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Renters Guide to Cincinnati


Our Renters Guide to the University of Cincinnati

This article is intended to be a renters guide to Cincinnati Ohio, particularly for parents of students and students at the University of Cincinnati. As a reminder, or in case you just got linked to this guide I wanted to point out that you are visiting a site for discussion about the Stratford Heights rental company. I suggest that everyone visiting take a moment and browse our forums before signing any lease agreement.

Whenever this guide refers to Clifton we are actually referring to the entire area around the University of Cincinnati including the Clifton Heights, University Heights, Avondale, and Corryville, neighborhoods that surround Clifton.

If you have questions or want to leave a comment please use our forums. This is a work in progress and more will be added as time permits.

Word of Advice from the Author

I spent four years in Clifton and three of which were in off campus housing. My experiences with very dfferent types of roommates, the violence and crime in the area, along with the relentless partying that Clifton is reknown for (which I suggest all new students try to partake in). These experiences allow me to help others from making the same mistakes while living in Clifton. Whether you are heading off to school intending to pay for your own housing, through loans or you have parents generous enough to be providing for you there are some basic things you should look out for.

Managing Money and Preserving your Credit

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Bad Roommates


Throughout several years of College I lived in a big house that wasn't managed particularly well by the landlord, we had lots of tenant turnover that required us leasee's subletting to fill remaining rooms in the house. Naturally as the inexperienced renters we were, we made many mistakes along the way. Along the way my friends and I were graced with the oppurtunity to live with many fine people and I expect to call a few of them my best friends throughout my lifetime. However, that didn't stop us from living with some really shady people who can be summed up by these words, thief, pothead, alcoholic, womenizer, deadbeat, dropout. I hope this rental guide helps other people because regardless of how these other people came to us they each had a few warning signs. When you are subletting your rental or a room be sure to squeeze every bit of information out of prospective roommates. Ask if they have a criminal record (this scares away the bad ones) and be sure they are willing to pay a deposit and sign a lease agreement with you. Never take on a roommate in an act of desperation to pay the bills, its much less costly for you to the pay the interest in a loan then it is for you to be robbed or for you to be stucking having to pay the damage caused by a roommates relentless partying.


Budgeting your Money


When you are rental hunting be sure to find a place you can afford, amenities like a pool or big screen TV are nice but factor in all the costs before signing. If you are living with other people make sure you are all clear on the services you will be signing up for before anyone commits to a contract. Many companies in Clifton offer a financial incentive to live in a brand new shiny complex but the overall cost will be two or three times more expensive than the dump down the street so be careful.


Avoid Credit Cards


Nearly everyone in college is broke. Lets face it if you go to class everyday and study another 10 hours during the week, when you do have time to work a part time job you only make minimum wage or close to it. This highlights the importance of a good budget and being sure you pay your rent on time. Parents and students should be advised that since college presents young people with lots of new freedoms, increased responsibility, and experiences it is a perfect incubator forstudents to accumulate debt. My suggestion is to avoid the temptation of credit cards entirely but if you absolutely have to have one be very aware that the debt they create will likely take years to pay off and could end up ruining a young persons credit.


Paying on Time


Always pay on time. It's a pretty simple concept but first time renters are the worst about this. Your landlord is not your Mom and Dad and they do not cut you slack when you screw up. If you don't pay your rent on time how can you expect the landlord to maintain the house in a timely manner? Keep with your budget and you shouldn't have any problems with this one.

Spotting a Bad Situation

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Bad Companies


A bad rental company might be very difficult to spot so be sure to ask lots of questions and to verify their answers against other sources. Their representatives may act very professional when giving a tour or corresponding to you before and after the lease signing. With a bad company things will only go downhill as you move in and they start ignoring you or "losing" payments of yours. The best defense against a bad rental company is a good offense, look them up online and be sure to use a site like http://www.apartmentratings.com before signing any lease with a rental company in Clifton.


Bad Landlords


A bad landlord is much more common in Clifton than a bad rental company. Most of the housing around the University of Cincinnati was built from the 1880's - 1920's making it very old. Lots of this housing is badly in need of attention and as such is rented to students at bargain prices. Landlords / rental agents for these houses have a strong reputation for promising the sun and delivering the moon. Whenever you ask for a repair of a house to be made before you move in make sure you get it in writing. Do not ever sign a lease without having a written agreement on repairs before hand.


Building Maintenance


Poor maintenance of a house in Clifton may not be something you would normally complain about given the overall poor maintenance in the area. However should the yard or outward appearance of your rental draw the attention of the Health Department for the city you should act quickly to get your landlord or rental company involved. Every tenant should take this very seriously, if the party responsible for building maintenance doesn't take action the city can condemn your house putting you out on the street immediately. If you know that the responsible party is not taking care of building upkeep and has the city investigating the matter then you should use our Escrow Guide.


Eviction and Questions for a Prospective Landlord


If a tenant is evicted because the house is condemned the tenants can always file a lawsuit against their former landlord for the costs associated with the move. However lets face it, if they can't keep up the house you can't expect them to pay regardless of a courts ruling in your favor. To prevent a worst case scenario you want to be sure to ask if your landlord has other houses and how long they have owned property in Clifton. You should always ask a prospective landlord for their other residences addresses, you can verify their ownership on the Hamilton County Auditors Website and you can check them out in person to see how well they are maintained. The longer a landlord has been in the business the better, also if they are responsible enough to have more than one property it means they operate a growing business and take it seriously.


Bankruptcy and Foreclosures


The ongoing housing crisis has highlighted another large problem for renters of housing in the area. If a Landlord defaults on his mortgage you lose your rental agreement when the bank forecloses, that means no deposit back and you have to move out immediately. Take precautions before renting a house from a landlord who seems pushy, you could hand over your deposits and end up without a place to live with little recourse. I am not sure of what you can do here, if someone has a suggestion please start a discussion in the forums

Crime

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Off Campus Housing


The University of Cincinnati is located in a dangerous area, if you choose to live off of campus you should already know that. Personally I wouldn't spend more to live two blocks closer because the criminals already know people do that and the UC police only enforce the law on campus (they don't care how close you are to campus). If crime is the most important thing to you then you are better off living on campus.

More Coming...

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