Editor’s Note: This story was initially published on March 2, 2009.

Signing a lease for next fall is most likely on every student’s to-do list. How much of a priority is it, though, in early March? It should be in your top three — right below that midterm to pass and getting laundry done.

The market isn’t going to wait to sell your dream apartment or the one that fits into your budget just right. Todd Petersen, property manager for Jensen Property Management, advises students to sign a lease by spring break — March 16 to 20 — if students want the best selection.

“Every indication is we are going to be full before school gets out. It didn’t used to be that way five years ago,” Petersen said. “I would say it’d be really good if you wanted your choice of places to live I would sign a lease by spring break, if not by the end of the school year.”

Jensen Property Management currently has 713 units in their portfolio spread throughout their 13 different properties. They will be adding 60 more come August 1, bringing the total to 773 units available for rent, Petersen said.

Jensen Property Management is just a fraction of what the Jensen Group runs. The Jensen Group, which largely owns 13 different properties in southwest Ames, also consists of Jensen Land Development and Harvester Golf Club in Rhodes, owning 100 single-family lots around the golf course.

Dickson Jensen, owner of the Jensen Group, started a construction company in 1993 called Jensen Homes, which then expanded into what he now owns — the Jensen Group. Dickson, Petersen said, is a former Iowa State instructor who went out on his own and started doing “light residential construction projects,” which eventually evolved into the Jensen Group.

All apartments are referred to as “cost efficient” according to the Jensen Property Management Web site. Petersen said this refers to the high-efficiency furnaces in every unit.

“They are well-built buildings, well-insulated and most things that require utility usage [are] the heat in the wintertime, so we put in high efficiency furnaces,” he said.

Petersen said approximately 90 percent of their tenants are college students and catering to their needs inside an apartment is just as important as the any other aspect including the cost.

“Some of the things we think are highlights ideally for a college student are [the apartments] are close to CyRide and transportation, most of them have two baths, which accommodates college students really well, and most of them have washer and dryers in the unit,” Petersen said. “We like to think they are quiet and clean.”

With the struggling economy, Petersen said, the side of Jensen Property Management hasn’t been affected.

“We don’t know we necessarily feel the brunt of the economy in our property management business because our market is college students,” Petersen said. “Actually the university has gone up in enrollment and plus the university doesn’t require freshmen to live on campus anymore so that has kind of helped our business, to be honest with you.”

Petersen said that considering Jensen Property Management is one of the largest rental property companies in town and have been successful for 16 years, Jensen has a reliable reputation. Prospects for this upcoming calendar year are looking good, he said.

“This current year has been the best year we’ve had in several years in terms of our occupancy and all indications of pre-rent up-going right now are going to indicate it will be just as good next year,” Petersen said.