Solve Our Puzzle
Thank you for participatingin the September Newsletter Puzzle. After a random drawing amongst all of our correct responses, Alexis Laury is our September winner, who won an Albertson’s Gift Card.
Find the answers to our crozzword puzzle in this month’s reminders and newsletter! Correct answers will be entered into a drawing for this month’s prize of Door Dash Gift Card, to order from your favorite restaurants! Please remember to help out local small businesses 🙂
Read this month’s reminders and newsletter below for clues. And don’t forget to read next month’s newsletter to see if you won! Good luck!
COVID-19 UPDATE
COVID-19 spread continues to escalate in the Treasure Valley. As reported on September 24: 39,234 cases in Idaho to date, 491 new cases confirmed and probable on 9/24. 457 deaths to date. The case data are based on surveillance system records provided by the public health districts. Stage 4 stay Healthy Guidelines remain in effect. State response efforts continue on a local or regional basis. For more information: https://coronavirus.idaho.gov/
Rent Assistance Available for COVID related hardship
Have you been affected by a COVID-19 related layoff or furlough and are stressing about making rent or being able to pay your utilities?
Fortunately, here in Idaho, there is help at hand to prevent tenants falling behind in rent. The Idaho Housing and Finance Association has a short-term assistance program in place to support tenants unable to pay their rent and/or utilities due to a COVID-19 related economic crisis. The tenant does not have to be in arrears in order to qualify. Documentation indicating a future inability to pay rent may be sufficient to qualify for the assistance. Typically applicant processing may take between 3-7 days with a further 7-10 days for the assistance to arrive. This program allows 3-months of assistance at a time with a total limit of six months assistance.
There are strict qualifying guidelines, check out the information provided in the links below.
If you are stressed by a COVID related income shortfall and you’re cutting back on essential needs to pay your rent, don’t delay, get help now!
FAQs: https://www.idahohousing.com/hpp-faq/
Application: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/9a22fe31cf6e4c45bfa475bebbca932b
Dedicated phone line for application assistance: 1-855-452-0801
Important Reminders
Fall is in the air! Keep cutting the grass though, the ideal height is 2 ½ to 3 inches. If the grass is too long going into winter dormancy it is susceptible to fungi like snow mold.
Keep watering into late October, at which point RMA sprinkler vendors will be making the rounds to blow out systems. You will receive email notification of when our vendor will be working in your neighborhood and remind you to turn off your sprinkler timer.
Please be sure to disconnect any hoses you may have attached to exterior water spigots. Water in the hose can freeze and expand into the spigot causing a crack in the spigot or water supply pipe. This can be a very costly repair, and you would be held responsible for the cost.
Some leaves are already beginning to fall, and we have weeks of leaf fall ahead of us. So get out the leaf rake, stock up on leaf bags and be prepared to rake once a week until all leaves are off the trees. For those of you living in Boise, leaves can be disposed of in your compost bin.
Our monthly reminder to change your furnace filters. This is so important, and after all the contaminated air we’ve had in September, you will want to have clean filters to ensure your air is free of allergens and dust.
Please continue to be mindful of where you park your car. If you do not have a garage or assigned parking place, please be sure not to obstruct access to your community or to someone’s private driveway. When you have guests over, please ask them to be respectful to your neighbors and avoid taking resident parking spaces.
If you have any maintenance concerns for your yard or your home, please CONTACT US! All maintenance concerns should be submitted through the property meld, accessed on our website, under the tenant Tab – Maintenance Request – Submit Work Order. Or click here.
Be Enlightened About Lightbulbs!
By Athena Savoglou
By now, you know that there are different types of lightbulbs out there. With today’s influx of information, you may be asking yourself whether it really makes a difference what type of light bulbs you use. The actual answer is that not all lightbulbs are created equal, based on three priorities we all share: cost, safety, and efficiency. To save you the time of sorting through countless articles on your own, we will break them down for you here, so your lightbulb shopping is as simple and cost-effective as can be.
You have likely come across three lightbulbs in your travels – Incandescent, CFL, and LED.
Incandescent bulbs are the original “classic” type of lightbulb, dating back to when lighting technology was invented. As great as that is, the new bulbs on the market today, also render incandescent bulbs the “lose-lose” lightbulb, as they are the least efficient (they have the shortest lifespan) and most expensive in terms of what you get out of them. So, all in all, if you don’t like spending unnecessary cash, steer clear of incandescent light bulbs.
Although the remaining two types, CFL and LED are more efficient and less expensive than the incandescent bulb, there is one glaring difference between the two. Only LED bulbs are allowed in apartments under RMA’s management. This is because it has come to fore in recent years that there are trace amounts of mercury in CFL bulbs. Even though the amount of mercury in one CFL bulb is not enough to hurt you, many CFL bulbs in your home or in landfills can be a different story for your safety and the environment. Additionally, they get way hotter than LED bulbs and can cause burns if touched, which can be especially dangerous for children and pets who might be curious.
So, all in all, our advice is to stick with LED bulbs. Aside from the fact that they are the only bulbs RMA allows, they really are the best route for cost, safety, and efficiency.
**Please do not forget about the available Energy Savings Kit from Idaho Power! If an Energy Savings Kit has not previously been claimed for your rental, you can claim a kit free of charge. It has lots of goodies worth quite a bit of money. Find it here.
If you have any further questions, please contact Realty Management Associates at any time!
October Puzzle
Complete our October crossword puzzle for a chance to win a Door Dash Gift Card! Clues are in this month’s reminders and newsletter above. Good luck!
Please email your responses to athena.rma@gmail.com.
