How is Zaragon Place

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
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<p>“Personally, I wouldn’t pay more than $500/ month for rent alone in AA” What decade did you visit U of M? Unless you are living migrant style (4 to a room) I don’t see $500 a month being easily found on campus. I read an article that said the cost of apartments in Ann Arbor is the highest in the Big Ten. </p>

<p>My son was a transfer student and roomed blind at Zaragon Place. Yes it was pricey, but you can also get a deal at times. The internet was fine and the noise was not bad (they were even working on East Quad last year and that was not too loud). Fantastic location (next to East Quad if you want a meal plan) and good people to deal with. He had a friend who signed late and got a room in one of the 4 bedroom Zaragon units for less than $1k a month for a 9 month lease last year.</p>

<p>So if you have the money and are looking for a roommate and have limited options it is great. If you have time and less money there are other options. Craigslist often has sublets or late cancellations. </p>

<p>My son is not staying there a second year because he had the time to find roommates and get an old student ghetto house for less $$'s.</p>

<p>btw I’m very familiar with Ann Arbor (born and raised there) and my brother is landlord in town as well so I’m not a “rich OOS” parent and did not find Zaragon to be completely out of whack price wise for what you get. Yes you can live in Ypsi or elsewhere for a lot less but then have to get to and from campus.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the feedback beechwood</p>

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<p>For next school year I got a no-lease (month-to-month) like 1.5 miles from campus for $410 with utilities and internet included. No migrant style, my own bedroom in 4 bedroom house.</p>

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<p>^^^^1.5 miles from campus is not exactly a hop, skip, and a jump.</p>

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<p>I just finished up my freshman year. I signed a lease for an apartment complex with a friend back in October.
We each pay $400 a month, and I’ll get my own bedroom. that includes gas&water. furnished. kitchen bathroom.</p>

<p>You just have to know where to look.</p>

<p>oh and the place literally a 5 min walk to central diag.</p>

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<p>Like I said, it depends on one’s preference. Ann Arbor has high end apartments (that will cost over $1,000/month) and moderately expensive apartments for those who do not wish to (or cannot) spend that much money. But I do not think “overpriced” is the right word to describe it. Expensive, but no more. You get what you pay for I suppose. Those who want great views of Ann Arbor, floor to ceiling windows, modern amenities, sound and temperature insulated walls and windows, heated underground parking, central location, fitness center etc, the price is worth it.</p>

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<p>In my opinion, heated underground parking and a fitness center is unnecessary.</p>

<p>CCRB and NCRB exist for a reason.
really heating in a parking space?</p>

<p>::rolls eyes::
but i guess there’s a demand for, in which probably I’ll never understand</p>

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Very many times, I felt that the food was definitely not worth $13. Even if it’s buffet style, still bad deal. </p>

<p>You’d be saving more money by eating out at restaurants on State/South U.</p>

<p>Is there a meal plan that is included in the Zaragon’s rent price? Because that would actually make more sense given the cost</p>

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<p>To each his own ForeverAlone. To some, those creature comforts are well worth the extra money. Living in Zaragon Place at the same cost as living in a mediocre dorm at many universities around the nation cannot be described as “overpriced”. That is an incorrect statement. Finding accommodation for $500/month is a great bargain, but living in an accommodation such as Zaragon Place is not overpriced.</p>

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<p>I think it has to do with location specifically. I lived in 411 last year and it has a few hundred $ cheaper rent. But it was essentially at the opposite side of central, from the buildings where I needed to be. So the location was pretty much terrible (and among other terrible things). I guess I could have found small houses or old small apartment units that go around $600. But then again, I wanted the perfect location and academic lease to make things worth more (and no bugs). And for a lazy & busy person, location does matter when it’s cold raining, windy, and gloomy as heck when you need to go back n forth to classes and library. It really does at least for me.</p>

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<p>I guess… It’s only like 25 min walk from the Med campus so I can take a bus from there. Either way, I’m used to living farther than that from campus so I guess it’s not a big deal for me.</p>

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<p>Beechwood, while I agree that the overall inflated cost of apartments near the university make Zaragon seem less inflated than it is compared to any other square footage in the state of Michigan, and while the amenities are nice if it makes sense and one can afford it, and while I also agree that $500 a month is a rare find, Zaragon rents between $1350 and $1850 A BED under normal circumstances and if that’s not targeting upper upper middle earners from urban centers with high cost of living, I don’t know what is :slight_smile: Yes, it’s market-driven. In this case that only means that the dense population and propensity of wealth ensures that such pricing is possible.</p>

<p>(I am also a landlord in Michigan and have a client who manages executive leases and I am quite familiar with “what you can get” :))</p>

<p>I also consider Umich’s dorms “overpriced” compared to regular real estate anywhere in Michigan, but at least for that 1,000/mo to $1300/mo for a single (rates range between 8 - 11k) you’re getting a meal plan included.</p>

