Going to Grad School: Signing the Lease

You've been approved for your apartment and its time to sign your lease!

Usually a representative of the apartment will go through the lease with you and show you where to initial, sign, and date the document. Even though they will offer a brief summary of each page, it is SO important  that you read each page and section, you need to know what you are agreeing to. A lease is a legally binding document.

Usually at the same that you sign the lease, the guaranty form will need to be completed. This form should be completed by someone (usually a parent or guardian) who agrees to pay your rent for you if you don't for some reason.

There may be additional forms filled out at this time as well. Such as pet or vehicle information.

You may also need to submit your security deposit at this time if you haven't already.

There is often a Community Policy Handbook that you will have to sign and agree to abide by.

Again, be sure to read everything that you sign!

Soon, it will be time to move in!

Unitl then,

Sharon

Going to Grad School: Applying for your Apartment

Congratulations! You've found your ideal apartment; so now it's time to apply!

If you can, I reccommend applying in person, that way the leasing agent or apartment representative will be able to ensure that your application is complete.

If you can't apply in person, don't fret! Many apartments allow you to apply online either through a form online or you may be able to fax or email the application to the apartment manager.

In addition to the actual application, you will usually need to pay an application fee, some complexes require you to submit your deposit with your application, they may request a copy of your ID, and most students require a guarantor so there is often a form for your potential guarantor to sign.

Once your application is complete, the complex will likely look into your credit history, perform a criminal background check, and often check your rental history.

As long as everything comes back clear; you'll be approved and it'll be time to sign the lease! I'll be back next time with some advice on signing the lease.

Good luck,

Sharon

Going to Grad School: Finding a Place to Live

During the spring semester of my senior year at Texas State University, I applied to the master's non-thesis Marine Biology IDP program at TAMUG. I was accepted.

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to go or not, but after I applied for a ton of jobs, I hoped that that was a signal from the man upstairs that I should go ahead and go to grad school.

This meant that I had to find a place to live in Galveston. But as I'm about four hours away, that is quite difficult.

I googled Apartments in Galveston, TX which did return results, but ultimately wasn't that helpful. I looked on craigslist for apartments which helped me find two possible complexes and I looked up apartment locators in Galveston. However, the most useful resource was from the University's website.

Many Universities have information about off-campus living. This is probably the most reliable resource you can use. Although TAMUG requires all undergraduate students to live on campus, they have a listing of apartments which are willing to work with students, this listing also included what the rental rates were and what was included.

What to look for:

1. Rent - First, make yourself an approximate budget and determine how much you can afford in monthly rent. Do not look at apartments that are above your price range.

2. Utilities - Some apartments which are geared toward students will include all or some amount of the utilities. But it is very important to know what you are expected to pay. At my two apartments in San Marcos, no utilities were included. The electricity was metered and paid through the city, which worked out quite well. At my first apartment gas and water were allocated (water was allocated at my second apartment), which frustrated me. This means that your water bill is dependent on the entire building's water usage, which is then divided by the number and square footage of the units. So it is very difficult to control bills for utilities that are allocated. Utilities also tend to change from month to month so when rent includes all of your  utilities, budgeting is a lot easier.

3. Proximity to campus - I prefer to live within walking distance to campus, but if you don't mind living further and driving to and from school then you can increase your search radius. Often, apartments further from campus are less expensive. Also, if yur school has a bus system, its a good idea to look for an apartment that is either on the bus route or within walking distance of a bus stop.

4. Lease length - Often student's only live in the college town during the school year. If you plan to go home during the summer, it's a good idea to look for an apartment that offers 9 moth lease terms. But often, you may be stuck with a 12 month lease.

5. Roommates - Living with roommates is often less expensive, but can introduce new issues. Living in an apartment that offers "by-the-bed" leasing can help to reduce tensions because you aren't responsible for your roommates rent. If you would like to have roommates to save money, but don't have anyone to live with, keep in mind that many apartments do "roommate matching" though it should be noted that they may not try that hard to match you with someone. I have friends who say that you should not live with friends, because it may ruin the friendship. While this isn't true of everyone, I have seen it happen. If you do live with roommates, I recommend suggesting a "Roommate Agreement" which may help ease tension and reduce future problems. Just remember, you have to stick to the roommate agreement, not just your new roommate.

