When should you start looking for housing?

[maelia8]

Like many other applicants this year, I have just accepted my offer and received my student ID from the school I will be attending in the Fall. My semester starts August 20th, and I'm currently overseas and will be here until June 30th. I don't fancy renting a place blind, but I'm not sure if waiting until June 30th is too long. When talking to grad students at my school during visit day, they said that historically, many people end up finding a place in the last two weeks before the semester starts, and most apartments and houses are freed up fairly late, but I assume that doesn't mean that I shouldn't start looking until that late! I am moving to a university-centered city in an expensive area of the San Francisco Bay Area, and I know that housing in a good price range is competitive. Taking everything into consideration, when should I start to seriously look for a place to live? Would you advise taking a place blind if I find something online before I am able to visit?

Edited April 11, 2014 by maelia8

[iphi]

The problem with Berkeley is that you may not be able to take a place blind. The housing market is ridiculous and competitive. When I moved there with my SO 4 years ago from Canada no one would even consider letting us rent without meeting us first. We recently started looking for another place in January for a March move-in date and had to extend our lease for 2 weeks because we couldn't find anything.

 

You most likely need to go there, and you need to do it AS SOON as you can! Try contacting other grad students in your program and see if you can room with them and they can find you a place. You may also want to go into student housing (if you can - I know there is family housing if you're married, not sre about options for singles) for your first year just so you have a place.

[iphi]

Also, expect to pay out the nose! Those nice, $600-800 rooms by campus? They are a living room you are sharing with one other person. My SO and I paid $1650 for a one bedroom in a nearby city and thought it was a good price by Berkeley standards!

[maelia8]

Guess I'll just have to start looking on June 30th then, if what you say about being there "in person" is true - I can't leave Europe before then At least I have friends and relatives in the area whom I can stay with while I'm looking. I am definitely fine with a roommate situation (I'd actually prefer that to a studio), but sharing a room with someone is a bit too much for me at this point in my life - I haven't done that since my second year of undergrad.

[iphi]

Guess I'll just have to start looking on June 30th then, if what you say about being there "in person" is true - I can't leave Europe before then At least I have friends and relatives in the area whom I can stay with while I'm looking. I am definitely fine with a roommate situation (I'd actually prefer that to a studio), but sharing a room with someone is a bit too much for me at this point in my life - I haven't done that since my second year of undergrad.

 

By sharing a living room I meant there is a 2-bedroom house with 2 people sharing the living room as a 3rd "bedroom". Very common. Shouldn't be a problem if you can afford to pay more, though. I think June 30 is fine to start looking though!

[bumblyboo]

I'm in a sticky situation myself. Applied to a dual degree program that is housed at two separate universities for each portion (under the same umbrella, but still considered two different schools) that are in two different cities in a heavy congested/high traffic metroplex (and are a 45 min drive away from each other).  I've been looking at apartments between the two and it has been HARD. Either things are completely booked for the fall or out of my price range by $200-$300. I'm just hoping that I'll be able to set my schedule up in a way that I'm taking classes at one school one year (and live as close as possible) and at another the next.

[buckeye34]

I think I'm going to start seriously looking in mid-June. I've been looking on craigslist and padmapper to narrow down areas and rental companies that seem good, but I feel like it's too early for someone to rent to me when I can't move in until August, and I can only fly out once to look at places. I will be looking in the Denver area.

[juilletmercredi]

First of all, this really depends on the area.  In NYC (which is also competitive and high-priced), no landlord would rent to  you sight unseen AND the housing market moves ridiculously quickly.  In fact, if you wanted a lease start of August 1, June 30 would be too early.  Generally you look here within 2 weeks of when you want to make the move.

But I'm moving to a college town for a postdoc, and I have actually already rented an apartment to start in August.  My complex actually doesn't find out August stock until early April, but I got on the waiting list because apparently that's a thing.  And when I started looking in February, some desirable complexes had already started filling up.  There it is also much more common for people to rent apartments without seeing them first.

[emguth]

I think I'm going to start seriously looking in mid-June. I've been looking on craigslist and padmapper to narrow down areas and rental companies that seem good, but I feel like it's too early for someone to rent to me when I can't move in until August, and I can only fly out once to look at places. I will be looking in the Denver area.

 

I'm moving to Denver too, and I started looking now but all the places are usually only available for a week before they are leased it seems. So I'm just going to fly out in late May/early June to find a place and hopefully move in June/July.

[maelia8]

After researching for a couple of days, it seems to me that in my future university town, the student housing goes in two waves - one wave NOW, right as people become sure that they are leaving/arriving in August, and another wave right in mid-July/early August as everyone who didn't know they were leaving/those started looking for places late frantically try to find renters/rentals. I posted on Craigslist yesterday, and there are definitely postings available already for August - not too many, but they are there.

[The Wayfarer]

I think I'm going to start seriously looking in mid-June. I've been looking on craigslist and padmapper to narrow down areas and rental companies that seem good, but I feel like it's too early for someone to rent to me when I can't move in until August, and I can only fly out once to look at places. I will be looking in the Denver area.

 

I'm in the same boat...I'll be going down mid/late June to look. I'll be near my university once before then but at that time I'll just be looking at potential areas not so much specific buildings, units, etc.