5 Tips for Moving Off-Campus

It is the end of April, meaning skirt-day has come and passed, finals are almost upon us, and many students will be moving off-

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

campus for the first time into squalid college houses run by slumlords. The move off-campus can be exhilarating. Finally having your own abode is certainly one of the best feelings in the world. I still rank my first summer living in my own house as the best summer of my life. Be warned, however! There are a multitude of ways your experience could go wrong. Below are the five best tips for ensuring living off-campus is the time of your life.

1) Take Pictures of the House When You Move In

Slumlords will relish any opportunity to squeeze some extra cash out of you, usually in the form of finding damages and charging you exorbitant prices out of your security deposit to have them fixed. The best way to ensure you’re not robbed blind is to have photo evidence. When you first move into your new pad, even before putting in your furniture, go around the entire house taking photos and notes of any damage. After you’ve finished, compile a list and send it out to your landlord. If they’re at least somewhat responsible, they should then fix these problems free of charge.

2) Never Trust a Slumlord to Fix an Appliance 

If the house you are moving into comes pre-equipped with a washer, drier, stove, refrigerator or dishwasher, you are in luck. These items supposedly make life much easier – welcome to the 21st century. More often than not though, these items are actually on the verge of collapse after years of abuse by drunken students. If one of these appliances should break, insist that your landlord have an actual repairman come and fix them. During my second year off-campus, the dishwasher latch became slightly busted and would have problems closing. When I pointed this out to the landlord, his solution was to pull the dishwasher out of the wall, breaking it completely. Two months later we were billed for it in the security deposit, with the explanation that we were too rough with it.

3) Learn How to Fix Things Yourself

Do you all have your work belts ready? Your tools are ready to go? Great, because the houses you are moving into are most likely falling apart and may require constant maintenance. If you don’t know how to screw a towel rail onto a wall, fix a leaky tap, or spackle, you will learn. If you throw parties, expect lots of minor damage. If you don’t throw parties, expect lots of slow degenerative decay anyway. Luckily, these are lifelong skills that will prepare you for living anywhere in the future – no house will ever be perfect.

4) Interior Locking Door

Do you trust your roommates? Are they responsible? Are you sure they’ll remember to close the front door fully late at night? Mine weren’t, not by a long shot. The only reason I can fathom we were never robbed is because we lived at the end of a dead-end street next to a hospital. For the safety and security of your possessions, buy a doorknob that you can lock from the outside. This way, even if your front door is never locked at least your bedroom will be. Paranoia aside, having an interior locked room in the house is also great for throwing parties. Expecting a lot of strangers? Throw anything small and valuable into the lock-room, and be worry free.

5) Take Pictures When You Move Out

Most likely your house will be disgusting by the time you move out. It may even be so filthy to the point that you’ll surprised you never caught the plague. If you want your security deposit back, though, you will have to clean everything in your house. Leave it looking better than when you moved in, even. Of course, this is still no guarantee that your slumlord will credit your cleaning. They may still charge you for cleaners, with the rational that you can’t prove if you cleaned or not. So, make sure to take pictures and document the condition you left your house in too, just as you did when you moved in. If it comes to it, you can compare the before-and-after photos.

For the first timers moving into their new homes, don’t let this list scare you. Living off-campus may just be the highlight of your college career. Be smart, follow these steps, and you’ll have no problems whatsoever.