Local Internet company adds ease to students' rental shopping

An Athens rental directory now is available on the Internet, said Mike Sweeney, founder and developer of renthelper.net, at yesterday's Ohio University Student Senate meeting.

The site includes occupancy, address, and contact information for area rental properties, said Sweeney, an OU sophomore.

"Finding a place to live in Athens can be like pulling teeth," he said.

Information about rental properties often cannot be found all in one place, he said. More than 3,000 listings on the renthelper.net Web site eliminate the tedious process of pouring through newspapers and asking friends.

Since September, about 2,000 people have visited the site, which can be found at http://www.renthelper.net, Sweeney said. The listings also can be accessed all year, a bonus for college students who must find living quarters too far in advance to depend on classified advertisements, he said.

Information from the Center for Student Advocacy about tenant responsibilities, party hosting and subleasing also is available on the Web site.

Sweeney is working with Senate's Off-Campus Housing Commission and the Center for Student Advocacy to help advertise the site, he said.

Also at the meeting, Amanda Hobson, senate's women's affairs commissioner, said Take Back the Night Week had been moved to April 30 through May 3.

-Erica Ryan