So long, farewell...sort of.

As winter quarter draws to a close, so too must this project. However, don’t think of it as goodbye. Think of it as goodbye for now. Gimme Shelter is going on spring break. Before I go, I would like to post a few of my own thoughts on searching for housing.

My tips for hunting:

• Talk to people. If they know of a good place or someone looking for a subleaser they will most likely share that with you.


• Look at bulletin boards. People who put stuff up really want someone to call them. (The bulletin board pictured above is in Ellis Hall)


• Definitely check out Center for Student Legal Services and Off Campus Living, they are there to help (and know more about housing than just about anyone).


• Don’t be afraid to live with people you don’t know that well, sometimes it works out better.


• Keep diligent records when it comes to paying bills! The cable company is an angry thing, they will shut off your cable before you know there is anything wrong (personal experience speaking, here). Plus, it just makes good sense.


• Use the Internet (this blog hint, hint…) there is good stuff out there, but back up the information you find online with phone calls and visits in person. Anyone can put anything up; know what is true and what is just fluff.


• Don’t stress out! You will find a place to live!

I’ve lived in the same apartment for two years, so I’ve only ever had to find one place. I remember the day I moved in, climbing the stairs to the third floor and seeing the front door with our number on it and being really excited. A little kid on Christmas excited. Then my mom and I carried a TV up the stairs and I was a little less excited, but still very happy to be living in an apartment. We signed our lease really early for the first year, and even earlier the second. Which probably wasn't the best idea; you don't know how four people are going to handle living together within the first couple of weeks. Liza moved out after the first year and we had a few subleasers during my other roommate’s internship. It’s been an interesting two years, to say the least. I am definitely going to miss it when I graduate.

One apartment, under law?

“The Ohio Tenant-Landlord Act of 1974 outlines the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords. It does not apply to mobile home trailer parks (see Chapter 3733, Ohio Revised Code), owner-occupied condominiums, prisons, jails, workhouses or halfway houses, hotels, motels or tourist homes, hospitals or nursing homes, farm residences on two or more acres of land, or school dormitories.”

The law protects all tenants, except for these people, those people, and people who live here. That passage is taken from Landlord-Tenant Rights & Responsibilities Under Ohio Law, an online pamphlet offered by Hocking, Athens, and Perry County Community Action, and I chose to include it because it shows just how confusing our rights can be. How much do any college students really know about their rights when it comes to housing? What can landlords do and how do you deal with them? How do you deal with roommate disputes? Usually tenant rights fall under the category of things you learn from a friend's cousin Steve. He knows a lot about tenant rights because this happened to him and he had to do this, etc. There are far better options! For students living in Athens they can always contact the Center for Student Legal Services for help with housing rights.

Here are the “Quick Tips” listed on CSLS’s housing information website:

• Shopping for a Landlord: Contact Athens Code Enforcement at 592-3306 or go to their office at 28 Curran Street. Review their records about the house you want to rent. Ask them how many tenants can live there. Talk to current/former tenants. Stop by CSLS and talk to their lawyers before you sign a lease. CSLS can review leases.
• Privacy: Your landlord must give you at least 24 hours notice before entering your apartments, unless it is an emergency or you give the O.K. Click here to get the Violation of Privacy Letter.
• Getting Things Fixed: At the first sign of trouble, WRITE the landlord about what needs repaired. Keep a copy of your letter. Contact Code (592-3306) and request an inspection for housing code violations. Here is a link to the City of Athens Housing code. If problems persist, you may be able to escrow your rent with the court or terminate the lease. This is a sample letter that you should send your landlord.
• Security Deposits: Photograph/ Video/ document your apartment on the first day you move in and on the last day you’re there. Clean you place before you leave. Leave your keys and a written forwarding address. Your landlord has 30 days to return your monies after you have given the apartment back to them. You are not liable, as a tenant, for normal wear and tear! Here is a sample letter to use to request your security deposit back.

Apart from the quick tips listed above you can find detailed information on everything from how to pick a place by landlord to how to settle legal disputes with your roommates all on the CSLS Housing Info website. It’s great. The only catch is you have to pay the $8 “legal fee” on your tuition (look at your e-bill) if you waived the legal fee then you are ineligible for CSLS services. It is nice to know exactly what that fee goes to.

The law can be tricky. It’s hard to know exactly what your rights are sometimes. Let real lawyers, not just your friend’s cousin Steve, help you out.

The University can help me look for off-campus housing?

