Classes begin on August 27th, should I have found a place to live by now???

[ReadingLisa]

So I am effectively freaking out. I don't have a place to live in Philly yet. I've looked through my school's Off-Campus Housing site, and have "favorited" a few listings that look promising. This Saturday I'll be going to take a look, but that's about all I've done. Have I fallen behind? I've been so concerned with getting some much-needed rest from school, that I might have ignored the problem of housing for too long.... 

[ss2player]

Philly resident here. Housing moves pretty fast in the summer, so I think actually locking down a place right now is unecessary. If you live close, explore the city, walk around your preferred areas looking for "Rent" signs and call both them and craiglist listings. Many landlords want someone whom can move in within less than a month, so maybe mid-late July get serious about it depending on how much buffer time you want before classes start.

 

And good luck!

[ReadingLisa]

Philly resident here. Housing moves pretty fast in the summer, so I think actually locking down a place right now is unecessary. If you live close, explore the city, walk around your preferred areas looking for "Rent" signs and call both them and craiglist listings. Many landlords want someone whom can move in within less than a month, so maybe mid-late July get serious about it depending on how much buffer time you want before classes start.

 

And good luck!

 

THANK YOU! I've been stressing out so much about this. 

[Domino]

I currently live in Philly!  Depending on which school you're attending and how much you're willing to commute, you might want to check out some of the more suburban areas of the city as well- Bala Cynwyd, Manayunk (a really fun young-adult area), Chestnut Hill, etc. all have really nice places too!

[ss2player]

I currently live in Philly!  Depending on which school you're attending and how much you're willing to commute, you might want to check out some of the more suburban areas of the city as well- Bala Cynwyd, Manayunk (a really fun young-adult area), Chestnut Hill, etc. all have really nice places too!

 

Good point; if you're not on campus every day and want to save on rent, those are good places. I prefer being in the city but OP might want somewhere more peaceful.

[maelia8]

Classes start at my university on August 20th, and I haven't found a place yet, but I'm not too worried. I've heard that there's a huge amount of turnover in August (even a week ago most of the ads on Craigslist were still for summer sublets or places seeking June renters), and I have had way too much trouble trying to find someone who will rent to me sight-unseen (I won't be able to drive down and look at places until after Independence Day at the very earliest). I wouldn't worry about it too much

[bhr]

The key thing is to remember that people vacating in August usually have to give either 30 day notice or notice on July 1st, depending on contract and laws in your area. If you missed the signing window back in March or so (when most college-centric places tend to fill) your best bet for finding a place is after July 1. It's different in bigger cities as well, since there's going to be a constant turnover of housing compared to a college town where most folks rent for the school year.

[bhr]

Also, from my past experience, your negotiating power gets better the closer you get to the school year in a college town. I have been able to get price breaks or 2br for the price of a 1br as we get close to the start of the year and it becomes a buyers' market