Item Disposal: Any bulky unwanted items, oversized boxes/ packaging, etc are NOT included in your trash service, you must arrange for their disposal at your expense, the Amherst Transfer Station or Valley Recycling in Northampton are 2 good options for drop off of bulky items or excess trash. The trash hauler may also be willing to remove these items at your expense, contact them to make arangements.
Prohibited Items
No Candles/Incense: There is a strict no candle, no incense & no smoking/vaping policy. Smoke/vapor will cause soot on the walls and foul the smoke detectors, which you would be responsible for any cleaning, painting, or replacement of faulty detectors if candles are burned. Please use non-flame air fresheners only.
No Smoking: Smokers must be outside while smoking (this includes tobacco, marijuana and e-cigarettes/vaping). You must clean up any used smoking materials, please keep a can or other receptacle that you empty from time to time making sure they are properly extinguished.
No Fires: Per the fire dept, outside fires are prohibited, please do not use any type of fire pit, fire bowl etc.
No Pets: We have a strict no pet policy, not even visiting pets are allowed in the house or on the property, sorry. Legitimate documented service animals must be registered with our office prior to being on the property regardless of any past housing arrangements.
Caring For The Home
Wall Hangings: For hanging posters/wall art, do NOT use any kind of tape, blue tack, command strips or other products using adhesive. In our experience, no matter what the package says, they WILL damage the wall. Please use only tacks or small pin or nail type picture hangers. Wall damage is one of the most common causes for security deposit deduction.
NO TV Mounts: We do not allow TV mounts attached to the wall, due to wires and plumbing inside the wall, and potential for damage. Many of our rentals are older homes with plaster walls which will easily be damaged by bolting things to the wall. Please use free standing TV stands or cabinets for your TV.
BBQ Grill Use: BBQ grills must be at least 4′ away from the siding, and never used on porches, decks, inside garages or other parts of the structure.
Protecting Floors From Damage
Furniture: Please use felt pads under ALL furniture on wood floors to prevent scratches/damage. Please do not allow any water/liquid to remain on any wood floors, including wet trash bags or snow melting from shoes/boots, the moisture will ruin the wood floors and cause them to swell resulting in permanent damage.
Bath Mats, Shower Curtains: Please pay close attention to your shower curtain, ensuring it is inside the shower or tub lip and it is sealed to both ends of the shower to prevent water from escaping. There must be a vinyl/plastic liner, a fabric shower curtain alone is not sufficient. A wet mat or a puddle on the floor after a shower is a sure indicator that water is escaping the shower. Chronic water leaks can cause mold and significant property damage.
Proper Use of Plumbing
Sink Drains: please do not put oil or grease down the drains. For cooking oil/grease pour it into a glass jar or metal can, allow it to cool, and dispose of it in the trash.
Toilets: only flush bodily waste and toilet paper; no paper towels, flushable wipes or feminine products. These items should be disposed of in the trash, as flushing them will cause damage/clogs to the plumbing system which you may be charged for.
Plumbing Clogs: The drains are clear at the start of the lease and any clogs thereafter are tenants responsibility. For toilets, it is important to have a good quality plunger handy, for sinks its important to have hair catchers in bathroom sinks and strainer screens in kitchens to prevent items from entering the plumbing. Click here for details on how best to deal with stopped up plumbing
Laundry Use and Care
Laundry: If your rental home includes access/use of laundry, be sure to clean the dryer lint filter after each use. The lint filter MUST be installed on every load. A buildup of lint is a fire hazard and will result in longer drying times and greater utility expense. If the washer makes loud banging or rattling noises this is most likely due to overloading or unbalanced loads. Try spreading the laundry out evenly around the wash tub and be sure not to put too much into one load.
Cold Weather Preparation
Prevent Costly Mistakes and Frozen Pipes! Below are several important steps to follow as the weather gets cold.
Keep Heat On: heat must remain on and set at min. 58 degrees between Oct 1st and April 31st (especially if you are away from the home IE Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, etc) to prevent water pipes from freezing, which can cause severe damage at the tenants expense.
Monitor Heating Fuel Tank Levels: In homes with oil or propane heating fuel, residents are responsible to be enrolled in automatic delivery and to monitor fuel tank levels to prevent running out of fuel, which may result in loss of heat and water pipes and other plumbing freezing, which can cause burst pipes and severe water damage, which would be a tenant expense. The oil companies may also charge an extra service fee to purge the heating system of air if it runs completely out.
Close Windows, Remove Window AC Units – Prevent your heat from escaping, remove and store any window AC units (an area of significant heat loss), close and lock windows. It may not be apparent, but the tops of some windows can remain open even when the lower section is closed. Click here for more info on locking windows.
Notify Us Promptly of Problems or Issues with your heating, call us immediately 413-225-1105 or 413-486-0750 after hours. A house will lose heat quite quickly during the cold weather.
Going Away For Break? Please click here for more important guidelines if you are away during the heating season (Thanksgiving, Winter Session, Spring Break are a few examples).
Cars and Parking
Snow Removal