Questions

September, for a lease that starts the following August. Cortland runs early compared with most college towns. By late January the houses that are left tend to be the ones nobody wanted in October, so the cost of starting late is real.

No, though you can. If you already have three people, take a unit together and you choose who you live with. If it is just you, or two of you, take a room and we fill the others — you will meet whoever else is in the unit before you sign, not on move-in day.

Either way each of you signs your own lease and pays your own portion of the semester rent.

The academic year. You move in before the fall semester starts and the lease ends when the spring semester does — about nine months, not twelve. You are not paying rent here over the summer.

Nothing changes for you. Each student signs their own lease and owes only their own portion of the semester rent, so a roommate who leaves does not shift their share onto anyone who stayed. Filling the empty room is our job, not yours.

This is worth checking anywhere else you look. Most student leases here are joint and several, where the people who stay cover the full rent.

No. No application fee, no administration fee, no amenity fee. Rent and the deposit are the only two numbers.

Every bedroom has a bed with a mattress and a dresser. Common rooms have seating and a table, and the kitchen has a table, chairs, a refrigerator and a range. Some bedrooms have a desk — ask us which, because groups do argue about it. You bring bedding, towels, kitchenware, a lamp if you like better light, and whatever makes it yours.

Heat, electricity, water, sewer, trash pickup, snow removal and lawn care are in the rent. Internet is the one thing you arrange yourself — set up an account with whichever provider you like and split it with your housemates. We also ask each tenant to carry renters insurance, which is usually a few dollars a month and covers your own things.

No heat, no water, no power, a broken lock or anything unsafe gets looked at the same day. Everything else within two business days. Report it through the form on the contact page so there is a record, or call if it is urgent.

No. The lease runs straight through from the fall semester to the end of the spring semester, so your things stay where they are and you keep your keys. Turn the heat down rather than off before you go — a frozen pipe over the break is the one thing that ruins everybody's January.

Ask us. The lease ends with the spring semester, so summer is a separate arrangement rather than something you are already paying for. Tell us early if you want it — we use those weeks to paint and repair between groups.

Off-street, in your own driveway. Cortland restricts overnight street parking in winter and the city does tow. Register your car with us and we will tell you which spot is yours before the first snow.

Ask us before you sign rather than after. The answer depends on the house, and assistance animals are always accommodated as the law requires.

You are guaranteeing your own student's obligations under their lease — their portion of the semester rent and any damage beyond normal wear. You are not guaranteeing their roommates. Each student here signs separately, so your exposure is one share, not the whole unit.

That is worth comparing. Most student leases in Cortland are joint and several, where a co-signer can end up liable for the full rent if other tenants leave. Read whatever is in front of you and ask us anything that is unclear — we would much rather answer in October than argue in May.

Collected at signing and held in a separate account as New York law requires — ask us for the figure, it is the same for every tenant. At move-out we walk the house, compare it against the checklist and photographs we both signed at move-in, and return the deposit with an itemised statement of anything deducted.

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in every required location, tested before move-in, with the record on file. Exterior lighting, working locks on every exterior door, and a landlord who lives near enough to come and look at something in person.

Please do. Parents ask better questions about the furnace than students do.