GUEST BLOG: Ready, set, sign
By Dilynn Roettker, Staff Writer
October 3, 2008 | 6 p.m.
I knew house searching would be competitive when we started, but I never expected to sign a lease five days later.
First of all, I already had roommates. I was one of the lucky ones who found a best friend in my roommate from freshman year. Paired with my best friend from home and a girl we befriended last year, we were quite the balanced foursome. My roommate had lived here over the summer, so as our experienced leader, she researched our options.
Our group set out with high hopes, only to find most of the houses we knocked on were unoccupied. Of the few we did get to see, we found some unique differences. One house we went to had Mary Jane posters all over the walls, with water pipes to match. Others had features like a room big enough for a toilet and a very small person, to a corner barely recognizable as a kitchen.The most heartbreaking was a big house with a big porch, a nice yard, two living rooms, an attic and a basement. Sadly, the lease was signed two days before we got there. We explored areas of Athens I never knew existed. It was our own little study abroad session, even if we never left the city limits. I never imagined there could be so many apartments above Subway or Broneys.
The second day of searching we were desperate. We discovered an apartment hidden in its own little area behind Chipotle. On the outside it looked pretty scary, with graffiti covering the walls. However, inside it was remarkably clean and roomy with a private balcony, big rooms and a nice sized kitchen. Of course, the price was reasonable, too. Afraid that it would be already signed, we frantically searched for the landlord's office to make a down payment. We walked in to a building with brand new oak desks and a nice fountain for a peaceful touch. Everything was shiny. Everything was clean. Men in polished suits walked around saying words we didn’t understand. We felt a bit awkward in our OU shirts and sweatpants. Not to mention we all immediately knew where the profits in the housing market were going. If only to add to that image, we walked past a lazy, plump bulldog, who was gracefully guarding his master's office door. Inside I found myself sitting by a replica statue of the bulldog, Oliver. We waited while the man in charge sat arguing with a contractor about the new brick driveway he was installing to match his house.
A few days later, we sat watching a movie detailing the components of the lease to us, while we marked down questions to ask one of the men in suits. They agreed to paint the graffiti, and everything else was pretty simple to understand. From the prestige of the company, I assume the suited men didn’t have to worry about being tricky with their leases. We signed under the dotted line and paid our security deposit.
Now the strange part is we don’t get to move in for another nine months. I had known it would be a crazy few weeks, but I never imagined committing to a place in a day or two. We had to compromise a lot, with me caring only about parking, and others wanting a furnished house or two bathrooms. I guess the lesson is you can never be too prepared when it comes to the vast world that is off-campus housing.
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