While many students signed next year's lease before heading home for the holidays, those who didn't have no reason to panic, according to Faris Rashid, campus outreach coordinator for the Tenant Resource Center.
'Landlords can make it seem like [you] need to rent right away,' he said, 'but if you're just looking for a comfortable, nice place to live, that is definitely doable later on.'
Renting later can have many advantages, including seeing how an apartment holds up in winter and saving money, Rashid said. In many cases, landlords will offer to pay for utilities or cable or lower the rent itself to ensure they will have tenants and not a vacant apartment.
However, many landlords will not lower their rents until mid-summer. Madison Property Management, which owns more than 900 campus units, will wait until after July 4 to lower its prices, and could not say how much renters might save by waiting. Waiting to rent also means limiting your choices, according to Christine Schultek from Madison Property.
'Once summer hits, there are much slimmer pickings,' she said.
Other places, including The Aberdeen Apartments, 437 W. Gorham, do not lower rents at all. With only six of its 77 apartments still available, Wayne Dishaw from the rental office said they 'are certainly not even going to contemplate lowering prices.'
UW-Madison senior Phil Wacker has rented apartments for the past three years. Although he says it is silly that everyone rushes to rent right away, he tends to rent early to ensure he gets what he wants.
'I usually rent sooner because I don't want to have to worry about it and because otherwise I don't have as much selection,' Wacker said. 'If I wait I think I can get it for cheaper, but I couldn't be picky.'
For those who have not signed a lease for next year, the Tenant Resource Center has many tips on how to find a good apartment. According to Rashid, one of the most important factors is choosing the right landlord. The Consumer Protection Bureau keeps a file on every landlord and any complaints issued against them, and the City of Madison Building Inspection Unit is also a good source.
'If there are any outstanding building code violations, that's probably a bad sign,' Rashid said.
In addition to these sources, one of the best ways to learn more about a landlord is by speaking to the current tenants. Arranging to tour the apartment without the landlord allows you to ask important questions about the condition of the building, the neighborhood and the management's responsiveness to problems.
Another important question to ask is what is included in the rent. Things like parking, heat and other utilities can add up to hundreds of dollars per month in addition to the rent itself. Asking the current tenants how much they pay for heat, electricity and other extras like cable and Internet will give you a better idea of what to expec Wacker recommends staying away from large rental companies who, in his experience, often take longer to fix problems and have stricter penalties for paying the rent late.
'I've had a lot better experience renting from smaller management places; the best is if it's a couple or just one person who owns it,' he said. 'I've had a lot worse experiences with large companies.'
Rashid also recommends subletting an apartment over the summer and signing a lease then. Although availability may be more limited, he assures renters there will be plenty of good apartments to choose from.
'If you know what you want you can probably just sign now, but that doesn't mean there aren't any options [later on], by any means,' he said.
Tenant Resource Center volunteers are available to answer questions and offer free housing counseling.
