Off-campus housing - What are your best tips? My daughter and her friends are looking now for a Fall move in, but the prices and locations are a bit scary! Rents seem astronomical even if you plan to share a room (for instance 4 people in a 2 bedroom). This is the first time renting for all of them, we just want to make sure they get a decent place for a fair price, with a landlord who will be responsive if there are issues and not try to keep the deposit after as long as there’s no cause for that. They’ve looked on lots of sites, set up a couple of tours (though at places they don’t feel they can afford), so please toss out any helpful hints you have regarding this process! Thank you!
It’s good that they have started looking now. Desirable apartments get scooped up quickly, so they need to be prepared to act fast. Yes, the rent will be crazy expensive, especially if they want to be within walking distance of campus.
Craigslist and Cal Rentals are good places to find listings. Many leases will begin in June, so be prepared to make a large deposit in May. Make sure all the parents involved are prepared to cosign/guarantee the lease with their child if that is a requirement of their landlord.
DS and his roomates ended up renting an Everest Properties managed apartment. This is one of the largest management companies in Berkeley - their website is another good source of listings. This is their fourth semester in the same apartment, and they have been very satisfied with their experience.
Just don’t do it with 3 people. With 3 people, there always seems to be problem arising and either you have to move out at the end of the contract or have to find another person which is a lot of work.
Berkeley rent is too expensive for what you get, but I am a believer that you get what you pay for. As long as everyone in the party can find the balance between the price, proximity to campus/grocery store, location, state of the house and the landlord, I think that’s what it matters. I remember making a pro/con chart with my roommates and that worked out pretty well and eventually agreed to one location.
Cal Rentals says to look no more than 4-6 weeks in advance of when you want to move in. My daughter and her friends don’t plan to move in until August but it feels like the market is competitive and lots of people sign a year lease for June 1 to May 31. Does anyone have experience with a fall move-in situation as opposed to June 1? Are 9 month leases from August 15 - May 15 (or maybe 10 months Aug 1 - May 31) common at all?
I have never heard of 9 or 10 month leases. Most students sublet for the summer. There are students there for summer session, or working in the area that want to rent. You may have to reduce what you are asking for rent because supply usually exceeds demand in the summer.
I have never seen a short lease period either. Even if you could find one, would you really want your D to have the hassle of looking for a new place each year? With moving expenses and new deposits each year, any savings would get mostly eaten up.
Are 52 page leases normal in Berkeley? We’re still navigating the local rental waters but my daughter and her future roomies have almost decided on a place but I have never seen a lease that long!
@MsStarlite I’m actually a freshman at Cal who just signed a lease for a place and my lease was about that length
Checkout the housing group in Berkeley groups on Facebook (you need to have @berkeely.edu email address). Also use http://www.padmapper.com/
The prices are about $900-1200/month for a single, $500-700 for a double, $400-600 for a triple and so on. New houses or luxury buildings could be double than the prices above.
Any tips on subletting to summer students? None of the girls renting this 2 bedroom apartment (June 1 - May 31) are planning to be in Berkeley over the summer so they’re hoping to have other people sublet from them for that time period. The apartment manager is ok with subletting (the girls are getting the paperwork and requirements from them) but they don’t know how to go about it aside from asking around and posting on the Cal Housing facebook page and Cal Rentals. I know they would appreciate any tips especially for those who have done this before (either side of the transaction). The apartment might be partially furnished, all utilities are paid by the tenants in this building so they’re not sure if they would have to open the utility accounts themselves or if the subletters should do that (management does not even pay water and trash).
Have any of you sublet(ted?) an apartment before? Any tips?