<p>My S, who will be a junior next year, has told me he wants to move off campus next year into a house “with about 10 (!) people.” He says one of his current dormmates has found a nice house close to campus, and that it will be much cheaper than living on campus. He would do some cooking, but keep a minimal campus meal plan. I’m not thrilled about his moving off-campus, because housing is guaranteed all four years at his school, and I think he’ll miss out on some of the social aspects of campus life (they have a House system, with activities, house tables, etc). Nonetheless, I am appreciative that moving off-campus is not unreasonable for a third-year student, and can be a valuable part of growing up.</p>
<p>That said – I’ve never had a kid do this before, and he’s rather unworldly (think math major with head in clouds). What should I tell him to watch out for – e.g. leases, finding out about landlord, agreements with other kids? How do these things usually work re: rent checks, sharing chores, etc? When your kid moves into a (presumably) unfurnished house, how do they get furniture, etc? He’s half way across the country, and usually flies from our house to school–no U-haul van with Mom’s old pots and pans. Any advice from those whose kids have successfully (or unsuccessfully) made this transition would be helpful.</p>
<p>Son moved into a house with 5 other guys his sophmore year. All the parents had to sign the lease as well. I was also worried about logistics, but it seemed to work out. We sent him his portion of the rent (written to landlord) every month.
I have no clue how they divided up chores. It looked like chores we not at the top of anyones priority list when visiting. The place was a mess but they didn’t seem to mind. Oh and furniture worked out as well…mostly borrowed and give-aways.</p>
<p>We’ve had a similar discussion at our house and I, too, wasn’t crazy about the idea of living off campus. We talked about the extra things related to living in a house. I was thinking of things like household repairs, writing checks to pay bills, lawn care, snow removal,etc. and the distance he would be creating between himself and things he enjoyed about on-campus living like studying in the library until all hours, using the gym/fitness facilities, visiting with friends and the food in the cafeteria! All those things would be available to him, but they just wouldn’t be as convenient. H pointed out the serious consequences associated with hosting a party where underage kids were caught drinking (S would be turning 21 in just a couple of months). This happens near college campuses and things can easily get out of hand. As we all know, adults found to be providing alcohol to minors pay major penalties these days.
In the end, S decided against living off campus. I thought the idea of all that responsibility scared him away. Not sure what senior year is going to bring, but we were happy to be able to avoid those headaches during jr. year.</p>
<p>There have been several other threads on this topic (might be under leasing, rentals, etc) which I have found helpful in the past.</p>
<p>Both my kids went the off-campus route. Biggest issues are the lease (make sure each kid signs his/her own lease), changes in roommates, repairs and maintenance (terrible issues with D on this one).</p>
<p>Neither time (D in Texas, S in Louisiana) were we asked to co-sign. In spite of the roommate rotations and terrible maintenance problems, D stayed in the same off campus house for 3 years. It was a fabulous location. </p>
<p>S is in a house very close to campus as well but has a much better landlord. This landlord, by the way, is a lawyer and insisted that each of the 4 guys sign a separate lease for his 1/4 share of the rent.
My experience is that guys are much less concerned about furniture / decorating and basically manage to get by. We did drive a small van to S with some things, but honestly he would have made do. You ought to see the sofa they got for free (it looks it!).</p>
<p>Make sure that 10 unrelated individuals in a house/apt is legal. Many communities have changed their zoning to limit housing units to 4 or 5 unrelated persons living together, specifically to avoid these potential “Animal House” types of off-campus housing (not saying that these are your son & his friends specifically). I know that the communities around some of the major colleges in Boston have done so.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the great advice I’ve received so far. I also heard from someone who PM’d me that some colleges have websites that provide info re: off-campus housing, and I’ll suggest to S that he check these out as well. I think financial, roommate, and maintenance issues might be tricky, and we’ll at least try to make sure he’s aware of these. H will still try to talk S out of moving off-campus, as it would make life SO much easier if he just stayed in a dorm! Not to mention that we need to look at the cost of a 12-month lease when S will only be on campus for 9 (he still plans to come home this summer and return to his previous summer job).</p>
<p>I think my son’s transition to off-campus housing was successful…we’ll see next month when we go for a visit .</p>
<p>Once he announced that he was planning to move off-campus for his sophomore year, we left it all up to him. We calculated the $$ we would be spending for room & board at his school and told him that that amount was what we would provide. We gave him the option of taking it over 10 or 12 months (as we knew a lease would be for 12, even thought he’d be living there for 10 months).</p>
<p>He depended on one of his 2 housemates to secure the apartment. But midway through last summer they found out that they did not have an apartment, as the complex required at least one occupant to not be a full-time student. So, he flew out in August (2800 miles), with one small duffle bag and no permanent place to live. Within about 10 days, the three roommates had secured a house, signed a lease (we were not required to sign, but I would not be surprised if perhaps one of the other parents’ did) and moved in. He pays his share of the rent each month to one of his housemates, who writes the check to the landlord.</p>
<p>As far as I know, they procured used furniture (son had a couch used in his dorm room the previous year), have visited Goodwill and thrift shops and spent a little at Target outfitting the kitchen. H & I gave S1 $500 and instructed him to purchase a new mattress/box springs/frame and bedding, which I believe he did. When the microwave stopped working just before the end of last semester, they didn’t replace it and just used a toaster oven. I also know that they did not have cable installed; I wonder what they do for internet access.</p>
<p>I think it’s been an excellent learning experience for him. I don’t know how, but assume that they managed to navigate having utilities put in their names and turned on. One of the three roommates has recently had medical problems that will cause her to withdraw from school for a time, and the remaining two are working on finding a new third housemate. As I’ve described in other threads, S1 does not have a car and their house is about 7 or 8 miles from school, so he has had to scrounge for rides, especially to buy groceries. We’ve left him on his own, as this was his initiative and we encouraged him to live in a dorm at least through his sophomore year. But I think it has put him in an excellent position to figure out how to manage an internship this summer, even farther away from home.</p>
<p>My son is in an off-campus house with 7 other guys. They did hire a housekeeper who comes in once a week to do the kitchen(s) and bath(s). She also vacuums the entire house and will do laundry and other extras for extra money. The cost for this service is nowhere near what I expected – maybe $15/week without the laundry added. </p>
<p>In Ithaca, most of the student rental housing comes furnished with basics. The boys did have to supply their own kitchen tools and dishes.</p>
<p>I think it’s a good idea to have the parents read the lease, if you don’t ask an attorney to read the lease. My son’s lease specifically says that the front porch and the lawn area are not included in the lease, although the tenants may use such areas of the property with certain restrictions (stated in the lease). You may find unusual clauses – I went over the lease clause by clause with my son so because it was NOT a standard lease. Some of the kids at this age just don’t get what they are signing!</p>
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