Spring Housing Guide 2009

You have your new apartment, and your lessor lets you paint. But where to begin? Here are the basics of matching colors and moods to your new home.

2/10/2009 - 1:00 AM    Post your comment

Every weekend people stand in lines outside of Marc Zande's and Mike Andreoni's apartment complex at 306 « E. Green St., waiting to enter. However, it's not the apartments the people want to enter. Zande and Andreoni's downstairs neighbor, FuBar Lounge, is what's causing the commotion. This apartment complex is one of many located above businesses on Green Street, and like Zande and Andreoni's, these apartments have become popular because of their locations.

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At the beginning of fall semester, Abhishek Vora thought he had signed for "the perfect apartment" with "the perfect roommates." That was until one of the "perfect roommates" decided not to return for the spring semester.

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What does a complaint mean? Esther Patt, coordinator of the University's Tenant Union, cautioned that number of complaints is not necessarily an indicator of a landlord's reputation. The degree of the complaint is just as important for a renter to know. The details of each complaint listed here can be found by visiting the Tenant Union.

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When it comes to searching for an apartment, Susan Salzman suggests using your nose. Or bringing along a friend with a sensitive one. "We get (tenants) struggling with water damage a lot," said Salzman, property maintenance supervisor for the city of Champaign.When it comes to searching for an apartment, Susan Salzman suggests using your nose. Or bringing along a friend with a sensitive one.

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I can handle spiders. I can handle earwigs. I can handle the pigeons that insist on mating on my balcony, but bats make me hate nature. Such was my dilemma come finals week last semester. In an attempt to be a good person I left work early to begin studying for my economics final. The freak of nature lying in my hallway halted my plans.

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Congratulations! You've survived the rough and tough residence halls, overcoming the tight living space and communal bathrooms, and you're now free from the eye of your watchful R.A. Everything is easier now, right?

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Wandering the aisles of the grocery store can be quite an overwhelming experience. It's tempting to steer your shopping cart directly to the frozen foods section, Frisbee-toss a few pizzas into the basket and head for the checkout. Your ready-made thin crust may be an easy load for your wallet, but it's also a lightweight in the nutrition department. Delve a little deeper into your grocer's deepfreeze and you can find healthier foods that are just as budget friendly.

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Living off campus this year has been quite the mixed bag. When this, my senior year, rolled around, my roommates and I attempted to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of living much farther away than we previously had. We ultimately made our decision based on one factor that simply outweighed the others: money.

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In Champaign

  • It is only necessary for a landlord to notify entrance into the apartment if that is stated and agreed upon in the lease.
  • With no recycling collection, recyclable products can be taken to a drop-off site located at 1702 Hagan Street, about three miles from campus.
  • City inspectors will only check an apartment if the resident files a complaint with the city and requests an inspection. They will not enter any other apartments in the building unless they also file a complaint to the city.
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Students thrown into an apartment, experience the highs and lows of the independence. Undoubtedly, one of the lowest has to be the cleanup involved with living on your own. Even the residence halls had a staff to handle most of the dirty work, and a simple dusting and vaccuuming took care of the rest.

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What you see doesn't always have to be what you'll get. When apartment vacancies outnumber demand, it is possible to get landlords to lower their advertised prices by engaging in some old-fashioned haggling. Negotiating a lower rent becomes possible when landlords begin to worry they will not lease out a certain unit for the upcoming school year, said Esther Patt, coordinator of the University's Tenant Union.

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Trying to make your room a home away from home can be tough enough, but having to share a room with another person may prove to be more challenging. "I didn't know people until the second week of school, so I hung out with my roommate for a couple of days", said Briana Lucas, freshman in Education. Housing on campus has recognized this concern and has taken steps to ensure that the roommate experience is a happy one.

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Students hoping to obtain a last-minute lease for next year may feel as though possibilities for renting a reasonable apartment are limited. However, the perfect apartment may be closer than many students think.

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Editor's note: This quiz is by no means scientific - it's just meant for you to get to talking about some important and often overlooked topics. 1. What is your policy on toilet paper? a. Only the best b. Whatever is on sale c. The cheapest d. Does not matter 2.Editor's note: This quiz is by no means scientific - it's just meant for you to get to talking about some important and often overlooked topics.

1. What is your policy on toilet paper?
a. Only the best
b. Whatever is on sale
c. The cheapest
d. Does not matter

2/10/2009 - 1:00 AM    Post your comment

So I guess I'm lucky. Because I'm graduating, I won't be living on campus next year - assuming I pass all my classes this semester. I think I'm subconsciously rooting for myself to fail at least one so I can put off the job hunts and economic recessions for at least a few more months. But as it is right now, I didn't have to scramble to make living arrangements for next year. Back in my good old freshman days, my roommates and I signed the lease for an apartment that, at the time, we thought was pretty sweet. Even after living in that hole for a month, we decided to sign on for another year in the same apartment.

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I am fewer than four months away from being done with school. It's a pretty big deal because I haven't been in this situation since I was 5 years old.

2/2/2009 - 1:00 AM    Post your comment
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