How to Survive Living with Roommates in Student Rental Houses

Dorm life can be like being asked to share your bedroom with your little brother or sister, only potentially worse because you’re paired up with a total stranger. While some roommate matches have ended in lifelong friendship, others haven’t worked out so well. In some cases, good friends who decide to share a house or apartment may find their friendship strained by the close contact. Here’s how to make the most out of your transition into Ohio University off campus housing or an apartment in Columbus if you’re a Buckeye. Don’t allow your off campus experience – what should be among the best times of your life – to become a nightmare.

Know Most of Your Roommates

Don’t relive the dorm experience by living with strangers. Sure, one of your friends may bring in someone new, and it’s always great to get to know more people and make friends. At the same time, it’s wise to make sure that you know as many of your new roommates as possible. Living in close quarters is tough, even if it’s an entire rental house in Athens or a five-bedroom apartment in Columbus. Granted, having a total wacko as a housemate will provide some great stories in the future, but at what cost?

Be Honest About Compatibility

You may be the best of friends, but that doesn’t mean you can share space comfortably. Some people make great friends but horrible housemates. Are they clean? Will they do their share of household tasks? Do they pay for their share of the pizza? Do their sleeping and partying habits match your own? Do they host rowdy guests frequently? Do they talk too much and constantly have to “one-up” everyone else? Are they the type who will invite their girlfriend to share the room with them and become a permanent resident? If you’re a normal person, we’re guessing you wouldn’t be happy with any of those personality traits.

Lay Some Ground Rules on the First Day

Nobody likes a hall monitor. Still, when everyone’s on the same page from day one, it’s easier to get along. Here are some ideas for ground rules in your Athens or Columbus rental house or apartment. Come up with a chore list. Decide who’s responsible for which bills. Block off sections of the fridge. Designate which areas of the apartment or house are for partying and which are for studying. Make it clear that leaving your stuff lying all over the common areas won’t work for other tenants in your rental home. Also take care that you don’t get too anal about setting rules. If you go overboard (such as requiring identification tags on every item in the refrigerator), you might spark a rebellion among your housemates. They might ask YOU to chill out.

Make Sure Everyone’s on the Lease

Sure, you’re friends. What’s the big deal if everyone’s name isn’t officially on the lease? It can’t hurt, right? Wrong. Rent is an agreement with your landlord that is legally binding. If you live with a friend who isn’t on the lease, you are legally responsible not only for their share of the rent, but any damage they might cause. That could potentially be thousands of dollars. It’s just not worth it. Plus, there might be a questionable reason why Joe Blow or Sue Glow say they don’t want to be on the lease for your rental housing. Don’t let them get away with it.

Likewise, you may find yourself with no place to live if your name isn’t officially on the lease. Say you fall out with your roommate, his significant other tries to move into your space, or things just go south? When you’ve signed a lease, you’re guaranteed a place to live, so long as you pay your part of the rent. It’s the safest option for a number of reasons, including adding an early positive entry to your credit history.

Plus, you’ll likely violate the terms of the lease by including roommates who aren’t officially part of the rental agreement. It can get messy very quickly.

Deal Breaker or Bargain? Consider Utilities When You Rent

When choosing among apartments and rental houses in Athens or rentals in Columbus, pay attention to what type of utilities you’ll have to pay. Depending on your financial situation, the cost of utilities can be a deal-breaker when deciding on a house or apartment. The total cost of all utilities – electric, water/sewer, gas, cable and possibly more – can easily rise above $400 per month.

Utilities will either be factored into the monthly rent, or you and your roommates will be responsible for them on your own. Or in some Athens or Columbus housing, they might be mixed between the two. That means you may have to come up with deposits for electricity, gas and water/sewer/garbage pickup. The landlord or property manager should be able to tell you the average cost of utilities before you rent your place – but just remember, it’s easy to go over the average if you and your roommates aren’t careful. Discuss these costs with your roommates, making sure they understand that energy costs are likely to go up significantly during hot and cold months, and that all of you will have to bear the burden. Consider opting for a utility payment plan that averages the costs through the year, so you aren’t hit especially hard during high-use months (winter and summer for heating and cooling). Home entertainment costs are also a concern. Are you going to share streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu, or is each housemate on his or her own? Will you be paying for cable or satellite?

Don’t Forget Parking

You’ll also want to learn how parking is handled in your Athens or Columbus off campus housing. Columbus off-campus parking can be a bear if you don’t have a dedicated space, as is the case in Athens. Investigate renting a parking spot if your rental doesn’t come with one that you can depend upon.

Saving on Energy

There are many things a student in Athens or Columbus rental housing can do to save on energy, including these suggestions:

• Use ceiling fans, if available, to create a cooling effect during warm weather, which allows you to turn up the thermostat a few degrees (and save on energy) and not lose any comfort. In the winter, adjust the fan blade rotation to clockwise, so the fan blows upward, displacing warm air that collects near the ceiling, and pushing it down into the room.
• Ask your landlord if it’s OK if you seal air leaks in exterior walls with weatherstripping, caulk or spray foam insulation. Look for air leaks around windows and doors, electric switches, baseboards, attic hatches, and through the penetrations for pipes, cables and cords. Of course, a better option would be if your landlord does this work himself.
• Change the furnace or AC filter (if it’s your responsibility), or remind the landlord that it needs changing, for central air and heating. A clean filter helps the HVAC system run more efficiently. A filter that’s never replaced eventually will compromise the equipment, even up to stopping it entirely. The furnace or AC filter should be checked once a month and changed when clogged or dirty.
• During warm weather, if the outside weather allows, open windows and sliding doors during cool evenings, then close them before the weather starts heating up in the day. This will delay the point at which you need to run on the AC in your Athens Ohio rental home.
• Reach an agreement with your house or apartment mates on comfortable but energy-saving indoor temperatures for both day and night, and if you have a programmable thermostat, set a schedule for those temps. Dial back the heat or cooling if you’re going to be away for more than a day.

Renting a house in Athens from Krause Rental Properties? We can help you estimate your utilities for our properties. All of these tips also apply for rental houses and apartments near OSU in Columbus, of which Krause Rental Properties has a nice selection and variety. All are a quick walk to the Ohio State campus and the commercial area along North High Street.