November is upon us. Any veteran of UW-Madison knows what that means—property companies are already beginning to pressure us into choosing a place to live next year. While some feel the need to scramble into a living a situation, I encourage you to wait and see how this year shakes out before deciding what to do for next year. “November rush” has the potential to have many bad consequences for tenants, and solely serves the business interest of property companies. The November rush is absolutely ridiculous and there should be a municipal law preventing property companies from advertising leases for next August this early in the academic year.
Nine months is a long time and a lot of things have the potential to change over that period. Imagine having a falling out with some of your roommates over the course of second semester, but you had already signed a lease with them. You may be forced into living with these people regardless of your situation. I have a friend who is signing a lease with her boyfriend in the near future. What happens if, for argument’s sake, something happens and the two of them break up over the next nine months? That living situation, which may sound like a dream now, may turn into a manifestation of hell over this irrationally long interim period. Any attempt to force college students to make long-term decisions about a life that is constantly in flux does not serve them, but rather manipulates them.
The November rush is particularly bad for freshmen, who often don’t know the city yet or don’t know who their friends are. Some freshmen may discover really cool parts of Madison in the coming months, but if they sign a lease now they will be unable to live there. Two months is such a short amount of time to get to know other people: One cannot conceivably make decisions about their living situation with a complete knowledge of what they’re signing themselves up for. How can a property company pressure people who have only been living here for two months to make decisions nine months in the future?
Freshmen are not the only ones this hurts. Some graduating seniors, including myself, are placed in an awkward position. I am not sure whether I am graduating over the summer or next fall and will likely decide largely on personal preference and other factors. After that, I would like to stay in Madison if I could find a good job here, but at this point I really just don’t know. It would be absolutely irrational for me to sign a lease now, when I am so uncertain of what the future holds. I’m already dealing with enough pressure regarding graduation and finding a job thereafter. I don’t need some property company trying to pressure me into solidifying my plans.
In reality this is merely an issue of perception. Property companies have a vested interest in presenting the perception that there is a rush to find housing early. In reality this is not the case. This past year I did not sign my lease until May. I could not be happier with my living situation, and I suspect my rent is lower than it would have been had I bought into the false perception that November rush presents. I encourage my readers to do the same—wait and see how things shake out before rushing into a lease.
The false perception presented by property management companies is bad for tenants and is misleading. The city or the county should take action to prevent these companies from presenting this predatory perception.
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