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Frequently Asked Questions
Will I have my own bedroom? Do we roommate match? Find answers to your most pressing questions right here on our FAQ page!
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HOW CAN I SEE AN AVAILABLE APARTMENT AT COLLEGE STATION?Call us to set up at tour at 484-431-5812 or email us at CollegeStation@CollegeTownCommunities.com.
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DO I NEED TO ALREADY HAVE ROOMMATES OR CAN A ROOMMATE BE ASSIGNED?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.
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ARE THESE UNITS FURNISHED?COLLEGE STATION: 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.
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WHAT APPLIANCES ARE INCLUDED?All kitchens include custom cabinetry, a full-sized refrigerator, a range/stove, ventilation hood, and garbage disposal.
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ARE UTILITIES INCLUDED IN THE RENTAL AMOUNT?ALL utilities are included, (200+ mbps highspeed internet with password protected Wi-Fi, electric, water, sewer and trash.) Contact the leasing office for complete details
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WHAT IS INCLUDED IN MY RENT PAYMENT?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.
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IS THERE A SECURITY DEPOSIT?No, we do not charge a security deposit!
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WHEN DO I PAY RENT?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.
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HOW DO I PAY RENT?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!
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IS PARKING AVAILABLE ON SITE?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.
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WHO IS ALLOWED TO LIVE AT THESE FACILITIES?College Station is an all-student off-campus housing facility.
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CAN GUESTS/VISITORS STAY OVERNIGHT?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.
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WHAT SAFETY MEASURES ARE TAKEN BY MANAGEMENT?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.
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WILL I HAVE A PRIVATE BEDROOM?ALL residents will have their own bedroom.
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WILL I HAVE A PRIVATE BATHROOM?FOUR BEDROOM SUITE-STYLE APARTMENT: There are two full bathrooms provided for each four person apartment. (Individual sink and vanity area per person as well.) TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT: Each bedroom has its own private bathroom.
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HOW ARE THE UNITS RENTED?Each resident will have their own lease per bedroom.
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HOW FAR FROM CAMPUS IS COLLEGE STATION?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.
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ARE PETS ALLOWED?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 and here or by calling the toll-free PA Fair Housing hotline at 855-866-5718.
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ARE THERE LAUNDRY FACILITIES?There is one laundry room on each floor at College Station. All laundry rooms are secure and monitored.
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WHEN WOULD I MOVE IN?All leases for the 2024-25 school year will begin on August 16, 2024.
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HOW LONG IS A LEASE TERM?We offer both school-year and full-year leases! School-year leases run through May 21, 2025, and full-year leases run through July 23, 2025.
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DO YOU PERFORM BACKGROUND OR CREDIT CHECKS DURING THE APPLICATION PROCESS?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.
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IS THERE AN APPLICATION FEE?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.
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WHO PAYS AN ADMINISTRATIVE/FACILITIES FEE, AND WHAT DOES IT COVER?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.
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IS ALCOHOL PERMITTED IN MY UNIT?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.
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MAY I PAINT THE WALLS IN MY UNIT?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.
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DO I NEED TO BRING MY OWN BEDDING OR WINDOW TREATMENTS?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.
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ARE YOUR FACILITIES DIRECTLY AFFILIATED WITH PENN STATE UNIVERSITY?We work closely with the Penn State Abington campus but are a privately owned company.
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CAN GRANTS, SCHOLARSHIPS, STUDENT LOANS, OR FINANCIAL AID BE APPLIED TOWARDS RENT?"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. If a rental payment is due and the tenant has not received their source of aid yet, proper documentation of this delay in aid must be presented to management in order to avoid any late fees to your account.
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WHO DO I MAKE MY RENT OR SECURITY DEPOSIT CHECK PAYABLE TO?Make checks payable to College Town Communities.
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