<p>D and her friend are moving in to a 3 bedroom apt. next school year. Two other girls will share a very large bedroom and will pay lower rent. Of the other two bedrooms, one is a very nice sized, normal bedroom. The other is tiny - very tiny and unconventional. D agreed to take the tiny, unconventional one (D has a twin mattress and little furniture and the other girl has a queen and more furniture.) Both D and her friend will be paying the same amount of rent.</p>
<p>Both girls will probably study abroad next spring. The prospect of D’s friend finding a subtenant for her room is good - the room is nice, the apartment is nice, the location is nice. D will probably find someone for her tiny room only if that someone is truly desparate for a place to live.</p>
<p>Assuming the friend finds a subtenant and D doesn’t, it seems like D’s friend should share some of the subtenant’s rent with D. If D had fought for the big nice room, D would have the room most likely to be sublet and the friend would have the difficult room.</p>
<p>Any opinions?</p>
<p>Hmm…maybe the error/problem lies in your D and her friend paying planning to pay the same amount for two different sized rooms in the fall?</p>
<p>My D and her roommate moved into a new townhouse from an apt a year ago. The townhouse has two bedrooms. One large with plenty of room for a good sized bed, desk, dressers plus AND a bigger closet. The second bedroom is not tiny, but has just enough room for a full sized bed, dresser, nightstand and to cram in a desk. They decided to flip a coin for the larger room and the winner would pay $25 more a month to have it. (I couldn’t believe they flipped a coin!) D lost the coin flip, but now roommate pays $25 each month for the larger room. </p>
<p>Now, if they were to sublet…if I was looking to TAKE the sublet, I personally would not want to pay the same amount for a tiny room as someone getting a roomy room. On the other hand, if I was really counting pennies, I might be willing to take the tiny room to save some $$$. I know this is not truly your question/situation, but I bring it up (though it may be too late) but maybe the problem lies in the fact that they are both paying the same money NOW (or in the fall) for two “different” spaces. </p>
<p>Maybe your D would have more luck subletting her room if she can charge a smaller amount for it.</p>
<p>Yes, it may be too late, but it wasn’t a good idea for the girls to pay the same amount when the accommodations are so unequal.
My Dd and her room mates managed a similar situation by looking at each room (there were four) and agreeing what would be a fair portion of the rent for each. They then put the room description in a hat and drew. I’m sure some wished they had a different room, but no one felt they were paying an unfair amount. Maybe it’s not too late for your daughter to have a heart-to-heart with her room mate about a price adjustment.</p>
<p>They are moving into an apartment that the two girls who are sharing a room are already in. Those two girls decided to give themselves a break in rent because they are sharing a room. They told D and her friend how much the rent was (same for each.) With half the occupants already getting a break in rent, it didn’t seem to D that she could ask her friend to pay more. </p>
<p>But even if D was paying less rent, it seems like her room is going to be very difficult to rent. We would certainly agree to lower rent to get a subtenant in there. My fear, however, is that there is going to be no subtenant at all.</p>
<p>
This.</p>
<p>Also, I think you’re borrowing trouble - your D might be able to sublet her room. Neither woman may be able to do so. But if your D knew that she would be studying abroad, would need to sublet the space, and still took on a room that is more expensive than what it is worth… how is that someone else’s problem?</p>
<p>Does daughter plan to move back after study abroad?
