UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, October 9, 1996
5A
Homes need upkeep to secure deposits
Leasing agents suggest cleaning rentals regularly
By Eric Weslander Kansan staff writer
To protect his apartment's security deposit, Mike Vodicka is taking a broad approach to good housekeeping.
"We just try not to trash the place when we come home belligerently drunk," said Vodicka, Libertyville, Ill., sophomore. "If you break walls, destroy furniture and ruin the carpet, that's really where they're going to hit you for the most cash."
Caved-in walls and carpets that look like ink-blot tests are not the only ways students can lose their security deposits. Lynne Logan, resident manager for Meadowbrook apartments, said it was important for residents to clean their apartments routinely.
She said small tasks such as cleaning ovens and toilets were
overlooked frequently. In addition, she said residents should use tacks or nails instead of poster putty, which can leave stains.
Other companies, such as Kaw Valley Management, deduct from security deposits for reasons that are not related to maintenance. Julie Dickinson, Kaw Valley bookkeeper, said the company deducted from security deposits if residents were late consistently with payments.
To avoid these problems, residents should examine their lease carefully, Dickinson said. She said students, who are about 40 percent of Kaw Valley's residents, had more problems with their deposits than other residents.
Logan said it was important for residents to pay attention during the initial walk through, in which a manager notes problems with the apartment before the resident moves in. If the inspector misses something, such as a scratch in the counter top or a broken doorknob, Logan said it was possible for the management to return and look at the problem.
Problems arise, she said, when residents continually claim to find new problems.
Security deposits
How tenants can protect their security deposits:
Frequently clean toilets and ovens
Avoid using poster putty.
Immediately clean up spills on carpet.
- Keep wall damage to a minimum.
Be familiar with the lease and its stipulations regarding security deposits.
"Then you start not believing it all, but usually people are generally honest," she said.
Students who think that they have been unfairly denied their returned security deposit can seek help from Legal Services for Students. Director Jo Hardesty said landlord-tenant cases often went to small claims court or district court.
She said students should seek legal help if their landlords automatically charged for routine cleaning such as shampooing rugs.
Students help haunt house
"It's only supposed to be things beyond normal wear and tear," she said.
By Jeff Ruby
Kansan staff writer
Maze provides safe Halloween option
Phantoms of the night, exchanging glances ...
The Lawrence Community Theatre, with help from KU fraternities and sororites, has created its fourth annual theatrical version of a haunted house. Phantoms of the Night will provide a fun, tame Halloween alternative for area youth, said co-chairman Jon Hobble.
"This is not the blood and guts of the usual Halloween haunted house," he said. "We've gotten calls from Kansas City because people don't want their kids to go to The Edge of Hell. They say their kids aren't ready for that. This is a safe alternative to the typical Halloween thing."
For the next three weekends, the judging arena of the Douglas County Fairgrounds will be converted into a dark maze of small rooms inhabited with various ghouls and goblins in the hopes of raising $7,000 for the Lawrence Community Theatre.
Minions of the night, played by members of the theatre, will escort visitors from room to
the usual
"This is not the blood and guts of
Halloween
haunted house."
mandarin
co-chairman, Phantoms of the Night.
room, where they will encounter such creatures as the Grim Reaper and Freddie Krueger. That's where 12 KU greek organizations come in, adopting rooms in the haunted house, Hobbie said.
"Sigma Nu and Kappa Kappa Gamma are running a Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory," Hobble said. "Pi Phi and Fiji are running a haunted swamp. Gamma Phi Beta and the Phil Deltis are doing a medieval torture chamber."
Erin Mullins, Springfield, Mo., sophomore, is one of 30 Kappa Kappa Gamma members participating in the project as part of the sorority's community service hours for Rock Chalk Revue.
"it's really geared more toward little kids," Mullins said of the
haunted maze. "The whole show is toned down for them. But the most brununctious kids are always the junior high school boys. They always want to smash stuff and grab you."
Hobble said the theatre's presentation catered to young children with two special hauntings called Goose Bumps in the Light, which will be at 1 p.m. Oct. 19 and 28.
"A good percentage of University kids have children," he said. "So we run a Saturday matinee with all the lights on, and the young kids love it."
But Hobble said adults were not immune to the Halloween spirit, particularly a few young-at-heart, adventurous locals.
"This guy — every year — dresses up in a costume and really gets into it," Hobble said. "He shows up and wanders around. He can't be Dracula this year because he grew a beard, so he'll be the Wolfman."
At the door, tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children. Advance tickets are on sale at Alvin's IGA, Dillons stores, Hy-Vee Food and Drug stores and SuperTarget. Advance tickets cost $5 for adults and $3.50 for children.
Phantoms of the Night will run from 7 to 10 p.m.
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