Caveat Emptor: Navigating the Unforgiving Muncie Housing Market
A new rental that meets one’s expectations is becoming increasingly harder to find. The buyer is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of the goods before a purchase is made, or a contract is signed. Muncie, Indiana's renters make up nearly half of the overall city's population, creating an uncommon housing market.
Lifelong Muncie resident and real estate agent, Cody Wallace, describes the Muncie market as being uniquely isolated from other housing markets, with few companies controlling the market. Indianapolis, for example, has a lot of competitors for student housing, whereas
Muncie has a smaller supply and higher demand allowing rental companies to put in less effort and still have their units filled, Wallace explains.
Wallace lives in the White River Lofts which are a new apartment built in Muncie’s White River Canal District. These apartments, advertised by the City of Muncie, have not been meeting Wallace’s expectations. He explained, “I did not have a working shower, in my apartment for over a week. I was not able to use my brand-new washer and dryer for two weeks.” The list of grievances continues including a dirty apartment upon move-in, a flooded bedroom, holes in the closet, stuck windows, as well as an overall unclean building.
Wallace has filled out maintenance requests and complained to his property group. Middletown Properties/BSURentals own the White River Lofts as well many other properties in the Muncie area. According to Middletown Property Group, they operate two brands: BSURentals.com, directed at Ball State students, and Middletown.rentals, directed at Muncie, Fort Wayne, and other surrounding areas.
BSURentals markets themselves on having over 800 affordable properties in convenient locations, a 24-hour maintenance service, and a rewards program. According to the reviews tab on BSURentals.com, residents rate them a 3.6 out of 5-stars. This conflicts with an Online Reputation Assessment (OCRA) score of 33/100.
BSURentals offers a rewards program that allows residents to complete tasks for points that turn into gift cards. One of the tasks is for residents to review where they are living which are then shared on BSURentals.com.
Many of the 4- and 5-star reviews pertain to the location of the unit or neighbor behavior.
The 1 and 2-star reviews paint a more colorful picture of what residents are experiencing with the property group itself. Many of the comments share very personal circumstances involving living conditions, complaints about the service, slow maintenance, and poor communication.
Listen to Cody Wallace talk about his move-in experience at the new-build White River Lofts:
Cody Wallace shares his poor experiences in a new apartment complex
Transcription: I did not have a working shower, in my apartment for over a week. I was not able to use my brand-new washer and dryer for two weeks. The very first time I used my bathroom shower, I flooded my bedroom. And contacted them, you know, like I should. And so, you know, apparently, they have to use certain contractors that did the work, which I understand. But it took them It took over a week for them to get somebody out to fix the issue. I'm still to this day, dealing with issues.
Heidi Przytulski, a current graduate student at Ball State University and 2020 alumna rented in Muncie during her time as an undergraduate student.
“I lived at Beacon Hill when it was a different property company… BSURentals ended up
taking over and a lot of little things started happening.
Maintenance reports weren't going through, my building was being reconstructed, and there wasn't a lot of communication. They ended up deciding to terminate my lease in the middle of it just kind of left me scrambling. So, I ended up having to move quite suddenly in between my first and my second year of graduate school. It was basically the exact situation that I'd worked so hard to avoid, I still found myself stuck in the exact same situation that I'd heard so many other students talk about” Przytulski said.
BSURentals has since contacted Przytulski threatening legal action pertaining to the lease BSURentals terminated. Though Przytulski’s situation is unique, it highlights potential risks for students choosing to rent in Muncie.
As Ball State students are the major clientele population for BSURental’s properties, students are urged to take the necessary precautions to enjoy their living experience if they so choose to move off campus.
John Connor, attorney for Ball State University shares his advice.
Transcription: The number one thing I think students could do, to protect themselves from predatory landlords would be to have that lease reviewed by someone prior to signing it. I think so many students don't read the lease don't understand it. They're making their decisions very early in the school year, because obviously, landlords start pushing very early. Getting students, I think, to take the time do their homework would be the number one way to avoid problems. If you don't bring the lease in here for review, have your family attorney take a look at it.
John Connor is an attorney for Ball State University in Student Legal Services. Connor offers services pertaining to preventative legal counseling, criminal law, and all areas of civil law, including landlord/tenant and contracts. He also provides brochures and other legal information which are free to current Ball State students.
Connor advocates for the security that the dormitories are able to offer students. From roommate disputes to maintenance issues, Housing and Residence Life puts students first. “If you're in a lease with an off-campus landlord, they don't care about roommate disputes, all they want is their rent paid,” Connor stated.
He continued, “Students don't recognize how frustrating it is when they have utility issues: the heat goes out, the pipes are leaking, things like that. Oftentimes, landlords take a long time to address those issues. Once again, if you're in a dorm, you don't have to worry about a pipe breaking and having to live with that for weeks of being without heat.”
Students always have the opportunity to live in dorms or university housing. However, older students do not always want to stay in the dorms. Moving off-campus provides a new experience in a young adult’s life. Students should be familiar with the problems they may encounter when renting in town.
Ball State Daily News puts on The Roost Housing Fair each year to allow prospective renters and landlords or property groups the chance to interact. Year round, the Daily News keeps a housing guide on their website to direct students to The Roost’s resources. Recently Ball State has added a disclaimer to the housing guide.
There are many renters in Muncie who are satisfied with where they live and who they rent from. Andrew Biller, a Ball State graduate student, resides close to campus, but rents from a local landlord. “We rent from a mom and pop landlord, just a single guy who, he doesn't live in the area. He’s been very attentive to all of our issues. Having that personal connection, I think really helps” Biller said.
Transcription: I think a lot of issues that I've kind of avoided in this process are maintenance requests. I've lived in places close to college campuses, for several years, from my late teens to my early twenties. It’s been kind of an up and down experience. We've had some property owners that are very inattentive to maintenance requests, and they know that you're stuck there. I mean, you signed a lease and they couldn't care less about you as a client or even a person living in a property.
Biller, Connor, Przytulski, and Wallace each shared advice for first-time renters or those who are looking to rent in Muncie.
Przytulski weighs in on where renters can begin looking into landlords.
Transcription: I highly recommend just paying attention to Google reviews and Yelp reviews and things of that nature. Moving to Indianapolis, I had access to a lot more news stations and that kind of information. If you have any of that available through Ball state Daily News or any of the local journals in Muncie, really take those things seriously because people were reporting these things for a reason. Don't ignore the red flags. If there are companies with red flags popping up. It's for a reason you can find these things on Twitter, you can find these things on Instagram. Pay attention to what your friends are saying. That's probably the best advice I have.
Biller emphasizes looking for a personal touch or a landlord who will prioritize a human connection. Wallace advises renters to stick to their standards and to investigate properties communication and quality of conditions. Przytulski encourages new renters to take to social media and investigate any red flags noted about rental companies through Google or Yelp as well as looking into what local news sources have to say. Connor, the attorney, offers the resource of the Better Business Bureau in addition to a "shop and compare" approach to all properties one is interested in.
Biller, Connor, and Wallace, each recommended talking to previous or current tenants in the unit to get a sense of what it is like to live in that unit as well as a review of the landlord. Wallace and Connor also highly recommend each renter review their lease by a trusted individual to better understand the business contract.
As rent rates rise nationally, renters have even more responsibilities on their shoulders. Renters in Muncie should be aware of the city's unique hurdles to finding a suitable unit that meets the needs of each individual renter.
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