<p>How outrageous is the real estate situation near campus? Is it even possible to get a decent apartment for around $700 a month?</p>
<p>i know someone who has a single for 750. but it's entirely possible with a roomate. first year in dorms are nice for meeting people, but they're way too expensive, and way too....concentration campish...i mean...u fear getting caught with beer in ur dorm. I hate the dorms, but they were great for meeting people.</p>
<p>You're going to be hard pressed to find any kind of apartment -- even including a studio -- near campus (less than a mile away) for less than $800. If you have a room, you're going to have a MUCH easier time; they'll probably average around $700, go as low as $400 and as high as, well, anything.</p>
<p>Keep looking, though, and look early if you can. I got incredibly lucky and managed to get a 1 bedroom apartment with all utilities + internet included for $650 a month that's a bit less than half a mile (10 minute walk) from campus.</p>
<p>i have friends who are paying about $450 for a double and are only a 5min. walk from campus. so basically, if you're willing to live in a double you could easily find places close to campus for under $500</p>
<p>Of course. The prices go down the more you're willing to concede.</p>
<p>Don't need a kitchen? Don't mind sharing a bathroom? Carleton (on Telegraph, just a block or two down from campus, but only offered once or twice a year, first-come, first-served) and Evans Manor (a bit further off but somewhat more available) are good cheap options, as low as $381 a month.</p>
<p>Don't mind sharing the room (a double)? Then those nice one bedroom apartments that cost from $900-$1200 are suddenly $450-$600. </p>
<p>The best bet is to find a room in a big house -- some of the frats sometimes rent out spare rooms (especially if they're separate from the main building), and sometimes there are student houses that have a vacancy or two, meaning your $400-$600 a month suddenly goes a lot farther and covers utilities and a twice monthly cleaning service.</p>
<p>Basic run-down based on my experiences:
1) One bedroom apartments, no utilities included, average around $1000/mo. The closer you are to campus, the more frequently the average is hit or exceeded. There are always exceptions, but you have to look for them. </p>
<p>2) Studio apartments, no utilities included, average around $850/mo. Same caveat about the price range.</p>
<p>3) Rooms in apartments (which have no more than 3 bedrooms), sometimes with and sometimes without utilities, average around $650. These vary greatly: sometimes they offer rooms with private bathrooms, private entrances, no kitchen privileges, made from converted living room spaces (not as weird as it sounds considering the age of some of the places here). The more concessions you make here -- such as taking the converted living space -- the lower the average price, I would say closer to $500.</p>
<p>4) Rooms in houses varies greatly, depending on the situation. If it's an in-law unit, you're looking at closer to the one bedroom apartment average (say $900). If it's a room in a family house (like the kid went away to college, and now they're renting the spare bedroom to make mortgage), probably around $650 with varying privileges. If it's a room in a student-run house (not affiliated with the university), probably closer to $550 with various perqs -- but you're also sharing a multi-bedroom house, so it's a lot like living in the dorms.</p>
<p>5) There are a couple hotels near campus that rent their rooms to students, some with contracts and some on a month-to-month basis. They range between $750 and $1000 a month, include all utilities and cable and internet and also twice monthly cleaning/linens. Obviously comes furnished.</p>
<p>Things that change the price/deposit (it's usually 3x rent to move in unless you're in a shared situation): whether pets are allowed; what, if any, utilities are included; whether it's furnished; if there's laundry in-house, in the building, or you have to use the laundromat; whether you share a room; whether you share a bathroom; whether you have kitchen privileges; how close you are to campus (do remember that you get to use the buses for "free," since you pay for it in your student fees); whether parking is included; how new the building is (newer = pricier); which neighborhood it's in (the close ones in order of increasing distance: Telegraph (S), Asian Ghetto (S), Gourmet Ghetto (N), College Ave./Elmwood/Ashby (S), Solano (N)); which side of Berkeley it's on (north or south -- north tends to be more expensive, but also less urban)...</p>
<p>Can anyone tell I spent way too much time looking for housing?</p>
<p>where do you search for apartments? Any good sites that you recommend? undecided, you did get one hell of a deal with your $650 one-bedroom apartment.</p>
<p>I used Craigslist.org and also paid the fee to use Cal's housing thing, though I think I didn't need to (ultimately found my deal on Craigslist).</p>
<p>I know, BlueElmo. That's why I moved up here a whole month and a half before I needed to. :P</p>
<p>how much is it to live in those apartments right on telegraph...within 2 blocks of campus</p>
<p>wait, undecided, what do you mean when you said you used the Cal's housing "thing". What is this?</p>
<p>CalRentals, BlueElmo. Pay $30 and get access to their version of Craigslist, accessible only by those affiliated with the university. Quality control, I guess? It does have a good chunk of listings, so it's worth considering. But Craigslist is free and accessible by more people, which translates into more opportunities.</p>
<p>The apartments right on Telegraph range, and are frequently not available. The Carleton is the cheap one, I think it hovers around $500?, but from what I recall it's because it's shared (3-4 people per bathroom, 1-2 people per room?) with no kitchens. They post on Craigslist when available. There are one or two other places right on Telegraph, I don't know if they have names; I looked at a studio in one, pretty roomy, hardwood floors, high-tech security (cameras at the door for buzzing in, for example) that was $950 + utils. Also found on Craigslist.</p>
<p>thats not bad, undecided..</p>
<p>i thought telegraph would be between 1000-1200</p>
<p>i was tripping lol</p>
<p>then again, if their shared....</p>
<p>anyway thanks for info</p>
<p>If you can FIND something on Telegraph, it's probably going to run between $950 and $1150, so you're not too far off. The Carlton rarely rents, and it's hard to get in (they show and sign leases at the showing), and the building I visited only had that one studio, and I haven't seen anything since.</p>
<p>Best thing is to just keep looking. Keep in mind what you absolutely will not budge on (such as cost, distance from campus, amenities) and be ready to give in on the rest when you find something that satisfies those requirements.</p>
<p>If I want to move in for Fall 2007, maybe for Summer session (not sure about this), when should I start looking for apartments?</p>
<p>If you do do summer session, a lot of apartments go up around May, end of April. You should probably give yourself 1-2 months before you plan to move in when you're looking for stuff -- longer, if you can swing it. Occasionally people post far in advance of when they're looking to fill a space (for example, I found an apartment for spring semester that was advertised in August), but the majority of people post about 1.5 months in advance of the beginning of the lease (for example, for leases beginning May 15, the ad goes up about the first week of April). </p>
<p>For fall semester, you may want to keep an eye on ads during the summer. Because Berkeley is a college town, many students live on school term leases. Things become open around the same time. There will probably be a surge of student-friendly leases opening up around June/July.</p>