Question 1

WHAT IS RENT REPORTING?

Accepted Answer

Rent Reporting is an optional credit reporting and financial tool provided by Homebody Insurance Agency, LLC and its affiliate, Simplified Business Group, LLS, also known as Rent Dynamics. For a monthly fee of $8.95, Rent Reporting reports your rent and utility payments (if utilities are not included in your rent) to one or more consumer reporting agencies, such as Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. Each rent and utility payment made on time helps build your credit over time, payment by payment, month by month, year by year… even if it’s your guarantor making the payment OR you receive financial aid! Imagine what four years of paying rent on time can do for your credit score!

Question 2

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HAVING RENT REPORTING?

Accepted Answer

Your credit score is a number that tells lenders if you usually pay your bills on time, are able to keep your credit card balances low, and are able to manage different types of credit. So when you make on-time payments, your credit score may improve or remain the same if it’s already high. However, as someone who rents an apartment, you’re not building your credit history by paying rent on time. Why not? Because rent isn’t considered debt, and paying off debt is typically what builds credit. Rent Reporting is a tool you can use to your advantage because each on-time payment is reported to the very credit bureaus that report these scores to car dealers, mortgage lenders, a future landlord, etc.

Question 3

WHAT IF I WANT TO CANCEL RENT REPORTING?

Accepted Answer

The Rent Reporting Addendum is included in your Lease Agreement. However, you may cancel at any time after signing by using the Homebody app, sending a written notice of termination to Homebody at 4205 Chapel Ridge Road, Lehi, Utah 84043, ATTN: Rent Reporting Service Charge, or by emailing rentreporting@homebody.com.(mailto:rentreporting@homebody.com) To avoid being charged for the next month, cancellations must be received at least ten (10) days before the end of the current month.

Note: If your lease is joint and several (i.e., shared with roommates), each resident must cancel individually to opt out of the program.

Question 4

HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT RENT REPORTING?

Accepted Answer

More information can be found online at https://www.homebody.com/products/rent-reporting. In addition to learning about Rent Reporting here, we encourage you to click on the various tools on the Homebody website to learn more about money management. What’s the highest credit score possible? How can I improve my credit score? What credit score do I have to have to buy a car? Or even a house? It’s never too soon to begin thinking about what your financial future holds!

Question 5

HOW CAN I SEE AN AVAILABLE APARTMENT AT COLLEGE STATION?

Accepted Answer

Call us to set up at tour at 484-431-5812 or email us at CollegeStation@CollegeTownCommunities.com.

Question 6

DO I NEED TO ALREADY HAVE ROOMMATES OR CAN A ROOMMATE BE ASSIGNED?

Accepted Answer

Any student will be accommodated at College Station. If you already have other students that you know you would like to live with, you will be placed with them, within the same apartment. If you are looking by yourself, you will be put on our “Roommate Needed List” and matched with other single tenants of the same gender using our Roommate Matching System. The roommate matching questionnaire is part of your initial application that you fill out prior to signing a lease to live at College Station. We use your answers to this questionnaire and compare them with other residents’ answers and match everyone accordingly.

Question 7

ARE THESE UNITS FURNISHED?

Accepted Answer

All units are completely furnished. Furnishings include: leather couches, coffee table, dining table with four chairs, full-sized bed with hypoallergenic mattress, desk with locking drawer, desk chair, five drawer dresser, and a 55” HDTV in every living room.

Question 8

WHAT APPLIANCES ARE INCLUDED?

Accepted Answer

All kitchens include custom cabinetry, a full-sized refrigerator, a range/stove, ventilation hood, and garbage disposal.

Question 9

ARE UTILITIES INCLUDED IN THE RENTAL AMOUNT?

Accepted Answer

ALL utilities are included, (200+ mbps highspeed internet with password protected Wi-Fi, electric, water, sewer and trash.) Contact the leasing office (javascript:void(0))for complete details

Question 10

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN MY RENT PAYMENT?

Accepted Answer

Your rental payment includes: access to the entire facility for the complete duration of your lease term, access to our sister property's (551 North) Clubhouse (with fitness center, cafe with free Starbucks coffee, game tables, business center with free printing, fire side lounge, and leasing office), a fully-furnished apartment, all utilities, free on-site parking, free laundry, secure mail and package storage, and after hours 3rd party security.

Question 11

IS THERE A SECURITY DEPOSIT?

Accepted Answer

No, we do not charge a security deposit!

Question 12

WHEN DO I PAY RENT?

Accepted Answer

Rent is to be paid by the 1st of every month of your contract. Arrangements can be made to pay a full semester in advance or a full year in advance if that is desired by the resident.

Question 13

HOW DO I PAY RENT?

