Pitt office assists students in move off campus

For Pitt seniors and students who lost the housing lottery, the Office of Off-Campus Living can… For Pitt seniors and students who lost the housing lottery, the Office of Off-Campus Living can make the move off campus easier.

“We’ve tried to go out and gather the information for the students so they don’t have to themselves,” said Kevin Stiles, manager of leasing and support services in the Office of Off-Campus Living.

Stiles, along with others in the Office of Off-Campus Living, has worked hard to bring all useful information into one location, saving students from spending time searching at other sites.

The office, filled with brochures and pamphlets, has a room where students can access computers and phones to contact real estate agents. There are three large maps on the wall showing streets in relation to campus.

The department has been around since the early 1990s. The building is located on North Bellefield Avenue just behind Ruskin Hall, but students can also visit its website, www.ocl.pitt.edu.

The web page is focused on guiding students through the renting process more than on what apartments are available, Stiles said.

Stiles said the Web site offers first-time renters some ideas, including what precautions to take, checklists to help find apartments and average rents in the area.

“Go to the Web site first, before the process of actually meeting with landlords, if for no other reason to get a checklist that shows some general questions that you can ask a landlord, and that way you can stay consistent if you’re looking at multiple apartments and you’ll be able to compare apples to apples,” Stiles said.

Stiles also said the most useful tool on the website is a database of landlord surveys.

The survey results can be found at either on the Office of Off-Campus Living’s Web site under “Landlord Survey,” or on the Student Government Board Web site.

John Wilds, Pitt’s senior administrator in the community relations department and assistant vice chancellor, said anyone answering the survey questions remains anonymous.

“We decided to do this to get the quality of landlords and housing stock in Oakland,” said Wilds.

The annual landlord survey originated in the 2006-2007 school year.

Stiles said the Office of Off-Campus Living sends out e-mails, using lists from the University, to all students living off campus offering participation in the survey.

Questions were originally formulated by the Student Government Board and were sent to the University Center for Social and Urban Research to be edited and worded professionally, Wilds said.

Wilds said generally the same questions appear each year, allowing students to receive specific information and access student comments.

Wilds said the feedback is useful in determining whether specific landlords are who tenants want to deal with or not.

According to Stiles, “Maintaining good open communication with the landlord goes a long way.”

Stiles also said to pay close attention to the lease.

“Understanding what the document says is key,” he said.

“Just because you’re given the document doesn’t mean that before you sign it, you can’t cross things out or write things in. It’s not done until everyone signs the agreement,” said Stiles.

Pitt students can make a 25-minute appointment with the SGB legal adviser, Mark Galzerano, to look over leases at no cost.

Stiles recommends that anything the leaser has issues with — like maintenance repairs or subletting concerns — should be discussed and put into writing.

First-time renters should be aware that most landlords work on a 12-month lease. Most leases start in June, July or August, Stiles said.

Students who travel abroad or co-op often sublease, or sublet, their apartments.

Subletting means the original leaser leases the apartment to someone else for an allotted amount of time.

While subletting the original leaser still has the apartment and continues to stay on the lease. However, even though the original leaser does not live in the apartment, they are still responsible for any damages to the property, Stiles said.

On the Web site, there is a section called roommates and subtenants.

The section, sorted by location, provides e-mail addresses and phone numbers of people looking to sublet their apartment or find a roommate.

Any person interested can complete a roommate or sublet application online or in the off-campus housing office. Their information is posted on the Web site, which is constantly updated, replacing old information with current contacts and housing.

Off-Campus Housing has 300 University-owned apartments that they rent out each year, Stiles said.

Stiles said applications are available on the second Monday of January, and the application process has already closed this year.

Stiles said that now is the time to be looking for apartments.

“If you can, get out and go for a long walk because there are a lot of small streets in Oakland, and even if you’re in a car, it’s hard to drive and look at places. It’s worthwhile, walking the area or walking Oakland to get a feel for areas you like,” Stiles said.

People like the areas they’re comfortable with. There’s really no rhyme or reason as to why someone wants to be in North, Central or South Oakland, he said.

“It really comes down to personality,” Stiles said.