I’m pretty sure that if the university had its way all college students would live in the dorms, university owned apartment complexes, or at home safe with parents. College students would play water pong and go to the midnight movie at Baker every Friday and Saturday. Court Street would be empty on weekend nights and Halloween would be sober. Sounds kind of lame, right? That’s how most college students see the university, though; as a big, fat fun-sucker that takes all the enjoyment out of the college experience. However, the university really has our best interests (and perhaps some legal butt covering, too) at heart. The university wants us to leave college educated, well-rounded, and in one piece. As mushy as it sounds, they are just there to help. The Off-Campus Living division of Student Affairs is ready to help students make the move off campus, and they have a great website with tons of information.

What OCL can offer you:

• A video camera service: they will come document your rental unit (preferably before you move in) with a video camera and give you a DVD. This is an important tool when it comes to security deposit disputes.
• Community Assistants- students who help link off-campus students to the university and the community. AKA: they are there to make your life easier and there is even a map on the website so you can find out who your CA is.
• Rental listings: Lists of rental properties to help you get started with your search.
• Group programs: a few programs offered by the university to help with off campus living.
• Links to city offices and Information: knowing about the city you live in (especially its codes and how they are enforced ) is important.
• A plethora of “getting started” links: look under “leasing, landlords, renting, and roommates” on the left hand side of the home page. So much great stuff! They give information on everything from what to consider when looking for a place to live, how to pick a good roommate, how to set up utilities and how to deal with landlords.
• Pick a Property: take a look at what past tenants of your potential apartment/house really think about it. You will need your OAK Id for this.
• Tips on living in Athens: living down here can be like a foreign country.
• Special Events: community cookouts= free food and information (the video below explains more about the community cookouts)

I strongly suggest you check this site out when looking for a place to live. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of what the university can offer, these people know what they are talking about (I don’t work for OU, I swear!). Off-Campus Living is like a one stop shop when it comes to information. If you really want to be old school you could even call them for more information. As in on the phone, like people used to do before the Internet. I hear they even welcome visitors.

Like a Rolling Stone- three different places, three different years

“[I’ve] never really picked a house, I’ve always just agreed to live there” Liza Dietrich, a senior, said of her housing search. As the terribly cliché saying goes, a rolling stone gathers no moss (unless you are a certain member of the actual Rolling Stones, in that case you have Kate Moss*). That maxim is certainly true with Liza’s Athens housing history: three different apartments in three years.

A unique student, in that she lived off campus as a sophomore, Liza’s first off-campus apartment was an apartment at Mill Street Village with her brother, Jake. Sophomores can live off campus with relatives if it’s approved by the university, something Liza said was much easier to do than she expected. Since she and her brother were in a rush to find a place to live (having proof of somewhere to live is a must for applying to live off campus as a sophomore) they just decided to try Mill Street Village. Liza saw a sign from the highway advertising available apartments and it seemed like a good idea. Utilities were included in her $500 dollar a month lease, even basic cable and internet, which is a plus for apartment living. One of the drawbacks of living at Mill Street Village was that the apartment had no washer or dryer and the laundry facilities on site were expensive.

I have a slight conflict of interest when it comes to where Liza lived her junior year. She was my roommate at the University Commons. I was invited to live with a couple of other girls at the Commons, but that fell through (which happens a lot with searching for housing in groups) and I needed two other roommates. Liza agreed and we found a fourth roommate, problem solved. However, we signed the lease the first week of October our sophomore year, because we were told that we wouldn’t be able to later on in the year. We were also asked to sign the lease for our senior year at the end of September, after living together only a month, which seems like a bad idea looking back on it. At the Commons all bills are included except for cable/internet and electric, and there is a washer and dryer, which are assets to apartment living.

For her third apartment Liza lives in a house on Shafer; a two bedroom place in a house that is split into four apartments. She had a puppy (something most apartment complexes won’t allow) fall quarter, but took him home when he got too big. She has to pay more bills than she ever has before, but doesn’t think it is too bad. Her room is bigger, but it has no closet. There is an awesome deck, but the bathroom is small. She really likes her roommate, though. She also had to find someone to sublease her room at the Commons. She found someone on Craig’s List. Essentially she put up an ad and sent e-mails to everyone who posted that they were looking for somewhere to live, it worked.

“It’s so weird having lived three different places because I don’t remember all this stuff and it’s like I never even lived there.”

Sometimes it is a trade-off when trying to find a great place to live. You have to decide what you want and try to find somewhere that is a blend (or a compromise, we can’t always get what we want) of all of your requirements. Remember, you can find a place, even if it’s last minute.

