Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had no issue last year while in town spending the day with my freshman helping her look at apartments. Kids now adults don’t just have the knowledge of what questions to ask management, to think about driving complexes or houses at night, to ask the right questions of current residents.

My role as a teacher didn’t just stop when she turned 18.

OP, she signed a lease last October and every single roommate dropped out of the room and she was placed with random girls.

So now your sophomore is living with random people. hopefully she has decent roommates, but this is exactly the potential with picking a place/roommates after 1-2 months of freshman year.

Anonymous wrote:I had no issue last year while in town spending the day with my freshman helping her look at apartments. Kids now adults don’t just have the knowledge of what questions to ask management, to think about driving complexes or houses at night, to ask the right questions of current residents.

My role as a teacher didn’t just stop when she turned 18.

OP, she signed a lease last October and every single roommate dropped out of the room and she was placed with random girls.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thoroughly believe it's artificial panic created by the big landlords in the big college towns (who do not give two s**ts about kids "finding their people").

They advertise how they'll run out! and get on waiting lists now!! don't get left behind!! It trickles to all the landlords big and small. Freshmen think they HAVE to lock something in.

It gets everyone revved up in October, and in a full-blown panic by November/December. Then.... you realize A) stuff is still available and B) people who have already signed have changed plans and are now trying to sub-lease it out. I pulled up my daughter's landlord's website (a big landlord) to get her floorplan drawing in July. I had the thought of checking availability and wouldn't ya know, they had stuff still to rent, despite all their prior advertising to the contrary. Not every building, not every configuration of bed/bath, but there were spaces available to rent in July! I'm sure the other landlords big and small were the same.

+1 and there are sooo many subleases available in May and June and even August where with a little patience and willingness to live with an unknown student, kids can find a sweet deal.

And how is waiting and then having to live with strangers better than renting in the fall with hopefully people who they know?

Because most people don’t make new lasting friends or find their tribe in the first semester. Even people who roomed with their BFF freshman year find they are no longer BFFs by the end of the second semester. Living with people you know doesn’t guarantee no roommates from hell!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thoroughly believe it's artificial panic created by the big landlords in the big college towns (who do not give two s**ts about kids "finding their people").

They advertise how they'll run out! and get on waiting lists now!! don't get left behind!! It trickles to all the landlords big and small. Freshmen think they HAVE to lock something in.

It gets everyone revved up in October, and in a full-blown panic by November/December. Then.... you realize A) stuff is still available and B) people who have already signed have changed plans and are now trying to sub-lease it out. I pulled up my daughter's landlord's website (a big landlord) to get her floorplan drawing in July. I had the thought of checking availability and wouldn't ya know, they had stuff still to rent, despite all their prior advertising to the contrary. Not every building, not every configuration of bed/bath, but there were spaces available to rent in July! I'm sure the other landlords big and small were the same.

+1 and there are sooo many subleases available in May and June and even August where with a little patience and willingness to live with an unknown student, kids can find a sweet deal.

And how is waiting and then having to live with strangers better than renting in the fall with hopefully people who they know?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thoroughly believe it's artificial panic created by the big landlords in the big college towns (who do not give two s**ts about kids "finding their people").

They advertise how they'll run out! and get on waiting lists now!! don't get left behind!! It trickles to all the landlords big and small. Freshmen think they HAVE to lock something in.

It gets everyone revved up in October, and in a full-blown panic by November/December. Then.... you realize A) stuff is still available and B) people who have already signed have changed plans and are now trying to sub-lease it out. I pulled up my daughter's landlord's website (a big landlord) to get her floorplan drawing in July. I had the thought of checking availability and wouldn't ya know, they had stuff still to rent, despite all their prior advertising to the contrary. Not every building, not every configuration of bed/bath, but there were spaces available to rent in July! I'm sure the other landlords big and small were the same.

+1 and there are sooo many subleases available in May and June and even August where with a little patience and willingness to live with an unknown student, kids can find a sweet deal.

