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Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY -- SUBLET SUPPLEMENT
Sunday, March 26, 1972
Sunday, March 26, 1972
THE MICHIGAN DAILY - SUBLET SUPPLEMENT
Looki
If the neo-penal pleasure dome
that is South Quad is getting you
down and you're thinking you'd;
like to exchange it for an early
cinderblock Ann Arbor.apartment,
now's the time to do something
about your living situation for.
next year.
However, one soon discovers
that finding an apartment is not
as simple as re-registering for the
dorm. Other vigilante groups may
beat you to just the place you
want, empty houses disappear, and
landlords up rents just when you
were ready to put your money
down.,
Sometimes in the course of
apartment hunting, you discover
that maybe you won't get on with'
your roommates as well as youI
thought you would. As the inevi-
table debates arise over whether
to go modern or traditional, as po-
tential roommates decide to live In!
co-ops or go to Europe, the advan-.
tages of apartment living slowly
seem questionable.
While the Off-Campus Housing
Bureau cannot remedy all of these
problems, it does provide assist-
ance to potential apartment-dwel-
lers in many ways.
The Bureau, -located on the sec-
ond-floor of the Student Activities,
Building performs the following
services:
-Keeps a formal registration
record of landlords and rental
properties;
-Lists vacancies as they be-
come available;
-Lists vacancies for students
who have apartments or houses
and who need roommates to share
the facilities and the expenses;
-Lists apartments or other ac-
commodations for students when
they wish to sublet if the address
is registered with the bureau by
the landlord;
-Supplies a Student Rental
Agreement to registered landlords
. - -
fig jot
who will use it;
-Reviews other leases which
some registered landlords use in
order to judge the acceptability of
those leases;
-Maintains close liaison with
the Ann Arbor Department of
Building and Safety;
-Helps to interpret leases to
students if they bring them in for
the bureau to examine;
-Provides a sample of the Stu-
dent Rental Agreement to any stu-
dent who wishes to use it as a
guide when examining other leases
he might be offered; and
rl
-Helps women find jobs in pri-
vate homes where they can earn
their complete board and room
(few jobs are offered to men each
fall.)
ice
to
Off-campus housing is primarily
found in apartment buildings
around campus, though there are
a small number of rooms andl
houses available.!
Most apartments are in new or
relatively new buildings, which will
be filled with groups of single stu-
dents as a rule. New efficiency
apartments which have been de-
signed for two single students av-
erage about $160 a. month plus
electricity. Most apartments, how- t
ever, have been designed for three,
four, or five students, with a price n
range from $60 to $80 per person;t
per month.
While most are furnished, they
sometimes do not have a desk for
each person or enough end tables,
lamps, or pillows. They are in-
variably carpeted throughout and
most have room air conditioners.
The more plush apartments
have fine furniture, dishwashers,
and central air conditioning. A few
buildings have swimming pools,
study rooms, party rooms, and
T.V. lounges.
Very rarely are one-man apart-
ments available for $100 a month.
Also rare are two-man apartments h
for $125 a month. Therefore, only
luck or ingenuity will find such a n
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place for apartment hunters. mo
Apartment buildings don't al- po
ways offer parking facilities.
While future buildings in Ann Ar- va:
bor must provide parking facili- pe:
ties, buildings presently without ho
parking facilities are not required ity
to provide them.
There is very little available nowIyo
in older, inexpensive apartments, wi
and such buildings are usually tio
found by chance. If fit to live in, do
it usually will be snapped up by yo
the first person who makes an ap- rea
pointment to see it.
There are quite a few rooms still to
available each year though the las
number is diminishing. Linens and da
cleaning are sometimes provided mo
in these rooms, but not always.
They are only furnished with the mc
necessities for sleeping and study- pa
ing.
Some rooms are shabby while tho
others are luxurious in beautiful, on
private homes. Once in a while,,ad
one finds a small rooming house'ma
with kitchen privileges. If the if
place is clean and the landlord owl
maintains it as such, this is a very So
good financial arrangement if all fev
one wants is a place to cook and lat
a modicum of privacy. ci
What to check f
you're checking
or when
If you're looking for an apart-
ment, here's a list provided by
the Off-Campus Housing Bureau
for things to check for in your
future apartment:
-Is the building listed with
the Off-Campus Housing Bureau?
-Is it completed?
-Condition of public areas
(halls, walls, lighting);
-Trash containers in back,
yard?
-Parking space?
-Laundry facilities in or near
the building?
-Trash chute in hall?
-Storage locker in basement?
-Resident or general manager
available at all times?
-Fire -exits sufficient and con-
venient?
-State of cleaniness in unit-
closets, drawers, walls, stove top
and oven, refrigerator, bath-
room;
-State of repair in unit-
walls, shower, kitchen appli-
ances, plumbing, venetian blinds,
drpes, mattresses;
-Condition of furniture and
upholstery;
-Are all locks secure and in
working conditions .(d o o r s and,
windows);
-Adequate amount of furni-
ture - one straight chair, one
easy chair or sofa space, and
one desk per person;
-Amount of drawer-space;
Amount of closet space-one
Photos by DENNY GAINER
Poem by TOM DU VAL
>
an apt.
closet or half a large closet per
person;
-Garbage disposal (not re-
quired) and its condition;
-Good drains and water pres-
sure in bathroom and kitchen;
-Lighting-number of outlets
in each room and are they in
working condition? -
-Hot water-24 hour service;
-Utilities - paid by whom?
Check electric heat . costs and
electric water heater;
-Air - conditioning - monthly
operating costs paid by whom?
-General size in relation to
number of occupants - size of
rooms, amount of floor space;
-Vacuum cleaner conveniently,
located; -
-Cleaning 'staff for public
areas; and
-Convenience to s h o p p i n g
area.
If you're looking for a fur-
nished room, here are some
things to look for:
-Direct access to a public
hallway and from the hallway to
the bathroom;
-Ceilings and walls in' good
repair;
-Furniture in good repair;
-Clean floor and floor cover-
ings;
-A desk, book-shelves or
cases, and a bed with a firm
mattress;
-Good lighting with outlets for
lamps;
-Window space for light and
ventilation;
-C 1 e a n bathroom facilities
maintained by the owner; and
-If basement room, two thirds
above ground.
Above all, the bureau urges
that all students bring in their
leases for experienced persons
to read over. Leases have been
uncovered this year which have
clauses which would allow land-
lords to increase rents over the
term of the lease without prior
notification of the tenant.
Tenants' phoi
FIRE DEPARTMENT .....
POLICE DEPARTMENT ...
OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING B
ANN- ARBOR. TENANTS Ut
INTERNAL REVENUE SERV
(rent-freeze violations)