Housing Guide - Spring 2015

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MSU Reporter

H O U S I N G G U I D E

2015 THESPRING REPORTER

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Tenant rights and responsibilities JAMES HOUTSMA Editor in Chief Finding the right housing situation can be a tricky thing.

Whether this is your first time away from home, you are new to the state (or country, for that matter) or this is just one more move of many, the whole process of renting a house, apartment, etc. can be very muddled at times.

As prospective tenants, it is important to remember that you are allowed various rights and responsibilities under Minnesota state law. The same goes for your landlords.

As specified by the Landlord and Tenants Handbook put forth by the Minnesota Attorney General’s office, here is a rundown of what you should know in preparation for renting your next home away from home.

1. Entering into an Agreement A property owner agreeing to let someone temporarily use their building – be it a house or apartment for the exchange of money or labor – is a legally binding contract. This remains true whether the agreement is made orally or in writing.

This first section outlines the fixed and malleable terms and requirements needed before diving in to your new place.

• Always ask to inspect a unit you are interested in before putting money down on it. Pay attention to utilities, plumbing, heating, electrical system, appliances and lighting. Landlords with single-metered buildings must provide interested tenants with the total utilities costs of the building for the previous year. In some cases, a list of problematic areas found can be submitted by the interested party and come to terms with between the two parties before signing, though landlords are not legally bound to do so.

• Landlords must perform background checks on any current or prospective manager they hire. When it comes to someone who has access to your living space, hiring someone with counts of murder, kidnapping and sexual assault is highly frowned upon.

As in, it is not permitted.

• Some landlords require a screening to cover the cost of checking your references; some do not. Always ask if applying at a certain place comes with such a fee, how much it will cost and if it is refundable. A landlord may not charge you a screening fee if they know that no units are available, skip out on giving you a receipt, or bank your fee before all prior applicants have been looked through. A landlord must return your fee

if someone else if someone before you gets the unit or your application is rejected for an unlisted reason. A written criteria must be provided by the landlord before accepting the fee outlining the information on the screening service they use (if they do use one), the standards used to determine if you are eligible to rent and if they rejected your application and why.

• Many places for rent require a security deposit (or damage deposit) to cover the costs of any irregular damage you inflict of your unit. There is no set limit on the deposit and it can sometimes be used to pay unpaid rent or utilities. At the end of your lease period, your landlord should return the security deposit to you in full, with interest, unless you still owe some from previous damages.

• Leases are something you will likely encounter at one point in your life. Always make sure to read through it carefully before signing, for it outlines all the terms of your rental agreement. Whether it is for a periodic lease (usually month to month) or definite term (6

months to a year), always make sure you know what you are getting into.

• Before you are all set to go with your new place, your landlord must provide you with a copy of any standing citations stemming from inspection orders, if that is the case. If no citation has been issued, then a written summary of the inspection will suffice. Point being, you are supposed to be informed when an inspector finds something wrong and issues your complex/building a citation.

• Revisiting the topic of utilities, make sure an agreement is made between your landlord and you on who pays what utilities and have it in writing. Some landlords pay for certain utilities while you handle the others.

• Landlords are universally responsible in the state of Minn. for making sure your rental unit is 1) fit to live in, 2) kept in reasonable repair, 3) up to date on state health and housing codes and 4) made reasonably energy efficient. Other duties can become the tenants if agreed

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Guide to being the perfect roommate AMANDA HINDE Staff Writer What makes a good roommate? One so quiet you don’t even know that they are there? One that is never in the apartment? One that cooks your meals for you when you get back from class? Just as everyone is different, everyone looks for different things in a roommate.

Me? I look for people who like to have fun but not in my living space. Yes, I admit I’m already a boring, crotchety old maid who likes the more quiet things in life. And that includes a quiet residence. But as that the second semester has just started, some of you now have that crazed look in your eyes of “where the heck am I going to live next year and with whom?!”

Never fear -- I can help

you with at least one of those worries. Here are some tips on how to be a great roommate: - Everyone needs a pair of headphone. Ones that preferably cancel out noise are the best. These are great for when your roommates are being loud and you are trying to do your class readings, listen to music or even watch a movie on your laptop. Headphones are a major priority and guidelines of wearing them should be discussed before living together.

- Food. Everyone loves it.

Everyone needs it. And after your heating bills this can be the most expensive thing you purchase throughout the semester. Figure out if you guys are going to just buy your own stuff and who gets which cupboard so that no one is eating each other’s food. My roommates and I go together in buying just the essentials that

we go through more quickly; things such as bread, coffee creamer, eggs, sugar, and candy. Don’t judge.

- Talk to each other. I’m a very honest and blunt person.

