<p>Dear CC friends–I am here because this is where I find the best advice, so I am hoping for some help. First, a little background so you don’t think I am a terrible helicopter parent. DS is in a graduate program in the UK and is going from there to Germany for language study so he really can’t come back to the States until August. He will be starting at Harvard in the fall and, of course, needs an apartment. He lived in dorms throughout his undergraduate years, and I have not rented an apartment for years (decades, really!). He hoped to get an apartment through the Harvard real estate office but that now seems very unlikely. The apartment-hunting process in Boston seems fairly Byzantine to both of us. Since he is out of the country, I seem to have become more involved in this than would otherwise be the case. For those of you with experience in this area, is the only reasonable course to go through a rental agent? If so, do you have any recommendations (good or bad)? If you use an agent, do they have access to multiple listings (like other real estate agents), or can they only represent the apartments that are on their individual sites? Do you think I will need to go there and search in person (he does have friends who could go look at a few for him). I would appreciate any and all advice!</p>
<p>Harvard has dorms for first year grads who want one. Dd lived in a dorm for her first year and then shared an apartment with students from the dorms for the next few years.
I know that dorms may seem unappealing to older students, but they have their advantages. It’s a great way to get connected to students outside of your department. It’s hassle free. It’s only for for 9 months- and then you have a gang of friends. All of the second years are looking for apartments around March of the first year, so there is a lot of opportunity to find compatible room mates- which you need in order to afford an apartment in Cambridge.
We’re in CA, and I didn’t have to do anything to get Dd squared away. The first year she just took the dorm she signed up for, and the second year she and the three students she shared an apt. with handled everything because they knew the area and had time to find something suitable.
The dorms have shared kitchens. Cooking is easy and the sharing leads to a lot of socializing.</p>
<p>I agree with dorm suggestion. My son did that too. He has been looking for a three bedroom now, for September, and it takes time. Of course, they have a budget that I think limits them. </p>
<p>It takes time to find an apt, if you have a budget, and then to furnish it. The dorm gives you time to make friends.</p>
<p>Sons 2 friends at harvard law and a phd classics program both used the dorms for their first year. Made it much easier since both of them were overseas as well before starting.</p>
<p>Both seemed to enjoy their first years in the dorm and have gotten together with their new friends and rented apts for their ensuing years. Worked out well for both friends.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>I could not agree more about the dorm suggestion–it is (relatively) cheap, safe, and hassle-free. That suggestion, unfortunately, was rejected out-of-hand when I proposed it. I will try again, but I am not optimistic, and I believe the deadline has passed. One of my son’s major objections was the required meal plan. Do any of you know how that worked out for your offspring? Since I do not believe a dorm to be a viable option, does anyone else have any advice? My specific questions are about using a rental agent–is it necessary, or at least the most reasonable course of action? How does he (or I) find a reputable one? I cannot believe–at this late point in my role as a parent–that I am involved with this. I hate to say “I told you so–you should have gotten a dorm. Now you are on your own.” I just don’t think I have that in me, so I would like to be able to offer him some advice on how best to proceed. Thank you for your input–it validates my initial advice–and for any other ideas you may have.</p>
<p>You (or your son) might start looking here- [Roommates</a>, Find the perfect roommate on the web’s best roommate matching service!](<a href=“http://huhousing.offcampuslisting.com/roommate/]Roommates”>http://huhousing.offcampuslisting.com/roommate/)
Another possibility-- [HLS</a> List](<a href=“http://hlslist.com/]HLS”>http://hlslist.com/)</p>
<p>My S is moving out of MIT grad housing and plans to start looking for a place in another month or so. Do you know why he objects to the meal plan? S was an undergrad at Harvard and the eating options were fairly flexible and the food was not bad.</p>
<p>“I just don’t think I have that in me, so I would like to be able to offer him some advice on how best to proceed.”</p>
<p>They have Google in Europe. Unless you are in the Boston area, I don’t see why a remote search will be easier for you than for him. Google will get him to roommates.com, craigslist, etc., where people find inexpensive shared apartments. I don’t think you need to say anything about dorms and timing – just go about your business and let him handle his. Has he asked you to find an apartment for him?</p>
<p>My niece is living in Cambridge right now with a roommate - I think that she’s about four blocks from H. She used a broker to find her place. I think that brokers typically charge one month’s rent. Vacancy rates in Boston are very low - I imagine that they are very low in Cambridge given that many companies are moving there or expanding there.</p>
<p>I had a look on Craigslist when son was looking for an apartment. The brokers carpet-bomb Craigslist so it’s hard to find the places that are renting directly.</p>
<p>Craigslist has categories so you can filter out the broker-fee apartments. You or your son might have the best results looking at the shared apartment listings, there are tons of renters looking for roommates. </p>
<p>I would guess you would need to be in Cambridge to see the apartments in person as they range from the awful to the sublime.</p>
<p>As I recall, (it has been a few years) the required meal plan was very minimal, and the dining hall was one that is used by grad students. I think it included something like 5 meals a week. I doubt that my Dd used it even that much, - probably grabbed lunch some days–but since the dorm with meal plan were paid for by her stipend, I don’t think she worried about it too much. In a sense, it was free.
If the deadline has passed, it’s probably moot, anyway. The problem he will have finding a place is that most of the apartments have been rented by this time for next year. March is the month everyone is signing contracts.
Maybe your son should advertise himself on Craigslist as a student looking for a room. Sometimes students have signed leases hoping to get another student to fill the apartment, or someone changes their mind and decides to room with someone else.
I see fauve recommended looking for shared listings looking for room mates, which is an excellent suggestion.</p>