Despite the damage done to houses during large parties, events such as Palmerfest actually make the residences on fest streets more valuable, some landlords said.
Karen Gibbs, a secretary for Hunter Rentals, which rents a two-bedroom house on Palmer Street, said that Palmer Street rentals are more expensive than rentals on other streets.
They're popular areas and kids want to live there
Gibbs said. A similar house on the West Side of Athens could rent for two or three hundred dollars cheaper per quarter than one on Palmer Street.
Gibbs added that Court Street used to be the hot spot for off-campus living, but during recent years, streets such as Street, Mill, and High that host annual fests have become more popular.
At last year's Palmerfest, partygoers started three fires using couches and other furniture. The Athens Fire Department extinguished the fires, and mounted police and officers in riot gear had to come out to control the crowds.
Because of the demand for party-oriented locations, landlords have the luxury of choosing their tenants.
We do have an application process so we can kind of pick and choose. We review application forms as they come in said Patrick Daugherty, property manager of Bobcat Rentals, which rents 15 houses and apartments on Palmer Street.
Despite the mayhem Palmer Street has seen, neither Bobcat Rentals nor Athens Ohio Rentals has had to make any major insurance claims.
As far as insurance
nothing has ever come into play that we needed to contact an insurance company
Daugherty said.
Daugherty said he has also noticed that students are being more conscientious with the upkeep and security of their homes.
Sean Miller, a junior studying organizational communications, said he and his roommates have decided to keep their rented Palmer house open only to close friends during Palmerfest.
We're only letting good friends inside the house
he said. But all of the bedrooms will be locked
and only one bathroom will be open. We're taking down all of the pictures and putting all of the furniture up against the wall.
It's almost impossible to control who is outside of your house
but we're really going to control who goes inside
he added.
Not all landlords view Palmerfest as a negative thing due to students who act responsibly and sensibly at Palmerfest.
As a property manager
I'd like to see Palmerfest continue because it creates a draw to that street and gets the students involved in the community
Daugherty said, explaining that students have to work together to clean up after the fest.
Miller said he does not know what to expect from Saturday's fest.
People are either going to calm down
