NO HOUSING for next year

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>OMG! </p>

<p>Today I realized that the odds of me getting off the waitlist for on-campus apartments are very very slim. On top of that I have to wait until JUNE before I hear back. Long story short, I was given a chance to renew the lease currently where I live (still on campus)--I turned that down, b/c I wanted a cheaper place. I applied for housing and was given another area on campus--which I turned down b/c it was worse than where I'm living now. I wanted the cheapest on campus (a third housing area) apartment possible and it turns out that it will prob be too late, or not get off the waitlist at all...b/c I need housing for the summer....BTW, no guranteed housing for upper classman. =/ </p>

<p>Last solution, is to find someone off campus. I have a friend , but I wanted to know how to furnish the place! How hard is it ? Do I use Craiglists? I really hate the idea of buying and moving a bunch of furniture. And I really need some advice, since my parents wanted me on campus (its furnished AND includes utilities), about the whole move in/out process. I'm not sure about how they gonna split the rent and utilities, but i REALLY hate paying extra if someone's an idiot and leaves the lights on all the time. </p>

<p>HELP!!!!! Don't wanna remain homeless! </p>

<p>ARGH, the more I think about this, the more stressed I get....parents didn't help, b/c they kept telling that I brought this upon myself by not accepting the first two offers...and this and that ..... . .. . . .. . .. .. . . . .</p>

2

<p>Use craigslists and yardsales.</p>

<p>You did bring this upon yourself. You are an adult. You made mistakes, now fix them.</p>

3

<p>What JamesJr said.</p>

<p>And Brando IS Cool.</p>

4

<p>Also, check out any friends who live off campus. At the end of the semester, most college kids get rid of their furniture because it’s so hard to move, especially if they live somewhere far away.</p>

<p>You definitely brought this on yourself, and I understand why your parents have no sympathy. At most schools, if you reject the first offer, you’re out of luck. Rejecting two offers? That’s insane.</p>

5

<p>I could definitely see this happening to me in a year or two. <em>makes a post-it reminder well in advance</em></p>

<p>Hope it all works out!</p>

6

<p>Well, I live in an apartment and it’s not as intimindating as you seem to think it is.*</p>

<p>Are you paying for it alone (I don’t mean roommates, I mean you vs. your parents?)
If so, how’s your credit?</p>

<p>I don’t know about renting elsewhere, but in Manhattan, they make getting an apartment near impossible. Credit check, proof that your yearly salary exceeds 40 times the monthly rent (or 80 times if your parents are paying), proof of employment…etc, etc. I don’t even remember all they ask for.*</p>

<p>Best case scenario, you aren’t renting in Manhattan and the market is much more lenient and nowhere near as demanding.*</p>

<p>In general, for both securing an apartment and roommates, I would avoid craigslist. This may be just me, but craigslist is just kind of skeezy and you never know what you may run into.*</p>

<p>For roommates, try Googling some roommate finding websites (I’d list some but I’m posting from my cell and don’t feel like switching back and forth.)
the catch with roommate finding sites is:

  1. They usually make you pay to actually communicate with other people. You can post a listing for free, though. (Its usally pretty cheap. Around $4 - $9)*
    <em>On the bright side, it’s unlikely you’ll be dealing with anonymous creepers or people who aren’t serious about finding a place.
    And
  2. You usually run the likeliness that the “student” you’re talking to is actually the student’s parent who’s looking for a roommate for their kid and posing as their kid.</em></p>

<p>Last, be careful of where you look at apartments.*
Again, I don’t know if the following applies everywhere but in Manhattan the apartment brokers are like stealth sharks. What they’ll do is say they have an apartment (which they do) show it some unsuspecting out of towner or college student - said person loves the apartment, signs the lease and then is slapped with a broker fee of several thousand dollars.*</p>

<p>Now most people know about brokers, they’re usually reputable and they do have good deals but it’s not uncommon for people who don’t know how they work to get misled and end up paying $3,000+ in fees.*</p>

<p>So it’s better if you skip the middle man and deal directly with apartment complex.*</p>

<p>Utilities - first get the apartment then worry about utilities. Most apartments include some or all of them. E.g., mine pays for gas and water.
I only pay for electric, Internet and cable and phone. *</p>

<p>Once you do sign up for whatever utilities - avoid getting baited in to long-term contracts. E.g., where I live, Time Warner regularly advertises a packaged special for phone, cable and Internet all for $99/month.
However, that price is only if you sign up for a three year contract and that price only lasts for the first year before rates increase.*
Basically, get used to reading the small print.*</p>

<p>Furniture,
Well, there’s ikea which is cheap but doesn’t last very long.*
You can also get inexpensive furniture from eBay (questionable quality though) and Amazon.*
If you live near one, I suggest using a Home Goods store (I can’t remember if that’s part of TJMaxx or Marshalls or something else)
It’s dirt cheap furniture, decent quality and you can haggle the price down if you notice any scratches or minor imperfections since it’s all floor-display stuff.*</p>

<p>Good luck, kid.*
I personally prefer an apartment to dorm life.**</p>

<p>*
(Excuse any crazy typos or mistakes. Again, I’m typing on my cell and I really suck at that.)</p>

7

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<p>Well aren’t you a negative nancy? So the guy made a mistake, obviously he realizes that. Lets not shove him to the ground any further, k? k.</p>

<p>Brando, you can live with me. I have a very spacious off-campus studio apartment. Depending on where you go to school, you may have to make transportation arrangements… ;). Oh, and we’re sharing the comcast bill, because that thing is expensive :(</p>

8

<p>Thanks Plattsburgh and (almost) everyone else for responding! </p>

<p>I was telling parents about how the ppl won’t notify me until June at the earliest. I’m on that waitlist, so obviously,if they run out of slots then I’m screwed. The thing is, that for on campus housing, they made you sign up during first quarter, (that’s like mid Nov), you don’t get notified UNTIL around mid march onwards. There’s a long gap and most ppl aren’t sure of what to do…</p>

<p>So apparently, its only gonna be 3 ppl. My current roommate, myself and the guy that put down the deposit (a dormmate from 1st year). Luckily he has a car, and knows how to get furniture, I’ll be looking in Craiglists and hopefully bringing stuff from home. </p>

<p>I think the thing that irks me most is that I’ll have to bring in all the furnishings–which I currently don’t have to do. w/e I’ll just suck it up, its time to grow up!</p>

9

<p>Talk to everyone you know.</p>

<p>I’m serious. That’s how I found my housemates for the year (and it turned out pretty well, all in all, a few arguments because I’m careless and one of my housemates doesn’t like that, but eh.)</p>