Tapping parents' ideas to solve off-campus housing

paying3tuitions · 04-11-2008, 03:54 PM

Freshman S called in with surprising sad tone, following a week of happy calls about finding an off-campus house with others. The deal they cut with the landlord was 3 boys upstairs, with two of them paying $1500 per month to occupy a room singly, but he'd get a roommate in a similar sized room so his portion would be half. Plus they'd all enjoy use of the downstairs 4 rooms of the house.

As he's begun to ask around for roommates, he's not finding good response because others tell him for $750/mo. they'd be able to find their own room and not have to share. So far, the feedback is he's not in synch with the market.

I suggested he use Facebook or think of any adult campus administrator who'd know of other students who'd consider this a good deal, as he did, and want to split a room. ALso to try for incoming freshmen who'd want to live off-campus on this basis, as it's even closer to the campus than the actual dorms. First he'll check with Housing if Freshmen are even allowed to live off-campus...

1. What campus administrator would be interested in helping him solve this (he feels nobody on campus cares about offcampus because there's no money in it for them).

2. Can you suggest any more ideas on how he might market this to other students?

He could also walk away from it, but my instinct is to encourage him to try to
find someone, since he's perfectly happy to share a room.

There's a remote possibility to live downstairs in one of the four common rooms, but the lead guy's family doesn't want that, nor does the landlady particularly, although it would make it more affordable. My thought is come up with a way to convince landlady or other guys to let him live on the main floor, and get a third roommate upstairs who can readily afford the $1500 per month, which is truly impossible for us.

HarrietMWelsch · 04-11-2008, 04:18 PM

P3T, what a shame that his enterprise in negotiating a deal and his willingness to share aren't leading to better results yet.

I don't have a good thought on marketing this to other kids (your good idea on pitching the proximity seems best), but I would think that as far as campus administrators, the housing office would be the place to look for someone who would help him. Do they have a Res Life dean? That person, or his/her assistants, might be the way to go. If they can't help they might have a suggestion of someone else, at least.

I'm extrapolating from D's school, where living off campus = a lot of paperwork to the housing office, because on-campus housing is the default setting for sophomores. That may not be the case at your S's school but it seems worth looking into.

Good luck to him and to you!

thisoldman · 04-11-2008, 04:24 PM

Why hassle with living off campus when on campus housing is available, affordable, close-in, with maid service? Glad that S picked a school with guaranteed student housing, 4 years.

jude_36 · 04-11-2008, 04:25 PM

craigslist.org

somemom · 04-11-2008, 06:39 PM

P3T- is your son in OC? A student can rent a house in Newport Beach, steps from the sand, for about $1600 monthly for two bedrooms, so $800 or so per room- $400 if you have a roommate, so $750 seems a bit steep. Does the $750 include all utililties? Internet (high speed)? etc? That would be around $100 in costs so would make a net comparison rate $650.

On the other hand, $500-$700 is quite common in Berkeley, where the dorms can cost $15-16k over 9 months, depending on the room assigned! So, I am thinking it is true that $750 may be more of a single room rate.

The selling point would have to be something wonderful about the setup that makes it worth more to some one who can afford it- meals included? utilities? something else?

NewHope33 · 04-11-2008, 06:47 PM

If the school has an International House check there. Many foreign students have a more egalitarian view of student housing than suburban American students. (Won't share a room with even one other person? Yikes.)

ucsd_ucla_dad · 04-11-2008, 06:48 PM

The price seems high to me. I think your S should look around for the costs of other places including decent apartments. I know one can get a 2br/2ba apartment in a very nice complex in La Jolla close to UCSD for $1600-2000. Some students will go 2 per room so the cost would be about $400-500 per month. If that can be had in a nice area of La Jolla, I'd expect to be able to find something not too far off or maybe even less in Orange.

Of course, he should calculate the 'additional costs' associated with living off-campus.

paying3tuitions · 04-11-2008, 08:23 PM

Have done a market analysis, using craigslist, and now I see the issue. One bedroom can be had for $500-800 in various apartment buildings, but this situation is lush because it involves a two-story house, with 3 bedrooms on the second floor, and another 4 common rooms on the first floor.

S liked the idea of asking International students, who might see the situation differently. The value is the luxury of having an entire house, made available by sharing a bedroom. He'll need to seek someone who sizes up the situation as he does. And they, too, have no cars, so proximity might be an advantage for them, too. He'll see.

At least I now understand what's so difficult here, in terms of market. As usual, parents help each other think.

MomofWildChild · 04-11-2008, 09:32 PM

thisoldman- Dorm living gets old really fast and many kids have no desire to live in a dorm for 4 years. They are ready for more independence and want the ability to keep and make their own food. Besides, as my daughter discovered when she moved into her apartment junior year, you can save a lot of money on food by buying groceries.

PackMom · 04-11-2008, 11:00 PM

S and his 3 roommates found their off campus rental house (4br..$300/per month /roommate) for next year through an ad in the school's student newspaper. Would your S's school paper run classifieds?

Like someone else mentioned, I have seen lots of these "roommate needed" ads on Craig's list.

ucsd_ucla_dad · 04-11-2008, 11:27 PM

P3T:

Yeah, from your description it isn't going to compare directly with apartments. Has he checked out apartment complexes though? Some are very nice with swimming pools, workout rooms, barbecue areas, etc. and something like a 2br/2ba shared between 4 can be fairly inexpensive (often less than dorms) and they still have a nice living room, kitchen, only 2 per bathroom, etc. For some more money, he might be able to get a 2br shared with just one other and he'd get his own room.