Students are taking advantage of a buyer's market in real estate near the U, says the Daily:
High rent near the University drove finance and entrepreneurial management junior Alex Ablamunets to take out loans and make a joint purchase of a Riverview Tower condominium on the West Bank in September 2005.
Ablamunets and his roommate were able to get low financing, making his $450 monthly payments comparable to average rent.
A high number of homes for sale on the market and near 40-year-low mortgage rates are attracting buyers who may have previously rented.
That means for some young, first-time buyers with money in the bank - or with parents who have some - now looks to be the time to buy property.
The shift toward a buyer's market comes after a five-year housing boom in which buyers were attracted by low interest rates and sellers and developers could demand higher prices.
Tom Blomberg, a broker for Prudential Sundial Realty Incorporated, said from a practical standpoint, the real estate market turn-down is fairly minor.
"It's made pricing for buyers better. It's made competition better," he said. "So, I think in the end, it helps to give the market some strength from which to start going back up again."
Another housing option for students is serving as a Community Advisor in one of the University's residence halls:
Housing and Residential Life now offers a spring, summer and fall opportunity to submit applications to be a community adviser - a live-in student whose job is to create a sense of community and to be a role model for residents.
Previously, the application process occurred in the spring. Summer and fall deadlines are in May and October, respectively. Accepted students receive a room, a meal plan and a stipend.
The application process is quite in-depth. Applicants
must complete a five-week, eight-session leadership workshop as part of the application process, which Anderson said lets housing officials learn more about the candidates than in the one or two interviews they had before.
He said though the workshop is time-consuming, the applicants who participate seem more serious about getting the job.
It also shows candidates more about the job than they could learn on paper, he said.
"To be sitting in a job you don't like two weeks after starting is a horrible place to be, especially when your housing is tied to the job," Anderson said.
Before the workshop, Anderson said there were more applicants, but they seemed less prepared for the job, and more community advisers would leave in the fall because the job wasn't a good fit for them.
Vice Provost for Student Affairs Jerry Rinehart offers some sobering advice about personal safety for students living near campus:
Large house parties not only attract students from high schools and other college campuses, but also attract people to the area who have more sinister motives. For these folks, alcohol-impaired students wandering in the dark represent opportunities - opportunities for robbery, assault and other crimes, which are more difficult to get away with in the sober light of day. Alcohol is all too often a factor in assaults on students. Alcohol impairs judgment so students might pay less attention to their surroundings or decide to walk home alone - actions that can make students targets for criminal opportunists.
We ask students to keep personal safety in mind as they go about their daily lives. Students can review safety tips at the UMPD Web site at http://www1.umn.edu/police/prevention.html.
Not everyone who becomes drug- or alcohol-impaired is going to end up in the hospital. Our research shows that the likelihood of injury, assault, or sexual violence is much higher for students who report binge drinking than for those who abstain or drink in moderation. As one of the Boynton Health Service posters says: Alcohol is the most common date-rape drug. Of course, for students under 21, there can be additional consequences related to having a criminal record. This isn't rocket science - getting drunk and getting into trouble go hand-in-hand.
We are pleased that thousands of students are choosing to participate in Gophers After Dark and other fun, safe and healthy activities. And we want students living in our communities to be able to enjoy their freedom and privacy without having to worry about "getting busted." Our expectation is that students will use common sense, respect one another and their neighbors, and act responsibly. We are sure that these expectations can be met while having fun and having lively social gatherings. It is simply a matter of maintaining some balance between the exercise of personal freedom and individual responsibility
Timely advice; there was recently another late night assault near campus:
Two University alumni returning to campus for homecoming festivities were brutally attacked early Sunday.
George Miserendino, 26, said he and a friend called it a night at about 1:20 a.m. and started walking home when they noticed three men following them in the 1700 block of University Avenue Southeast.
A verbal confrontation ensued, which quickly came to blows, he said.
Miserendino said the attackers knocked him unconscious while hitting his friend several times. The friend managed to tackle one attacker and held him down until police arrived, he said.
"These guys were looking to hurt somebody," Miserendino said. "There're sick people out there."
Miserendino suffered multiple injuries, including a broken nose in two places, a fractured skull and eye socket, a concussion and a separated jaw, he said.
An ambulance transported him to Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment, according to the police report.
So far, police have arrested one suspect - the man Miserendino's friend held down - for felony assault causing significant bodily harm, Minneapolis police Lt. Greg Reinhardt said.
No further arrests have been made, but the investigation is ongoing, he said.