Square Galaxy » housing

How I locked myself out of the house

Jacob — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:40:31 +0000

I decided that I need to do better at keeping the doors to the house locked. So last night, at about 11:30 pm, in my pajamas right before heading to bed, I decided to go around a make sure all the doors were locked. Sure enough, the front door was unlocked, so I locked it. I also found the outside door from the kitchen unlocked, so I was locking it when I decided to make sure I turned the water to the garden off, and closed the locked door behind me.

My first approach was to go around the entire house and find an open door or window, but apparently I had been doing a better job than I thought at keeping things locked up. My second thought was to use the garbage can to get onto the root and try a for-sure-to-be-open second story window. But my chin barely cleared the gutter, and I wasn’t sure I could pull myself up onto the roof, especially since the garbage can had wheels. Placing a bucket on top of the garbage can seemed even more perilous.

My arms were about three inches too short to reach the garage door knob through the cat door (no I don’t have a cat). The most I could do with a board I found was to turn on the outside light switch, but I could never get the pesky little door lock turned.

I considered a brick through a window, and also sleeping outside, but neither option seemed elegant. So I decided to bury my pride and call for help. So I walked, in bare feet, to the gas station to find a phone, but pay phones are only for airports now days. I then walked to the near by 24 Hour Fitness and used their phone to call Sandy. I was really glad for the few moments I spent a few months earlier memorizing her phone number, because otherwise I would have been calling my parents in Oregon.

I woke Sandy up, but she drove down to use the garage door remote to open it up for me, so that I could actually sleep in a real bed.

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Questions to ask when searching for housing

Jacob — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:01:51 +0000

I’ve heard a lot of people complain about various things in the complexes where they live. Many of which are small little things that they wish they had known before moving in. Below are some questions you might consider asking when searching for housing. Feel free to print this list out and take it to housing fairs or when talking to complex managers. If you don’t like an answer they give you, let them know you aren’t satisfied. Maybe if they hear a lot of people voice a particular concern, they will work to solve it.

In addition to your own concerns and questions, you may consider asking:

Are laundry facilities provided? How far away are they? How much does it cost? When are the facilities open?
Do windows and sliding doors open? Are screens provided? Do they lock?
Is parking available? Is parking typically a problem? How much do parking permits cost? Is parking enforced through booting or towing? What hours of the day is parking enforced? Is visitor parking available? Are there parking stalls for visitor parking?
Is covered or garaged parking available?
Are pets allowed?
How often are cleaning checks? Are re-checks available, and is there a re-check fee? What is the fee for failing a cleaning check?
Where is bicycle parking available? Is a permit required? Is there a cost for the bike permit?
How many desks are available in the apartment? Where are they typically located?
Is cable TV provided for free or for cost? How many channels are available?
Is Internet provided for free or for cost? How fast are the Internet speeds? Can speed upgrades be purchased? Is wireless Internet provided? Where are wired Internet jacks located in the apartment?
What are the fees for failing to pay rent by the deadline?
How much is the deposit? When is the deposit returned?
Are their any plans for remodeling of either apartment or other complex facilities? What inconveniences might be associated with any remodeling plans?
Is there a swimming pool? What hours is the swimming pool open? Can the pool be reserved for parties? What months of the year is the pool typically open?
Is there a club house? What is available in the club house? When is it open? Can it be reserved for parties?
Is there a place to play basketball, volleyball, or soccer?
Is a dishwasher provided?
In shared rooms, are the beds separate or bunked? How new/old are the matrices?
What dressers and closet spaces are provided in the rooms?
Is there a garbage disposal?
Which utilities are included with rent and which utilities are paid for separately? How much does a typical month of utilities cost?
Are telephones lines provided? Is there one or multiple lines available? Is there a monthly telephone fee? Is long distance service available? Is a voice mail service available for free or for fee? Is a caller identification service available for free or for fee?
Are streets and walkways cleared of ice and snow during the winter?
What is the closest grocery store? How far away is it?
How do residents typically travel to campus? How long does it take?
Are hoses or other means available for washing cars?
How many couches are provided in the living room? How new are they? Is there likely to be any rips or tears in the fabric?
Other than cleaning inspections, are the units inspected for mold or damages?
How is hot water provided? Is it shared with other units?
What is the current contract price for rent? Is it expected that this price will go up?
Are their any incentives or signing bonuses? (It doesn’t hurt to ask)
Does the complex usually fill up? When do contracts usually sell out?
What is the ward situation? Are wards comprised mostly of units from the complex, or do they include units from other complexes? Where do wards meet for sacrament meeting? Where do wards meet for additional prayer services? Are any facilities provided (such as a meeting room or bishop’s office) for ward use during the week or on Sundays?
What is the girl to guy ratio in the complex? What is the average age?

Please comment if you have any additional questions that you would recommend people asking? I also welcome comments or suggestions to this list. Please comment if you find this list useful. If many people find it useful, we may decide to publish and distribute the list in order to help people find the right housing for them.

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So long V-Hall

Jacob — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 15:10:43 +0000

Seven years ago during my freshman year at BYU, I lived in the dorms in V-Hall. Recently, V and W halls have been torn down. I stopped by the site yesterday to see what was left. I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad to see it go. Maybe a little of both.

