Does anyone have an experience with the West Shore Apartments (www.westshoreapts.com/) or PJ Apartments (pjapts.com/)?
I’m a CAS freshman looking for a housing, preferably hardwood floor due to allergies, for next year (I have been living in a dorm for four years now through high school and I really want a studio or 1 bedroom apartment).
I have looked into 312 College Ave ($1600~$1800), 407 College Ave ($1450~$1700), 400 College Ave ($2100), Collegetown Center ($1000~$1400), and Crossing ($2100), which did not seem so bad considering the location (and knowing that Ithaca housings are really expensive!).
And I came across these studios/1 bedrooms, mostly hardwood floors and roomy, that are from $900~$1400 on the craigslist and zillow. They are 15~20 minutes walking to Arts Quad. Most of them are listed by West Shore Apartments and PJ Apartments, which I have not heard of from anyone in the school… I saw some terrible reviews saying that the landlords/ladies rip off from the students and walk into the house without asking for permissions.
I’m still waiting to hear from Lambrou Real Estate, which had relatively good reviews.
Also, does anyone know when the studios/1 bedroom usually go out in the year? I feel like this is too early to decide on a housing for next year, and I am wondering if there will be still good ($900~1600 range) studios/apartments remaining in May/June.
I would be really grateful if someone can give me a piece of advice!
You need to get an apartment for next year now, you can’t wait until spring. If you do not have a car and want to live off campus, you need to be in Collegetown. Go see those apartments. My kid lived at 312 and liked the apartment. If you are a girl, I would not get a ground floor apartment.
My kid just told me Collegetown Center was the worst.
If you want to save money, you could sublease from people who are studying abroad. It would mean you may have to move after a semester. My kid did that one year, she subleased from 2 different people. She had to move after a semester, but she didn’t have to pay for the summer and she was able to negotiate for a better rate.
If you want something for next year, you need to sign now. I’m not even sure there will be many options still available at this point, although there are usually places on West/North campus that stay available longer than places in collegetown. I don’t know anything personally about either of those two companies, but most landlords here have bad reviews because it’s extremely easy to take advantage of college students. A bunch of my friends are currently in a legal battle with their landlord. Just make sure you get a parent to look over the paperwork beforehand and know your rights and you should be fine.
Have you talked to your parents about what your budget for housing is? Ithaca housing is expensive and studios/1-bedrooms are extremely expensive. Most of those prices won’t include utilities, either.
Talk to your parents now and contact all the landlords now to see what’s still available for next year and take a tour of all your options.
@oldfort @Ranza123
Thank you so much!
I have started taking tours since last Friday, and you guys are so true. Many of the listings were already signed when I got there.
If anyone else is wondering/searching for houses, I took a tour of the Avramis and PJ apartments so far (I went to Lambrou, but my last option was signed the night before). The Avramis lady did not know which houses I
was touring even though I have confirmed with the company before; there were students eating/sleeping in the three out of four houses I have toured–who all seemed surprised by the visit. The houses were cheaper ($995 for a studio and $1035 for a bedroom) but I’m keeping them as my last option.
I was only able to look at 3 houses from PJ. They were pricier ($1200~$1350)–but not exactly what I was looking for.
I am taking tours at West Short Apartment tomorrow. Hopefully, I will decide soon!