Complexes cater to year-round students
In a college town like Mount Pleasant, it is very common to see apartment complexes that offer both 10-month and 12-month leases.
However, a six-month lease is impossible to find.
“Six-month leases don’t work for anything,” said Phil Langlois, Tallgrass manager. “I rent to students and deal with school year leases.”
Because of this, students who graduate in December or have plans to transfer are left with very few options on places to live.
“There are two of us that are graduating in December and we wanted to find a place that offered a semester lease,” said Royal Oak senior Kate Vickers. “I called almost every apartment complex in town and none of them had that option.”
There is the option of subleasing for those people that will only be here for a semester.
“I don’t mind leasing for six months if the student would find their own subleasor, but I don’t want to be involved in finding them,” said Alan Quick, Colony West Apartments owner. “I sign a lot of leases with students leaving at the semester and they tell me they are going to have a subleasor.”
Students have the opportunity to find other people to take over their lease, he said.
“I don’t want to be involved in the process of finding that other person though,” Quick said. “Students are in a much better position to find a subleasor because they have access to a whole university of students.”
Vickers said finding a subleasor can be difficult.
“We were offered the option of having a subleasor, but it is hard to find one with two of us leaving in December. We would have to find two people to move in,” she said. “I see signs up (from people looking for subleasors) all of the time as late as December and January, and that was just too much of a hassle.”
Sterling University Meadows began offering semester leases mid-2000.
“We did it because it was more convenient for the students,” said Mark Keely, community assistant. “There was a demand for it and our corporate office said we could go up to 30 apartments with semester leases.”
Monday, however, that policy changed.
“Our corporate office changed the semester leasing policy because it was monetarily unfeasible,” said Patty Glinis, leasing assistant manager. “The turnover, which is the time between old people leaving and the new people coming in, is very stressful and expensive with repainting and repairs.
“We do that twice a year now and with semester leases we would have to do it three times,” she said.
Glinis said trying to fill a vacant apartment in the middle of the year also can become difficult, but the complex tries to serve students the best it can.
“We would love to cater to the need of the students and make sure things are available for them and make this a great place for them to be while they are away from home, but this decision came down from corporate so there is nothing we can do,” she said.
Vickers said seeking out an apartment adds unneeded stress.
“Looking for an apartment was very frustrating because it is one of those things that is hard to find anyway, but to not even have the option is worse,” she said. “The last thing I needed was that stress on top of everything with graduation.”
Returning to the residence halls for the final semester of school is the only option left for some who graduate in December.
“I am glad I have the option to live in my sorority house because they have no problem signing semester leases,” Vickers said. “It came down to this or living in the residence halls, and this is a much better choice.”
