We look forward to finding you a home that suits your needs. We have several 3, 4, and 5 houses available in the Mercyhurst College and Penn State Behrend area. We have been renting to College Students for over 15 years and have a full time maintenance staff to take care of any problems that could possibly arise during your lease period. All of our houses are professionally cleaned and painted between tenants. Rest assured that when you rent from us we will treat you the way we would want our sons/daughters treated when they are at college.
We understand that renting to College Students presents unique challenges and our years of experience help us to make your stay as pleasant as possible.
LEASE TERM
Although the standard lease term is a 10 month lease running from August 1st to May 22nd, we are very flexible to meet the needs of our students. There is usually no extra charge for starting the lease on June 1st instead of August 1st. Rent is to be paid by semester. The 1st semester payment is due August 1st, and the 2nd semester payment is due January 1st. If a monthly payment plan works better for you we offer that too! Just let us know what your needs are and most likely we can accomodate them.
PRICING
The price of the college rental houses vary depending on the size of the house. A 3 bedroom house rents from $6900.00 to $7200.00 per semester. A 4 bedroom rents from $8000.00 to $8600.00 per semester. A five bedroom rents for $9000.00 to $10000.00 per semester. Prices vary according to location, size, number of baths, etc. Prices are for the entire house, NOT per person. For example if 3 students were renting a house for $6900 per semester, each student would pay $2300 per semester. Monthly payment options are available. The total amount paid for the entire year would be the same but paid by monthly installments instead of 2 semester payments.
UTILITIES
Water, Sewer, Trash Removal, and Lawncare are included in the price of renting the house. The utilities that the Tenant would be responsible for are Gas and Electric. The cost of gas and electric bills can vary depending on the tenants usage but the average gas bill is usually around $100.00 per month and the average electric bill is about $50.00 per month. Exact figures can be obtained from the Utility company once you have decided on the house you are interested in renting. Most tenants also contact the cable company for Cable TV and internet services. We pay for Water, Sewer, Weekly trash pick up, and Lawn care.
APPLIANCES
All of our Student Houses come furnished with a stove, refrigerator, washer, and dryer that are relatively new and in good working order. Most houses also have a dishwasher and some have a built in Microwave.
Any necessary repairs to the appliances will be taken care of by the Landlord as long as they are not the result of Tenant abuse.
REPAIRS
Any repairs that arise during your stay will be done in a professional and timely manner. Usually this is within a day and often on the same day. Occasionally, a repair may take longer if we need to order parts or call in a specialist.
DECIDING ON A RENTAL HOUSE
1 . LOCATION. Is it close to the College or the area of campus I visit the most? If we each have cars, will parking be an issue. A lot of times it is easier for persons that each have a car to not live on 38th Street because you can’t park on the street. Many of the other streets have on the street parking.
2. SIZE OF HOUSE. Larger houses are great but cost more to heat in the winter and the rent is slightly higher.
3. PRICE. When comparing houses make sure you are comparing apples with apples. What is included in the price? Lawn mowing? Any utilities? Some landlords do not pay for the Water, Sewer, and Trash pick up. This can cost over $100 per month!
4. Condition. We are happy to provide you with references. Sometimes a house is in not so nice condition when you look at it but it meets your other criteria. Ask us what will be done before you move in. We will be happy to put any planned improvements in writing. Talk to the current tenants, and find out what condition the house was in when they moved in.
5. Security Deposit. Will you get your security deposit back? Last year over 50 % of the tenants that moved out of our college rentals received 100 % of their security deposit back.
RESERVING A HOUSE
No houses are held or reserved until the lease has been signed and the Security Deposit has been paid. We do not wish to rush people into making a decision but we have had several persons over the past years look at houses, say they like them and want to rent them and then never follow through. All houses are rented on a first come first serve basis.
Thank you for considering us for your Housing needs. Please feel free to email us with any questions at lakerrentals.com or call the office at 814-866-5234.