Not necessary true. Your kid could always find another roommate, I am sure the landlord wouldn’t care who lives there as long as he/she could afford it.
I did put in one of my kid’s contract - my kid would have the right to find a new roommate first, in the event if she couldn’t then the landlord could lease it to another student who goes to the same school as my kid and only to another female.
When it comes to share a rental with people, you and your kid need to figure out what’s your risk tolerance when it comes to missed rent or property damage. Most of the time everything goes without a hitch, but sometimes things could go very wrong. You won’t be able to get a contract to protect you from everything, but it should cover what’s really important to you.
@1214mom, less kids less drama and chaos, unfortunately the area that is closest to the one campus she has most classes is residential with mostly single houses, the one they are interested in is only one block from campus, basically the moment you cross the street, it is campus ground. Any apartment or condo will be too far to walk to classes.
The house they are interested in is a single split level house, 3 kids upstairs, 3 kids down. I think 5 out of the 6 kids belong to the co-ed fraternity, which I never heard of such before. Co-ed fraternity focus on service, honor and charity.
The one lease concerns me, but so far all 3 houses they have looked at will be one lease, I guess landlords do not want the headaches, they just want their monthly rent. I don’t have the heart to tell my D that she can’t move to an off campus house if “individual lease” is not offered, when most landlords in that area won’t give individual lease. I just hope kids (or their parents) will be responsible people, if not, those remaining have to pay the difference or hurry up to find a replacement.
She didn’t expect us to say yes to her moving out of dorm (especially her dad), she is SO happy that we did.
DEFINITELY get renter’s insurance! The place I lived required it, but if it wasn’t for that, I never would’ve thought to get it. Then in December the building burned down. All I can say is the insurance really saved the day!
Younger d had a situation in her off-campus house in which the house itself was sold and the new owner wanted the tenants to “buy” a washing machine that they could choose which they could then “sell” to the next group of students the following year. Needless to say everyone objected and got the landlord to either agree to wait and replace the washing machine himself for the next tenants or just replace it and not involve them or expect them to lay out money at an appliance store for a major appliance that needless to say none of them would know what to buy or look for and didn’t have time to to shop for or wait for delivery/installation either.
^ Wow, I can’t imagine any group of students wanting to buy and then sell a washing machine.lol
I just reviewed my nephew’s lease for next year. He lives in Boulder, and in an expensive part, but the lease was really outrageous. It listed the rent for the entire term - $43k. It had a deposit of $7000 or so, and most of that would not be refunded as it covers snow removal (sidewalks only, they have to shovel their own walk and driveway), re-keying the locks, carpet cleaning, trash. Of course if there is any damage, that will be deducted. I think that $7 grand will be forfeited. They have to arrange for all their own utilities. There is no ‘right to renew’ and they might not get picked as the next tenants. There is a fee for paying monthly. Yep, unless they want to pay $43k now, they pay a 1-2% fee. There are fees for changing the utilities, for extra guests, for this or that. There is a $50 bad check fee, a huge late fee and a daily late fee. They actually have to go to a class on being a tenant in this area that I think is put on by the city and covers things like sofas on the porch (no), parking (many rules), parties (many rules), pets (basically no), noise.
At the end, I just advised them to understand what they will be paying as there would be no negotiation of the lease. Take it or leave it, and realize that each tenant will be paying about $2000/mo when all the extras are added in. This is not university housing, so if someone moves out, the rest are responsible for the entire lease cost.
One positive was that they know people who have rented this house before (and this is only the lower unit, the upstairs is being rented to another group), and those kids said the landlord was okay to work with, didn’t nickel and dime them. But of course, why would they need to? They are getting $100,000 per year for the two units!
D1 is off campus this year in a 5 bedroom house 2 houses from campus, but across a busy street. She has a meal plan that covers 10 meals a week on campus because of her sport practice schedule and several labs. They have individual leases with parent co-signers. Each student has her/his own room. 4 girls and 1 boy. All decent, studious kids with no drinking/drug habits. All utilities extra, no leaf or snow removal (and we are in Michigan). Previous summer sub-letters trashed the house, but the landlord did a great job of cleaning it up, painting everything, and making repairs. (I told her if my kid left a house in that condition, I would have been ashamed to have raised a kid like that and s/he would have been back cleaning it up).
