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How soon in advance can I secure a Corporate Housing unit?

Your lease start date should be confirmed within a 7-day window or a search cannot be done as it will not yield proper results. The start date should also be within the next 6 weeks for accurate availability. Vacancies are often unknown due to the fact that most tenants need to give 30 days written notice to vacate or exercise their right to extend. Additionally, vendors don’t like to ‘hold up’ an available unit due to the costs associated with vacancies. If your needs for corporate housing are within 48 hours, a short hotel stay may be required prior to your move in date but everything will be done to provide the move in date you require.

What is Corporate Housing?

Corporate Housing units are apartments in rental communities that are leased and turned into ‘turnkey’ housing. They include furniture, housewares, appliances, alarm clock, bedding, towels, utilities with an established ‘cap’, and cable. They usually include a DVD player and internet access. Generally, the beds are queen sized. (Tenants may need to alter their furniture package due to bedding requirements, etc. Please note that charges for furniture swaps, additions, or upgrades may apply depending on the unit and when the change is made.) A tenant need only bring their luggage and bathroom appliances and do grocery shopping upon arrival. Due to insurance reasons, baby furniture is not provided and must be brought, if necessary, by the tenant. Due to their ‘all inclusive’ set up, corporate housing units are costly but they are usually less costly than a hotel stay with ‘home like’ surroundings and, therefore, a preference of most companies.

What information will you need from me?

Aside from start date and lease term, we’ll need to know who will be occupying the unit so the unit will have appropriate bed set up. (Two twins in additional bedrooms, one double, etc.) If you will be bringing a pet, we’ll need to know the breed and weight of any pet as this is critical to the search. There will be a pet fee of $150-$500 and up per pet which is a type of ‘depreciation’ surcharge for an apartment that houses pets as well as for its furnishings and contents. Any additional cleaning needed after the apartment is vacated and any damages done to the apartment and its furnishings and contents are the responsibility of the tenant. If a pet fee is charged and accepted via the lease terms and you decide not to bring the pet, you must notify Corporate Comforts PRIOR to the start of your lease or risk that the pet fee will be imposed REGARDLESS of the pet’s tenancy. In most instances, a pet fee – once accepted and imposed – CANNOT be ‘reversed’, ‘canceled’, or ‘refunded’. In other words, once your tenancy begins, you cannot claim that your pet didn’t check in and anticipate a credit of the pet fee. Properties will charge the ENTIRE pet fee for one minute of a pet’s tenancy, therefore, once a lease term has begun, they will not refund this fee as they have no proof the pet did not check in with you.

Corporate Comforts strongly recommends you that obtain renter’s insurance to protect your personal belongings during your occupancy in the apartment. Renter’s insurance may be required as a condition of the property. If you still own a home, your homeowner’s policy should insure your rental, please refer to your insurance carrier for further information.

Since the tragedy of September 11th, 2001, criminal background checks are quickly becoming the national standard as a pre-tenancy requirement. You may be forwarded a criminal background check form with your property information that you should complete quickly and return to secure your tenancy.

Can I preview the unit prior to leasing it?

Due to the nature of relocation, over 99% of corporate housing units are leased ‘sight unseen’ by prospective tenants. Therefore, availability changes rapidly and a sense of urgency must be adopted to secure a property once it has been found. Those prospective tenants that insist on previewing a unit should know that, not only do they risk losing the unit, (they most likely will lose the unit in the Summer months when demand levels are at their highest) it is likely that they can only see the property but not the actual unit due to tenancies. Additionally, the property rental office is not usually the corporate housing provider so the property personnel cannot be relied upon for availability and pricing information of the corporate housing apartment. They can only show the property and, sometimes, a vacant unit or model in the complex that may or may not be identical to the one the vendor has available. Due to the multi-tiered nature of corporate housing, the rental office may not recognize the Corporate Comforts name or your name. Due to the forces of supply and demand, it is also possible that two identical corporate housing units can be leased for different rents.

Can I add or change amenities?

Additional services such as maid service and garage parking are usually available for additional fees. Generally, the beds are queen sized. (Tenants may need to alter their furniture package due to bedding requirements, etc. Please note that charges for furniture swaps, additions, or upgrades may apply depending on the unit and when the change is made.) As corporate housing vendors are usually charged business rates for long distance, a phone card is suggested rather than adding the costly service. An additional suggestion is for you to have your mail forwarded to a post office box or your office rather than using your new address at the unit to avoid an additional ‘forwarding’ of your mail once you vacate the corporate housing unit. Some of your mail may wind up in the next tenants hands; a situation many are not comfortable with.

Is my stay flexible?

It is within certain parameters. A lease cannot be ‘cancelled’ if, after you’ve leased a unit, you decide that less time was needed. Even though there is a 30-day minimum stay required, there is usually no minimum number of days that a lease can be extended. Once extended, there is a new lease end date that also cannot be cancelled. To extend a lease, your request must be submitted in writing to Corporate Comforts, preferably via email. An extension cannot be guaranteed if your request is not received 30 days prior to your lease end. To vacate your unit, you are also required to serve this notice in writing 30 days prior to your lease end date. Therefore, if a 30-day lease is taken, notice must be served at lease inception and an extension may not be possible. If a tenant who has not served 30 days notice for an extension in writing remains in the unit past the lease end date, a holdover tenancy is created with additional fees, penalties, and charges associated with it that will be imposed on the tenant. In some cases, the penalties can be 200% or more of the present rent. Needless to say, holdover tenancies should be avoided.

What is the placement process and how long does it take?

It takes, on average, 3 to 5 days from initial contact to placement, though it can be more or less depending on individual variables.

A search will be done which will yield the best property based on your needs and preference. This can take one to several days depending on the difficulty associated with an area of the nation and the urgency of your needs. Usually only one option is presented as the search system is designed to present the ‘best’ option. As Corporate Comforts only deals in ‘A’ properties where available (newer construction, most amenities, etc.) a second option would probably be identical in price, age, location, and rating but missing an amenity that the first one had. If more than one option is presented that match in amenities, both will be offered, but most often it will be one. If we are given a preference for complex, we will alert our vendors to that preference and offer it if the vendor has this preference as an option in their inventory. It is almost impossible to ‘create’ a business relationship between a vendor and a preferred complex to satisfy the tenant preference in time for their arrival. Therefore, the preference will be prioritized, but – unless it is a complex of vendor choice – it is not probable that the preference will be satisfied.

A property photo, description, and cost will be emailed to you or you’ll be directed to a website for viewing the property and description.

Once you accept the unit, the lease including credit card authorization (for rent and/or damages), notice to vacate, check in information, and directions will be sent to you via email.

The signer of the lease is the lessee and will be responsible to act in accordance with the terms and conditions of the lease.

Once the necessary documents are signed by you and returned via fax, you’ll have all the information necessary to check in the afternoon of your lease start date and the unit will be secured. You’ll be all set to move into your temporary home!

Is there anything I will need to do after I check in?

Upon check-in, you must let us know, within 48 hours, if there are damages to the unit or its furnishings and contents – beyond normal wear and tear – so we can inform the complex and avoid having charges imposed on you for another tenant’s damages.

During your tenancy, you must remember to communicate to Corporate Comforts – not the complex – your intentions for an extension or confirm your vacate date during the time prescribed by your lease. If any utility bills are delivered to your unit, you must alert Corporate Comforts immediately of the utility company error so we can correct the error and avoid disruption of your service.

Upon check-out, you must leave the unit clean and as you found it and return the keys. Please, also remember to check out by the time specified on your lease to avoid re-keying charges, additional rent and holdover fees.

Enjoy your stay!