Accepted Answer

Rent payments can be made by check, money order, wire transfer, credit or debit cards (No cash will be accepted) in the Leasing Office or online through your Resident Portal account. Most debit cards have a daily limit for charges, so check with your bank to be sure you have the ability to make large payments before attempting payment. Convenience fees will apply to any online payment and vary depending on your payment method. College Town Communities splits these fees with you and pays half, so the fee you pay is actually half of the entire fee. Checks are the cheapest way to pay!

Question 14

IS PARKING AVAILABLE ON SITE?

Accepted Answer

Onsite parking is available for residents at no additional charge. Every resident must obtain a Parking Permit Sticker from the Leasing Office in order to be permitted to park in the onsite parking lot. Any vehicle parked in the parking lot without a parking sticker will be towed upon discovery. These actions are taken to preserve safe and well-lit parking.

Question 15

WHO IS ALLOWED TO LIVE AT THESE FACILITIES?

Accepted Answer

College Station is an all-student off-campus housing facility.

Question 16

CAN GUESTS/VISITORS STAY OVERNIGHT?

Accepted Answer

Any resident is allowed to have a guest visit or spend the night at any time without the need to register or sign them in. However, a guest is not allowed to stay for more the 3 days at a time. Roommate consideration must be taken into account with all visitors. Guests must be accompanied by the resident whom they are visiting at all times when inside the apartment.

Question 17

WHAT SAFETY MEASURES ARE TAKEN BY MANAGEMENT?

Accepted Answer

Leasing Office: Located at 551 North York Road (at our sister property 551 North) Willow Grove PA, our fully staffed leasing office is open from 10am-5pm Monday-Friday.  Saturdays 10am-3pm.

After Hours: There is after-hours, 3rd party security. All residents are to call the office phone number 484-431-5812 for any after-hours issues or concerns.  Security is there to assist residents with any potential lock outs or if a resident is returning home late at night and would like their presence to escort them into the building, or to contact them if they accidentally burn something on the stove. College Town Communities 24 hour maintenance personnel are available by calling this same number.

Keys and Locks: All apartment entry doors and bedroom doors at College Station are equipped with a Schlage “Key Fob” lock system.  Each of these locks are deadbolt locks, installed on solid core doors, which allow for maximum safety.  Both the keys and the locks allow management to track activity and potential misuse of any area by their individual coding. These keys are not reproducible by the resident and can be taken offline immediately in the event that a resident’s key is ever lost or stolen.  All exterior building doors lock every time they close, so non-residents are unable to enter without the assistance of a resident. If these doors are “propped open” or held open an alarm will sound after 30 seconds alerting staff and residents that the door is not closed properly.
 
Parking Permit: Each resident that is interested in keeping a vehicle on property must register the vehicle through the Leasing Office. Each resident is assigned a numbered parking permit that is then tracked through our software management system and monitored by BOTH our on-site staff and contracted towing service. Any vehicle found to be parking on property without a Resident Parking Permit or Registered Guest Parking Pass will be towed upon discovery.

Lighting: Both parking lot and building entry lighting are set to be on from Dusk ‘til Dawn every day, any time of year.
 
Security Cameras: There are 80+ security cameras located around the facilities covering all entrances, outdoor and indoor common areas, as well as parking areas.  Security cameras cannot stop something from happening, but they are an excellent deterrent against wrong doing.

Fire Protection: College Station is equipped with full building sprinkler systems. College Station is also equipped with a fully addressable and monitored, interconnected fire protection system. This means that all smoke detectors within the apartment unit are individually identifiable, which sends an alert to management and their after-hours security/ on-call staff to alert them every time a smoke alarm goes off. All smoke alerts that are received are checked, in person, by staff. Common area hallway smoke detectors and pull stations are connected to a Central Station, 3rd party, alarm monitoring company that immediately calls the police and fire department if those alarms are ever triggered. Every apartment unit is also provided a fire extinguisher, either under the kitchen sink or adjacent to the kitchen hanging on the wall. All extinguishers are inspected annually by a 3rd party fire protection company to make sure that they are in working order.

Question 18

WILL I HAVE A PRIVATE BEDROOM?

Accepted Answer

ALL residents will have their own bedroom.

Question 19

WILL I HAVE A PRIVATE BATHROOM?

Accepted Answer

There are two full bathrooms provided for each four person apartment. (Individual sink and vanity area per person as well.)

Question 20

HOW ARE THE UNITS RENTED?

Accepted Answer

Each resident will have their own lease per bedroom.

Question 21

HOW FAR FROM CAMPUS IS COLLEGE STATION?

