Off-Grounds housing may be some students' first step into the real world, and without the right information, it can be a slippery slope into late fees, landlord fights and roommate blues.
The University provides assistance to make this transition into independent living a smooth and easy one for all students. One organization that provides help is the Off-Grounds Housing Office, sponsored by Student Council.
The Off-Grounds Housing Office's "primary focus is education about living off-Grounds, [and their secondary objective is to work] with the local landlords and the city officials to overall improve students' living conditions," Off-Grounds Housing Manager Vicki Hawes said.
Hawes said the Off-Grounds Housing Office Web site is a resource where students can list things they want to sell, rides they need and apartments they are subletting. Students can also use the Web site to see houses landlords have listed for rent.
There are several reasons students should look at the services provided by the Off-Grounds Housing Office and other services before renting, Hawes said.
"I think looking at the Web site and/or coming in here and having a conversation with me would allow a student to maybe look at it from a different angle and consider things that they hadn't thought about," she said.
Hawes said she mostly deals with students who are having problems with their roommates or students who do not like their apartments and want to get out of their leases.
One difference between off-Grounds housing and on-Grounds housing is that if a student living on-Grounds does not like his or her roommate, he or she can go to the housing office and apply to change rooms.
"If you're off-Grounds, your landlord really could care less if you don't get along [with your roommate]," Hawes said. "You've got a contract on that apartment for 12 months, and if you can't get along, you need to find someone to take over your lease."
There is a link from the Off-Grounds Housing Office's Web site to another group that deals with leases and legal problems: Student Legal Services.
Student Legal Services helps students when "they are thinking about leasing and want to review lease procedures ... and after they've leased a place, whatever landlord or tenant problems arise," saidLester Wilson, director of Student Legal Services.
In addition, Wilson said staff will review specific lease agreements students are considering.
Wilson said many problems could be solved if students read over a list of lease signing tips posted on the Student Legal Services Web site. Some of the tips include having all roommates sign the lease at once and taking the time to talk to the current tenants about the property and landlord.
"It is important to consider these simple things in advance," Wilson said.
Curry graduate student Audrey Pearson said she found talking to the current tenants of her present house on Mulberry Avenue helpful. She said she has not had any problems renting there so far.
Pearson attributed much of her own success to good luck and her husband's research.
"Talking to the current tenants [and choosing to live with] people that you know are reliable" is helpful, Pearson said.
Advice on how to deal with and prevent roommate and landlord problems is also provided by University Mediation Services (UMS).
Before signing a lease, students can fill out a roommate agreement form -- similar to the first-year roommate agreement -- that "covers things like utilities [and] rent," said Wyatt Fore, third-year College student and Coordinator of UMS.
UMS also provides services for students after they move into their apartments or houses.
Students can "contact us by calling us, walking in or e-mailing us, and we'll set up a mediation," Fore said.
Mediations, Fore said, are offered to all students, whether the conflict is with a landlord or another student.
Common problems UMS deals with are "small things that build up over time," although all problems are different, Fore said.
Roommate problems can go way beyond whose turn it is to take out the trash. Fourth-year Commerce student Sabrina Putz said an issue arose last year when one of her housemates moved out without paying rent.
Putz said her rental company ended up referring herself and her housemates to Student Legal Services; however, they chose to work it out on their own by pooling their money together and using some of the deposit money they got back to pay the roommate's overdue rent.
Putz also said she had other problems while renting the house.
The rental company was "only taking one big check" for rent and "some people would be late," Putz explained.
Eventually, she said she and her housemates worked it out by paying an initial $25 fee to be able to submit individual rent checks.
This year, Putz said she down-scaled her living situation and is renting an apartment in The Grove on 13th Street with three other people.
"I learned not to live with so many people and people I don't know," Putz said.
First-year College student Elizabeth Turner said she will be moving off-Grounds next year to a townhouse on Chancellor Street with eight other people.
Turner and her roommates plan to "take turns writing the rent check" and will decide "who [writes the check for] what month for the whole year," Turner said.
Besides that, Turner said they have not established other rules about chores and bills.
Instead of referring to one of the previously-mentioned University services, Turner said her mom helped her with the process.
Turner, Putz and Pearson all said they did not contact the Off-Grounds Housing Office, Student Legal Services or University Mediation Services for help regarding renting.
Hawes said she talks to an average of 20 or 30 students a week at the Off-Grounds Housing Office, but Fore said UMS is not utilized to its full potential.
Fore added that some problems between tenants and landlords are taken to court and Student Legal Services when those issues instead could have been resolved with mediation.
"We get a fair number of students ... who take advantage of [UMS], but [the main problem is] that not many people know about it," Fore said.
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