A landlord's worst nightmare
Liz Klimas
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Focus
Some nightmares include appearances from the boogie man or Count Dracula. In others, one's teeth might fall out or attend school naked. Not so for the nightmares of area landlords.
Landlords of college student housing and family housing share unique terrors of their own - some even became a reality.
A foul smell
For Rod Scholfield, landlord for three years of the newly renovated 76 Oak Street, a real horror would be the scent of rotting food.
"I have been around a lot of rental houses and one of the worst things would be [the tenants] would be gone and left the fridge unplugged," he said. "Rotten meat is probably the worst."
Though this is Scholfield's first rented house, he said he worked around rental housing as a maintenance man in Tennessee. There he saw his fair share of nightmares come true, but they did not scare him away from starting a rental of his own.
"Folks have got some really nasty stuff," he said. "You can't believe some of the messes I got into."
Scholfield's primary concern when renting to college students is the destruction of his investment.
"I spent a lot of time and money fixing that place up," he said. "It was always my intention to get college kids in there because I could rent five rooms instead to just one family. I think I have been pretty fortunate."
Scholfield's son Ryan lives next door creating less of a worry for Rod, he said.
"I had a lot of people tell me I was crazy for renting to kids but I think it has been worth it," he said. "It has been enjoyable for me to meet them and I have been well pleased with it."
Fire: a nightmare comes true
Late one night a neighbor dialed Jim Vaillancourt with some unhappy news. Flames as tall as a house climbed into the air from the backyard, according to the phone account given to Vaillancourt. The rowdy college-aged tenants were burning furniture in the backyard.
"Here I am at 2 a.m. rushing over there to see what's going on," Vaillancourt said. "You could see flames over the top of the garage."
The students extinguished the fire with hoses and firefighters were not called.
Vaillancourt, a landlord to college students for four years and locals for 11 years, owns several off-campus houses including the "Playground." He currently rents to students and local residents.
Aside from general destruction, Vaillancourt also worries about the garbage stockpiling on his property.
"I went into a house once - knew the people personally - and there were bags of trash everywhere: in the living room, garage, kitchen. And they were old bags. That's a nightmare; that's scary."
He said he has not had too much trouble with college students so far.
"Generally, it's your desire to take care of your things and they, [college students], seem to do that."
Optimistic, not na've
Scott Keller, a landlord for six years, said he only rents to college students and his experience leaves him with few qualms.
"I have no nightmares as a landlord," he said. "Of course something major could go wrong but it's rare."
A main concern for many landlords is timely payment. For Keller, this is why he sticks with college students.
"Either their parents will cover them or I'll go to the deans and make them pay," he said, despite suffering from little trouble in the past.
Hillsdale College Collegian, 2007
Landlords of college student housing and family housing share unique terrors of their own - some even became a reality.
A foul smell
For Rod Scholfield, landlord for three years of the newly renovated 76 Oak Street, a real horror would be the scent of rotting food.
"I have been around a lot of rental houses and one of the worst things would be [the tenants] would be gone and left the fridge unplugged," he said. "Rotten meat is probably the worst."
Though this is Scholfield's first rented house, he said he worked around rental housing as a maintenance man in Tennessee. There he saw his fair share of nightmares come true, but they did not scare him away from starting a rental of his own.
"Folks have got some really nasty stuff," he said. "You can't believe some of the messes I got into."
Scholfield's primary concern when renting to college students is the destruction of his investment.
"I spent a lot of time and money fixing that place up," he said. "It was always my intention to get college kids in there because I could rent five rooms instead to just one family. I think I have been pretty fortunate."
Scholfield's son Ryan lives next door creating less of a worry for Rod, he said.
"I had a lot of people tell me I was crazy for renting to kids but I think it has been worth it," he said. "It has been enjoyable for me to meet them and I have been well pleased with it."
Fire: a nightmare comes true
Late one night a neighbor dialed Jim Vaillancourt with some unhappy news. Flames as tall as a house climbed into the air from the backyard, according to the phone account given to Vaillancourt. The rowdy college-aged tenants were burning furniture in the backyard.
"Here I am at 2 a.m. rushing over there to see what's going on," Vaillancourt said. "You could see flames over the top of the garage."
The students extinguished the fire with hoses and firefighters were not called.
Vaillancourt, a landlord to college students for four years and locals for 11 years, owns several off-campus houses including the "Playground." He currently rents to students and local residents.
Aside from general destruction, Vaillancourt also worries about the garbage stockpiling on his property.
"I went into a house once - knew the people personally - and there were bags of trash everywhere: in the living room, garage, kitchen. And they were old bags. That's a nightmare; that's scary."
He said he has not had too much trouble with college students so far.
"Generally, it's your desire to take care of your things and they, [college students], seem to do that."
Optimistic, not na've
Scott Keller, a landlord for six years, said he only rents to college students and his experience leaves him with few qualms.
"I have no nightmares as a landlord," he said. "Of course something major could go wrong but it's rare."
A main concern for many landlords is timely payment. For Keller, this is why he sticks with college students.
"Either their parents will cover them or I'll go to the deans and make them pay," he said, despite suffering from little trouble in the past.
Hillsdale College Collegian, 2007
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