*I actually searched "rolling stone puns" and came up with this article, I didn't just make something up. Yes, I Googled "rolling stone puns."

Liza's Words of Wisdom:

• Don't settle for the first place you look at right away, keep looking.


• Do a little research about your landlord; know what you are getting yourself into.


• Apartments are better deals than houses. They are easier to take care of and often cheaper.


• Check Craig’s List!


• Don’t let distance deter you. Places are generally cheaper the farther you go from campus. (The Commons even has it's own bus, pictured above in all its paw-printed glory)


• Don’t get tricked into signing a lease too early.

Can't someone just find a place for me?

“Dear Google,

Over the last few years we’ve gotten to know each other very well. I come to you for everything! That being said, I think we are at the point in our relationship where we need to have a little talk. You see, I’m looking for an apartment in Athens. While most of the time you are great, I think it’s time that I branch out. I need to do this on my own. Thanks.

- Love, Me"

To find anything online we tend to start with Google and stick with Google. How many times in your life (or this week) have you typed your own name into the search bar? Apparently there is another Sara with my last name that writes knitting books. There are just some things you can’t find in Google, though. Try searching “Athens housing” or “Athens apartments.” Most of the searches will be in Greece or Georgia. Even if you add Ohio to the search, the results aren’t much better.



You can stand taking a break from Google, and still utilize the web for your housing search. There is an Athens-based website where you can actually type in how many bedrooms, type of property and even the year you are looking for. It’s so easy and it gives tailored results. Apart from housing, athenshub.com has several other features. Find a job, a good place to eat, or something to do in Athens all from this site. This video posted on You Tube explains more. It’s definitely worth checking out.

On the brink: still in the dorms

In a wood paneled study lounge in the basement of Bryan Hall five sophomores sit around a couple of random desks pushed together. A few books lay scattered about and a motley assortment of coffee mugs leave rings on the table; clearly this is their study cave. With exams and homework piling up, housing plans are the last thing on their minds during the eighth week of winter quarter.

The friends met during their freshman year and decided to look for a house together fall quarter. “We just went around to all the real estate agents and demanded sufficient board for 5 people.” Spencer McNeil (pictured here "studying" in his dorm room) said of their search. They ended up at Athens Real Estate (the coffee shop and nice art in the office was a big hit with the whole group) and found a house big enough for all five: a house with a three bedroom apartment on the first floor with two single bedroom apartments on the second. Three boys would live downstairs and Spencer and Alex would live in the apartments. However, like most groups of friends looking to live together, the plans fell through. Alex and Spencer are still looking for places to live.

“I just don’t want to have to deal with whole looking for a house thing”

said Alex, who is considering living in the dorms next year. It’s simply the most convenient option. By choosing to live in the dorms, the struggle to find a place to live is bypassed and bills are included; no worrying about gas, electric and cable.

On the other hand, Spencer says he can’t stand to live in the dorms next year but he hasn't really started to look for an alternative place to live yet. Going outside to smoke, living in a supervised setting (resident advisors), communal bathrooms and getting mail from the office in his dorm are all things he won’t miss next year. If he finds another place to stay, that is.

Need some help?

Two generic desks, two generic desk chairs and two generic extra-long twin beds take up most of the space in a room not much larger than a walk-in closet. A square of industrial plastic carpeting covers scuffed linoleum tile. A mini fridge with a microwave bolted to the top has to be plugged directly into a wall, so there are basically two options for placement: to the left of the outlet or to the right. Assorted personal effects are crammed anywhere they can fit. Sound familiar? If you’ve ever had to live in a dorm room, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

For most college students living in the dorms is seen as a right of passage; everyone has to do it at some point. At first the dorms are fun. You are a freshman and there are always new people around and something interesting is always happening. After a while the dorm becomes uncomfortable. Communal living just isn’t as good as home. Eventually, it becomes the bane of your existence. There can’t possibly be anything worse than staying in the dorms another quarter. Like the majority of upperclassmen, you begin to look for a place to live off campus.

Searching for off-campus housing is hard. It’s often time consuming and confusing. There are lots of things to consider and decisions to be made. You have to take the time to make appointments to see houses and apartments, look at every lease, and weigh all of your options before making a very important decision. After all, you’ll have to live there. Sometimes the best advice comes from people who have gone through the entire process. Gimme’ Shelter is here to help you find the right place with advice from people who have found off-campus housing and lived to tell the tale.