With the end of their lease dates looming in the near future, students may be starting to think of housing issues. Some may even find themselves scrambling for a place to live during the time between the end of their current lease and the start of the fall semester.
DTN Management, a local property manager with apartment complexes including Arbor Glen, Dover’s Crossing and Abbott Pointe, has 12-payment leases that run from Aug. 1 to July 24, said Colin Cronin, DTN area director.
Cronin said having to deal with the time gap between the dates has many residents approaching him looking for solutions about what they should do for living arrangements during the time span.
“A lot of the time people concentrate on when they are going to move in and not when they are moving out. But you got to keep your schedule in mind,” Cronin said.
He said that DTN can usually work out a deal with students who are moving to another DTN apartment for the fall.
“Usually the lease dates work out so they can extend one lease and move up one lease so they don’t have to move out, or shack at a friend’s house for a week,” he said.
Zoology senior Andrea Christensen said she realized her apartment lease at Arbor Glen was ending near the end of July, but since it was renewed for the coming year, she didn’t worry.
“They state it in the lease multiple times,” Christensen said. “I’ve also seen apartments that have papers on their door that say they need to out by the 24th, and that they are going to come in and inspect then.”
Cecelia Filko, property manager of 2900 Place Apartments, said security deposits are put down when residents move in to ensure they return apartments to their original condition.
“We do the final inspection when they move out,” Filko said. “If there are no damages we process the account, and if there aren’t any charges the money is refunded to the lease holder. If there are damages we do apply the security deposit (for repairs). If there are portions left after that, the money is refunded to the resident.”
Filko said that most security deposits withheld at 2900 Place Apartments go to pay the final utility bills such as electric and water, but that they also can be used for extra cleaning costs and pickup of large items such as mattresses.
Political science senior Michael Haught said he and his roommates were wrongly charged more than $1,000 when the management of the house he was living in switched.
He said the house’s previous tenants weren’t required to fill out a damage form, assessing the state of the house upon their move-in and move-out dates.
He and his roommates ended up winning a court case and didn’t have to pay the money, he said.
“I would suggest not to let the management companies push you around, you have rights as a leaser,” Haught said.
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