It may just be the beginning of Winter semester, but if your student is thinking of looking to live off campus next year, it is never too early to start the process.
Beyond The Diag, Student Legal Services, First Year Experience and Fraternity & Sorority Life have teamed up to put together an eye-catching and informative campaign -- The Take Time Before You Sign -- to help students successfully navigate the house-hunting process.
Take Time Before You Sign is a series of short videos, focusing on a different element of house hunting. The campaign helps to answer your and your student’s questions before you start the search, and avoid issues and problems down the road.
Key points for you and your student to remember when house hunting include:
- Use the university’s dedicated housing search website that allows students to search using a range of criteria, including size, type, cost, and location.
- When choosing roommates it’s important that students are thoughtful and take their time to get to know each other better before signing a lease together.
- Work with your student to make a budget, and stick to it. Students should be realistic about housing and living costs, and make a plan for paying bills and utilities.
- A lease is a legally-binding contract. It’s important for you both to read it carefully before signing; amending or cancelling a lease after signing is very difficult.
- When considering apartment and off-campus options, remember to explore the meal options available to your student via MDining. If your student lives off campus, MDining has four different meal plans available to them that can be a healthy, economical supplement to at-home cooking. More information on those plans can be found here.
You can view the videos, or if you have questions about house-hunting information for your student, or would like more details about the campaign please contact Mark Simmonds at [email protected].