Students search for houses, apartments in yearly ritual

For students across the country, having their own place is a rite of passage. It's another step, if you will, on the path to adulthood.

"I'd like to have my own room. I'd like to live with friends. I'd like to cook my own food," said Annie Hammel, an LSA first-year student living in South Quad. "I'd really like to have a little more control over my life."

But here in Ann Arbor, getting that place is the real rite of passage - and it's not always easy. Sometimes students' efforts fall flat.

Jim Kane, an Engineering senior, moved into an apartment only to discover that his ceiling leaked when the tenant on the floor above took a shower. House-hunting with a critical eye is vital, he said, suggesting that students take a good look at their landlords.

JOHN KRAFT/Daily LSA sophomores Kate Livo and Dan Roblee relax in their East University house.

"They're all nice, of course, when you sign the lease," Kane said. "Then you call them to get stuff fixed and they don't do it."

Even the realtors and landlords under fire admit that house-hunting can be tough.

"My perception of the marketplace is, people do as little as possible and try to charge as much as possible," said Bob Rubin, manager of Arbor Properties. Not all landlords embrace a healthy view of capitalism, he said.

"They think the less they do for you, the more for them, the better it is," Rubin said. "If there's no vacancies, they can do that."

And they can. According to a survey of landlords registered with the University's Off-Campus Housing Program, the property vacancy rate as of Sept. 5 was just 1.6 percent. According to the same survey, average rental rates increased by 4.4 percent over last year and have risen about 15 percent in the past five years.

"I'll admit Ann Arbor's an expensive town to live in," said Rob Spears, a leasing agent for Amvest Property Management. "But it's expensive for everyone, not just students."

Ann Arbor rates, he said, are still lower than those of Hong Kong or New York City. "High is relative," Spears said.

A perception that the University attracts mainly affluent students feeds the rising rents. Landlords are businesspeople, after all, said Steve Welch, president of Ann Arbor Realty, which manages properties for out-of-town owners.

"Our job is to get the maximum out of the property in the long run," he said. "Maximize the return on that asset."

And some students fan the flames by rushing to rent costly places.

"My most expensive houses go first because they're in the best locations," said David Copi, owner of Copi Properties. "There's a premium on that and some people are willing to pay it."

Companies geared toward students tend to charge more. If you rent from one of them, said Pattrice Jones, former coordinator of the Ann Arbor Tenants Union, "you can count on various efforts to relieve you of your money."

Jones, who has spoken to thousands of students and landlords in her years at the consumer organization, said tenants are nearly always overcharged by companies that cater to students.

"That's what they're in the business of doing," she said. "Just be on the alert."

But not all landlords want to take advantage of their tenants, some insist. Rebecca Greenshields, a leasing agent with CMB Property Management, said she wished her renters had better perceptions of their landlords.

"I wish they didn't think we just sit on their money. I wish they knew their best interests are our concern," Green-shields said. CMB is family-owned, she said, and its managers think long-term. "I want to try to please them," Green-shields said of her tenants, whom she supplies with vacuums and light bulbs.

But it can be hard to tell the good guys from the bad.

Students are among the most naive customers in town, Jones said. First-year students, just months out of their parents' homes, are often unprepared to sign what is for many their first binding legal contract. Until now, most first-year students have treated adults only as authority figures.

"The very first thing to do," Jones said, "is make a mental attitude shift." Students have to meet the landlord as a peer, "as two adults conducting a business transaction, if they're going to have any hope at all of being treated fairly." If they don't, she said, "it is virtually certain that the landlord will take advantage of that in some way."

But, Jones cautioned, don't be rude. One landlord said disrespectful tenants who act irresponsibly, or even sue, drive rents higher. And many landlords said students don't understand the intricacies of living on their own.

"A lot of students haven't lived away from home before and aren't really sure of how to take care of a house or apartment," Copi said. "Or clean. A lot of them haven't cleaned. There's a lot involved in taking care of things."

Is he an authority figure?

"Yeah, I probably am."

When choosing a landlord, Jones said, students should trust their instincts. "If you don't feel comfortable doing business with this person, then don't."

Landlords' names can be found in classified ads, on bulletin boards and on the Web. Also, the University has a list of registered landlords, but those listed are not University-approved. One registered landlord, Jones said, has a history of sexual harassment.

"It's a fine resource to get names," she said. "That is all that you know."

The University supplies a lease for registered landlords, but not all use it. Jeffrey Micale, a housing adviser with the University's Off-Campus Housing Program, emphasized the importance of reading each lease carefully.

"We do not go through every lease and approve it," he said.

Jones cautioned to watch for and contest unnecessary fees. A common one, she said, is a nonrefundable cleaning fee.

"These are in all instances unethical and in many instances not legal," said Jones, who said landlords are responsible for supplying tenants with clean units. She suggested bargaining, money in hand, with the landlord to take a cleaning fee off the lease. "This is a major scam."

But Rubin said such fees aren't unfair. It can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars to clean an apartment or house, he said, and landlords are losing money. Paying a set fee is better than dealing with hidden charges, he said. "At least you know what it's going to cost."

Jones also said any application fee of more than $25 is probably excessive.

Overwhelmed? Don't be. If students have doubts before signing a lease, they should ask a volunteer at the AATU about a potential landlord's history. They can also stop by the Off-Campus Housing Office, which has written materials, advising and Ann Arbor maps available. Advisers can review a lease before students sign it, and the program also has a roommate matching service.

Some students, such as Kinesiology junior Cara Lyons, call last year's house hunt a success. Lyons is renewing her lease because her landlord, she said, "goes over and above."

"We complained about the curtains and he put new blinds in the whole house," she said.

Others, however, are less lucky.

"We were actually in an ideal situation," said one student, presently battling her landlord in a lawsuit. "It's impossible to say what we'd do differently." Her advice: "Know your rights, and be wary."

JOHN KRAFT/Daily Livo and Roblee clean up the kitchen at their house.

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