The greatest desire of many crowded dorm dwellers is simply to have a place to call their own.
For many students, college is the time when they finally get out there and sign a lease on their first apartment.
However, with application fees, moving expenses and security deposits, you have to ask yourself if it's worth the cost. Luckily, there are ways to recoup these initial losses and protect yourself from further expense.
"It's not hard to get your deposit returned when you eventually move out of an apartment," said Megan Mosley, maintenance coordinator of the local Blue River Properties. "There are really just a handful of missteps to avoid and some simple precautions to take."
According to Mosley, the two most common mistakes are not cleaning the apartment when you leave and painting without permission.
Many students are in a hurry to get home at the end of the semester and choose to take the "cut and run" approach to moving. This includes not thoroughly cleaning ovens, refrigerators or floors and sometimes even leaving personal effects behind. This would be a bad idea as far as your pocketbook is concerned.
"If an apartment is not cleaned very well before it is vacated we have to send out a cleaning crew," Mosley said. "That's going to cost $50 to $100 right off the top."
A lot of college students feel the need to personalize their apartment by painting it bright or unusual colors.
"If the paint job is not too weird we might just let it go," she said. "Far more often however, we have to repaint the entire apartment and that can easily cost more than the initial security deposit."
Another means of protecting yourself from extraneous charges come moving time is to take pictures of the apartment's original state on the day you move in. This way there can be no misunderstandings and no charges for broken blinds, scratched floors, cracked windows, mold or water damage.
"When I moved out of my apartment last year the landlord totally took advantage of me and my roommate," said Will Shirey, a junior art history major. "I didn't get any of the $350 deposit back and the reasons behind it were completely bogus."
Having photographic evidence is invaluable in a situation like this.
"There wasn't really anything I could do about it at that point, so I just had to accept the loss," Shirey said.
This is often the case with young people. Some believe that landlords purposefully take advantage of younger people who are inexperienced in leasing property.
"My roommate and I had a total of five animals living in our apartment so we ended up paying a $900 security deposit," said Will Branson, a former student. "I deserved to get all of it back because the place was in immaculate condition, but when the check finally came it was only for $200."
Many renters feel powerless in this position and often the only way to rectify the situation is through legal action.
"It looks like I'm going to have to go to court to see any results," Branson said.
It is important for first-time apartment renters to understand that the burden of proof for any discrepancy in charges largely falls on them.
Taking careful records of apartment conditions and keeping a copy of the lease on file are good ways to prevent monetary loss.
Mosley had a final word of advice concerning the return of your deposit.
"It is very important to remember to leave a forwarding address when you turn in your notice to move out, otherwise you won't get a check no matter what you do."
