Students at The University of Memphis got a few pointers Tuesday at a seminar that gave specific information on successful apartment living, ranging from what to look for when apartment hunting to understanding their lease agreements.
The seminar was facilitated by such people as Michele Harris, a residential development manager for Crye-Leike Property Management, and Brenda Oats-Williams, an attorney at Memphis Area Legal Services.
"I recommend that people first go to the area that they like at night or on weekends," Harris said. "It's important to really check the place out and see what exactly you are getting into."
Both said they agreed that keeping up with neighborhood happenings is important.
Oats-Williams said she wants students to know above all that they should not enter a leasing agreement lightly.
"A bad leasing experience can haunt you for ten or more years," Oats-Williams said.
The speakers went over the importance of touring the apartment.
"Always do a walk-through," Oats-Williams said. "If you have a manager that won't give a walk-through, then you have trouble."
Oats-Williams said there is a statute that states an apartment manager has 14 days to fix a written grievance from a tenant or lessee. She also said that people should not get sucked in by renter specials.
"Specials are only specials if you complete the lease agreement," Oats-Williams said.
"If you don't finish your lease for any reason, you will get charged the full price for any special offer you received."
Leigh Doty, leasing coordinator at Crye-Leike, said budgeting is important for everyone, not just students.
"If you want to rent an apartment, you should take your gross income before taxes and then take 28 percent of that total to see if you can even afford to rent," Doty said.
Some students in attendance said they came with a lot of questions, but left feeling more confident.
Copper Atwood, a senior history major, said he walked away feeling like he no longer had to be a victim when dealing with apartment leasing.
"I didn't know that a lot of the things that were happening to me as a lessee, shouldn't have been happening, until today," Atwood said.
He said that he feels more confident now in the fact that he has the right to go and investigate the fees in his contracts and exactly where his money is going.
"I feel armed with the information to do something about my situation," Atwood said.
