Housing Wars!!
By: Zach Karamalegos, Taurian Houston, Chris Patterson and Alex Duty
You have just survived living on campus and have had enough. It’s now time for you to move on to the next big step in college: off campus housing. However, are you ready for the war that is waging right outside the campus limits? Apartment complexes out there are desperately seeking new people to lease their units, and will seemingly do anything or offer anything to get the all important signature on the dotted line.
We will break down the battles as well as, how you can survive it while coming out on top in a few categories: pricing games, give-aways, security concerns, and amenities. If you are ready, the first major step is preparing yourself. Are you prepared to take on a lease that can keep you in the same place for upwards to a full year? If so, have some things planned out so you are ahead of the game, and can turn the smaller battles in your favor. The lease is the most devastating weapon these companies have to use against you. So turn it around and use it to your advantage. Remember you don’t have to sign the first lease that is handed to you. Try shopping around a bit and use the power of choice as well as your brain to find what best works for you. Watch out for tactics like bogus give-aways ultimatly used to entice you to sign as fast as possible. Be skeptical and ask questions. It’s their job to get that all important signature, that is really all they care about. Use the power of choice to your advantage and begin turn the smaller battles in your favor. Every battle won helps the overall war become less formidable.
The prices of these units varies immensely, problem is, there are so many unknowns with the pricing. Sometimes you may think you’re getting a solid rate but when the hidden fees and additional costs get added in, that same rate doesn’t look as good as it once was or once advertised. So try to ask questions and come prepared. Give examples of other similar units in the area, and inquire about the differences in price. All they really want is a signature on dotted lines, so any information you seek, they will try to give you. Watch out for deposits and other fees that can come up. They are usually upfront about these, so it’s your task to inquire about the full charges you are about to jump into. Soldiers don’t go into battle leaving their brains at the base, so neither should you.
The battle fronts of amenities and security concerns are two important battles that can alter the outcome of the entire war. Choosing an apartment complex or home that fits your life style is very important. Make sure before you are about to sign, you are getting everything or pretty much everything you wanted. If not, simply take your business elsewhere. You have the power of choice here, don’t allow someone that works for the company talk up their amenities. Take the initiative and judge them for yourself. The buck stops and starts with you, as does this battle over amenities: it’s all your choice. The same goes with security. If you have serious safety concerns, maybe a gated community would be the right fit for you. If that’s not an available possibility, then simply use the local police station’s crime reports and research which apartment complexes or areas are crime safe havens. Unless being mugged or robbed at gun point is your thing, you might want to use all the information available to you regarding your safety. Soldiers don’t blindly march into a battle without any weapons or a plan. Let these two battle fronts mold your plan of attack.
Remember, this is a winnable war that can have very beneficial results. Use all the tools necessary so you’re able to find a home that fits you. That is the true bottom line here. These are not short term investments and you will to be a part of a community for a while. So get to know some people in the area, they will give the best advice or tips. Last but not least, the methodology of war is not a sprint. It’s a long process consisting of smaller battles, it’s your task to turn those smaller battles in your favor. Use every method out there to get the best deal possible. If you use all these suggestions or at least ponder them as you are looking: I guarantee you will enjoy your newly acquired non-dorm home a whole lot more if you do and will forever wonder how you survived on-campus housing.
Filed under: 2008 Fall, Community Convergent News
I thought this presentation was great. Housing is such a big issue that effects all students here at ECU. So many students worry about where they are going to live each year, where their friends are living, and where the newest and coolest apartments are. This presentation takes a different look at signing leasing agreements with apartment complexes and urges students to take a better look at what they may be getting themselves into.
I really enjoyed reading this peice. The biggest issue students have after their first year is figuring out where they want to live next year off campus. Students are usually more concerned with where all their friends are living, they don’t take the time to actually read the fine print and see what the lease entails. Students don’t realize that apartment complexes will do anything to suck them in and get them to sign a lease do due emotional appeal rather than what they can afford, etc.
I really enjoyed this article. It is very easy to understand and gives students valuable information that many us( as students) do not know about. A person like me would still be clueless about leasing out apartments if I had not read this article, so I really appreciate you informing people like me about these types of things. I’ve seen many adds where they say you can get a coach bag or a Wii if you sign their lease. I always wondered about that cause I figure there has to be a catch.
When i was a freshman looking for a place to live sophomore year, reading this would have made house hunting a lot easier. This article has a lot of friendly (and smart) tips that i wasn’t aware of until now. I had no idea that you could look at past crime reports through the police and be able to see which apartment complex’s had safety issues and which ones would give you ultimate protection. I believe this is a well written piece and definitely adheres to what really goes on off-campus. Unfortunately this piece came to late for me but I’m sure other students reading this will learn a lot and hopefully follow some of the authors advice.