Off-Campus Housing and Other Heartbreaks: Tips for the “Hunt”

When Boston’s real estate market hung up its “Open for Business” sign on the first of November, it marked the start of an annual event. Yes, it is indeed that time of year again. The games have officially begun for the scores of students facing the trials and tribulations of the off-campus housing hunt. In packs ranging anywhere from two and ten, they go through the joys and stresses of finding an apartment and the subsequent emotions that come with parental indecisiveness, roommate tensions, and kitchen sizes. All of which hopefully culminates into a lease during the final stretch. Does this sound a little over-dramatic? Trust me, I’ve been there.

Houses in Boston. One of these could be yours! | Photo courtesy of Sfoskett via Wikimedia Commons

But this year is a little different. The world of student employment has seen a rise in numbers in one particular field, i.e., real estate. Anna Diorio, a junior in CAS, can attest to this statistic. Diorio has been working as a realtor at Inbound Real Estate since September of this year.

“A good number of the people I work with are students, or have just graduated college,” she states.

Inbound is located on Audubon Circle in South Campus, and naturally attracts a large student clientele every year.

“We work primarily with students looking to rent apartments. Sometimes it’s easier, being students ourselves, to relate to clients’ needs. Especially since we’ve all been through the process ourselves.”

Being a student as well as a realtor, Diorio can uniquely offer insight for both sides of the housing hunt.

“I feel like people are wary of hiring a realtor a lot of the time because many people have bad experiences, but it’s a lucrative business,” she says. “It’s a lot easier to be successful just by being considerate and courteous of your client.”

According to Diorio, these are the essential things to keep in mind while on the hunt for the perfect apartment:

TIMING: The earlier you begin the search, the more options you will have. Real estate is all about time. Going later into the season, there are fewer apartments available for leasing. If you see an apartment you like, and wait to decide, someone else will claim it while you are making up your mind. However, if it’s still early in the season, there may still be solid backup options for you.

ROOMMATES: Make sure your potential roommates are all on board and ready to go. One of the biggest road blocks is unsure roommates who cause the entire plan to fall through. The last-minute scramble to find someone else to fill that one vacant spot can often make or break friendships.

PARENTS: This is obvious. They do more than just decide whether their kids can live off-campus or not. They more often than not influence the apartment hunt entirely. However, if you have a roommate who’s decided to go against their parents’ wishes, that’s well and good. Until it’s not. Make sure all parents are on board because most landlords require that undergraduate students without a steady income have a cosigner on their lease. If you need your parents to cosign, get on their good side now and convince them of your homecare abilities.

Some Allston apartments. | Photo courtesy of Joel McCoy via Wikimedia Commons

LOCATION: Considering how far away you want to be from campus is one of the most important criterion in the search. You may think that the adorable place you found over by Cleveland Circle won’t be a big deal from which to commute on a daily basis, but things can quickly change once you’re actually living there, a solid twenty minutes from campus. However, apartments usually are cheaper the farther away from campus you travel. You should also consider the extra costs for semester T-passes and bikes, as well as whether you and your future roomies actually are prepared for that extra-long commute.

LAYOUT: Think about what’s more important to your group of friends. Is your household going to be a relaxed one? Do you plan to host alcohol-infused, blackout-in-the-bathroom parties every weekend? Or do you plan for something in between? Depending on which of the above describes your new environment best, you’ll want to think of whether you want a house or an apartment, what kind of neighborhood you’ll fit best, and what kind of interior you’ll want for the job. Moreover, do you each want your own bedrooms? How many bathrooms would you like? Do you plan to cook a lot? Do you want a basement? These are essential things to think about when searching, because, at the end of the day, it is space that you will be responsible for keeping clean.

RENT: You’ve probably thought about this already. But if you haven’t…really? This should be one of the first things that you and your roommates discuss. Not only will it give you a more specific set of options to choose from, it will also hopefully prevent any future bitterness and financial struggles after you move in. You also don’t want to see a place you can’t afford and unfortunately love.

REALTOR: Now, not everyone chooses to go through a realtor, and this article about off-campus housing provides a few useful resources should you choose not to. Yes, realtors are a little pricey; they usually charge their clients one month’s rent for their services should they successfully help their clients rent a place. However, most landlords choose to go through realtors when renting out property. Not only is it easier, it’s safer. A good realtor will be able to take all of your needs into account, and compile a list of places that he/she will personally show you. Realtors can also provide helpful advice due to their past experiences with certain buildings and specific landlords. They will definitely make the process easier and a little less stressful. Do consider one if this is will be your first time living off-campus.

This may seem like a lot, but at the end of the day, getting your own apartment is a big deal and requires a lot of work. If you do things the right way, you’ll end up with a great place to live, and a lot of happy people (hopefully) to live with. I wish you all a happy hunting!

For more tips and information on off-campus housing contact Anna Diorio at anna@inboundre.com. The office is located at 896 Beacon St. in South Campus.

About Vijayta Narang

Vijayta is a film student who shamelessly indulges in music, art, and other vices through the QUAD. She is an ardent lover of coffee, fantasy novels, and sweaters,

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