AptsinTally: The Pros, Cons, and Alternatives to Student Housing

By Jenna Case on June 22, 2012
College is very exciting. You get to live in your own very house, all by your grown-up self, and don’t have to indulge in mommy and daddy’s every whim. You get to be independent. What you might not know is how confusing getting a place that you can handle can be. There are so many options, and because you’re a student, you immediately flock to Student Housing as a bright beacon of hope. The words Student and Housing, strung together; familiar like your mother’s favorite necklace. It’s understandable, it’s warm and shiny and familiar. But another thing that you might not know is that Student Housing might not be the most frugal option, let alone the best. Here, I lay out to you the Pros, the Cons, and the Alternatives to Student Housing.

Photo via Shsweb.us

The Pros

• Individual leases.
• Free roommate matching.
• Furnished options available.
• All-inclusive living (monthly rent includes “high-speed” internet, refuse pick-up, cable, & furniture if opted for furnished unit).
• Rentpayment.com-pay your rent while you’re away.
• Renter’s insurance not required to lease (like normal house insurance, only for rentals. It’s a good thing that it’s not required for those without extraneous money to spare—though it is not a bad investment.
• Maintenance to fix problems (can even fill out a maintenance request form online, or just walk into your community’s leasing office).
• 12 month leases & short-term leases.
• “College” community: you are around people of their age group, which is more comforting to parents (and us) than living around people of every corner, every bracket, every background—you don’t know these people.
• Swimming pools and computer labs generally found at all Student Housing Communities.
• They are generally close to campus, or at least have a bus stop to campus nearby.

Photo via Aptsintally.com

The Cons (or What the Pros Really Mean)

• Free roommate matching: only in certain communities: Seminole Grand, Venetian Villas, Villa Del Lago (3 of AptsinTally’s 9 Student Housing Complexes).
• Free roommate matching: doesn’t guarantee suitable roommates.
• All-inclusive living: Utilities (Electric & Water) NOT included. Not as “all-inclusive” as you were expecting. You’re paying approximately $41 for cable, $30 for internet, $40 for refuse collection, with an extra $40(minimum) for electricity and water. Be aware of your energy and water consumption; the more you use, the more you pay.
• High-speed internet: not very high-speed at all. I know from experience how lousy their basic (provided) internet service is, and it’s irksome tendency to be completely unattainable between the hours of 1-7pm on the nights before/mornings of important project due dates/tests. CenturyLink has a bad history of congested Internet apparently…
• Rentpayment.com-pay your rent while you’re away: $17.95 CONVENIENCE FEE! RIDICULOUS!!!!!
• Short-term leases available: a premium is generally charged with this option.The Alternatives
• You can buy close to campus or bus stops.
• Rent/lease a house. Mortgage payments are much lower than monthly rent rates at apartments: A $40,000 house with a 30 year fixed mortgage yields a monthly mortgage payment of $181.61, but to be safe, just assume $200.
• Your overall monthly payments with the monthly rent/mortgage payment of a house + the amenities provided with all-inclusive rent for the student housing apartments, is less than the rent you’d be paying at the student housing apartment minus the amenities!Now that you have options laid out, think about what you’re really looking for in an apartment/house/living space/man cave/etc. If money isn’t a problem for you, then Student Housing probably is the best option for you. But, for those who have to be money conscious, Student Housing might not be the solution at all.For more info on Student Housing, including which communities are Student Housing Communities, visit: Aptsintally.com or Student Housing Solutions.

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