Anonymous wrote:I thoroughly believe it's artificial panic created by the big landlords in the big college towns (who do not give two s**ts about kids "finding their people").

They advertise how they'll run out! and get on waiting lists now!! don't get left behind!! It trickles to all the landlords big and small. Freshmen think they HAVE to lock something in.

It gets everyone revved up in October, and in a full-blown panic by November/December. Then.... you realize A) stuff is still available and B) people who have already signed have changed plans and are now trying to sub-lease it out. I pulled up my daughter's landlord's website (a big landlord) to get her floorplan drawing in July. I had the thought of checking availability and wouldn't ya know, they had stuff still to rent, despite all their prior advertising to the contrary. Not every building, not every configuration of bed/bath, but there were spaces available to rent in July! I'm sure the other landlords big and small were the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is definitely something to look into when you are visiting colleges. At least so you are prepared for what lies ahead. I know it is common in large schools and urban areas, especially.

Just to let prospective students know, in virtually all of the SLAC's that my kid visited, you were guaranteed housing on campus for all 4 years. At most, they morph into university-owved apartments or shared houses (vs dorm rooms) for older students.

We really liked the convenience of not having to lease apartments each year. It allowed her to roll out of bed five minutes before classes. Each residence hall had a kitchen in the basement, but most kids did not cook for themselves, which also saves time (no need to buy groceries, clean dishes, etc).

Way to coddle. Well done!

It was my kid's preference. It allowed her to focus on school (she will have plenty of time to "adult" over the next decade). It worked for our family and there is no reason to attack someone trying to share her experience.

Lol it “allowed her to focus on school.” She sounds 12.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Down in Charlottesville, this whole thing is fueled by students who think they need to live in a select few buildings and complexes. The companies that run those places are happy to get their commitments.

No one needs to sign a lease in October. Just because some do doesn't mean your kid does.

You are underestimating things. MOST of the small and medium sized well located apartment buildings will be sold out by end of October. My DD wanted to live in what she thought was a little known complex and called at 8 AM the day they said they would know what they had available (which was in early Oct). Low and behold they had 70 applications already for probably less than 10 apartments. My DD didn't even know you COULD put in an app earlier, because she definitely would have. The next few weeks saw availability decline on a daily basis. My DS's roommates dad came down over parents weekend and took the boys around, made a spreadsheet of the options and then the boys made the decision. There's alot that an incoming freshman does NOT know about areas that are safe, what is popular, what is ethical, what is a good price etc. They do need help and if we parents want to help them, there is nothing wrong with that. With my DD she only looked at one apartment with her roommate, loved it, booked it all done.

Those nice smaller builders were done by Nov 1st. Booked and done. The "select few buildings and complexes' that are the most popular actually tend to have availability a little later because they are larger and more expensive. The trick is finding the smaller ones that no one knows about.

Luckily, you aren't kicked off campus there. You can stay in the campus apartments if you wish.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Down in Charlottesville, this whole thing is fueled by students who think they need to live in a select few buildings and complexes. The companies that run those places are happy to get their commitments.

No one needs to sign a lease in October. Just because some do doesn't mean your kid does.

You are underestimating things. MOST of the small and medium sized well located apartment buildings will be sold out by end of October. My DD wanted to live in what she thought was a little known complex and called at 8 AM the day they said they would know what they had available (which was in early Oct). Low and behold they had 70 applications already for probably less than 10 apartments. My DD didn't even know you COULD put in an app earlier, because she definitely would have. The next few weeks saw availability decline on a daily basis. My DS's roommates dad came down over parents weekend and took the boys around, made a spreadsheet of the options and then the boys made the decision. There's alot that an incoming freshman does NOT know about areas that are safe, what is popular, what is ethical, what is a good price etc. They do need help and if we parents want to help them, there is nothing wrong with that. With my DD she only looked at one apartment with her roommate, loved it, booked it all done.

Those nice smaller builders were done by Nov 1st. Booked and done. The "select few buildings and complexes' that are the most popular actually tend to have availability a little later because they are larger and more expensive. The trick is finding the smaller ones that no one knows about.