<p>Can anyone please explain to me why off campus housing is so expensive. Yes, it is cheaper than living in the dorms, but I just can’t understand these prices!</p>
<p>Because people will pay for it. </p>
<p>/thread</p>
<p>It’s what it costs… Land is expensive. It’s expensive to put up a house. It’s expensive to maintain a house. </p>
<p>Surely it’s cheaper than in New York. Probably just not as much cheaper as you were hoping.</p>
<p>If you can live a bit away and take AATA to school, it can be much cheaper. If you want to stay within walking distance, it is expensive due to the need.</p>
<p>if you want to live in Zaragon Place it is very expensive</p>
<p>Ann Arbor’s expensive. It’s that simple. </p>
<p>If you’re willing to be a commuter, you can get much, much cheaper places a bit further away. It’s pretty easy to commute.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I have sticker shock! My oldest D attended Ohio State (GASP! I know, I know.). Off campus housing is much more affordable in Columbus. Her apartments were a very short walk to campus in prime locations. My youngest D is in the process of looking for a 2-bedroom in Ann Arbor and we are both stunned at the rent for these properties. If anyone knows of any good properties that are close to central campus and south campus please let me know. Many thanks!</p>
<p>You should look around the AATA bus line. There are apartments near Ypsilanti that are much cheaper. Nevertheless, the bus schedule may still be an issue if your D need to work late some days.</p>
<p>Actually, when I was looking into it, Ypsi wasn’t that much cheaper. When you factor in the time and gas spent on the commute, you might as well live in Ann Arbor. </p>
<p>Apartments are much more expensive than renting a room in a house. A 2-bedroom apartment is going to often run $1000+ which is probably what you’re seeing.</p>
<p>FWIW, I live much further than Ypsi and I only spend ~$120 in gas each month… and that’s between commuting and all the other stuff I’d normally use a car for anyway. You can definitely rent for $200+ cheaper in Ypsi. </p>
<p>With that said, yes- house sharing is much cheaper. Your D should be getting emails for house & apartment sharing. You’ll see cheaper prices than what’s listed. </p>
<p>Ann Arbor was definitely a shock to me, too. Where I lived before, my 2-bedroom apartment was under half of what it would’ve been in Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>You may also search on the housing webpage at umich to look for sublease or roommate. Those are cheaper than renting an apartment by yourself.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! She has to stay in Ann Arbor because she’s a student athlete. She already has a roommate, that’s why she’s looking for a 2-bedroom. I don’t think they are considering house sharing because they don’t want to bunk down with strangers. Her roommate is also on her team. Both are very studious and need quiet time for academics. Practice runs in the late afternoons and one early weekend morning. An apartment near central/south campus would be ideal.</p>
<p>There are apartments around Packard which is closer to the athlete campus and should be cheaper than Zaragon. They are very old though.</p>
<p>Are there any seniors on the team who can pass their apartment down to your daughter?</p>
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<p>Not based on what I was seeing for a bedroom. Maybe $100. Or maybe you meant $200 cheaper than living right next to campus, which is probably true. If I recall correctly I think the cheapest I was seeing was $300ish/month + utilities. </p>
<p>Well, if she’s insistent on a 2 bedroom apartment right next to campus, that’s the price. People trying to save money will opt for a bedroom in a house, so the apartments are just for people who can afford to be picky. That’s how it goes.</p>
<p>From Fall 2009 to Fall 2013, the enrollment has increased from 40166 to 43710. An increase of 3544.</p>
<p>In that time, ~1840 beds have been added - Sterling 411 Lofts (343 beds - 2009), Zaragon Place (248 beds - 2009), North Quad (450 Beds - 2010), Landmark (600 beds - 2012), and Zaragon West (199 beds - 2012). </p>
<p>The result is a shortage of 1704 beds over the past five years. Compounding the problem is that the new beds come with more amenities and higher prices, thus creating an umbrella under which existing off-campus housing can increase their rates. </p>
<p>If you live farther off campus and drive, you face another problem - limited parking spaces.</p>
<p>She did have the option of taking a room in a house with an upperclassmen on her team, but let it go in order to room with a fellow freshmen teammate. That teammate would have wound up in the dorm again next year if my D didn’t room with her next year. She didn’t want to leave her out in the cold. In the past few days they have located a few apartments and have made appointments to see them. Hopefully, they will find one that they both like and that has a reasonable rent.</p>
<p>honestly, if you’re paying more than $500 a month for a double or over $650 for a single in Ann Arbor, then you’re doing it wrong.</p>
<p>people need to be looking in the right places.
and you’re doing it especially wrong if you’re still living in the dorms past sophomore year unless you’re an RA/CA-staff, an athlete, or scholarship requires.</p>
<p>personally, I’m literally paying $85 off-campus a month myself. Just a bit over $100 together with electricity.</p>
<p>^You must live in quite the s**thole.</p>
<p>Nah, with good strategy you can get some pretty good deals. I signed a lease 1 bedroom apartment early my freshman year for $785/month, then right before this fall semester I put out an ad on Craigslist for a double in a bedroom which is the time when there will be tons of people scrambling to find a place to live. I got two people to share a room where they pay $350 each per month, which is still a great price for them. Then I get the living room all to myself which is essentially a studio and the apartment is set-up just perfectly for this for this to work. </p>
<p>Works out pretty nicely for myself since I pay like 15% of what the university charges two people to share a closet.</p>