Fall signals time to sign leases in city

The changing of the leaves usually signals the time to sign leases for students looking to live off campus for the following year. For some, it’s just putting a signature on a dotted line to gain peace of mind, but some warn to read the small print before signing.

Most rentals, which include houses and apartments, offer leases to student renters in the fall. Fred Bauries, an owner of various East Lansing rentals, said the university spotlights off-campus housing for students in the fall and landlords like to be prepared.

“I think all landlords, most landlords, try to rent as far ahead as they can, in part because most of us believe we wind up with better tenants,” Bauries said.

Despite the quick signing of leases, Bauries said he felt sometimes students rush into signing leases before they know exactly where they want to live.

“I am always surprised with students who feel like it’s part of the drill to move every year,” he said.

East Lansing Operations Administrator for Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Conservation Annette Irwin said she also sees students quickly signing leases before reading the fine print.

“Don’t sign a lease because you feel pressure to hurry up and find a place to live,” Irwin said in an e-mail.

“Do research up front and really think about where you want to commit to living for at least a year and who you are committing to living with.”

Often times students that sign leases far in advance can’t get out of the leases later on if they decide to live somewhere else, or if they break a lease, it will cost a fee. Rick Cascarilla, an attorney for Murphy, Brenton & Spagnuolo, an East Lansing law firm, said early lease signing can be both a positive and a negative.

“It works both ways,” Cascarilla said. “You have a place to live, but if a problem comes along, you may not be able to terminate it.”

For some, the early leases caused them to not want to live off campus. James Madison freshman Ashley Hofert said she decided to live on campus until her junior year.

“It’s really early to decide,” Hofert said. “We just got here a month ago and now we have to make the decision of where we’re living and who we’re living with? I’m sure that would be just horrible if you didn’t know them very well, if you didn’t know (whether) you could live with them.”