How to Find the Best Off-Campus Housing: 5 Top Tips

Finding off-campus housing can be like a minefield. There are several factors to consider, from the usability of the amenities to the safety of your neighborhood. These all have enormous implications on student living, and it can all feel like so much to consider at once. Luckily, there are tips you can follow to help gain control of the situation.

5 Tips to Find Student Housing 

As established property managers in Northern Virginia, we have seen our share of student houses for rent, from glamorous to disastrous. We can identify signs that you should pursue certain student apartments or steer clear of them. Let’s get into our expert-backed tricks of the trade that can help you obtain great housing.

1. See Which Amenities Are Available

When you spot listings with potential, they should investigate the pictures and reviews to get an idea of which rental amenities are offered. Depending on your needs, certain amenities might be non-negotiable. One tip would be to compile a list of these must-haves. If you want a few ideas, here are some to start with.

Off-Campus Student Living Checklist

• Internet: The Internet will be a huge priority in off-campus apartments. You will need the internet for researching, writing, and other basic course tasks. Even outside of class, Wi-Fi is essential when you want to browse social media or host events, like a Netflix party. See if Wi-Fi is bundled together with your rent. Most importantly, make sure it’s high-speed. This way, the connection can handle multiple devices at once. The last thing you need is to spend 5 minutes loading a single Google doc when you’re cutting it close for a due date.
• Outlets: Learn about how many outlets the apartment complexes or other types of off-campus housing hold. This way, you can know there are enough ways to charge your devices and equipment.
• Washer and Dryer: If you haven’t already, now you’re going to have to handle your laundry. No one enjoys this chore. However, it’ll be ten times worse if you’re forced to lug clothes for miles. Luckily, there’s an easy way to prevent this pitfall. If your home has a built-in washer and dryer, or at least a set nearby, laundry can just be another task for the day.
• Air Conditioning: Imagine moving in late summertime, only to find that your home isn’t heat-proof. In the nighttime, you’ll toss and turn as you try to sleep in a sauna that would put a desert to shame. Air conditioning is precisely how you can avoid this sweaty fate.
• Available Parking: If you can only park your car far away, you’ll need to walk miles to and from the parking lot daily. Obviously, this will cost you precious time and energy. Put the kibosh on this before it becomes an issue by seeking out homes that have nearby parking lots or spaces.
• Storage Space: You may underestimate how many belongings you’ll want to bring with you in your transition to student living. So, a sizable bedroom and storage space will be necessary to make room for these surprises. Be especially aware if a unit doesn’t have enough room to fit a basic bed and desk comfortably.

2. See If the Amenities Work

It’s great if your off-campus housing has all the features you’d ever dream of on paper. Still, you’ll want to make sure that all those claims are backed up in reality. Before you sign the lease and regret it, make sure the following facilities work.

Features You Should Double-Check

• Lock Effectiveness: Locks that work should be a given. Locks are the most basic form of security. If not even the locks work, that red flag proves other parts are decrepit. There are additional rental safety aspects you should focus on, like securing your windows.
• Toilet and faucets: Everyone has the right to have correctly operating toilets and faucets in their homes. If you discover that the faucet leaks or the toilet tank is irrevocably broken, you deserve another place without those problems.
• Shower: Showering will be next to impossible if there is low water pressure in the shower. After all, you want to make a good (and clean) first impression with your classmates. Take a minute and check the water pressure to make sure it works smoothly.
• Floors: Confirm that the flooring or carpeting is clean and well-kept. For instance, musty, moldy carpeting is disgusting at best and health hazard at worst. It could have adverse effects on your health.
• Updated Appliances: Antiques are gorgeous in a museum, but not so much so for your electronics. If the unit’s stovetop has been there since the 1980s, it is bound to fail when you need it the most. Even worse, because out-of-date appliances apply the safety standards of their time, they could miss many critical, new features that keep you safe.
• Outlets: Out-of-date outlets may seem like a small detail, but they can be deadly. Each outdated outlet can pose fire hazards and electrically shock you. This is not an area you want to gloss over.
• Air conditioning and heating: You will doubtlessly pay the price if you neglect the state of the unit’s air conditioning and heating. Unless you want to shiver in the winter nights and sweat throughout the summer days, these are two aspects you must consider.

3. Convenience

Of all the factors student renters prioritize, convenience is on the top of that list. You should assess how close off-campus student housing is to various facilities and campus buildings. For example, if you want easy access to your college’s recreation center, you should choose a place especially close to that building. In the hopefully small chance you’ll need a hospital, it should be a short distance. If you want nightlife at your fingertips—or, to the contrary, don’t like all that noise—you should calculate a unit’s proximity to those spots in your ultimate choice to move somewhere.

4. Safety

It can feel scary to live alone, but it doesn’t have to be. It would be best if you were prepared and protected from any potential issues that could arise. You should have several tools in your student house’s arsenal. Ask the unit’s landlord if their property has the following features.

Top Essential Off-Campus Housing Security Features

• Alarm: Alarms will alert you when an intruder tries to enter the premises and can also serve as a deterrent.
• Deadbolts: Deadbolts will enable your lock to be extra secure and difficult to break. This can be a helpful barrier against break-ins and is a must for peace of mind.
• Motion-sensor floodlights: These lights will make your outdoor area lit and your surroundings visible. That way, you can thoroughly survey the scenery around you to detect threats.
• Cameras: Cameras will provide much-needed surveillance so that you can survey the exterior of your home within the safety of it. It also will allow you to have a tangible record of people drifting around the perimeter of your home area, which enables you to monitor a timeline of past activity.

One common mistake you can make as a renter is to insufficiently investigate neighborhood safety. To ascertain this, you should both hear references from your prospective neighbors and scout out the area yourself.

5. Ensure Your New Place is Within Your Budget

Find out from the landlord what is and isn’t bundled with the rent bill. Always make sure that your student apartment rent includes the fundamentals. Everyone needs electricity, water, gas, and trash disposal to live. You should also worry about electrical maintenance, plumbing maintenance, and lawn care.  You’ll want to weigh factors the rent doesn’t cover. In those cases, those uncovered costs may be dealbreakers. However, if the extra expenses are manageable enough, you can simply add those services to your budget separately.

Bonus Tip: Make Sure You Have the Right Property Manager

We may be a tad biased, but we believe student housing property management is a crucial aspect of off-campus housing. Renting from or working with a team of professionals offers you reliability and convenience when you’re already stretched thin juggling your academic and social life. 

PPM can streamline the rental process from the time you start searching for housing to the moment you move out. It’s what we do, day in and day out. Yes, student living can be easier. Planning it all doesn’t have to be this stressful. Let PPM show you how. Call us today to map out your adventures in independence.