When Binghamton University students move off campus, they usually expect more freedom, a shorter commute to State Street and a tense relationship with their landlord. But what most Bearcats don’t consider is what is nearly inconceivable: the death of a landlord.

And while few students think about it, even fewer know what would happen if the recipient of their monthly rent turned out to be deceased.

Brad Seader, an MBA graduate student, found out first-hand what happens. He moved into 60 Murray St. in June and received a visit from some of his landlord’s friends.

“Her friends came about two weeks before she died to tell us she wasn’t doing well and that she was in the hospital,” Seader said. “They told us to contact them if we needed anything.”

Not thinking much of it at the time, Seader and his four housemates continued as if everything was normal. Later, when he wasn’t sure where to send the rent, Seader decided to call the landlord’s friend.

“I called her friends to ask where to send the check, and they told me to send it to her house,” Seader said. “When I asked how she was doing, they told me that she died a few days before.”

No one had informed Seader of his landlord’s death; the first news of it came from her friend. The landlord’s friend told Seader that a lawyer would now be handling the estate due to the fact that the landlord has no inheritors. Seader and his four housemates have yet to be contacted by the lawyer.

“We haven’t received any information from the lawyer or anyone involved,” Seader said. “They have kept us completely out of the loop.”

But even Sal Farfaglia, a representative from the Binghamton Landlord’s Association, was only vaguely familiar with the law concerning the extremely uncommon issue.

“Those that inherited the property would become responsible,” the representative said. “But a lawyer would be the final authority if no one inherited the property.”

This lack of information has created much confusion, with the only thing Seader being sure of, in regard to the apartment, is where to send the check.

Seader is still unaware of what would happen if there were a problem with his apartment. “If something happened, we wouldn’t know what to do or who to call,” he said. With the winter approaching, certain problems, especially related to heating, take on a new significance.