Spring Housing Guide 2009

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.