Last night I went up to Kettering University to assist with the Resident Assistants at Thompson Hall in an open discussion with freshman.  Our discussion covered topics related to off-campus life, how to find the right housing, what to expect and how to have a great and safe time!  The evening was fun and informational.  Overall the presentation was very similar to our February meeting which was re-capped in this blog post.

The students asked great questions, like:

Q: Will I have to sign an individual lease or will I have to sign a group lease and be accountable for my roommates actions?

My A: Of course this will vary from landlord to landlord and each lease is different so read carefully.  Some landlords do allow for individual leases to be singed, most have one lease the entire group signs.  Ultimately do your best to pick responsible roommates and respect the property.  If you have an issue with the way a landlord is handling his or her lease speak up.  From our experience many landlords are open to suggestions and with reasonable requests they will be accommodating to your needs or concerns.

And, a small tip, as a group do your best to build a relationship with the landlord through communication and respect.  When you promptly alert the landlords of issues with the house, pay rent on time, and are friendly, it makes getting that security deposit back at the end of the term/year a lot easier.

(That was a little bit longer that my real answer last night)

Q:  When landlords make major improvements to the house because of the responses left on RateMyStudentRental.com, does the rent increase as well?

My A: We have not seen that pattern of increasing rent due to major renovations or as a response to student comments on the website.  From my observations, the landlords are in a very competitive mode right now.  The good landlords, who care about their business and the students are working hard and investing in their properties to make a students experience more enjoyable and comfortable.  If they can provide housing that all the students want and they can achieve full capacity the landlords achieve their ROI most definitely.

Other tips for students in their search for housing…utilize the Student Watch List.  The student watch list is located on your home page when you log in as a student.  Here students can fill out a pretty simple form defining their needs for housing.  After it’s submitted if a rental becomes available that meets the needs of that student, an automated message is sent out alerting the student of the available rooms.  From that message students can communicate with landlords right on RateMyStudentRental.com to inquire about the available rooms.  We’re trying to make this process as simple as possible for students, landlords, and school officials.

If you are or your group is holding a meeting with students to discuss off-campus living, or how to search for housing or any other housing related meeting, the RateMyStudentRental.com team would be happy to join forces and share our knowledge with students.

We’ve barely seen any snow on the ground and I am already asking you to think spring! It’s about that time to start thinking about housing for your next lease.  Especially for B-Section Kettering University students who are starting to think about housing for the spring term (April-June).  RateMystudentRental.com has some amazingly helpful tools for student’s and landlords as the fall term quickly comes to and end.

Students

Maybe your fall housing arrangements were temporary while you waited for your dear friends to return from their study abroad term, or maybe you were abroad yourself!  Or, maybe you just can’t stand your roommates anymore, or you’ve just had it with who-knows-what in the apartments or in the house.  Whatever the case is, RateMyStudentRental.com’s comprehensive database of rental’s is here to save you during the search.  Check us out to search for housing around campus and sort through your options by evaluating the ratings and reviews left by other students.  While you are there, rate your current (and past) rental(s) so that other students can benefit the same way you are benefiting from their ratings.

Tips For Students Looking For Housing:

• Cut your search time in half by looking for rentals who have been flagged as available or sublet needed.  To find rentals that have been flagged as available/sublet you can search the home page to see recent availabilities or you can use the search box. When using the search box, type in your school and select the “with room availabilities only” function.
• Create a Student Watch List (must be logged in as a student to view).  Let us know what your ideal student rental is by filling out the student watch list form.  When a rental is flagged as available that matches your criteria, we’ll alert you and you can contact the student or landlord who flagged the rental to make arrangements to move in.

If you are looking for a replacement roommate or you are finding someone to replace your spot in a rental you can flag a rental as sublet needed.  This will alert prospective students that you are looking for someone to fill a room or two in your current rental.  Instead of the prospective roommate contact the landlord directly, they can contact you.

Landlords

It’s really never too early to start seeking out student tenants for the upcoming term.  A survey conducted by Alfa Jango Software and Marketing helps RateMyStudentRental.com determine when student start looking for their next housing arrangements.  We asked students “How long before you need to move in, do you start looking for your next student housing arrangements?” Here are the results:

With those results, it’s clear to see right now is the prime time to start seeking out your tenants.  Reaching out to students can be difficult, but RateMyStudentRental.com has a feature that makes this necessary challenge, possible.  The Flag For Availability feature not only tells students you have available rooms but it also alerts students who have a Student Watch List created if your rental matches their criteria (number of rooms, rent price, distance from campus…etc).

Tips When Using The Flag For Availability:

• If you are a landlord at a school that has rotating semesters/quarters (like Kettering University who rotates students every 3 months) this tip is for you. If you have available rooms for both sections/terms, purchase the longest Flag - Next term, which stays active for 5 months.  You can use the description box in the flag to tell students how many rooms are avaiable during each term (and you can change this description as often as you would like during the life of the flag).

To all, good luck with house hunting and finishing and starting your next term.  Don’t forget to rate your work term housing too, we do that!  As always, contact us with any questions or comments.  We’re always looking for the next best way to make your life easier when it comes to student housing.