For many students, the light at the end of the dormitory tunnel is their own off-campus apartment - the chance for a little unbridled freedom and a whole room to themselves.
The freedom of an off-campus apartment, however, doesn't come without a price, which often comes in the forms of bills, repairs and negligent landlords.
For Dan Mohorter, a senior English major, an invisible landlord means a broken washing machine.
"The motor burned out or the fan broke, and I called him to fix it, and he said I'm not responsible for that because it's not in the lease," Mohorter said.
According to Mohorter, the washer still hasn't been fixed and he hasn't heard from his landlord, who he hasn't seen in eight months, since he requested the repair.
"It's somewhat worth it to be living off-campus," Mohorter said. "I've had worse landlords than this."
Seeking an Apartment
But before a student gets to complain about a landlord, he or she has to decide to move off-campus and find an apartment in the first place. For the many students who move off-campus each year, there are plenty of reasons to move - and plenty of precautions to take in order to ensure a prospective landlord will be responsible.
"I had grown out of the dorms," Hayley Labigan, a junior exercise science major, said of her motivation to move to a house on Merrimac Street near South Campus.
The first start for many students interviewed by The Spectrum was to use classified advertisements to locate prospective houses.
The Office of Off-Campus Housing recommends that students look over potential properties before renting.
"We had looked at it (the house) about three times," Labigan said.
Roommate Liz Lang, a junior nursing major said it was difficult getting all six roommates to agree on one place.
To get a good idea about whether a place is good property to pursue, talk to the landlord and other students who have lived there, said Ryan Furey, a senior theater major and staff member of the Off-Campus Housing office.
In addition to the price of rent, said Furey, it is a wise idea to ask about the amount of the security deposit required and how much monthly utilities will be.
The next step is signing a lease. Both Group Legal Services and the Office of Off-Campus Housing advise students to have a written lease to avoid potential problems with landlords, instead of a verbal agreement on the amount and timing of rent payment.
"With a written lease both parties know their rights and responsibilities," said Todd Thomas, director of Group Legal Services.
Thomas recommends that students have their leases looked over by an attorney before they sign.
"So many landlords use generic leases, student housing has a lot of unique needs," Thomas said.
Amber Corbett, a junior social science and anthropology major, and her roommate Lisa Greco, a junior psychology and health and human services major, had their parents look over the lease before signing.
A Two-Way Street
The relationship between landlords and tenants is one of rights and responsibilities, with each in charge of certain aspects of the property.
According to literature from Group Legal Services, the city of Buffalo mandates that landlords provide a heating system capable of heating all rooms to 72 degrees, hot and cold running water and a window in every habitable room, among other things. In return, renters are responsible for such things as keeping the property clean and obeying maximum occupancy laws.
Thomas said that about 40 percent of total students seeking help from Group Legal Services are looking for help resolving a dispute with their landlord.
"He (our landlord) is really bad. We are glad we are getting a new one," Greco said of her inability to effectively reach her landlord. Corbett described problems they had with a leaky shower and said she believed her landlord may have too many properties to handle all of them effectively at the same time.
"We'll go months without paying (rent)," John Davoli, a senior psychology major said of the mainly absentee landlord of his LaSalle Avenue house. "We thought he was dead. We checked the obituaries."
Davoli said that those living in the house made all the necessary repairs on it, if any repairs were made at all.
Labigan and Lang, however, had a better relationship with their landlord, saying they called him about once every two weeks and that he was always responsive to their concerns.
Most students interviewed were hard pressed to find disadvantages to living off-campus.
"It's so much more exciting to have your own place, your own room," Greco, a resident of Merrimac Avenue, said. "I like to be able to do what I want with my place."
Lang and Corbett find it difficult getting around without cars, however. And Lang said she often felt unsafe walking home at night.
Corbett and Greco agreed that having the responsibility of paying bills was a disadvantage.
But overall - despite the threat of landlord troubles and winter utility bills - Greco was pleased with her experience.
"It's the college life down here, close to campus and the bars," Greco said.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