They don’t cook together, they do purchase common supplies and split it evenly, they have a chore chart that rotates weekly, each handles a different utility. They have 2 refrigerators and shelves are labeled by name, same with cupboards. I am surprised how well this has worked! I continued her college property policy.
The only issue has been the parking. D’s car has some major paint scrapes and minor dents, so this term we are paying for her to park on campus. Guess we are just a lot more careful with our cars. Roommates were apologetic, but no one offered up any money…With the snow and no one wanting to shovel much, we are happy to have her car on campus.
The neighborhood is filled with students, so relatively safe. We told D we would cover the COA for R/B on campus, so that is her budget. If over, she covers with her job; under, she can keep it.
@twoinanddone, your nephew’s lease is outrageous, if my D’s lease is anything like that, I probably would have her stay in the dorm. It is scary with all those demands/restrictions.
I haven’t seen the lease on the one house the group likes, the “leader” of the group is a rising senior who is currently living in off campus housing in a different part of campus, who seems to know exactly what to ask the landlord (according to my D) and she tries to negotiate some terms. This landlord also owns another house 2 streets down where my D’s other friends from the co-ed fraternity are currently living. I am sure the group will check with them. My D told me the guy is friendly and approachable when she asked him questions during tour. She also commented that the other 2 landlords are kind of mean and have much more unreasonable restrictions. (For me, the more restrictions the better, but then I am a parent lol).
I hope the group will get the house they like, and work out the logistics on paying utilities, common supplies, chores etc.
Off campus renting sure changed from my era to son’s. Now much more common. Son was going to rent a very new 4 bedroom/2 bath apartment with 4 other guys next to a campus building- 2 were to share. He never told me until summer he was adding a HS friend to share with (we can afford it and figured on him having his own room, sigh).
They were mainly as sloppy as he was- they divided up chores with the friend being the most fussy cleaning whatever it was they he was more bothered by than the others. The chores arrangement worked for them.
They worked out who paid what since some shared bedrooms- I saw son’s share since we paid it and it was fair. They designated one guy as electric utilities payer, another the cable bill (heat and water came with). That worked out. They figured out things for the summer months when some were there and others were not- including the possibility of a sublet. Management took separate checks and even kept track of things so if one guy was behind the others weren’t penalized.
They bought their own food (grocery store nearby) and figured out shared cooking, cleaning, eating things. I had some extra pots and pans (good excuse to get myself some new ones!). The place was furnished. When son moved to a solo place the next year I bought/provided the things he did not already have (we’re talking about a son here- nonshopper with a savvy bargain finding mother).
Years ago I would have thought it would be extra work to manage apartment living while an undergrad. Discovered benefits. Worried about son remembering to pay bills et al. Sharing with others eased him into knowing what is required while having backup from someone else paying bills and asking him for his share. It prepared him for his solo experience. Also- when he then got a job he already knew how to mange his personal life. He wanted to move out after freshman year but we said no, and it turned out he couldn’t have done so because he wasn’t 18 yet and no places would rent to someone even with parental guarantees.
Learning experiences for son. Whatever conflicts they may have had worked without us getting involved. Asking him later there were some issues. So much better to have fellow student roommates than years later deciding to have a roommate. After graduation he thought about having someone he knew as a roommate who was still in school- we were able to dissuade him from that- different lifestyles (son not a partier but would be working when roommate had time off…) and location best fits. After a year of his own apartment at his first job he got a roommate he met at work- 2 bedrooms. He could easily afford to live alone but this worked. Son got the master suite and pet sit his roommate’s bird since he often traveled for the company. He also got some good food cooked by the roommate’s girlfriend on occasion. When he moved to a different state and job he had a lot of tools to use.
Those life skills learned while in college that are not academic are numerous. In a way it is good to add to them with apartment life while in a comfortable college setting. Ages and stages. Incremental self sufficiency.