If not, maybe she should consider a semester lease.</p>
<p>Incidentally, the easiest way to handle these things is to auction off the rooms. Let’s say that the total rent is $1,500 for three rooms. Start with the most desirable room and say “Who wants it for $500? $525? $550?” until you have one person’s price. Let’s say that it’s $600. You take the second most-desirable room, start at $450 (half the remaining rent) and auction it to the other two. Everyone will be at least somewhat happy with the result, especially knowing that the better rooms cost more than they want to pay.</p>
<p>Yes, your daughter will have a harder time subletting the room for that price if that is high for that market. And, yes, there could be trouble if the subletter finds out that the other tenant is paying the same for a better room. But your daughter went for the deal with eyes wide open and there might be another who will do the same, if the room despite its smaller size compared to the one in the apartment is still a good deal over all. That 's really what counts If that room and price is a bad deal in the market for that area, she will have to cut her price, but if there is a shortage of rooms and hers is something someone needs, the price will be met. </p>
<p>I do think your daughter did not get a good deal, but she took it. Learning experience for her. If she wants to bring it up she could, but since all has been settled, unless she has leverage to walk she is stuck.</p>
<p>My son, by the way, did pretty much the same thing–he took the smaller room in the 2 br apartment he is renting this coming school year for the same cost as the bigger one But he preferred the smaller room, because of it’s configuration, bigger closet, window not on the main road, and it being a little out of the way of the living room. So the square footage was not the only issue at hand, and he feels it is a fair exchange for the size discrepancy.</p>
<p>Whatever they decide they (all of the people in the apartment) should make a written agreement of what they plan to do with the cost each will pay for each room as well as any subletting plans and each roomie should sign and date it. The agreement should also cover the cost of utilities, in whose name the different utilities will be, and anything else that goes with the apartment. </p>
<p>The subletting plans need to be thought through from some other aspects as well including whether the other roomies get to give the thumbs up/down on the candidates, whether the candidate must be female or not, etc.</p>
<p>They also need to check their rental contract to see if they’re even allowed to sublet the apartment. A lot of apartments don’t permit it.</p>
<p>I don’t see why your D would have any particular issue subletting it (assuming it’s permitted) since it’s not as if they’ll only be able to sublet one room or the other - your D’s friend might rent hers out and then your D might rent her own out. The key is whether the rent is reasonable or not compared to similar apartments that might be available. If it isn’t then I wonder why your D will live there in the first place.</p>
<p>They should also discuss the BF situation to the extent of what to do if one of them ends up with a BF staying there a lot or even moves in - i.e. should he be allowed to and if so how does that impact rent?</p>
<p>There’s a fair likelihood that at least one of the people has a different understanding of the agreement than some of the other people and people’s memories tend to conform to what’s in their own best interest.</p>
<p>Making a written agreement (on paper - not something on FB or a collection of texts) will also force them all to think through the points.</p>
<p>It sounds as if your D already decided to take the smaller room at the same cost as the larger one. That’s fine, she still has a place to sleep and the use of the rest of the apt.</p>
<p>so if I have this right… the D has picked a room you think will be less likely to be sublet, so you feel that if it doesn’t sublet, that other(s) should chip in for her share, to help make up for her pick?
If neither room sublets, would you expect D to pay more, to chip in for the bigger room? If one of the first 2 girls move out, should your D have to pay more to help the one remaining?</p>
<p>If I’m understanding this correctly, my opinion is D pays for her room. If it doesn’t sublet then D pays for her room. If it sublets, but for less than D is paying, then D makes up the difference.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with the first 2 girls “giving themself a break” in rent. Nothing wrong with what they offered the 2 late-comers. Those 2 heard terms, and accepted them. They could have negotiated or declined offer.</p>
<p>Strongly agree w paragraph 1 and 2 of post 8.</p>
<p>Ah, would that college apartment sharing could be handled like a normal real estate transaction. But then you have the “but her parents can only afford…” and “I want to share an apartment with her and not with…” and “we need to make a decision about where to live by…” and “we need to tell the other girls in the apartment that we are not coming back next year so they can make other arrangements and…” Congrats to all of you if your college aged daughters are able to handle their living arrangements like a business transaction!</p>
<p>No, alas, I do not think that your D should ask or expect her friend to give her any of the rent she gets for her room. I think your D is getting a raw deal in the first place, and it was foolish to take the room on those terms. But now that she has…the best she can hope for is that even with the inequitable situation, her room is a good enough deal to attract a subletter. If not, she’ll have to take what she can get and make up the difference.</p>
<p>No one here has yet said their daughters all handled living arrangements perfectly. Some have made suggestions how to handle it better, others have offered an opinion as you requested, about charging other student(s) more if your student has trouble sub-letting. It is true that no one here (yet) has agreed with you that it’s fair to charge other students more if your D can’t sublet, but no one here has said they have handled everything perfectly. It may be some here have learned the best way from making mistakes.
Let me be first to say, my S, at early adulthood handled a landlord-renter arrangement poorly.
