another housing Q

[mosfet]

How does housing work........Do we sign a semester lease and a deposit up front or is it a 6 month or 12 month lease. And do we have an option to not sign a contract at all and pay month after month.

[oc23]

i have heard a couple people say they're on a month-to-month, but most students are on a semester lease. as far as i know, you are always required to sign a contract. of course, just like it is in the states, you have to put down a deposit in order to reserve the apartment in your name. most landlords require a 1-month notice of intent to leave and, based on my experience, you will get your deposit on the day you move out. however, i do know of a few people who moved out a either at the end of last semester or early this semester who still haven't gotten their deposits back. receipts are very important. if you don't have it, don't expect to get your deposit back even if your landlord has a copy of it.

[masterwu6]

The leases are generally by the semester. However some landlords will simply allow you to pay month to month. Most landlords will require a deposit, usually a month's rent. In the end, it all depends on your landlord.

[MitchDC]

If you are smart, you'll rent from a University approved landlord. The University has produced a contract that the University Approved landlords have agreed to. This document is several pages and contracts the landlords to fix problems, be responsive, an stand up to their part of the contract. It also stipulates a one-semester contract, which renews semester by semester. As stated above, the typical deposit is one months rent. If you don't sign a contract, you have no rights! The University will support you if you sign with an approved landlord and apartment.

MitchDC

How does housing work........Do we sign a semester lease and a deposit up front or is it a 6 month or 12 month lease. And do we have an option to not sign a contract at all and pay month after month.

[mosfet]

Even if it is a semester contract, we still pay month to month, right??

[MitchDC]

Yes, of course you pay month to month just like most places.

MitchDC

[mosfet]

Gotta weird and complicated question!

Let's say I pay my first month's rent and the security deposit and sign a semester long contract. What if for some reason I decide to abruptly leave the place after the first month 'cause I didn't like it or whatever. Now, will I only lose my deposit or do I have to keep paying for the rest of the months since I signed a semester long contract.

[Dru]

OK, so if Ross or Devry has bought the Portsmouth Beach Resort facility, AND it is on the official Ross "approved housing"...WHY:

1. WHY do the doors all not have weather strips? The insects (including the poisonous large red critters) come marching in under the one inch gap to defy students, even when confronted with several blows with a shoe and 1/3 of a can of Bop.

2. WHY do the windows still have only wooden slats and screens with NO glass? (duhh) The students are expected to pay for airconditioning that leaks right out.

3. WHY do the bathrooms sinks fall off the walls? When the maintenance people are requested to replace them, they fail to use tape or waterproof joints on the pipes, so students get a free foot wash each time they use their re-installed bathroom sinks.

4. WHY does the PBH staff insist on power-washing the outsides of the buildings, and when students come home from class they find deep puddles on the floor from water washing under their doors...and computer speakers broken from being swamped with water leaking through the wonderful glass-less windows? The response of the PBH staff is "oh, well".

5. WHY does PBH provide no hot water for showers unless students get up at 4 a.m.?

6. WHY does PBH charge high rates for only a room with no electricity, and even higher rates for only a room with electricity "included"? And WHY does PBH discount certain students' rent by 25% if they complain about problems, and they don't offer the same discount to students with the same or similar problems?

I GUESS MY BIGGEST QUESTION IS....

IF ROSS OR DEVRY OWNS PBH AND THESE CONDITIONS EXIST, HOW CAN PBH BE ON THE "OFFICIALLY APPROVED ROSS HOUSING LIST"?

[MitchDC]

Unless this is a recent occurence, Ross does NOT own PBH (and never has). As far as I've heard, it is still their intent to build a new dorm. Ross has made offers to the owner of PBH many times, and even gone as far as meeting to sign the paperwork - but the owner has always changed her mind.

If the University did purchase PBH, there would have to be a time where they renovated the rooms there. That would probably happen building by building over several semesters - meaning that some students would be living under the poor conditions for a couple semesters because otherwise there isn't enough nearby housing options.

MitchDC

OK, so if Ross or Devry has bought the Portsmouth Beach Resort facility, AND it is on the official Ross "approved housing"...WHY:

1. WHY do the doors all not have weather strips? The insects (including the poisonous large red critters) come marching in under the one inch gap to defy students, even when confronted with several blows with a shoe and 1/3 of a can of Bop.

2. WHY do the windows still have only wooden slats and screens with NO glass? (duhh) The students are expected to pay for airconditioning that leaks right out.

3. WHY do the bathrooms sinks fall off the walls? When the maintenance people are requested to replace them, they fail to use tape or waterproof joints on the pipes, so students get a free foot wash each time they use their re-installed bathroom sinks.

4. WHY does the PBH staff insist on power-washing the outsides of the buildings, and when students come home from class they find deep puddles on the floor from water washing under their doors...and computer speakers broken from being swamped with water leaking through the wonderful glass-less windows? The response of the PBH staff is "oh, well".

5. WHY does PBH provide no hot water for showers unless students get up at 4 a.m.?

6. WHY does PBH charge high rates for only a room with no electricity, and even higher rates for only a room with electricity "included"? And WHY does PBH discount certain students' rent by 25% if they complain about problems, and they don't offer the same discount to students with the same or similar problems?

I GUESS MY BIGGEST QUESTION IS....

IF ROSS OR DEVRY OWNS PBH AND THESE CONDITIONS EXIST, HOW CAN PBH BE ON THE "OFFICIALLY APPROVED ROSS HOUSING LIST"?

[MitchDC]

When you arrive, your welcome packete will include a copy of the housing contract. I encourage you to read over it that evening before you go on the housing tour the next day. If you just felt like leaving an apartment with no reason, you should be held to the contract (just as in the States). If there was a reason you wanted to leave (the toilet was broken and never fixed), then the contract was broken and you could leave. Read the contract and clarify this.

By the way, moving mid-semester isn't as easy as you may expect. During the semester, it is rare to see a lot of available housing - especially the desired spots.

MitchDC

Gotta weird and complicated question!

Let's say I pay my first month's rent and the security deposit and sign a semester long contract. What if for some reason I decide to abruptly leave the place after the first month 'cause I didn't like it or whatever. Now, will I only lose my deposit or do I have to keep paying for the rest of the months since I signed a semester long contract.