For most Miami University students, the crazy, hectic time of year has come and gone. Sophomores and juniors armed with lease agreements, maps of Oxford, $400 deposits and pictures of their "dream" college houses met with realtors and secured living situations for the 2010-11 school year.
However, there is still one important factor that students are being urged to add to their off-campus housing plans.
Associated Student Government (ASG) will host an Off-Campus Housing Fair next week to teach students new to living off campus all about the leasing process, rental availabilities and Oxford city regulations, according to Student Body President Jonathan McNabb. It is also part of the Office of Second Year Programs.
The fair, which will be held in the Heritage Room of Shriver from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14, will have members of Housing, Dining and Guest Services as well as multiple property managers to guide students through the stress of living on or off campus, McNabb said.
"We want to help educate about the leasing process so students don't sign a lease that they don't understand," McNabb said. "We want to give them more to make an educated house decision."
With many students planning to live off-campus having already signed their leases, some property owners are not even planning to come to the event.
"We are not going to be there because we have everything rented," said Matt Rodbro, owner of Red Brick Property Management.
Rodbro also said he thought it would be beneficial to move the housing fair to an earlier date.
ASG Secretary of Off-Campus Affairs Matthew Ciccone said he is well aware of the mad rush for housing.
"When I was a first-year, I didn't sign my lease until mid-October because you need to have a couple of months to find a group of people to sign a lease, now we have sophomores who have known people for a year," Ciccone said.
According to Ciccone and McNabb, the housing fair was moved up on the academic calendar from October to September. ASG will have to meet with the university to discuss any plans to move the housing fair earlier in September.
"The earlier that we get started the more of a disadvantage the university has," Ciccone said. "Moving it up any sooner is a
discussion we'll have to sit down with the university about. For me, it's an issue of having students see if that off-campus property is the one. Students need to be educated and helped along in the process."
Either way, Ciccone said he believes the housing fair is an important event for sophomores to attend, whether they have signed a lease or not.
Ciccone brought up three main points that he wants students to understand when living off campus.
"We want people to understand what they're signing, whether you sign for the school or with a private lease," Ciccone said. "One of the things we want people to understand is the idea of joint lease. Another big thing is animals, it seems this year we have a lot more people bringing animals off-campus and when they go on break they leave their animals here and we have a large stray cat population. A big thing that comes up every year is how many people can legally live in the house."
McNabb said the ASG fair has changed to better suit the needs of students and educate them on what they should expect when living off campus.
"We've added a lot more than landlords, talking about city ordinances and leases, to better understand the environment you're walking into," McNabb said. "That way you've already been prepared and you understand the steps you need to take and who you need to contact."