Son was able to be on our house insurance for his student rentals. There were a ton of rules- you could tell it was a student area as some were ones we would never think of. Son had learned which management companies were better/worse- they did lose part of their security deposit (and son was far away when time to clean came). There is a certain amount of trust in one’s fellow students.
we just went through some initial financial research. our son’s grant $ will be reduced by $5k but we’ll be billed $16K less for room & board so that’s a gain of $1,100. to put toward room, food & commuting expenses. he’s looking with friends & trying to find something for $700 - $800 for his share. (in the Boston area such as Cambridge or Alston)
Living off campus and all the problems that it will inevitably present is excellent preparation for real life. It’s normal to worry, but it’s a chance for a lot of personal practical life skill growth.
Make sure the toilet flushes, all the lights work, and all the smoke/fire alarms work. Determine where the fire exits are, and how they work. Don’t tell your D to do this, do it yourself. Find out how maintenance works, and how security deposits are refunded, if at all (many have so many conditions you may as well just write it off) See if balconies and windows have safety screens and locks. Here in my college town, every single year there are injuries (and a few deaths) from drunk or high students leaning on a screen and falling out.
Most assaults and injuries take place outside apartments and dorms as a result of being out alone. bUy her mace or pepper spray if you haven’t already. But despite all this, it’s a great idea. I am a huge worrier and I am really glad I didn’t let me interfere with the sons’ chance to do this
From a mother who admittedly worries too much, I would take the advice you are getting here.
I was so upset when my daughter and her friends signed a lease at a hell hole of an apartment quite close to her apartment. It was a real learning experience for her in so many ways. Her landlord was a total scumbag and there were plenty of problems in the course of the year they lived there.
It did however teach the naive girls to not fall for the hype and pressure to sign that lease before all apartments magically disappeared. Sometimes you just have to let them screw up an live with the consequences when it comes to grown up decisions they insist on making
greenbutton, good safety tips and I just txted my son about the water. you might be interested that I got all my kids and sons girlfriend a personal alarm. it’s a key chain type thing. you pull it drop it and it goes off.
I am trying to help my son and two friends find an off campus apartment. I understand when the kids don’t gethow it works, but in this case the parents are being difficult. It’s a divorce situation, and my kid and his friends are going to suffer. I can only control so much (I’m repeating that multiple times, because I worked hard to get this to work out, and everyone seemed to be in. Then at the last minute, someone throws a wrench into the plans. Now my kid may not have a place to live, at least that he likes. Bummer…)
coughing up money now & signing papers. this is way sooner than our payment plan would kick in for next fall, ugh
Hi, OP here, I want to ask all the helpful folks on CC before I start calling for quotes or talking to the insurance people.
When my son was in college back in 2007-2011, we bought dorm insurance from CSI for personal property, he lived on campus for all 4 years (students there have to live on campus).
I don’t think our home policy will cover off campus rentals, plus our policy deductible is very high. So if we are going to get renters insurance for my daughter living off campus, should both personal property and liability be included? How do we determine the amount of liability insurance is needed? What is the average cost for both? I know it depends on a lot of factors and locale.
Thanks.
I would check with your homeowner’s. Mine covered my dependents at their residences, on or off campus. Or they may offer a rider for the off campus address.
We ended up continuing the NSSI plan that we used for the dorm. Agent said that would cover student in rental home. The cost for a rider on our homeowners to cover her electronics was more than NSSI. So far we have never used it and graduation is a month away! (NSSI was recommended on CC…)
I totally get the worry thing. I’ve been there. My advice to you is to arm her with wisdom and good guidelines. Those are her safety weapons. Encourage her to ask herself: Are the students she’s living with known for being reliable about bill-paying? What would she do if she felt unsafe walking home after dark? What if her housemates invited some unsavory people back to their place? How will she secure her valuables, medications, etc? Does she know how to put on a “city face” when she is taking public transportation? Does she know what a competent, purposeful walk looks like?
Once you know she has thought about these things and has a good understanding of them, you will feel a lot better.
My daughter has been living in France all year, so my training also included things like “If you see a package left by itself, run like hell and tell the first cop you see” and “If you get an uneasy feeling on a bus or train, just get off and wait for the next one.”
@mominva, will check our homeowners insurance for a rider, our deductible is very high. I think that’s why we went with CSI (College Student Insurance) when S was living on campus vs. using homeowner’s, CSI is similar to NSSI as dentmom4 suggested.
Both CSI and NSSI only covers personal property.
I guess my key question is that will her need “liability” coverage also, say if one of her friends get hurt while visiting, or some other situations?