March Madness is upon us, in more ways than one. Of course this is the time of year our attention turns to college basketball, tournament brackets and underdogs. But college students also are in a state of March Madness of another reason — housing issues. Specifically, now’s the time they start scrambling to secure off-campus housing for the coming school year.
Here’s what you should know about renting property to college students:
1. Make sure that the college students renting the apartment make enough money to cover the rent, or have their parents cosign the lease.
2. Make sure they understand the rental agreement is for one full year, not just during semesters. If they’re going to head “home” for the summer, they’ll need to find someone to sign a sub-lease or they’ll have to cover the rent themselves.
3. Make sure each person on the lease is responsible for the entire rent amount. College students sometimes switch roommates and housing mid-year due to personal conflicts, internships or studying abroad, so each tenant has to understand he/she is responsible for paying the entire rent amount until a new roommate is found and the lease is transferred.
4. Get a full security deposit to protect your assets from potential damage. College students are largely a responsible bunch who will respect your property while they live there, but parties and other gatherings will bring plenty of people through your place who might not be so respectful. It’s best to get a healthy security deposit and go over just what kind of cleaning and repairs will come out of that deposit if necessary.
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