<p>My D wants to live off-campus in a group house next (junior) year. She's gotten some listings from a rental agent. Anyone have experience with this: are the rental companies normally reliable and fare? and how safe or dangerous is it for groups of women living off campus and walking or bicycling back and forth?
any thoughts appreciated, thanks.</p>
<p>Not sure what you mean by a “group house”, unless you mean her and a few friends.</p>
<p>I think it is good for students to get out of the sheltered environment of dorms and meal plans, and start to learn to deal with real life. It can often be a lot cheaper too. So good for your daughter.</p>
<p>Student rental housing will generally be near the bottom in terms of quality. Students turn over quickly, and are generally not too picky, so landlords have little incentive to invest as much in these properties as they might in some others. Plus, students are generally very hard on a property. They can do a lot of damage. Many landlords won’t even rent to students because of the problems. (Yes, I am generalizing.) Those that do will often try to take advantage of them - putting far more students in a place than is allowed by code, not making repairs, charging ridiculous amounts, etc.</p>
<p>So your daughter (or you) will need to inspect the place very carefully. Flush all the toilets, turn all the faucets on and off, check the showers, make sure there is hot water, make sure the heat works, check all the burners and the oven on the stove, assess the overall condition of the windows, doors, and floors, check for adequate storage space, look for signs of rodents and roaches, etc. One thing in particular to check is how many unrelated people can legally occupy a unit. In my area it is four people, but it is not uncommon to have 8 or 10 students living in a large apartment. If they get busted, some of them could find themselves homeless on short notice.</p>
<p>Read the lease <em>very carefully</em>. In particular - is she liable for only her share of the rent, or is she liable if her roommates don’t pay their share? Can she sublet for the summer or if she is gone for a semester? You may have to co-sign, are you comfortable with that? Document with pictures and a newspaper to prove the date the condition of every surface of the apartment - walls, floors, ceilings, doors, windows, everything.</p>
<p>Whether it is safe or not depends on the neighborhood, I would imagine. Some areas will be good, some not so good.</p>