6. Do you have pets that you will be bringing with you? Most apartments have a pet deposit or pet rent. Some complexes have breed restrictions on dogs. These are things to be aware of when looking for your apartment.

Once you've found your ideal apartment, it's time to apply! I'll talk about that in my next post.

Happy hunting,

Sharon

Apartment Agreement

Have you ever watched the tv show, The Big Bang Theory? Do you know that Sheldon made Leonard sign “The Roommate Agreement?” Let’s look at some of the aspects of that contract:

·         If Sheldon becomes a zombie, Leonard cannot shoot him.

·         The Skynet Clause states the Leonard must help Sheldon destroy an Artificial Intelligence that Sheldon created that is taking over the earth.

·         Removal or addition of furniture must be approved by Sheldon

·         Sheldon must ask Leonard how he is once each day

·         The thermostat must always be set to 72 degrees

·         Roommates must give 12 hours notification if they want to have a guest

·         All ties will be broken by Sheldon

·         And many, many other items (seriously, this is a great show and you should watch it!)

Now with those delightful tid-bits in mind, what I’m about to say might sound ridiculous, but I suggested to my roommate that before we even moved into our apartment, we should come up with a roommate agreement. Now you may think I’m a crazy, tightly wound, control freak (like Sheldon), but the idea is a good one (and if you do a little google search, you’ll find it’s actually fairly common). And I think I know why, if you lay out reasonable expectations for a new roommate prior to actually living together, you are bound to avoid some disagreements and misunderstandings. Furthermore, it is not a unilateral decision, it is an open dialogue between two (or more) roommates, and usually a lack of communication causes failure of all types of relationships. If communication is open from the beginning, and expectations are understood, there will probably be far fewer problems in the future.

Here’s how creating the roommate agreement worked for us:

1.       I suggested we create a roommate agreement.

2.       She agreed.

3.       She emailed me a list of ideas for the roommate agreement.

4.       I looked over her list and got a little nervous about some of the things on it.

5.       I considered how I could change the things that bothered me, for example:

a.       She said: If one of us wants to have friends or family over, we have to ask the other roommate first.

b.      I didn’t like the idea of having to ask every time I wanted to have someone over so I countered with: We have “visiting hours” from 8AM – 10PM; if we will have someone over outside of those hours or overnight, we have to inform the other roommate.

6.       Then I added a few other things and sent the list back to her.

7.       She said she thought it looked good.

8.       Once we are both moved into the apartment, we will look it over again, do any final tweaking, print it out (possibly on pretty paper), and post it (probably on the fridge).

Things we are including in our roommate agreement:

·         How bills and rent are split

·         Visitors

·         Cleaning

·         “Open/Closed Door Policy: If the door is closed to their room, expect that the roommate is studying or needs privacy”

·         Be respectful- basically try not to disturb the other roommate if they are studying

·         Use of Roommate’s Things – basically don’t without asking

·         Groceries

·         Pets

·         Apartment temperature

·         Minimize electric and water use

·         Flexibility clause – it’s a “living document,” like the constitution!

·         Argument clause aka what to do in case of an argument

·         Keep the front door locked

·         Monthly check-ins (got this idea from another blog – Click here for the blog post where Lauren Conrad mentions this idea!

Admittedly, our Roommate Agreement is a little long (its 4 pages doubke spaced), and it’s still a work in progress, but I do think it’s a good idea. Hopefully, it will help keep me accountable with doing my part to keep the common areas of the apartment clean (I can be a bit disorganized). And hopefully, it will help to keep us happy and friendly with each other (we are friends after all). I think this is a good idea for anyone who is living together, whether in an apartment or a dorm. I’ll let you know how it goes!

I’m not sure what to say here,

Sharon