Finding a place to live is a major life step, and for many young adults today who are going to college, they may be moving out of their parents’ household for the first time and are facing the responsibility of finding their own living space. Student rental housing such as apartments or condos are very popular ways for students today to find off campus housing options, since dorms are expensive and may fill up relatively fast. Off campus apartments for students do not have to live up to stereotypes or jokes about broke or messy students, however; in fact, student rental units do not differ much from the rental units that regular households rent, and real estate for students can in fact be very comfortable and practical for any student during his or her college career. Of course, this is something to take seriously, and a student will have to keep his or her budget in mind, along with other factors such as distance from campus and the apartment or condo’s condition and amenities. Finding the right student rental unit can be a fun challenge for anyone starting college today. How does this work?
Finding Student Rental Apartments
Students looking for off campus housing are taking part in the larger American trend of renting living space rather than buying it, and there are plenty of trends to show how and where Americans choose to move this way. For one thing, renters move more often than homeowners, since they are not paying a mortgage. Around 33% of renters move every single year, in fact. In 2016, about 27% of Americans were renting their homes, and in the following year, in 2017, nearly 43 million rental units across the country were occupied by renters. Also, a recent study conducted by Trulia showed that the percentage of American households that rent grew from 31.6% in 2006 up to 41.4% in the year 2014, and in that last year, the single biggest rental demographic was the Millenial generation, those born 1982-1995. Nearly 71.6% of Millenials were renting their living space at that time.
In general, it has been determined that every 80 seconds, a new unit is rented somewhere in the United States, and every 30 seconds, a new renter is moving their belongings into an apartment. Many of them may be students looking for student rental space like apartments, or young adults finding their own housing once they graduate. There are some sensible and practical steps that any college student can take today to get the best possible housing, and many of these steps are part of how anyone rents, meaning that students can access a lot of resources.
Students and Renting
Student rental accommodations can be easy to find, although a student should keep their budget, distance, and preferences in mind when looking for their housing during their college career. Some college staff members may be able to help, and real estate agents can be consulted, along with an Internet search. Residents of Newark can enter a query such as “off campus housing Newark DE” or “student housing near me San Francisco CA”. This can quickly yield a list of names for a student to consider, and they can start eliminating addresses from that list based on the price, or whether or not pets are allowed, or whether there are enough bedrooms and bathrooms for a group of students looking for housing together.
Finding student rental space also means visiting the place in person, as some details must be seen with a student’s own eyes. The exterior should be attractive and have no trash or vandalism, and the interior should not have maintenance issues such as drafty windows, water-damaged drywall, worn out carpets, cracked or damaged wood surfaces, leaky faucets, or faulty electronics. Students may also take accommodations into mind and balance these with their budget. Some features such as a gym, juice bar, hot tub, or more are attractive, but they may drive the cost up, and a student must weigh what is most important to them and find the best deal that they can. A good apartment should also have WiFi services available so that students can get online work done if need be.