What To Consider When Looking Into Off-Campus Housing

By Elana Goodwin on August 14, 2014

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After freshman year, many college students want to branch out and be more independent by moving into off-campus housing. This can mean living in an apartment or house, with a roommate, a bunch of roommates, or by yourself.

However, before you commit to relocating off-campus, there are many things you should consider in order to decide whether you should move into off-campus housing.

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The first thing to consider when deciding to live off-campus is the most obvious: the financials. Oftentimes it’s actually cheaper to live off-campus than to pay the college’s room and board fee (which covers housing and a meal plan), but that’s not always the case.

Many college students forget about having to pay for utilities, groceries and other costs that come with living off-campus. Plus, you’ll need to furnish your place too, which means paying for furniture and other household items and toiletries that you don’t need to buy when living in the dorms.

So before you commit to moving into some form of off-campus housing, create a budget. Tally up approximate costs for electricity, water, and gas usages per month, as well as looking into monthly cable and WiFi fees, average security deposit costs, and weekly or monthly food expenses.

And don’t forget about renter’s insurance, too. Then assess whether living off-campus is a good option for you and how to get the most bang for your buck.

You also need to look at how long your lease will be; leases typically are for nine or twelve months, though they can vary depending on the landlord.

Unless you are sticking around your college for the summer, you’ll want to sublease your place so you don’t have to pay for housing you’re not using during the long break.

If you don’t think you’ll be able to find a sublessee, you should think about whether you want to rent that property or look elsewhere as you’ll end up paying at least two months rent during the summer while you’re not there.

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Another thing you need to think about is whether you want to have roommates (and whether you can afford not to if you want to live alone). While having roomies can help offset the costs of an apartment and are definitely needed if you’re living in a house, you can also potentially end up opening a Pandora’s box.

Living with friends can be great but sometimes the close quarters can strain friendships as there are responsibilities and expectations that come with living together.

However, living with people you don’t really know also isn’t necessarily the way to go as there are no guarantees they’ll be reliable and good roommates either.

When you’re thinking about moving off-campus, consider who you’d want to be roommates with and the compatibility of you and your potential roomies.

Photo Credit: Ty William Wright/New York Times

The third factor to take into account is how far away or how close to campus you want to live. Sometimes apartments and houses further from the college are cheaper to rent but you can also find some good deals closer to campus, especially if you split the rent with one or more roommates.

When looking at off-campus housing, consider whether it’s within walking distance of your campus, or if you bike or drive how long it would take to do so.

Also look into where the nearest campus or city bus stop is in comparison to the area you’re thinking of living in.

Safety is another huge factor to look at when deciding where you want to live and how close to campus you want to be, especially if you’re going to be walking at night.

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Fourthly, when looking into off-campus housing, you need to look at who your landlord will be and the actual property you’re going to be renting.

If you’re thinking of moving into an apartment complex, talk to some of the current tenants and ask them about their experiences with the landlord. You should also ask them about any problems they’ve had with their home, the area, etc. and before you sign a lease, you should see the property you’re committing to renting.

“Not only is it a good idea for the person who is going to sign a lease to walk through, but if possible, they ought to be walking through the premises with a licensed building inspector, someone who knows what they’re looking for,” said University of Buffalo off-campus student services director Dan Ryan.

So before making any sort of commitment to living in off-campus housing, make sure to take these factors into consideration and figure out if living off-campus is affordable, safe, and really the right option for you.

Looking for a more convenient way to furnish your off-campus apartment? Rent stylish furniture from CORT and save time and money. For more information on furniture rental packages, click here.

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