When apartment searching, know your opponents

It may be asked, when a large, well-organized opponent is about to come to you, how do you deal with it? The answer is that you first take away what they like, then they will listen to you.

This time of year one main conflict all Penn State students must encounter is the search for an apartment. Your opponent, the powerful, well-organized apartment groups, have the advantage. They have you in a captive market, with limited options and guaranteed demand.

But there are ways to fight back, or to make them listen to you.

The first task is to understand your opponent's advantages. In the case of State College's rental market, your opponent's advantages are many.

First and foremost is the lack of on-campus housing.

Then the borough steps in, and closes more doors.

Through zoning rules, such as that ridiculous "no more than three unrelated persons in a house" rule, they have managed to limit where you can live. Just last month they made it more restrictive by requiring that houses available to students be separated by at least 125 feet, up to 250 in certain areas, once again forcing the students into the apartment complexes.

To paraphrase one borough council member, if this leaves students with less options, so be it.

Basically, the large, well-organized foe has the advantage.

That advantage is then exploited by the beneficiary of the University's inability to meet the housing demands and the borough's efforts to keep students from "infecting" their neighborhoods and lowering their property value -- the apartment groups. They are able, because of high demand and limited availability, to have high rental rates, poor service and cheaply built apartments.

That is why you need to know how to fight back.

The first way they get you is through your security deposit. Apartment groups take this as a hedge against the damage you will certainly cause. They expect holes in the walls, dirty sinks and tubs, cobwebs on the ceiling, etc. In short, they expect you to be students.

However, what they fail to do is give each individual a fair shake. When you move in, the apartment is never as clean as they expect it to be when you move out, plain and simple.

When I moved into a house three years ago, there was dirt and grime on the floors and in the kitchen. The back door didn't have a screen, and the awning was falling down.

This would all be fine if the rental agency had not charged us (my roommates and me) $1100 in damages when we moved out.

This is how they get you. They have you fill out a damage report on paper, and you do. But you never seem to do it thoroughly enough, because when you move out, they do a "white glove" inspection, running their fingers along the underside of the stove, on top of the fan inside the range hood, etc.

They look for the tiniest traces of dirt, which would be fine, if the apartment had been spotless upon your moving in. And they save the best for last -- they then tack a 15 percent "administrative fee" on top of your bill, squeezing every last dollar they can out of their captive customers.

But you can beat them, if you know how to play their game.

First of all, when you move in, videotape your apartment thoroughly. Do this before you move anything in, so that you can clearly establish the condition of the apartment when you moved in. This will safeguard you against inflated damage bills, especially those resulting from pre-existing damage that was not clearly stated on your damage report.

Secondly, demand that any special deal they offer in order to get you to sign a lease is laid out in writing and signed by the office manager before you sign anything. Three years ago my current roommate was looking for a place with parking available and the rental company promised him that he would be able to rent a space from the fraternity that adjoined the building's property. Come fall, he found out that was a lie, as the fraternity told him they never rent out spaces to nonmembers.

Finally, know what you want and then make them cater to you. As Sun Tzu said, you must take away something they want in order to get them to talk to you on even terms.

You don't have the power to make the University build new dorms, you don't have the power to make State College stop discriminating against you, and you can't force the apartment groups to lower their rental rates, but you can decide which overpriced domicile you will call home for at least a year.

By knowing what you want, and by taking all the precautions possible, you can beat Goliath.

Once you understand your adversary, and their tactics, you can fight back -- even against a large, well-organized opponent.