Student has no where to live while in-between leases

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Earlier this week we brought you the story of student housing complexes and how they prepare for incoming residents.

It’s a two week period called “Turn,” and unfortunately, this process can lead to the displacement of some residents.

It happens every August in college towns like Starkville and Oxford.

Every year dozens of students are left with no place to live.

That’s because most leases end around July 25 and new leases don’t begin until around August 10.

Some people simply don’t have anywhere to go during this time.

Mary Marable is a junior finance major at Mississippi State University.

She recently moved out of her five-bedroom apartment and into her car.

“Right now I have a bunch of furniture in my car because I didn’t want to have to bring it all the way up just to have to bring it all the way down and go ahead and move in such a short period of time. So, I can’t have people in my car right now. I can barely fit myself in my car right now because my car is literally full,” said Marable.

Marable has been sleeping in her friend’s spare bedroom, which is also where she keeps her personal belongings at the moment.

“Kind of living out of a shoebox. It’s just hard because I can only wear certain things because I know where those things are. I kind of have my work clothes separated and then I have my daily clothes, you know Nike shorts and stuff, but as far as going out, I just virtually don’t right now because I can’t find my clothes,” said Marable.

Marable said she’s rented a new apartment in Starkville, but she doesn’t have access to it until August 11.

“It can’t really even unpack because I’m supposed to move out in like two weeks…I’m paying rent somewhere, and I’m having to live out of a shoebox right now when I’ve already paid a good amount of money for me. I can’t live there, and it sucks,” said Marable.

Marable said this isn’t the first time she’s dealt with something like this. She faced a similar issue last summer.

“I moved out of the dorms in May and then I had a job because I have to work while I’m in school, and my job told me if I were to leave and go home, I would be fired. It’s really hard to find a job in the area, so I wanted to keep that because I was making good money,” said Marable.

This is a problem several students face each summer.

Industry insiders said there’s really no way around it.

“It’s just the nature of the beast. Everybody is just playing fruit basket turnover right now, and you just really don’t know exactly what to do… You’ve got to go into the apartment. You’ve got to repaint it. You’ve got to either change the carpet out or have it steam cleaned. The apartment has got to be cleaned. A lot of time you’ve got things like the faucets that have to be changed out. You have appliances that have to be changed out,” said Cedar Cove property manager Betty Brown.

Experts said sometimes the only way to avoid the issue, is just to renew your lease.

“Unless you are very dissatisfied where you are, try to get where you are going and stay there for your school term, whether it’s one year, two years, three years. The moving around is what makes it harder for the students,” said Brown.

Leasing agents also recommend letting your apartment complex know you need an earlier move-in date as soon as you can.