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Here are some articles that may help parents deal with their kids living in a property off campus.

Where does your money go?
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Security Deposits
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Where does your money go?


If you are one of the lucky parents who is paying for their child's education costs including their living accommodations, you will often wonder where your money goes. Living away at school is not cheap whether you live on campus or off campus. Some of the costs include security deposit, rent, utilities (water electric, gas, sewer, oil), cable and phone/internet access. This can add up quickly so it is important for you to know what you are paying for and what the alternatives are.

When living off campus, tenants will generally pay for the rent, plus all of the utilities that they use. You can protect your interest by making sure you aware of what is included in the check you write. Are you being charged a late fee because rent is not paid on time? Will damages be deducted from the security deposit? Does the cable bill include all of the premium channels? Were there any fines because garbage was not put out on time. If the tenants are being careless, you can end up paying a lot of extra money.

Make sure you have a good understanding of the rent and other costs, and plan to paying the same amount each month unless you are aware of changes. It is also a good idea to have a feel for what rents are for other accommodations in the area. Usually, off campus housing is much less expensive than a dormatory. But landlords know if they can fetch a premium for their property and they will get it.