Rent Smart is an event sponsored by It Makes Cents and Consumer Credit Counseling System on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at Cartwright Center-Ward Room. It aimed to help prepare students who are planning to live off campus by discussing what is to be expected when renting a place. Topics included managing bills, sharing rent, legal rights as a tenet, contacts and policies, as well as financing a rental unit.

The first presenter was Amanda Gasper, the program coordinator from It Makes Cents. She started off by discussing how to locate good potential housing by using local websites and resources as well as what to look for in a rental. She suggested using a rental unit comparison sheet (available on the It Makes Cents website) to help compare and contrast the places you’re looking into. Gasper continued to talk about incidences that can arise when renting. One very common case is roommate issues. She went into detail on what you should discuss with your roommates and how to have important conversations with them when it comes to difficult topics such as cohesively living, sharing food, money matters, maturity levels, and good communication.

Amanda stressed that before you rent, you should know what you can afford. y of doing this is by creating a spending plan to make sure you stay in your allotted budget. She stated that as students, you don’t have a lot of money to spend so it’s important know your wants from your needs when it comes to financing.

At the end of her presentation, Gasper encouraged students who need help with any part of the renting process to ask for help. Students can find resources online on the It Makes Cents website and also the UW La Crosse Residence Life webpage. “We want to help students know their legal rights as well as understanding their financing; how they can afford off campus living,” stated Gasper before the event, “We want to acquaint them with the whole experience.”

Next to present was Majel Hein from Consumer Credit Counseling System. Majel covered almost every aspect of the renting process from inspecting the potential rental unit and meeting the landlord, to the filling out an application, and finally the actual lease. She went into greater depth on the legal aspects of renting, such as the tenets rights and liabilities, understanding policies for the building and how they are enforced.

Hein talked about how to avoid incidences by discussing the importance of renter’s insurance, what it covers, what it can do for you, and how to afford it. Along with that, she explained rental scams, and how to identify the red flags and what to do if you do get scammed.

The event kept the audiences engaged with funny but relevant video clips and handouts for students to take with them. Emily Johnson, a UW-L First Year student, said, “I learned to be cautious of who you rent from. I mean I’ve never rented before! It was good to know the warning signs of what to look out for.”