Gerard
Choosing to live off campus is a decision that many students make after their freshman or sophomore year. Looking for off campus housing can be extremely stressful and overwhelming during the first few weeks of the fall semester. This year is no exception, many students living on campus who were planning to stay on campus may begin to search for off campus housing for next year, due to the uncertainty of the pandemic. A large number of students are all looking for off campus housing at the same time so it is important to have a plan. Some popular student housing complexes are: UClub, Twin River Commons, The Printing House, 20 Hawley, and much more. If you are looking for an actual house to rent you can find many houses listed on Zillow or other housing websites in order to get in touch with a real estate agency or agent that focuses on student housing.
The Do's
Figure out who you are living with!
While this might seem like an easy task, many students are always looking for new students to live with, different from the one's that they have lived with previously. If you are in need of new roommates or you need to add a roommate to a housing group check your Class Facebook page. There is a Class of 20-- Facebook page for each expected graduation year of students here at Binghamton University. This is a great resource to connect with new students.
Have a plan!
There are many different options for off campus housing. There are apartment complexes, townhouses, or even normal houses. These all are options that you have for off campus housing. When looking at your options you must have an approximate number of how many people you want to live with. Knowing this, will allow you to choose where you want to live based on the number of bedrooms. If you still aren't sure, you can schedule tours of these apartment complexes or you can call a real estate agent for student housing and schedule some house tours. Ask some of your friends who may already be living off campus for recommendations on where to live.
Talk it Out!
When working on looking for off campus housing it is important to be on the same page as your friends. If your parents or guardians will be helping with payments you should keep in contact with them too. Let your parents know where you want to live and the places that you are looking at. When you go on any house or apartment tours remember to take pictures! Having your own pictures of each place you look at can be helpful when you want to make the final decision on place. Keep in mind, many housing options require a security deposit or first months rent as a nonpayment that you can get back once your lease ends the following year. It is necessary that you have a form of payment ready for when you are ready to sign the lease.
The Don'ts
Don't Wait!
This process can seem very fast and stressful but it is important that you start looking early. Once you get on campus for the fall semester you should start looking at housing during the first two weeks of the semester. The longer you wait, the more students you will be competing with. You can use Zillow to get in contact with some real estate agencies or agents that deal primarily with student housing. Many agents have multiple houses that they can give you tours of. It is important that you get to see a few houses before you make your decision. However, if you like the house that you are looking at, it is important to start talking about writing up the lease to the house with the agent. Once the real estate agent sends you the lease it is important to read it over and determine if you want to sign. If you and your friends want to sign, you should do so as soon as possible to ensure that nobody signs before you.
When applying to live in an apartment complex you usually have more time to look and sign a lease than you do with housing. However, space in these complexes are limited and do contain many students who will be resigning a lease from the previous year. That being said, no matter where you choose to live it is important to talk it out with friends and/or family and sign the lease as soon as possible.
Don't Stress
Although the off campus housing process may seem very overwhelming and can be a burden during the start of the semester, you should also be excited. Choosing to live off campus is another step closer to being independent and while that might be scary, it shouldn't be! Living off campus will make you feel more independent and you may find that you prefer it opposed to living on campus. You are not the only one going through this process, many of your friends will be going through the same process. Reach out to friends and ask them about their housing plans and work with the group you want to live with to ensure that you all divide the work to find housing equally. By working as a team you can alleviate each other's stress and work together to find a place that you all love.
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