<p>The takeaway is that young students – many of whom are taking on debt even if their parents are paying the lionshare – are essentially being exploited by both the university housing system AND entities such as Zaragon because the students themselves and often their parents buy into the notion of what the college experience should be like, what kind of setting they should be housed in, etc. it’s part of this “edifice complex” that is pretty much precluding a universally educated society in the US, and is pretty much stratifying our society further into the haves and have-nots, to the point where effective public policy is no longer possible because folks are pretty much from different planets to each other.</p>

<p>I hate the though of a student on a limited budget receiving any kind of financial aid or whose parents strugle to pay their own mortgages somehow feeling Zaragon is a reasonable or normal housing option. The differential for such a student between a bed at Northwood with no meal plan ($5600 to $7600 a year) and a bed at Zaragon at $12,150 is roughly the ENTIRE amount of stafford loans available.</p>

<p>While 60% of UM families make over $200k a year, the other 40% are faced with costs for student living that exceed their own housing costs, and are often borne at the expense of their retirement savings, or worse, creditworthiness and debt. </p>

<p>So I think it’s good to point out that there are in fact options that represent a savvier fiscal choice particularly for those without means, who are living on borrowed money, and who understand that there really is nowhere else in Michigan that commands those kinds of prices.</p>

<p>(My tenants, for example, get a 2600 sf home with hardwood throughout for less than a single bed at Zaragon :slight_smile: But hey, that’s my bad luck for not owning property close to a university, or more particularly, the university of Michigan!</p>

<p>So, for perusing students…stay organized on housing, get over the north campus nonsense, investigate coops, and don’t be afraid to look at off-campus options if finances are remotely concerning to you.</p>

<p>And vlad, nice work on demonstrating fiscal practicality and not being afraid to walk a few minutes a day to save some cash :slight_smile: We need more kids in the world with a bit of sense of proportion as opposed to sense of entitlement.</p>

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<p>I think I could have found places for around $700 in great location. But again, the academic lease itself does help save a few thousand compared with other places that require 12 month lease. Dorms in central (double) costed $10k when I requested last year. Probably the biggest savings is mealplan with dorms.</p>

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<p>I stayed at ZPlace last year the high rise apartments are all over priced. There charging 1,075 per person which is over 4,000 for very small apartments this also does not include utilities i’m very elastic ! There’s not many amenities but the apartment has the best location & i could wake up like 5 mins before class and be on time. There are many parties but the apartments block out a lot of noise. Overall it’s one of the best apartments but i would also consider Landmark</p>

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Probably doesn’t happen too often since Zaragon price’s are clearly more expensive than university dorms. Also, if you look around Zaragon, Landmark, Varsity, etc are obviously not the only options.</p>

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<p>As they say, location, location, location. There is a reason my son is not at Zaragon this year ($'s !) but I think it is a viable alternative if you have the money and it fits your needs. I found it difficult/impossible to find anything near central campus for $500 a bedroom. The utilities at Zaragon were tiny compared to those of those drafty single pane windowed student ghettos I have lived in. When I was at Michigan I lived several miles off campus (7th/Huron on West side and Packard/Platt on the east side) for three years so I understand the pros and cons of living farther away. </p>

<p>I also happen to think A2 has market based housing. All the new high rises are going up yet I don’t see a glut of available housing. I liked Zaragon (yes it was expensive). </p>

<p>In the big picture of cost spending another $5k on housing is dwarfed by what could have been other potential costs like OOS tuition or a private school.</p>

<p>Could you find something cheaper? Absolutely, but I would not call the high rises ripoffs.</p>

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<p>^Btw don’t be fooled by “close to campus” apartments that are north or west of campus. That’s closer to kerrytown and main street where the grad students hang out than south u and below where you’ll find greek life and the undergrads. Undergrads like to live south and east of campus to be closer to the south u bar scene where the other undergrads are. You won’t find many on main street. I don’t think anyone really considers 411 lofts a desirable location for undergrads.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the link Green. No offense but I lived there last year and it was total piece of garbage. For the hope of humanity, I hope no one lives there.</p>

<p>I agree with maize and blue. The location is horrendous considering how majority of humanities are in the southern half part of campus.</p>

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<p>I guess the price is based on supply and demand. If the University keep accepting over 6000 students each year, that would definitely drive the on campus (and near campus) housing cost up. There are 2 Zaragons on the two edges of main campus and there is Courtyard at the North campus. They are all about the same quality and as expensive.</p>

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<p>I doubt Zaragon West is as expensive because it’s a bad location. And the Courtyards on north are not at all desirable because its on north campus. There aren’t many upperclassmen willing to live up there. Landmark and Zaragon are the two very desirable housing complexes on central right now. Past that there’s a few more high rises in less convenient locations with fewer amenities that are less and then all the smaller apartment buildings and off campus houses.</p>

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<p>“I doubt Zaragon West is as expensive because it’s a bad location.”</p>

<p>Now c’mon already. It might not be right on S. University, it’s still a pretty short to central campus. It is located as close, if not closer, to the middle of the diag as any Hill dorm. I walked about a quarter mile to elementary school back and forth, twice a day, when I was a youngster. Did I also mention that it was uphill both ways and against the wind too? :-)</p>