Every spring at Ohio University, campus becomes filled with flowers, sunbathers and fliers advertising available summer housing.
Because most Athens landlords have gone to 12-month leases, many students bound by a rental agreement but not staying in Athens during the summer are looking for someone to sublease, said Jim Hintz, coordinator of OU's Off-Campus Living Office.
While Hintz did not have available statistics, he said the number of students looking for someone to sublease seems to increase during Spring Quarter. Because students often do not decide whether they will stay in Athens during the summer until the spring, this could be a factor in the increase, he said.
With this increase, however, many students are looking for someone to sublease, but few want to sign a lease agreement, Hintz said.
Fliers are not the most efficient way to advertise for available space, he said. People out of town can see advertisements in newspapers, he said, adding that Mulberry e-mail users have access to an announcements mailbox, where people can post apartment listings.
If I had a good strategy
I'd win a prize Hintz said.
OU junior Kristi Squibb, a resident assistant, said she applied to be an administrative resident assistant for next academic year and had already signed a lease agreement, but when she got the position, she needed someone to take her place on the lease.
Squibb said she found someone by advertising in the paper, but having more options for advertising would have been helpful because she had little time to find a subleaser.
The Office of Off-Campus Living does not have a system in place to connect subletting students looking for students in need of housing, but it might develop an online resource for next year, Hintz said.
We're looking into a couple options because we recognize that as a problem he said.
Right now, the office provides other assistance for students preparing to live off campus. One transition program, Ramen
Roomies & Rights: Your Guide to Living Off-Campus
educates students about searching for housing and their rights and responsibilities as tenants and Athens residents, according to the office's Web site, www.ohiou.edu/offcampus.
Guy Philips, a property owner at HousingHotLink.com, a Web site that advertises available apartment and house space in Athens, said most of his properties have a 12-month lease mainly because tenants need a place to put furniture when the school year is not in session.
The rent for a three-quarter lease is often more expensive than that for a four-quarter lease, Philips said. For example, a four-quarter lease might be $900 a quarter and a three-quarter lease might be $1,200 a quarter, he said.
HousingHotLink.com provides assistance in finding subletters, but students typically find subletters through friends, Philips said. In general, subleasing does not happen as often with Philips' tenants because many stay in Athens over the summer, he said.
17
Archives
Bethany Furkin
