Living in an apartment for the first time may be a monumental step in many people’s lives. For many at NIU, it is a step they have just begun to take.

Along with the new experiences of apartment life comes new problems.

According to Joe Sosnowski, manager of Star Properties, tenants who are new to renting often have a few more problems than others.

“Sometimes there are some troubles,” Sosnowski said. “Anybody who is renting for the first time will always have problems.”

Not keeping up on payments is a major problem new tenants face.

“The best thing you can do is make sure everyone is paying their rent and all of the bills,” Sosnowski said. “Make sure to keep an open line of communication with your roommates.”

One other common problem is noise. At the beginning of the year, Sosnowski said new tenants tend to be a little bit louder and party more.

Steve Gualdoni, a junior communication major, and Jesse Billadeau, a junior business major, are two new tenants that fall directly into this group.

They are roommates at Old Orchard Place Townhomes. Both have been living there a little more than two weeks and already have encountered some of the problems of living the stereotypical college lifestyle.

“I reached for the soap today but grabbed an empty beer bottle,” Billadeau said.

And it’s not just the booze and the mess. The boys have found that keeping the apartment stocked with essentials is a tough thing to do as well.

“Our toilet broke today. I’ve never seen the bottom of our sink, and we have no toilet paper,” Gualdoni said.

The imperfections of the apartment seemed to have little effect on Gualdoni and Billadeau however.

“I love it all,” Gualdoni said. Billadeau agreed.

Not all new renters find the experience as enjoyable.

Another student, Connie Kalsch, a senior visual communication major living in an apartment on Fotis Drive, had a few complaints about her situation.

“One of our windows got broken a couple weeks ago. I called the realtor, but they still haven’t fixed it,” Kalsch said.

This has not been the first problem encountered by Kalsch and her friends.

“My boyfriend moved in before everyone else, and he forgot to lock his car door one night. So within the first week he was here his car radio got stolen,” Kalsch said. “He took his car home and hasn’t brought it back since.”