Grinnell
Landlords
Reveal
Problems

by Mark Sableman

How does student oil-campus housing look
from the other side at the rental contract?
The S&E talked to three Grinnett landlords
who together rent to a third ofthe oft-campus
students and tound that everything trom pets
to high utility bills, from poor maintenance
oi apartments to (in one case) inquisitive
reporters can be major problems to the
landlords.

One landlord the SLB talked to, Allen
Latcham of Latcham and Brown Electric
Heating and Plumbing, expressed a general
satisfaction with the eighteen Student tens
ants he now has. Latcham said he has had
"tenants who live right here in town who
have abused us as much if not more than
students”, but he did cite three majorprob—
lems he has had with student tenants

A number of student tenants apparently
take little care in maintaining their aparte
ments; "1 know there are students living
in those apartments in conditions or grime
and iilth who are unaccustomed to those
conditions”, he said.

“When you rent from us,” Latcham said,
“that apartment is yours and we want you
to teel like it is yours -- and we want you
to maintain it that way.”

Pets are the second major problem Latche
am has encountered, A number of dogs and
cats owned by students have caused damage
in some oi the apartments.

Even so, Latcham has not put any restric-
tion on pets: “1 have no objection to pets,
it they're maintained and well cared for --
and it they add something to the Students’
lives, then they should have the pets But
they Should maintain them,”

Whenever repairs are necessary because
oi pets or general neglect, Latcham keeps
records on what those repairs cost, and he
adjusts next year’s rent tor each apartment
accordingly. This cost adjusting actually
makes it advantageous (or a student to rent
an apartment which was well maintained by
its occupant the previous year

“Abuse of utilities” is Mr Latchdm’s
third major problem with student oH~cam-
pus housing. While remodeling the house at
932 Park Street where many students rent,
Latcham installed individual thermostats
and electric heating units in each apartment.

”There isn’t anywhere on Campus where
you can find that kind at comfort,” Latchai‘n
said; nevertheless, the utilities (which are
included as a fixed cost in the rent) are
abused in that building by students who keep
their windows open and force the heating
units to run almost continuously.

Last month, Latcham said, his utility bill
was $308 (or that one place _, and “when
you’re at a $308 utility bill in a thirty day
period, there’s no profit lelt. You still have
to pay insurance, water bill, sewer, gare
bage pickeup, taxes
(The average rent per person in Latcham
and Brown student apartments is about $50
per person per month, although rents vary
with single, double, and triple units.)

Landlords have some other problems which
do not approach high utility bills in impor-
tance, but are still signllicant. Every year.
Latcham says, when students leave town
abruptly alter graduation exercises, anume
ber of them take their keys with them. Key
replacement has now almost become one oi
the regular yearly expenses ot renting to
students

And one seemingly more trivial problem
resulted in one stubbed toe and eventually
a bedroom telephone extension tor Mr.
Latcham. Often, it seems, students do not
realize that their landlord lives on the out-
side world’s time table -- and Latcham has
been awakened as late as midnight and 3 am.
by calls from his student tenants.

Latcham and Brown began renting to stu-
dents about nine years ago, and they have
gradually expanded their operation with
increasing demand. Now, they are consider
ing construction oi new units especially tor
students.

The plans tor a new building call for about
ten apartments in a steel structured builds
ing with a brick (ace. Such a structure would
be attractive, and it would be necessary liee
cause “construction costs today make it
difficult to get the figures to tell you that
you can make any prolit and keep the rent
at a level at which the student can justify
paying," Latcham said.

These plans lor new construction, oi
course, depend greatly on the college's
expectation ot luture enrollment.

At least one Grinnell landlord, Wilbur
,Eyestone, was unsympathetic to the S&B’s
efforts at getting his opinions.

This reporter went to Eyestone’s combina-
tion Insurance/Real Estate/Hon Block me
come Tax Service office at 522 Fitth Avenue
last Saturday aiternoon Eyestone was busy
with tax customers then, but the reporter
gave his secretary his name, the {act that
he was a reporter {or the “Scarlet and
Black" and the (act that the SKLB was the
college newspaper and was trying to talk to
maior landlords as pzlrt ota story on oil-
campus student housing.

The reporter went to Eyestone's oItice
at about 9:00 Monday morning. as promised,
and explained that his purpose was to do an
intormational article on oltecampus hous-
ing for students by interviewing landlords

Eyestone reluctantly ottercd the reporter
a chair. He would not allow the reporter to
use a tape recorder; "Those things can be
misused”, he said,

He said that he did not know how many
student tenants he has now. Some years he
has some, some years he doesn't, he ex-
plained. He has some now, he admitted.

Has he had any special problems with
student tenants? None that he could think

0! oil—hand,

Ralph Pomerenk, college business mana-
ger, had suggested that sometimes there
were problems with nine-month oroneeyear
leases tor students, the reporter said, Has
Mr. Eyestone had any such problems?
Sometimes students will have to get the
best deal they can, Eyestone explained, so
students may have to pay more it an apartr
ment has a oneeyear lease. Does this mean
all oi his leases are tor one year, the res
porter asked? No, Are they all tor nine
months? No,

it varies with the apartment Mr. Eyestone
explained.

what services does Mr. Eyestone provide
on his property? the She asked him.

students demand more than other tenants,

Eyestone replied. One student told him that
he expected to be able to go home at 2:00
in the morning and turn his hi—ii up loud,

Had he rented to that student?

No. People must have respect tor their
neighbors, he explained.

Apparently Mr. Eyestone does not consider

‘students the best possible tenants 7, or

some students, anyway. He told the repor-
ter that some have agreed not to have pets
in their apartments but have violated that
agreement,

Not all oi his apartments are rented on a
no-pet basis, Eyestone explained, but some
oi them are. Sometimes, he has required
a $100 deposit from tenants to cover pos-
sible damages.

In fact, Eyestone said, he knows of at
least two instances when $100 would not
have been enough to cover the damages
In one case, not on property he owned, the
owner had to‘pay $1500.

What happened], the reporter asked.

There was a dog in the residence which
was accustomed to his owners coming and
going at certain times, Eyestone explained.
When they iett (apparently) the dog tore,
down curtains, scratched continuously on
window sills, tore apart a davenport,,.

The list Was stopped {or a moment.
Eyestone eyed the reporter taking notes
and apparently had second thoughts.

Listen, he Said, I'm telling this to you as
a person, I don’t want anything or this
conversation to go in your paper.

Well. (It was a surprise to the reporter)

Would you be satisfied it I allowed you to
Check the part oi the Story which ruth-
tioned you?

No, no, Mr Eyestone said. As these star
ries get handed down, they get changed all
around.

in tact, Eyestone told the reporter, ldon’t
want you to leave here with that page of
notes. AS he said that he reached and grabbed
the page of notes in the reporter's small
“wiremaster” notebook and tried to tear
out the page.

Hold on, the reporter said; "these are my
notes and it's illegal to take them".

"They're my statements, and you can’t
use them” Eyestone said as he tore the
page out or the notebook .

The reporter left There was astory there,
but it had little to do with alt-campus stu-
dent apartments

 

