I dislike looking for apartments

<p>I got a 3 BR (altho the 3rd is small) on Haste and College for 2200, but the place is pretty old and run down. Thankfully they just got the inside repainted, but still, it seems like all the places near campus are in fairly poor condition</p>

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Panoramic Management is too expensive. Just go onto craigslist and pick one. But yeah, apartment searching is veeeeery stressful. So hard to find a place that is affordable and close to campus, especially in April.

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<p>I'm fairly concerned about safety and PM buildings appear to have good security and fairly new. I'm also picky about the comfort factor. I'd rather pay a bit more to live in a nicer place than one that is cheaper and worn down....that's me :)</p>

<p>If you can afford the Panoramic buildings, by all means, go there! It's just not worth it for someone that has to budget. Financial Aid only allots a bit under $700/mo for fees plus some food money, so that limits your options quite a bit. </p>

<p>I agree with you. I really wish I could afford to live in, say, the Gaia Building, or the Berkeleyan. Unfortunately, I'm kinda limited to $800/mo at the maximum, and that's WITH utilities, just sharing with one person.</p>

<p>Maybe when I get that job my Berkeley degree is supposed to get me, eh? :P</p>

<p>I've been looking for apartments since beginning of March -- it isn't any easier! You just have to hope you get lucky. Especially since a good place is often highly competitive, and people will play dirty (such as calling the property manager directly when the tenant is handling the rental, or telling the property manager showing it that you'd like to put a deposit down TODAY even though he doesn't even have applications on hand).</p>

<p>I'll be paying several thousand dollars out of pocket as well. Luckily, they still gave me some work study for next year!</p>

<p>Also, are the PM buildings (Gaia) furnished? Their website changed.</p>

<p>PM buildings come in four flavors, with a combination of being independent or shared and furnished or unfurnished. Predictably, unfurnished and shared is cheaper than furnished and independent -- however, to see their availability, you're going to have to call them. Since they got taken over by another company, they've taken off their helpful list of vacancies! I will warn than 90% of the units I saw were available late July or later.</p>

<p>Perfect!!! I want to avoid the need to sublet for the summer.</p>

<p>Well good luck then. :) I saw 4-5 units available in each of the buildings, most with availability late July, a few with early June and a few with early August, so I'd take a look at their tour schedule and get going on securing one for the fall as soon as possible. They are, predictably, hot properties for those that can afford them!</p>

<p>Also consider looking into Library Gardens. They are very similar to the PM buildings, the only real difference being that they are BRAND new (just opened last fall) and are a little further away than the closest of the PM places (Kittredge x Shattuck, right where the main branch of the public library is).</p>

<p>thanks undecided!</p>

<p>now i have one more question: how much would electricity and water cost approx for 4 students?</p>

<p>The unit that we toured in the Gaia apartment left more to be desired. It is simply too small, and too dark (not enough natural light coming in through the single bedroom facing the street).</p>

<p>I went and saw the 1+ unit at 2109 Shattuck -- that's where I'm moving! Woot. Convenient. :D It's a little on the pricey side for its size ($1425 + PG&E), but it's got an awesomely flow-y layout and I love how much light filters in.</p>

<p>Lessee... boyfriend says PG&E (gas & electric) averages between $20 and $40 a month. Yours might vary depending on the space you occupy and your individual habits (he is not a big conserver, actually owns geckos with lights constantly on and has computers and TVs and such that are always on, but he doesn't use the heater much or cook often), but that sounds about right. I have no clue how water works (he doesn't pay it and I don't pay any utilities), and I won't even hazard a guess; in my Riverside apartment it was ~$5 a month for 3 girls, at my home in the mountains it's ~$300 a month for my mom and my brother. California is a wonky state for water. :P</p>

<p>So, seriously. Anyone looking for a spacious 1-bedroom around College x Derby starting July 1 for <$1000? My place is going to become available and the instructor who's subletting it to me is looking to sublet it again... PM me for details, since I don't want to talk too much about it here. :P</p>

<p>firax: that's too bad! I was hoping it'd have good windows, given its placement and all of that. That's a real killer for me in a place, too, the lack of natural light. :(</p>

<p>On the other hand, I checked out Library Gardens and it was amazing! It still had the smell of new construction in the hallways. Now, the only barrier is the high cost. They raised the price by $300 compared to last year for each month's rent!</p>

<p>Library Gardens looked promising. I like where it is, right in the middle of everything on Shattuck. The expense is and always will be the main thing that keeps me from those buildings. I like new and pretty, and it certainly has both of those. :P</p>

<p>Is it going to stop you from getting it entirely?</p>

<p>Personally I don't mind the pricing (that I pay individually when split 4 ways), but my roommates do not want to pay that much, considering 2bds can be found much cheaper elsewhere.</p>

<p>Sigh....</p>

<p>That is always the problem. They're nice, they're just not quite as nice as their prices say they should be. :P</p>

<p>Well, good luck! There are still plenty of 2 and even 3 bedrooms around for about what you'd pay there.</p>

<p>I'm looking to sublet my apartment for the summer, and it can be extended into the schoolyear if you'd like. 1750 for a 2-bedroom apartment, french doors opening up to the patio... go to the website<br>
<a href="http://www"&gt;www&lt;/a>. l i b r a r y g a r d e n s.com for pictures.</p>

<p>Email me if anyone is interested in my place. Don't go contacting the management office, they don't do sublets, it's just my place I wanna sublet. LMK, thanks!</p>

<p>I was trying to find a new apartment, and checked Craig's List. Turns out 50 other people wanted it and emailed him within 12 hours of posting.</p>

<p>Plus the actual moving aspect is horrendous.</p>

<p>Yeah, CBrenn, that's the biggest problem I had, too. EVERYONE jumps on a good deal because they're so hard to come by. Those two situations I mentioned in an earlier post about how competitive things were both happened to me with one apartment. I got really lucky with the apartment I'm in now: I was 5th on the list, and only got it by virtue of being a cat person (since it was a sublet with a very beloved kitty).</p>

<p>Moving sucks. Luckily there are taxis, and, by virtue of the dorms, student movers. Don't do it alone! Enlist everyone you can to help you 'cause you're really going to need it.</p>

<p>It's good to have connections, too, and don't be afraid to use them. One of the apartments I loved that I lost out on was because the cousin of the landlord's wife became interested in it. :P</p>