Accepted Answer

College Station is less than 3 miles from the Penn State Abington Campus, next to a Giant Grocery store and the Willow Grove Train Station. Walk to the Willow Grove Mall, and Wawa convenience store.

Question 22

ARE PETS ALLOWED?

Accepted Answer

No. Pets are not allowed at College Station. No pets are allowed to “visit” any of the facilities at any time either.
 
Following guidelines pursuant to the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, College Town Communities is committed to making reasonable accommodations to allow a Service Animal or Emotional Support Animal (ESA) to live with a resident in the Leased Premises. Applicants and current residents requesting such accommodations must contact the Leasing Office prior to bringing the Service Animal or ESA on property, complete all necessary paperwork required by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, and be granted written permission by Landlord in order to do so. More information regarding your rights and responsibilities to allow a Service Animal or Emotional Support Animal to live with you in the Leased Premises can be found here (https://www.phrc.pa.gov/About-Us/Publications/Documents/General%20Publications/support%20animal%20facts%20070213.pdf)and here (https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PA/documents/HUDAsstAnimalNC1-28-2020.pdf)or by calling the toll-free PA Fair Housing hotline at 855-866-5718.

Question 23

ARE THERE LAUNDRY FACILITIES?

Accepted Answer

There is one laundry room on each floor at College Station. All laundry rooms are secure and monitored.

Question 24

WHEN WOULD I MOVE IN?

Accepted Answer

All leases for the 2026-27 school year will begin on August 14, 2026.

Question 25

HOW LONG IS A LEASE TERM?

Accepted Answer

We offer both school-year and full-year leases.  School-year leases run through May 29, 2027, and full-year leases run through July 21, 2027.

Question 26

DO YOU PERFORM BACKGROUND OR CREDIT CHECKS DURING THE APPLICATION PROCESS?

Accepted Answer

Background checks are performed on every resident who wants to live at College Station. A credit check is performed separately on the guarantor for each resident.

Question 27

IS THERE AN APPLICATION FEE?

Accepted Answer

No, there is no fee to apply to live at College Station. There is, however, a $299 Administrative/Facilities Fee once you have decided to complete a lease.
 
The Administrative/Facilities Fee is a nonrefundable annual fee due at lease signing for all applicants and renewals. The fee covers the online application process, renewal lease generation, resident and guarantor screening, on-site security, annual lock programming, 24-7 access to the online Resident Portal, security camera monitoring and maintenance, and after-hours call center services.

Question 28

WHO PAYS AN ADMINISTRATIVE/FACILITIES FEE, AND WHAT DOES IT COVER?

Accepted Answer

The Administrative/Facilities Fee is a nonrefundable annual fee due at lease signing for all applicants and renewals. The fee covers the online application process, renewal lease generation, resident and guarantor screening, on-site security, annual lock programming, 24-7 access to the online Resident Portal, security camera monitoring and maintenance, and after-hours call center services.

Question 29

IS ALCOHOL PERMITTED IN MY UNIT?

Accepted Answer

Assuming you are of the legal age, you may consume alcohol in your apartment. No alcohol is permitted in the outdoor areas and we ask you to respect all community guidelines.

Question 30

MAY I PAINT THE WALLS IN MY UNIT?

Accepted Answer

No. The apartments are already painted. You may decorate your apartments with posters, tapestries, Christmas lights, etc. Please use thumb tacks or nails when hanging things on the walls. Do not use tape, glue, gummy poster hangers, 3M double sided sticky pads, etc. Do not use wall decals, as they will delaminate the face of the drywall. Any unnecessary damage to the apartment walls could lead to you having to pay for repairs.

Question 31

DO I NEED TO BRING MY OWN BEDDING OR WINDOW TREATMENTS?

Accepted Answer

We provide a full-sized bed frame and full-sized mattress. You will need to bring a mattress pad, sheets, blankets, comforters, pillows and bed spread. Every apartment includes mini blinds on each window and you may add window treatments if you desire, but the blinds must stay in place.

Question 32

ARE YOUR FACILITIES DIRECTLY AFFILIATED WITH PENN STATE UNIVERSITY?

Accepted Answer

We work closely with Penn State Abington but are a privately owned company.

Question 33

CAN GRANTS, SCHOLARSHIPS, STUDENT LOANS, OR FINANCIAL AID BE APPLIED TOWARDS RENT?"

Accepted Answer

Yes. You may use financial aid proceeds or any other 3rd party payment process to pay for your rent at any of our facilities. Typically financial aid proceeds are dispersed directly to the student who in turn can then use those proceeds to pay for housing.

Question 34

WHO DO I MAKE MY RENT CHECK PAYABLE TO?

Accepted Answer

Make checks payable to College Town Communities.

Frequently Asked Questions