Hannah Schneider is a senior communications major and creative writing minor and writes 'Schneid Comments' for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Hannah at hmschneider@bsu.edu.
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We just got back to campus! If you’re a freshman, that could mean you haven’t even found your favorite bathroom to rush to in emergencies or when you want to hide for 10 people-less minutes.
It’s the fourth week, and guess what message I got on my phone yesterday? That my leasing company will be showing my house today. Not to worry though, if I want to live in my house next year, I just have to sign by Sept. 15.
That really doesn’t matter to me at the moment because I am a senior and won’t be returning; however, last year, I did scramble with my roommates to keep my house during the first three weeks of school — before we really knew whether the dynamics of the house would work for the coming year. But, as my rental company says, “Unfortunately that’s the nature of student leasing.” A nature that usually benefits rental companies, not students.
My advice is this: when in doubt, wait. Leasing agents are usually students or people hired just out of college. They are after a tantalizing commission from you when you sign your lease and therefore will make it sound like the best company, the best place to live and the spot is going FAST so you should sign now. There is some truth to this. I am not writing this to blacklist leasing companies because they are, after all, simply making a living like they should be allowed to do.
But I am writing this to speak from experience and to encourage students moving off-campus to realize these companies do not have your best interest in mind, they have their best interest in mind. That’s how business works, but it can be easy to not realize this until after you’ve signed a lease.
Leases are messy, complicated adult things that many people sign before they really feel confident in their decision. This means that you could be in a real pickle if you are pressured to sign at a fantastic, luxurious, affordable place during the first month of school, and then certain factors change in your life, and this lease becomes a suffocating bind that keeps you locked in unless you scour for another person.
There are tons of Facebook groups dedicated to housing, buy sell trade and textbook rental. However, if you scroll through the groups nearing the spring and summer, they are littered with posts advertising the need for someone to take over a lease for them. Stuff happens, and leases don’t really have a lot of wiggle room.
This isn’t an admonishment for moving off campus. I love off-campus life, with all its challenges and joys, all the broken and smashed porcelain toilets littering Dicks street — not kidding about that one. I simply urge you to resist the overwhelming feeling to jump when an agent says so. There are always more leases available and there are tons of places to choose from in many price ranges.
However, there are very few options for you once you sign a lease and you realize you need to change that decision. Know your rights as a renter, what you deserve from your company, what you are paying for and what your lease says. Make sure that you are ready to deal with conflict with your roommates in a healthy, productive way and make sure that you have a similar system in mind when it comes to the way you all want to run a house.
There is a reason residence halls exist. I fully appreciated my time in them, but they are also incredibly expensive. That expense tries and attempts to ensure your safety, rights, enrichment through their staff, programs and security. Leasing companies want you to pay your bill and not burn your house down or start a petting zoo in your basement. There is merit to the lack of rules and regulations. You have to figure it all out on your own, and there is a lot more room to grow.
Maybe you’re ready or maybe you will realize it’s a lot more of an undertaking that you originally anticipated, but my hope for students currently seeking a place to live is that you decide for yourself when you’re ready instead of being pressured into signing because of a 24-hour deadline. It’s important in college to have a healthy environment and a good start to be able to think, deliberate and evaluate all of the resources and options available to you. Happy house hunting!
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