Moving between places comes with headaches

Ivy Blazevic was homeless last year, but she had really nice furniture.

There was a… Ivy Blazevic was homeless last year, but she had really nice furniture.

There was a three-day gap between her old house lease in Shadyside and her new one in Squirrel Hill. The awkward timing forced Blazevic and her roommate to stay with friends while her furniture and belongings were scattered at friends’ homes.

Pitt students like Blazevic sometimes get stuck between two leases, but somehow, after many uncertain nights, they find their way home.

Blazevic, a senior at Pitt, has advice for students who are unsure about their move-in day.

”Pretty sure’ isn’t certain,’ said Blazevic. ‘I would say that if there’s any doubt, get [a U-Haul truck] for an extra few days. You can always bring it back early.’

Expecting the old tenants from the house in Shadyside to move out early, Blazevic rented a U-Haul truck for one day. When they did not move out that day, she was unable to keep the vehicle. Blazevic did not know what to do with her sleeper sofa, love seat, full-size bed, desk and two dressers until her new landlord offered to let her store her furniture in the basement.

After moving 12 times in his college career, Jess Wilhelm developed another strategy.

‘I’ve gotten smarter and bought collapsible furniture,’ said Wilhelm. ‘I try to be mobile, and I’m progressively throwing things away.’

Only recently did Wilhelm purchase a folding, futon-style bed and a collapsible desk. He doesn’t bother with chairs.

‘Chairs are very awkward,’ he said.

Wilhelm lived in China, Taiwan, Germany and Ohio before moving to Pittsburgh to study at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Along the way, he had to leave a lot of textbooks and schoolwork behind.

When Wilhelm moved over long distances, he would sell his bulky furniture and buy furnishings from people around his new home.

Like in Blazevic’s case, Wilhelm found that one of his landlords would store his furniture in the basement of his new place. He sublet for a couple weeks with only his necessities until he could move into his new house.

Wilhelm remarked that many people are willing to sublet their apartments, even for a few weeks, to make up money while away.

Some landlords are willing to store furniture for new tenants, but the leases themselves generally are not flexible.

Paula Sobehart, an administrative assistant at Forbes Management, said that there have been occasions when tenants moved from one of the company’s apartments to another, and Forbes Management allowed the client to use storage space.

Sobehart said that Forbes Management, which has 250 apartments in Oakland, needs one day in between leases to clean and paint the apartments, so there is no leniency about letting people stay later.

Gregory Barr, who owns three properties around Pittsburgh, agreed with Sobehart.

‘We’re pretty easy going, of course. But everything has to be legal this day and age,’ he said.

However, he is not opposed to having tenants move in a couple days early so long as he is done cleaning the place. Barr said he doesn’t want any belongings in the apartment while he is fixing up the apartment to avoid risk of damaging their property.

Sobehart said that if someone refused to leave when his lease expired, she would have to take him to the magistrate and get him evicted. However, she has never encountered this problem.

Students who have more than a month in between leases might consider putting their belongings in storage.

Bob Scott, assistant manager at Iron City Self Storage on Bigelow Boulevard, said that many students choose to store their possessions at the facility. Storage boxes range from four-by-four-by-four-foot to 10-by-20-by-8-foot but are only available for a month at a time.

In the summer, he estimated that the facility operates at 95 to 98 percent capacity. Scott recommends reserving storage spaces in advance.

Pitt junior Deanne Conrad will find herself in between leases for the first time this year.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘

ost leases begin at the beginning or end of the month. Conrad’s lease ends on Aug. 16 and has not decided if she wants to pay for two apartments at once or if she wants to be ‘homeless’ for a couple weeks.

Conrad said she is fortunate to have a brother at Pitt and plans to stay with him. She recommends that people find a ‘base’ during the transitional period.

But Wilhelm warned against staying too long.

‘After about four weeks, you tend to lay down some roots,’ he said.