[u.yousaf]

4 Tips to Successfully Find Off Campus Housing

By USMAN YOUSAF, MACINSIDERS

House Hunting is an integral part of the university experience for most students including myself as residences on campus can have considerably high fees. As a first year student I really wasn't worried about finding a place because I knew living in residence, at least for first year would be a worthwhile experience that I just couldn't pass up. The case is the same with many other first years and upper years alike but now that I'm starting my second year I opted to live off campus as it would save a lot more money considering the steep residence costs. Throughout the experience of finding housing I have a few tips for those looking to find a good place for a reasonable price. Before I really get into it, I'd like to say decide who your housemates will be beforehand in order to prevent any issues later on down the road and try to live with someone you may have lived with before or someone you know really well. Even though there's nothing wrong about living with people you don't know it does ease the transition of living on your own if you know at least one or two people that are living with you.

Okay here we go....

1) Start Searching ASAP.

I can't stress this enough. I've heard a lot of advice from many people on when the best time is to start searching but I found that the earlier you start, the higher your chances are of avoiding stress and finding the place you're looking for. I personally started around mid to late February which was fine but I had already started to hear people panicking about not finding a house near campus as most of them were supposedly taken. Do not make the mistake of panicking yourself which is what happened to me. Once my search began, it was apparent that many houses were still available and that there was no need to take on unneeded stress. The website that I mainly used was Mcmaster's own off campus housing site. It has a large quantity of housing to choose from and a very useful feature I found was that it categorized each house as being in different zones in Hamilton. There is a map which explains the breakdown but in short Zone 1 is closest to campus, Zone 2 a little farther away and so on and so forth. Heres the link for your viewing pleasure: http://macoffcampus.mcmaster .ca/classifieds/index.php. There are also other ways which can be used to find housing such as the newspaper. You can pick up a copy of the Hamilton Spectator or even go to www.thespec.com for an online version. Cruising around the surrounding McMaster area may also yield some houses with "for rent" signs.

2) Location, Location, Location.

Location is obviously very important when searching for housing because you don't want to be the person who has to get up at 6:00 am just to make it to an 8:30 am class and then fall asleep mid-lecture....trust me you're not helping anyone. Basically what you want to ensure is that you find out which location is most convenient for you. What I mean by this is determining the distance you may need to walk and/or the number of buses you need to take to get to campus. Another thing to do before choosing a location is have a walk around the area you are interested in and check out the local amenities. These may include the distance from the house to a supermarket or places to eat.

3) Rent and Terms of Lease/Contract

I found that the rent of most places was about the same across the board but with some minor fluctuations. The rent may vary based upon what the landlord is including as part of the lease terms. Some things to look for may be if utilities such as electricity, water, etc... are included in the monthly rental fee as this could result in significant savings. Remember if utilities aren't included you may end up paying more depending on how much of each utility you use. Another thing to look for would be if cable and internet are included considering internet being a necessity for any student due to many courses at McMaster using WebCT to post course outlines, marks, and quizzes. Some things to consider about the cost of utilities include the use of air conditioning since it can be expensive, use of the dishwasher which can use a considerable amount of energy and hot water, and things like dripping taps can also add on to your utilities bill. One of the main issues I found with finding an acceptable contract was the leasing period. The norm is usually a 12 month lease which encompasses a full year including the Spring, Winter, and Summer Terms. Now for some students the summer term may be redundant due to a co op program or having to move back home for summer. Therefore finding someone that is willing to negotiate the length of the lease could potentially save you a whole four months worth of rent. The following are some useful breakdowns of sample rental rates as well as utility costs for student housing:







4) Viewing the House

Be sure to have a good look around the house and take your time once you have made a viewing appointment with the landlord. Make sure you are always polite with the person showing you around because it's obviously good manners but they might even tell you what the house is actually like such as pointing out any shortcomings. If you find this intimidating since it's your first time, a good idea may be to bring someone with experience such as an older family member or even a friend in upper year should do the trick.

Here are some general tips on what to look for when viewing a house:

• check the standard of living the house is currently in (i.e.. cleanliness, damage, etc...)
• be sure to inspect the furniture in the rooms and any other furniture that is included with the house
• determine what type of heating the house has and if there are accommodations for heating in each room
• check and see if the locks on room doors as well as any main entrance doors are functional
• watch out for discoloration on the ceiling as it may be a sign of water leakage
• you may want to speak to the current tenants and ask them what the landlord is like in terms of how reliable he is
• check that smoke detectors are installed and functioning

Once you have found a suitable place to live in, make sure you continue to look around at a few more houses to ensure that this is the best you can find and ensure that each one of your housemates has had a good look around. The final step is the lease itself that needs to be signed and contains all the terms the landlord has set for the tenants. If this is your first time renting, a good idea would be to take a copy of the lease to the Off Campus Resource Centre in the basement of the student centre for review. You can find more info about it here: http://macoffcampus.mcmaster .ca/index.htm

Happy Hunting!

[feonateresa]

Great article! It will definitely come in handy for off-campus first years, and those going off-campus this year. :]

[zango]

nice, im definitely starting to look earlier this year. we got a pretty decent basement apartment, but it could be better.

i suggest december/january to start looking.

[Taunton]

I've been living in the same basement apartment for the past two (going on three) years. It's not the most glorious place to live, but I don't mind it. I like living on my own and not having to worry about house drama. My landlord is also quite good to me.

[myoozik]

My first off campus house had smoke detectors, but here's the kicker: it still had that plastic tab stuck into the batteries that had still not been pulled out to activate it. Apparently, our landlord was trying to save money on batteries........

We found this out in March of the following year and it was really scary.

Do your research and don't be afraid to ask really detailed questions. Landlords are under legal obligation to make sure that everything is in working and SAFE order so look out for the lemons!

[Lois]

Also, many landlords may try to rush you with "Oh, there's somebody wanting to rent the place, let me know by tomorrow if you want it". Don't fall for it. There are plenty of great and affordable houses, make sure you look at many houses and feel comfortable with your choice. Don't rush into things.

[huzaifa47]

Oh and yeah DO get your lease evaluated by the off campus experience office in MUSC basement! They do know the clever loopholes a minority of landlords use to trick confused and naive tenants, you are entitled to alot of things(regarding safety and maintanence) from the owner; make sure you realize that! So that you don't find out like Myoozik did later on!

[macoffcampus]

It is really important to take time looking over the house before signing a lease. The Off-Campus Experience group has a new website up (www.macoce.com) that has tons of tips on living off-campus.
It includes an 'interactive house' that gives some pointers of what to look out for when looking at a potential house for the upcoming year.