
You go to class, but you havenāt yet found a place to go home to. You canāt move back in with your parents and youāre not going out on the streets. Where do you go?
Vacancy rates in Central Oregon are at approximately one percent, according to Kevin Restine, president of the Central Oregon Rental Ownersā Association. Restine has never seen vacancy rates this low before.
āWhen the housing bubble burst, construction stopped in Bend,ā Restine said.
But students arenāt the only demographic looking for a roof over their heads. When the āhousing bubbleā burst, throughout 2007-09, many homeowners lost their homes and went to look for rental situations, according to Restine.
The solution: Find someone to share the burden.
āPeople are resorting to the roommate situation more and more today because there is a lot of demand and not a lot of supply,ā Restine said.
The subject of finding roommates is one of the top three issues students call the Student Life desk at COCC about, according to Terri Botts, Student Life administrative assistant.
āThe only thing we have to offer them is old-fashioned posting on the board,ā Botts said.
In addition, students can face real challenges finding a place to stay because many landlords would rather not rent to students. Lindsay Buccafurni, campus center building specialist, talks to students who canāt find housing all the time.

āSome students have told me they stopped [telling landlords] they were students,ā Buccafurni said.
There can be a certain stigma involved when renting to students, according to Paul Wheeler, housing coordinator at COCC.
āA stigma could be anything that might come with someoneās perspective of student life,ā Wheeler said. āIf their home is in a well established community, they donāt want to come under scrutiny for renting to students.ā
Finding your soul (room) mate
One tool that could help students find roommates is a classifieds site–something like Craigslist but specific for COCC students. Sharon Bellusci, technology and communications coordinator for student and enrollment services, is currently requesting such a tool.
āIt would be secure,ā Bellusci said. āOnly COCC students with an active email could access it.ā
In the absence of this site, Terri Botts often finds herself having to recommend desperate students use Craigslist.
Using Craigslist to look for potential roommates is āa little scaryā to Megan Bernard, resident director at Juniper Hall, because students have no idea what kind of person theyāre rooming with.
Bernard recommends rooming with friends of friends so potential roommates have some idea what the experience is going to be like.
āYouāll know if theyāre good in school and good at doing other tasks,ā Bernard said.
Bernard knows exactly what not to look for in a roommate from her experience working at COCCās residence hall.
āNever room with your best friend,ā Bernard said. āYouāll drive each other crazy.ā
There are several combinations that just donāt work, according to Bernard. Matching up a smoker with a non-smoker or a night owl with an early bird is a bad idea, but choosing someone with different qualities is actually desirable, Bernard said.
āDonāt room with a person thatās just like you,ā Bernard said. āSomeone that has different qualities than you but shares some of the same interests. Workout buddies, or girls who love āThe Bachelorette.āā
Even if two personalities donāt mesh perfectly, making sure that theyāre not spending too much time together is a good way to avoid getting tired of one another.
āIf you have opposite work and school schedules it really helps,ā Bernard said. āThen youāre not hanging out all the time.ā
To Bernard, one of the best guarantees for residence peace is a roommate agreement. Housing situations work best when roommates communicate their expectations of each other.
āSetting up rules at the very beginning, setting boundaries, is really important,ā Bernard said.
Paul Wheeler, housing coordinator at Juniper Residence Hall, provides references for students after they move on from Juniper. When a potential landlord or agency contacts Wheeler, the answers he gives are strictly yes or no.
āThey ask ādid they pay their bills on timeā?ā Wheeler said. āDid they leave under good terms?ā
Scott Greenstone
The Broadside
sgreenstone@cocc.edu