For Parents
First of all, we would like to thank you for the privilege of being your choice to provide housing for your student while they attend Bloomsburg University. We understand that this may be a new experience for you and your family as your children make the transition into adulthood. So, thank you for placing this trust in us as you send your student on their way in this next chapter of their life. We hope to assist you and your student in bridging the gap from living under your roof to your student now living on his/her own.
Our goal is to provide the best value for your dollar. Our housing will always be clean, in good repair, and safe. We will always treat you and your students with respect as they move towards adulthood while still keeping you in the loop as well.
At B&L Properties we are proud to offer you and your student the following features and services:
• Affordable Pricing – Our goal is to provide housing for every budget. We offer a wide range of pricing options depending on how many roommates your student is willing to have and depending on the location in which they want to live. We are willing to work with students who use Financial Aid in order to help pay for their housing; just ask us how to set this up.
• Quality – We want to provide your student with the amenities they need for a successful college career. All of our apartments come fully furnished with a full complement of furniture and appliances including (in most units): dresser, twin size bed, mattress, leather sofas, flat screen TV, desks for studying, dishwasher, stove, microwave, refrigerator, breakfast bar with high back stools or a table and chairs, washer, and dryer. All of our apartments are also internet ready. In addition, we provide your student with access to an exclusive to our fitness studio/gym.
• Location - The best part about our apartments is the location. All of our Properties are within walking distance to campus and downtown. They are also located along the shuttle bus route in case of inclement weather. While your student may not need to use their car on a regular basis, we offer parking that is in close proximity to our apartments.
• Good Repair – Our full time maintenance crew is on call 24/7 in case of emergencies. It is both simple and easy to submit a maintenance request via our online submission form. It is our goal to respond to all non-emergency maintenance requests within 24 hours.
• Safety – We understand that safety is one of a parent’s primary concerns when sending their student off to college to live away from home. We do our very best to put your mind at ease about this. All of our apartment buildings are secure so that only your student and those they lets in can enter. In addition, all of our apartment buildings are equipped with interconnected smoke detectors and there are fire extinguishers located in every unit. We have security cameras positioned throughout town and most importantly, we are always around. We have a security team keeping an eye on things as well. So if your student gets locked out in the middle of the night, we will be there to open the door for them.
• Keeping you in the Loop – We understand that you are most likely the one paying the bills and helping your students navigate through this next chapter of their lives. In light of that, we strive to keep you in the loop if there is anything you should know about or if there are bills going unpaid. Most of all, we are always available to you if you have any questions or concerns. We return all emails and calls within one business day.
We are so glad that you chose us to house your student during their college career. We consider this choice of yours a privilege and we look forward to serving you and your student during this important time in their lives.
Below you will find links to your student’s Lease along with other documents that your student will be signing if they decides to stay with us. We have posted samples here for you to review. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.
Lease: This is the Lease that your student and his/her group will need to sign.
Parent Guarantee Form: We require the parents of all the students living with us to guarantee their student’s Lease. This guarantee is similar to co-signing for your student.
Town Addendum: This is the addendum to the lease required by the Town of Bloomsburg.
Rules and Regulations: These are our guidelines for behavior while your student lives with us. We expect your student to abide by them.
Parking Permit Agreement: Please refer to your student’s Lease to see if parking is included or not. If parking is not included, your student has the option to purchase a parking permit from us. In order to do this, they will need to fill out this form.
Student Damage Addendum: We want you to know up front how much we charge for damages, which are caused either by neglect or by intentional destruction. We do not charge for routine maintenance. We do routine maintenance for free.
If you have questions about the documents that your student will be signing, please feel free to give us a call.
Additional Resources
At B&L Properties, we are here to serve both you and your student. As your student begins this new adventure of living away from home, you may have many questions that go beyond the documents he/she will be signing. You may have questions about what they should pack, how to transition to college life, and how you can help support them so they can be successful. As a result, we have provided you with links below to some resources that will help support you through this transition to your student living away at college.
Practical Packing Tips: When helping your student prepare to live in their own apartment, there are many items that they will need in order to survive this new living experience. Much like when you bought your first house or lived away from home for the first time when you were in college, there are many things you use on a regular basis that you do not think twice about until you go to grab them and they are not there. Here are links to lists of some of the most commonly forgotten items that your student will need to have on hand in their apartment:
• https://www.theodysseyonline.com/19-things-students-forget-bring-college
• http://www.thecollegeprepster.com/2014/07/the-college-dont-forget-packing-list.html
• https://www.hercampus.com/life/campus-life/what-bring-college-best-college-packing-list-ever
Transition: The Indiana University of Pennsylvania offers a wide variety of resources for both parents and students as they navigate through this life change. Here is some helpful information for both you and your student: http://www.iup.edu/parents/transition-to-college-life/
Support: Many parents are unsure of the best way to support their student as they begin the journey of earning a college degree. They seek to find the right balance between allowing their student to be independent and yet still providing them with wise counsel along the way. This can not only be an extremely hard balance to find but also a difficult one since it requires you to give your student the freedom to make their own decisions. The Jody Michael Associates provide a wealth of suggestions on how to help you find this balance: http://hechingerreport.org/tips-for-succeeding-in-your-first-year-of-college/
Letting Go: As a parent of a college student who is living away from home, it can be an incredibly difficult process to let your student go. As you help your student move into their apartment, you feel as though you are dropping them off to begin a life on their own but you are not ready for this change yet. You are unsure of what lies ahead in your student’s future and how they will handle living on their own without you there to watch over their every move. Yet, letting go is an essential part of the parenting process and one that comes with much fear. See what Dr. Jann Gumbiner has to say about this process: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-teenage-mind/201308/letting-go-college-kids
Success: There are a variety of things that your student can do to help ensure they have the most successful first year possible. Or, you may have a student in their sophomore, junior, or senior year who could use some reminders of what makes a successful student. As their parent, you can encourage your student to do the following things found here: http://hechingerreport.org/tips-for-succeeding-in-your-first-year-of-college/
Again, we are honored that you have chosen B&L Properties to house your student during their college experience. We do not take this job lightly and we will do our best to make your students’ living experience the most successful one possible.