I’ve also been told that I am nosey. I try to tell it like it is and hope for the best. That can be a good thing to have when you are living with strangers. If there is a problem, talk about

it. Don’t let it fester inside of you for three weeks and then explode over Monday night burrito dinner. Exploding is not fun for either of you and makes you look slightly nutty. And no one wants to live with a person who is constantly yelling at you about every little thing. Talking doesn’t always have to be

ROOMMATE • Page 6

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TENANCY continued from 2

your tenancy, the details surrounding the exit from your contract are decidedly less complicated.

3. Ending the tenancy

upon between the tenant and landlord.

• Speak with your landlord before making any significant alterations to the property, such as painting wall, resurfacing floors or adding carpet. In most cases, these changes can only be made with your landlord’s permission.

We’ve gone over a few important things to consider while looking for a place. Once you have settled on where you are going to live, here are some equally important factors to consider during your tenancy.

2. During the tenancy • A rather simple concept here: pay your rent on time. How much and when to pay are decided in your lease.

If you are rooming with other people, it is up to you and them to decide how to divide that (maybe someone will pick up utilities for a decreased rent amount). Late fees are perfectly legal as long as it is in writing when the fee will be imposed (given you aren’t evicted first).

• The right to privacy is highly cherished and there are many rules in order to make sure tenants’ rights are not violated. Landlords may only enter a tenant’s unit for “reasonable business purposes,” which include

showing the unit to prospective tenants, buyers, state officials and insurance agents; performing maintenance work; checking on tenant disturbances or on a tenant the landlord believes is violating the lease; seeing if there is someone staying in the unit who is not part of the lease; or performing housekeeping in a senior housing unit.

The landlord must give prior notice before entering the unit, except in safety and medical emergencies, when the tenant’s safety must be confirmed, and when entry is needed to comply with state or local ordinances.

• Tenants cannot be hindered from being able to call the police or any other emergency assistance.

• If a tenant is having trouble getting the landlord to make necessary repairs or maintenance to the unit, they have a number of options.

Tenants can either file a complaint with an inspector, have a court order the landlord to make repairs or sue the landlord in district court under the Tenant’s Remedies Act, among others.

• Neighborhood organizations can also act on behalf of a tenant or all tenants in a building (with permission from a majority) in such legal matters.

When the day comes that you feel it’s time to end

• Always give proper advance notice when planning to exit your lease. Without going through the right steps, it could end up costing you wasted time and money.

Review your lease to make sure you know how long before leaving you must give your landlord a heads up. Each place is different but many places require at least 30 days prior.

• In some cases “breaklease” fees allow you to get out of your lease with a sum of money, possibly in addition to your security deposit.

• As an exception, victims of domestic abuse are allowed to terminate their lease by providing written evidence that they fear for their safety

from their partner, and specific their intent to terminate their tenancy and when.

• If you are planning on leaving in winter on a day that isn’t your designated leave-day, notify your landlord at least three days ahead of time. That way, they can take precautions so that the pipes don’t freeze.

• Don’t forget to grab your security deposit on the way out.

This may be a lot to keep in mind but in time it can become second nature. To boil things down, always read the fine line and make sure open and clear communication is established between you and your landlord.

For more information on the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants in Minn., visit www.ag.state.mn.us/ consumer/handbooks/LT/ Happy hunting!

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ROOMMATE continued from 3

about things that bother you.

Catch up with them at least once a week. Or more if you guys are a little closer. Getting to know if they finally talked to that total cutie on the bus can make a good feeling felt by all.

When in doubt, just ask about classes.

Bree Friedman, a sophomore majoring in Biology and studying Zoology, shared some of her tips and tricks on being a great roommate and whether she even considers herself a good roommate: -Wash your own dishes when you finish them. Leaving them around just leads to arguments and fights. But, -Don’t get upset with doing cleaning for someone else because at some point they’re going to have to clean up for

you.

-Be nice and considerate.

You aren’t the only person living there so think before you do something.

-Sometimes having your best friend as your roommate isn’t the best thing, “A lot of people have problems living together and still being as close as they used to.”

-Don’t hang out with your roommates outside of your living situation. Stuff you didn’t notice before starts to get annoying real fast.

-Buy your own food, but if you want to buy fruit, buy it together. Fruit is good only for a few days so if you buy it together not as much will go to waste.

-If you make a bigger dinner, such as lasagna, ask if

Don’t let dirty dishes muck up your relationship with your roommates.

they want some. Sharing food sometimes can be a nice way to chat and have some fun together.

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All in all if you follow these tips and tricks you should be a great roommate!

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Food budgeting on a dime VALISA FAIR Staff Writer You haven’t been a real broke college student unless you’ve had to eat Ramen noodles multiple nights in one week.... for a couple weeks. It’s a common, go-to food on late nights while studying and when mostly every place is closed.

Not ideal, but what do you do if you’re a broke college student?

