For students looking to live off campus next year, Binghamton University offers a few different resources — including a “bad landlord book.”
Off Campus College is also a tool for students looking to rent or sublet houses. David Husch, director of OCC, said that the department provides students with the information they need to move off campus.
One useful resource is what students refer to as the “bad landlord book.” Students write reviews of past landlords, putting students in touch with the right people, Husch said.
OCC will review leases for students so they know what they are getting into, Husch said. He also urged students to make sure they reviewed the exterior of the house, instead of just focusing on the interior and forgetting to make sure things are in good shape outside.
Finding the right people to live with is also important, according to Husch.
“It is important to find roommates that you’ll be compatible with,” he said. “You don’t always know if you’ll be able to stand them.”
Alex Dawson, a senior majoring in biology, said there are both negative and positive aspects to living in a big house.
“I like that I live with a lot of people,” Dawson said. “There’s always someone to talk to and always something going on.”
Still, some difficulties with housemates do arise, she said.
“You wouldn’t believe how dirty some people are when they don’t have Mom and Dad picking up after them,” Dawson said, adding that she made the decision to get away from cramped dorm-style living in her junior year. Her older friends warned her about bad landlords and put her in contact with ones that had positive reviews.
She suggested looking for a place that has a managing company, as in her experience, it is much easier to work with a company than a single landlord.
Dawson said that living off campus means students don’t constantly have someone looking over their shoulders.
Campus is a hassle because it is far away from everything, she said, and you need a cab to get pretty much anywhere.
Kristen Hansen, a junior majoring in nursing, said that living off campus comes with new responsibilities, and students have to learn to prioritize and manage time because they often live with a bunch of friends.
“Its fun, but you have to focus,” she said, adding that she had been nervous that living off campus would be hard because of the demands of her major — she has to travel to Syracuse at 5:30 a.m. every morning to do clinical work, so she needed to live in a quiet environment.
Like Dawson, Hansen has experience with dirty housemates. Dishes are the biggest problem.
“When you live with close friends, it’s harder to tell people that they need to clean up after themselves,” she said.
Hansen stressed the importance of making an agreement with your housemates about paying rent, cleanliness and other household issues.
Other adjustments Hansen has needed to make are waking up earlier before classes to factor in the drive and weather conditions.
There is not the convenience of waking up and walking to class, she said. Now she needs to worry about other things, like traffic and parking.
Overall, Dawson and Hansen both said they are happy with their living situation.
Hansen said there was one final tip she would give students.
“Make sure you know the people you’re living with,” she said.