THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 7A
Web site, center assist house-hunting students
Both resources aid off-campus housing search
It's hunting season again apartment hunting, that is.
Crunch time always seems to kick in right before spring break, right when it's time to unwind from all that responsibility. Then it dawns on you: Where in the heck am I going to live next year?
Whether you're a freshman ready to flee the dorms or an off-campus resident looking to flee from your landlord, it's about time you started some serious searching.
Sam Pierron, director of the off-campus living resource center, helps students find housing to suit their needs. The center is located on the fourth floor of the Kansas Union in the Student Organizations and Leadership Development Center and can be contacted at 864-4164.
Pierron gives apartment hunters an off-campus search guide, which outlines some key issues.
First, the guide asks to determine the number of people you want to live with. This seems like common sense, but the number of rooms you will need limits your search options. The off-campus center offers roommate and sublease searches on its Web site, www.ku.edu/~oclc.
Preliminary considerations aside, Pierron also gives students a list of questions they should consider when considering various living situations, such as: Is there enough parking? Is there enough closet space? Are the doors thick enough to stop sound? Does the complex or area feel safe to you?
Nicole Roche
nroche@kansan.com
Crunch time always seems to kick in right before spring break, right when it's time to unwind from responsibility. Whether you're a freshman or an off-campus resident,it's time you started searching.
The Lawrence Apartment Directory, which can be found outside local grocery stores or accessed at www.apartmentdirectory.com, provides future renters with a comprehensive directory of Lawrence apartments.
This guide outlines what types of units are available,what features the complex offers,what utilities are paid for and what the complex's pet policy is.The guide also provides contact information and a map pinpointing the complex's location.
Unfortunately the guide doesn't provide apartment prices, but that's leg work you can do once you've narrowed your choices.
I recommend picking up one
of these guides and marking it as you view various apartments. Otherwise, after two or three tours, it will be difficult to remember which apartment had the teal, flowery shutters, the blood stains on the carpet or the ridiculous $700 rent for a two-bedroom unit.
Make sure to visit the unit more than once, especially if you think you've made your decision.
The resource center's search guide recommends meeting someone in the complex and asking to compare his unit to the one you've been shown. The show unit will be, of course, in immaculate condition and it's best to face the reality of the situation before signing the lease.
Also, the guide mentions, apartment complexes have a variety of plans and they won't necessarily tell you the differences if you don't ask.
Beware of the customary apartment complex bluff, "we're almost out of units, so you'll need to make your decision now."
Pierron said there was an overabundance of housing in Lawrence. The reason he recommends selecting a housing option now, he said, was to broaden students' options.
"By locking your choice in early," he said. "You're much more likely to get what you want in terms of price, location and convenience."
Reporter Nicole Roché covers a consumer issue each week. She is a Wichita senior in journalism.
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