Oh you know, BUDGET! You don’t have to be a Finance or Accounting student to know how to budget weekly and find savings for food. It’s important to shop weekly or bi-weekly as different stores change their promotions, and also when buying produce.

Your food WILL go bad if you are over stocking on perishable food items, which ultimately is a waste of money as you would have to REBUY them.

You only want to buy food in bulk if it’s frozen food or if you are sharing with roommates.

Sam’s Club is a smart place to shop in bulk for roommates, because you can split the bill.

When sharing food, divide it up equally among one another when you get home. Portion it out into separate baggies or containers. It’s very important to do this, because you may have a roommate who will eat the majority of what was meant to be shared, and now you’ve wasted money. Aldi is probably one of the best grocery stores to shop, as they always have savings galore.

Before you grocery shop, make a list of the food items you need and ONLY buy those items. When grocery shopping, it’s easy to get tempted into buying other things you aren’t in NEED of, you just WANT. The ‘want items’ you can save

Food expenses don’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

to put on a list for the ‘rents to buy when you’re back home.

When creating your grocery list, make sure you are listing the essential food items you need to fuel the body. Limit the snacks and sugary drinks you buy -- you don’t need them!

Save yourself the money and the empty calories.

After you’ve made your list, go online to all of the

grocery stores in your area to see its weekly ads. Compare prices of the items you NEED from the various stores and look for COUPONS. Be sure to check out coupons.com or look through a newspaper because you will find many!

Here are a few helpful saving apps to download to

FOOD • Page 10

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FOOD your smartphone: • Target’s ‘Cartwheel’ app (many great savings) • Grocery Pal (makes a list on the app and check off the items as you shop in this app! It also shows special savings from different stores in your area.)

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• Southern Savers (provides the match-ups for your favorite stores – that’s the weekly store sales AND the coupons that work to reduce the sale price even further) • Favado (telling you what’s on sale, which coupons to use and where to

Coupons are a hungry college student’s best friend.

find them.)

Lastly, make sure to portion out your food so it will last throughout the week.

Plan ahead or plan to fail.

Happy Saving!

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Lock up before you leave REPORTER ARCHIVE Winter break and the weeks after students return are common times for not only residential break-ins, but vehicle break-ins as well. After Christmas, break-ins occur more because the odds of breaking into something and finding something of value to steal is greater.

Burglaries are occurring in the Mankato area on a regular basis, although Matt DuRose of the Mankato Department of Public Safety claims that it’s tough to decipher whether there are more break-ins during the regular school semester versus winter breakins. He instead said that there should be an awareness that these break-ins occur year round.

The most common items reported stolen are electronics.

Gaming consoles, televisions, DVD players and laptops are commonly stolen. These items are easy to conceal and very portable for thieves to take and are some of the most common possessions in a household.

Living rooms and kitchens are commonly the first rooms entered by thieves in a household, and this is where most of the items reported stolen are found.

“We have been finding lately that spare change and cash from wallets and purses are being targeted by thieves,” DuRose said.

Thefts from vehicles and burglaries continue to be common and many involve these items being stolen in addition to electronics. There is no way to track these items and they can be used anywhere.

Places such as Craigslist, eBay, and pawn shops are

Breaks and the first weeks after returning are a high time for burglaries.

Stay prepared.

common places thieves sell the items they have taken.

Police are able to track certain items at those places. Serial numbers can also play an important role in the findings of your stolen items. All serial numbers get entered into a nationwide computer should they be found in a traffic stop,

or a service call, which can be tracked to the local case file.

In order to stop the burglary from occurring in the first place, make sure windows and doors are locked at all times.

Many burglaries occur due to unlocked vehicles or homes.

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SAFETY • Page 12

SPRING 2015

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SAFETY By locking doors and windows, you are greatly decreasing the chances of becoming a victim. Although, there still are people who kick in doors and windows to enter a house.

Students are advised to ask their friends who have stayed in the city to check on their apartment or dorm while they are gone. Commonly stolen items should be locked in a safe or brought elsewhere. If some of the items have serial numbers, keep track of the makes, models and serial numbers. This will be the best source to track the item if it were to be stolen. If there is no serial number, write down a good description or make a personalized marking that can easily be distinguished.

During break, the chances of forced entry increase as

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there are fewer people around to report loud noises or see the break-in. Many apartments and dorms are also left unoccupied, leaving these residences vulnerable. If a student or community member sees or hears suspicious people, they are urged to call 911 to report it, DuRose said.

If a break in were to occur in your own place, first call 911 to report it. An officer will arrive to gather information related to when and how it may have occurred. They will look for any evidence to collect and document the incident.

“I can’t stress enough for people to lock their doors and windows,” DuRose said.

The use of security or motion lights are very helpful too, if possible. Lock up valuables

Locking your doors makes a world of difference.

and keep close track of your items. Meet your neighbors

and watch out for one another.

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