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Wyview is not on-campus housing

Jacob — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 17:51:09 +0000

I’m tired of BYU advertising Wyview Park as on-campus housing. Just because it is owned and operated by BYU doesn’t mean that it is on-campus. I used Google Earth to find some distances from Wyview and a few off-campus housing complexes to various campus locations. All distances are linear, and not the actual distance a student may travel while walking to the location.

To the library entrance:

Wyview: 0.88 miles
Glenwood: 0.62 miles
University Villa: 0.67 miles
Centennial: 0.89 miles

To the Marriott Center:

Wyview: 0.65 miles
Glenwood: 0.52 miles
University Villa: 0.87 miles
Centennial: 1.19 miles

To the Joseph Smith Building:

Wyview: 1.02 miles
Glenwood: 0.69 miles
University Villa: 0.49 miles
Centennial: 0.78 miles

When looking at these number, it is hard to imagine that Wyview is considered “on-campus” while the other complexes are considered “off-campus.”

These numbers were easy to find with Google Earth’s distance measuring tool. Google Earth is part of Google Pack, a free collection of essential software. You can download Google Pack by clicking here.

Update March 1, 2008: For those who are not familiar with BYU campus, you can take a look at the campus map to see where some of the buildings are. Wyview is northwest of campus, on the far side of the stadium. Glenwood is west of the northern part campus, about 3/10th of a mile northwest of Heleman halls, a housing complex that more properly can call itself, “On-campus.” University Villa just a few blocks west from the tennis courts on the southwest side of campus. Centennial is located near a few other large complexes southeast of campus.

Update January 23, 2009: I’ve also added this map to help show where a few major on-campus and off-campus complexes are located with respect to the main part of campus where students take classes (the blue shaded region). Wyview is the brown shaded region along the top of the map.

View Larger Map

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T minus seven hours

Jacob — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 09:03:07 +0000

I’m still awake and kicking. I finally have everything out of my room and the room is all cleaned up. I just need to vacuum it, and I’ll wait for my roommate to wake up before I do that.

I just have to clean the oven, and get all my stuff from the living room to other places outside the apartment and I’m done.

My roommate Jason left without checking out, and he was suppose to clean the rest of the kitchen, so I really don’t need to worry any of that, because he will just get cleaning charges taken out of his deposit and that is that.

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T minus thirteen hours

Jacob — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 03:02:48 +0000

In about thirteen hours, I check out of University Villa. I’ll probably be packing and cleaning for the next 12 hours straight. After I leave, I’ll be homeless in Provo. I’m transferring to Portland State University, but I don’t leave for Oregon until about August 30th. I have a tent and a sleeping bag all ready. Check back on my blog to see how living with out a home goes for me.

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Good use of positive encouragement

Jacob — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 06:07:47 +0000

I’m pretty critical sometimes on my blog here about the various things that people do wrong. Tonight I want to mention something I think is a good idea.

Many apartment places threaten their residents during cleaning inspections. University Villa the last few months has found a positive way of encouraging residents to pass their monthly cleaning checks during the first inspection. Every month they do a drawing of people who passed their checks the first time, and 5 people win free pizzas. This is a great simple way of encouraging people to keep their apartments orderly. It is far better business to encourage people this way than by threatening them with punishments for failing to complete their cleaning assignments.

By the way, there are still negative consequences for not passing cleaning checks, but they aren’t the focus of the encouragement.

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Sign up for University Villa Today!

Jacob — Tue, 28 Feb 2006 01:24:27 +0000

Residents of University Villa who re-sign their contracts for spring and summer not only get a 93 dollar a month rate, but the following benefits:

A lounge that is closed when residents are most likely to use it.
A complex office that often is closed or hard to reach
Telephone and internet service that less than fully work
Shared vacuums that often do not work.
Bad booters
$10 fee for paying rent online
Small kitchens with little shelving
Vague utility bills
Great laundry facilities where maybe half of the driers are actually working.

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New Stove! Thanks Kyle and Ben!

Jacob — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 23:31:10 +0000

Well I had a pretty good experience with University Villa today. It is nice to have something good happen here, so I thought I would write it in my blog. Scott came through our apartment today and made a list of various repairs that needed to be done, including a new stove.

But what was really great were the maintenance guys. Kyle and Ben were the names the the guys. They did a really great job. I haven’t inspected the quality of their work — I’m sure its pretty good. What really impressed me was that they were fast with getting on the job. I mean, Scott came through the apartment this morning and they had things fixed up the same day. Same day service is impressive. What was also really impressive is that they were great at explaining things. They seemed to take pride in their work. They showed me the work they had done and make sure that it met my expectations.

Anyway, if the service for fall and winter is like it was today, I will probably be glad that I signed a contract here.

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University Villa under new management

Jacob — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 18:37:49 +0000

Today I met with Scott, who is the new manager of University Villa. He has been the manager for about two weeks now. He told me that a lot of the problems with University Villa in the past were due to the old management. He made promises that things will improve around here with him as the new manager.

I am personally taking a wait-and-see approach to see if things actually do get better. After a difficult summer with all the construction and miscommunication, I am a little skeptical. I’m not completely buying it, but I’m giving the new management a chance to prove it and I guess we’ll see over time.

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