Frequently Asked Questions

The Spartan Housing Cooperative has a dual-approval process. First, you get approved by the Co-op via our application. After you hear back, you’ll then move onto getting approved by the particular Co-op you’re interested in by contacting Membership Officer and scheduling a tour meeting and/or meal.

Our application can be found here. You’ll receive a reply from us within 3 business days of your application.

After you’re provisionally approved by the Co-op, you’ll receive your welcome letter email. Then, you:

1. Get a tour of the house(s) you like by contacting the membership officer listed on the house page
2. Attend a house dinner or event to meet your potential future housemates
3. Attend a house meeting to understand facilitation and function within the house
4. Be accepted by the Co-op Houses that you like the best
5. Once the Membership Officer submits a tour card for approval, you contact the Office to schedule a Contract Signing Appointment, then sign your contract at the SHC office. You’ll pay Shares and Dues of $555.00 upon signing a Contract.

Then you are a part of our community!

Once you have done the following steps:

1. Completed a tour
2. Had dinner and a meeting with the house
3. Been accepted by members of the house
4. Your tour card has been turned in by the membership officer
5. Call or e-mail the office to schedule a contract signing

Then you can come to our office in Campus Town Mall and sign up for your spot!

Our office is located at Campus Town Mall — 541 East Grand River Avenue. We’re above Chipotle! Once you enter Campus Town Mall, go up to the 2nd floor. That’s where you’ll find us, right next to the record store FBC!

Here you can meet with staff, pay your Monthly Charges, or just hang out. Stop in any time Monday—Friday from around 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Visit our committees & staff page to learn about the lovely people you’ll regularly find at the SHC office.

Room picks happen in the spring semester prior to the new contract year. Generally, room pick seniority goes as follows:

1. Number of semesters one has lived in ______ House
   • If there are people who have lived there the same amount of time, then seniority is determined by the original contract signing date.
2. Number of semesters one has been a member of the SHC
   • If there are people who have lived there the same amount of time, then seniority is determined by the original contract signing date.
3. By original contract signing date.

So the earlier you sign a house, the higher your seniority will be! Also, ask the members of your household how their room assignments are made, as they may do it differently in each household. Check out your house constitution for more information about this as well.

Yes! SHC bedrooms are furnished however you want. You can request any and all of the following items:

1. A bed frame/box spring
2. Mattress
3. Desk
4. Chair
5. Dresser

If you want to bring all of your own furniture, that is fine too.

Your common spaces are furnished as well, but you can bring furniture you would like to contribute to that common space if there is room for it and you are okay sharing it with your housemates.

Members vote each semester on whether to have a meal plan. If a house has had a meal plan in the past, it will say so on the house info page.

Members can vote on how many nights a week they would like to have dinners. They also vote on if meals will contain meat and how often (but there is always a vegetarian option).

Dinners are cooked by members of the house and count toward chore points. Purchasing ingredients could either be the responsibility of cooks themselves or of their house shopper(s).

All uncaged pets must be approved by your housemates. Caged pets only need approval from roommates (if any). This approval must be reinstated at the first house meeting of each semester. You must fill out an Uncaged Pet Agreement, which can be picked up in the SHC office. This Uncaged Pet Agreement must be signed and submitted BEFORE bringing the animal into your Co-op. Dogs are not allowed as pets in our Co-ops due to liability concerns.

Any animal in the house must be up to date on shots and vaccinations, and all cats must be spayed or neutered.

If your furry friend meets these conditions, then they are more than welcome in your co-op.

Yes! Houses provide parking for members.

However, at some houses, space is limited. If there are not enough parking spots to accommodate the number of members who own vehicles, members decide who will have a parking space and who will not.

Yes, yes, yes! You own a portion of the property and therefore have the right to paint it however you please.

For common spaces such as hallways and living rooms, approval from housemates by a vote is necessary to paint.

See if it’s something you can fix yourself with the tools you have at home. If you are unable to fix it, contact your house facilities officer. Their job is to help maintain and fix up the house. If your facilities officer is unable to resolve the issue, submit a maintenance request via your Appfolio portal. Your points of contact will be:

• Zach Crewes, Vice President of Facilities: facilities@spartan.coop

• Dan Tooman, Maintenance Coordinator: maintenancecoordinator@spartan.coop

Our goal is to have your shares returned to you before the end of the calendar year, December 31.

Filling out the Reconciliation Reports each month and turning them into the Corporate Treasurer each month can show the Finance Committee the expenses and budgets of each house, averting a deficit before it happens by comparing the budget to actual.

No worries. You only have to help pay off the deficit if you lived in the house when the house went over budget. Similarly, you won’t receive a surplus check if you did not live in the house when the house stayed under budget.

The SHC has a policy for late fines with any balance over $100. This late fee can be waived for up to 3 months, but the house deficit must exceed $150/person, and you must bring it to the Corporate Treasurer for approval. This works like a payment plan for the deficit.

In summary, the SHC bad-debt policy still applies to any balance on your account outside the approved deficit of $150.

*Please discuss circumstances with your house and/or house treasurer if you wish, but we want to maintain individual accountability.

The House Audit determines whether a house stayed within budget during the fiscal year (Sep 1 – Aug 31). If a house went over budget (had too many expenses and not enough house charges), this is called a deficit. It takes money away from the house account and can affect future contract years.  If the house was under their budget (paid more house charges than expenses), this is called a surplus. The members paid more than what was spent, so this money is paid back to its members.

It’s not a personal audit, but as a member of the house, you have an impact on the future of the house when you:

• As a house, pay back a previous house surplus to the SHC (who gave it back to previous house members already)

• Turn in receipts on time to your finance officer (so timely information can be shared to see if you’re on track for a deficit or surplus)

• Sign off on your house budget and any adjustments over the semester

• As a house, contribute to house savings (part of your budget)
• Conserve resources

The shares you purchase(d) when you sign a contract in the SHC office make you an owner in your house. Those shares are also used to buffer the cost of a house deficit, should that happen. Money can also be added to your shares if your house has a surplus. Until the audit is finished, we don’t know if your house has a surplus or a deficit.

The house audit starts after the previous year* closes, i.e., the school year 2015/16 will be audited after the 2016/17 school year starts Sept 1, 2016. We have to wait until October 2016 to be sure we have all the receipts and reconciliations in. Then we ask each House Treasurer to approve the deficit or surplus before we can send the checks to members. We also verify each member’s address before we send the checks (so confirm it with us first!)

*The Fiscal Year for the Student Housing Cooperative (Sept 1 – Aug 31) is not the same as the calendar year (Jan 1 – Dec 31). It’s similar to the school year calendar.