He learned 2 lessons: that landlord-tenant law can vary between states, and second, to consult good ol’ Dad(a landlord) if he is uncertain.</p>
<p>So, through his errors, he has a learning experience (re post 8) at a relatively young age, and that wasn’t too costly.</p>
<p>The examples of problems you give, Missy, such as “but her parents can only afford…” are examples of negotiation. A person can accept those rationales, decline, or negotiate further.</p>
<p>Just for reference, this is a really useful tool for these kinds of situations: </p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://splitwise.com/]Splitwise[/url”>http://splitwise.com/]Splitwise[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I know it’s not much help now, but maybe for the future.</p>
<p>Last year I came up with a terrific, equitable formula for sharing expenses. But there is so much interpersonal stuff going on besides dollars and cents.</p>
<p>Missypie,</p>
<p>My suggestion for them writing the contract was based on logic, good sense, and experience with kid’s roomie experiences in the past (where the written agreement counteracted revisionist memory on the part of a roomie). It really is a good idea that might save a lot of angst, emotions, and even ruined friendships and it’s a simple and quick thing to do. </p>
<p>As far as your basic question goes, I don’t think your D should have any expectation of her friend sharing the cost on the inability to sublet question. If they discuss it up front, before making any agreements on the apt, and especially if your D is willing to cover the other girl’s room is that girl doesn’t find a person to sublet to, then fine. </p>
<p>If your D has a significantly worse room then it would have been fine if she paid a bit less but let’s say she paid a bit less and as a result she was able to sublet her room but her friend wasn’t able to? Would your D then plan to cover the friend’s costs?</p>
<p>Also, there’s more to finding a person for the sublet than just the room size. It also takes initiative on the part of the person doing the subletting. What if your D’s diligent in finding a person but her friend doesn’t get around to it and therefore your D has a person but the friend doesn’t? Would your D feel that she should cover the costs of the friend?</p>
<p>The bottom line is that if your D feels that her room is worth what she’s paying for it then someone else would likely feel the same way and she’d be able to sublet it regardless of the friend’s room. Also - not everyone cares so much about the room size - especially a person subletting for a short time - they’re usually just looking for something reasonable.</p>
<p>It’s also not fair to start bringing up things like term changes after the (some) agreement was already made. This is yet again a good reason to write this agreement up and each sign it. If nothing else it might make them think things through before committing. Note - I’m not saying your D is even bringing this up or thinking about it because I assume it’s you that’s thinking about this rather than her.</p>
<p>I know, Missypie, I know. I was horrified, enraged, disappointed when I found out my son’s living arrangements, but was able to control my outward reactions. He was sleeping in the Butler’s pantry of a house and paying for a full room. So, don’t think I’m not sympathetic to your DD getting the short end of the deal. Yes, they are going to strike bad deals for themselves.</p>
<p>The examples you give - I don’t fully understand why they change the situation or how they were an excuse at the start. Maybe you can define better?</p>
<p>“but her parents can only afford…” - if you can only afford a certain amount then either the group finds something cheaper or someone gets left out - or did some of them just agree to make up the difference"</p>
<p>…" and “we need to make a decision about where to live by…” - my sons GF was put in this position with her expected/ prospective roommates telling her she had to make a decision pronto - it was hard but she had to say “then I guess I’m out and you guys have to ahead on your own” - thats a good lesson for the future - “the car is this price today only or this house has three other offers” or whatever - rash decisions can come back to haunt!</p>
<p>Sounds like your D’s best bet is to start early looking for possible renters and start making a list of the “bonuses” if any of having this room and saving up some $$to cover the costs if renting becomes a problem.</p>
<p>At least you are addressing it now, and not in the fall!</p>
<p>My friend’s daughter rented a house with a bunch of other girls, and really, the girl was so scared she’d be bumped that she would have agreed to have paid double if it were up to her. A lot of emotion and other things go into this. </p>
<p>In my son’s case, it was total apathy and stupidity.</p>
<p>One of our kids had the substandard room and had to sublet it two summers. It was NOT his roommates responsibility in any way. DS rented the room and when it was time to sublet, he had to find someone…or pay the rent. Luckily he found someone both summers. Really, he made his funky small room quite welcoming and that is why it sublet so easily.</p>
<p>It will be the OPs daughter’s responsibility to find a subletter…or pay the summer rent. It is not the roommate’s responsibility.</p>