The cost of rent per month, location and availability of parking are issues most students take into consideration when renting off campus, but students fail to consider the average percent of security deposits refunded by the rental company.
The average amount returned varies among local rental companies. For example, Pella Co. averages a 90 percent return, while G.A.S. Properties returns around 75 percent of deposits.
Painting, removing trash, replacing carpet and redoing drywall are some of the common practices Buckeye Real Estate vice president and general manager, Bill Graver, said his company encounters after students move out. Buckeye rents to 2,000 to 4,000 students each year.
“There are varying degrees (of damage), but overall properties are maintained well,” Graver said.
Leona Gleason, office manager of G.A.S. Properties, said it has certain “problem buildings,” but overall students are respectable tenants.
“Most properties that require more maintenance where tenants have moved out are generally those occupied by men,” Gleason said.
George Contakis, office manager of Pella Co., said Pella rents to about 1,800 students each year and finds most students respect of rental properties. Contakis said the biggest problem for Pella when students move out is, “they don’t clean as much as they should.”
Contakis doesn’t believe gender plays a major role in the condition properties are left in.
“Girls can be as messy as guys, but you don’t expect girls to put holes in the wall,” Contakis said.
Gleason said two people spend an average of three hours per apartment cleaning and making minor repairs getting it ready for new renters to move in. Buckeye Real Estate spends $65-$85 cleaning a two-bedroom apartment after students have moved out.
Contakis said when all the time is added up among painters, carpet layers, carpet cleaners and drywall finishers, 10 hours per apartment and about $90 are spent on cleaning and repairs.
Pella, G.A.S. and Buckeye Real Estate all return upwards of 75 percent of security deposits. Their returns depend on how clean the apartment is left. If students just pack and move, leaving significant damages, they can expect less than 50 percent of their security deposit to be returned.
Buckeye Real Estate has had a handful of people challenge the amount returned to them, and Buckeye facilitates a resolution.
“I can better use my time in areas other than court,” Graver said.
All three rental companies said costs are not taken out unless work is done to repair or clean.
“Some students are great and take care of it like it is their own home. Some are totally reckless and have no regard for living in someone else’s property,” Gleason said.
