<p>Son was offered an apartment rental for next year. Told us that he is signing his lease this week (they basically gave him 2 days to sign or he loses the apartment). He and roommates have agreed to sign the lease! Of course, he called for $$ since he needs to put down a deposit, and wants to make sure that we are covering that. Fortunately, he has the money to cover the deposit that he will be giving them in the meantime. Rental price is very reasonable, and this should not cost me more that R&B. I am relieved. He’ll have his own bedroom and bathroom.</p>
<p>HA! D signed her first lease w/o a cosigner for her grad school apartment AND she worked all summer to save up her own first months rent and deposit. It is very exciting to see her doing all this grown up stuff on her own and I don’t mind at all if she comes for dinner once a week and bring laundry with her and shops my pantry for staples for her place. I did not have to cosign nor am I paying her rent, insurance, etc. Yay for maturity.</p>
<p>somemom, Congratulations on her taking over the payments! Oh, my college undergraduate will be staying on a commuter mealplan. At least I know he will eat properly for one meal/day during the week.</p>
<p>Our son is in his third year of apartment living and it has been a great experience in addition to having his own bedroom. There have been absolutely no downsides to this that we can discern. He has made about a dozen very close friends and traveled one more mile toward independent adult life.</p>
<p>The number living in the three floor-12br row house has varied from 9-12 during the course of the 5 semesters thus far and the budget of $400/mo for room, board and utilities has been maintained. This has saved him a bit more than $4000/yr vs on campus lodgings. And he is closer to the academic campus than some of the upper class housing. All in all a very good choice.</p>
<p>somemom,
Like you, it was a pleasure to watch S#1 sign his first lease for a grad school apt. without a co-signer. It will be interesting to watch him budget for rent, food and entertainment and see how long the $$ lasts.</p>
<p>Yes, M3S, I am sure the end of the month will result in more meals home visiting mom & dad since we are less than an hour away 
I, too, am enjoying the earning and bugeting with her very own and only her own money included in the mix. I think my care packahe gifts will be more appreciated than in UG.</p>
<p>S signed his first apt. lease at the end of freshman year to hold the apt. for soph. year. I had to co-sign. He renewed the lease after 6 months (guaranteed no raise in rent). My signature was not required for that one. He is in his second year in the same apt. with same roommates. Pays for it with his merit scholarship that paid for R&B his freshman year. Still has the minimum meal plan so he can eat once a day while on campus. Now he says the roomies all want to get out of the apt. and get a house for their senior year…arrggh.</p>
<p>I just found out that we are going to need to cosign. The lease is for a year at a reasonable rent which includes utitiities. All roommates have their own lease. He plans on being there until he graduates.</p>
<p>I went to the walk through with my D and the landlord told me she prefered cosigners on college students, I explained D is an independent grad student with her own financial aid funding and would not need a co-signer. The landlord did not require I sign, which would have been bizarre as D had applied and been offered the apt based on her sig & credit alone, not mine, and paid a deposit.</p>
<p>I have also seen UGs be allowed no cosigner if they have a full financial aid package they submit to the landlord, which is nice. After a bad experience, I prefer not to cosign at all for any of the kids, if I can help it.</p>
<p>In my son’s case there is no walk through. This is a landlord’s market! The students race to apply, or camp out all night for the privilege of a lease. The students are all undergraduate full time students, so I guess parents need to cosign. They all need to live somewhere, and the chances of on campus housing after sophomore year are slim at his school. At least there is busing from the complex to campus. I am grateful for that!</p>
<p>As long as the other parents co-sign, they should be ok. In my S’s situation, not all of the apartment dwellers were signing at the same time, nor were their parents, but we had to get that straightened out real fast. There were also one or two subleters, but as long as they paid their share, it was ok. I think that S should go into the real estate/broker business, since it seems like he enjoys being a “landlord”.</p>
<p>Well in son’s case, one roommate signed already, the other 2 will sign tomorrow. I have no idea as to whether the parents are going to sign, or when they will sign. I don’t think that they will rent to these students without the parents signing.</p>