While other students scrambled at the beginning of the semester to find apartments for fall, Beth Brindle and her three roommates relaxed.

Happy with their current apartment in the Fiesta House, 501 E. Beaver Ave., the four signed an intent-to-rent form late last semester -- which indicates tenants' definite interest in renewing their current leases for another year.

But less than one week before the January housing fair, Towne Management Group Inc., 310 S. Allen St., informed them that the building had been sold and current residents could not renew leases, Brindle said.

A Towne Management rental agent, who would not identify herself, said she did not know exactly when the company notified tenants, but added that it was shortly after the end of winter break.

The Fiesta House owner told Towne Management not to renew any leases or rent any apartments for next year because other arrangements had been made, the rental agent said.

Enter Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, 225 E. Foster Ave.

Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity originally leased its current house from the Alumni Corporation of Zeta Psi fraternity, 404 S. Burrowes Road. The four-year lease expires this summer and the Alumni Corporation wants to move current Zeta Psi members back into its house.

In search of a home, Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity members started negotiating last December with Associated Property Management and the Fiesta House owner for the temporary one-year lease of the entire building.

Alpha Epsilon Pi President Adam Dombchik said negotiations should be finalized either just before or after spring break.

And some members said the building will offer fraternity members a living experience unique to other fraternities.

"We're very excited to experience apartment living and fraternity living at the same time. We get the best of both worlds at Fiesta House," said fraternity member Todd Levin (sophomore-pre-medicine).

Members said they are glad they don't have to separate, which was their main goal.

"It's gonna be really fun. We're all living there, which is what we wanted in the first place," said Chuck Garfinkle (sophomore-landscape architecture).

Although fraternity members are excited about the change, current tenants are not.

"We were pissed. We were so mad," said Brindle (junior-advertising).

With a low selection and a limited amount of time, the four women had to come up with a security deposit on a new apartment, an extra roommate and an apartment.

Because no one expected to have to search for a new apartment, the women said they were unprepared.

"I called the realtor and said that if I would have known, I would have made money over break," said Melanie Conley (junior-human development and family studies).

In just two weeks, the four roommates managed to come up with about $1,000 for the deposit, an extra roommate and an new apartment at Gateway Center, 646 E. College Ave.

But Gateway wasn't their first choice.

"The places we wanted were taken," said Julie Blenkinsop (junior-human development and family studies). "We put our names on the list, but we were too far down to get them."

Although many tenants said the situation did not affect them because they had no intentions of renewing the lease, others agreed with Blenkinsop, adding that Towne Management did not provide enough notification.

"All of a sudden they dropped this bomb on us," said Beth Taubman (junior-speech communication). "It left us high and dry because I thought we had it set for next year."

The Fiesta House owner could not be reached for comment.