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October 2001
NEWS
Students unite to form one voice of hope
WAC gives audience better understanding
IMPRESSIONS
Editorial: We need to
set higher standards
Letters to the
editor:
Da playas gonna play
Men are from the "O" and
women are from "Starbucks"
Court approves peaceful minute
SPECIAL FEATURE
Americans face their
toughest challenge
Proud beyond words to be an American
Rude awakening just the
beginning
People wait for shock to settle
Students react to attacks
FEATURE
Finding the sweetest pad
in Pittsburgh
ENTERTAINMENT
Review of Slaughterhouse by Gail A.
Eisnitz
Street musician is on
prowl in Pittsburgh
EXPRESSIONS
Evangelistic dorm talk with Thomas B. Grosh IV
regarding the events of September 11,01
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October online edition
FEATURE
Finding the best pad in Pittsburgh
Jeremy Day
Editor in Chief
Looking for a nice place to rent can be troublesome, but it doesn't have to be.
Sure it takes a little bit of time and effort, but it all pays off in the end
when you find the best place ever to live and have your friends over for some
great times. So, to save yourself headaches later you need to do a little work
now. It's called investing in your future and it is something every college
student needs to learn how to do before they graduate if they want to be
successful in life.
So
where do we begin? First off you need to realize that when you rent an
apartment or house you are the customer and the landlord has an obligation to
provide the customer with the best service possible. That means a landlord
should be kind and respectful when dealing with you. If they aren't kind to you
now when you are trying to give them money, think what will happen if you have a
problem later that costs your landlord money. Don't be intimidated by
landlords. Are you intimidated when you go to the store to buy something like a
stereo system? Probably not. Granted, renting seems like a bigger deal than
buying a stereo system, but it really isn't. So, the first rule is to find a
landlord who will work with you to help you make an educated decision.
Probably the most important thing after finding a good landlord is to
investigate the house to find out what it is like. Some people will say the
house is the most important thing, but a house is a house. There are plenty of
them and if the landlord is actually a "slumlord" than no matter how great the
house is it won't be worth it in the long run. So, what are the important
things to look for in a house? Well like I said before a house is a house so
the condition of the house is more important then how many rooms it has or how
big it is although those are important things to consider too. The two most
important things to check are the plumbing and heating/cooling systems. Check
all faucets to make sure the water flows nicely and clearly. There should be no
clogs, and no weird colored water. Most importantly, make sure the toilet
flushes and flushes well! This is very important. The drain in the shower
should drain well too. I can't tell you how much of a problem those things can
be.
You
also need to find out if there is air conditioning in the summer if you prefer
it to ceiling fans. In my house I have ceiling fans and I don’t mind the heat
all that much. Even more important is the heating system for the winter. If a
house isn't heated well it will be horrible living there in the winter months.
After
you check these you can worry about the rest of the house. Is it roomy enough
for your tastes? Houses are bigger, and sometimes less expensive than
apartments. Does it have an adequate kitchen if you plan on doing some
cooking? I love cooking so I needed a place with a very good working gas stove
and a large refrigerator. In fact we have two in our house. How is the
telephone system set up in each room of the house? I need my Internet access
which is why my bedroom has it's own phone line. Mainly you are looking to
match your own personal preferences, so it doesn't matter too much what I say on
the subject.
One
thing I will say, though, is that a house needs to be well kept and clean. If
the landlord is showing a place that is not well kept than tell him or her
thanks and move on. If a landlord doesn't have their place well kept than their
new tenants (that's you!) will probably not be well taken care of either.
Now
on to what some people think is the most important detail of any place they rent
and that is the price. I will say it is a personal preference because some
people like to spend more than others. In any case, you can find nice
affordable housing anywhere. You can, also, usually negotiate the terms. Many
landlords will say they have tons of people lining up behind you to rent the
place, but that is not always the case. It is o.k. to play a little tough
because there are always other places, but you don't want to get a landlord mad
for no reason. Here are some guidelines to go by.
For
starters I will let you know the average renter will be paying somewhere around
$300 a month plus utilities and it will be on a year lease. Your room bill for
the university should be anywhere from $1600 to $2500 a semester which works out
to around $400 to $600 a month. That is a lot of money to be paying for rooms
that are very small, but that is just a preference of mine. I like large
places.
Anyhow, the market for places to rent causes prices to be lower than what the
university charges because the university has no competition and landlords have
lots of competition. They can either rent at lower rates or have vacancies,
which means they make no money. Which would you rather have?
I
live in a four bedroom, two bath house that rents for $900 a month plus
utilities, which are about $160 to $200 a month. This works out to $1100 a
month spread over four people, or just under $300 a month per person. Not bad,
right? Now, if we look at the same place Pitt rents out, it comes to about
$2000 per person per semester. A semester is four months long, so a person will
pay about $500 a month with utilities included. Considering that, it looks like
I am saving myself $200 a month.
Lastly, all this hassle will pay off in the experience you receive when you go
about looking for a place to rent. You will learn a lot about how real estate
and renting works and hopefully it will prepare you to purchase your own home
some day. Feel free to email me if you have any further questions, and happy
house hunting!
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Volume I: Issue II
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