PRESENTS
HOUSING GUIDE 2017 As students finalize housing plans for next year, we offer advice and information for the housing search in our inaugural guide.
DESIGN BY JENNIFER LEE
OC SURVIVAL GUIDE Drew Keller News Editor
Once you’ve found your off-campus housing, you’ll need to find a way to get to and from your classes, figure out how you’ll feed yourself outside the comfortable blanket of a full meal plan and ensure you stay on top of tasks like paying rent. For the uninitiated, “adulting” can be surprising hard, so the Thresher reached out to off-campus students for some tips. Transportation ò If you don’t have a car, you’ll need to decide whether biking, walking or public transportation will be best for getting to campus. Using Uber all the time will seriously add up. ò Ask yourself: How late do I usually stay on campus at night, and am I all right with biking or walking home by myself at that time? If you live near the edge of campus, night escort is available to help you get home. ò Living near campus also has the advantage of being able to drop by home if you forget anything there. If you’re farther away, even a 15-minute journey becomes irksome to do multiple times a day, especially in bad weather. ò If you’re farther away, bring everything you need on campus each day. Be sure to check the weather and bring rain stuff if there’s even a slight chance of rain (we’re talking 10 percent). ò You can rent a locker at the Rec Center cheaply for a semester to store clothes, especially if you’re still working out on campus. Many colleges also have OC lockers — ask your coordinator. ò Keep a sleeping bag on campus. Find friends who will let you crash on late nights. If you don’t have friends, find your favorite college commons couch, Fondy floor or other campus location (say, the Thresher office). ò If you don’t have a car, buy a poncho for rainy days. ò If you do have a car, the campus exit behind the OEDK by the trash bins is the only one open late at night without driving all the way to RUPD.
Food ò Plan meals before going grocery shopping. Find three to four staple meals you can easily make and that will make in your refrigerator: tacos, eggs, sandwiches and canned beans are good examples. ò Don’t eat out for every meal —it can be unhealthy and expensive. You can try to cook batches of food for each week on Sundays, though it can become tempting to eat fresh servery food later in the week rather than four-day-old PB&J sandwiches. ò Stock up on Tupperware containers. ò Consider combining groceries with your roommates, though this can be difficult due to varying tastes and rates of eating at home. Unless one of you eats caviar every day, though, food costs tend to balance out. ò When you’re pressed for time, you could turn to Instacart or Amazon pantry instead of heading to the grocery store. ò Get Tetra to use on campus, not a meal plan (and definitely not a full meal plan — this is a big source of savings). ò Some cheap on-campus lunches: bahn mi or Droubi’s at Valhalla (cash only!), Ambassador’s Cafe in Pub and Sammy’s in the RMC. ò Keep an eye out for events that offer free lunch, and get guest swipes from friends. ò And this gem from our Managing Editor Anita Alem: “The knockoff Nutribullet changed my life. Smoothies allow me to eat breakfast while running around between classes and consume actual fruits. #blessed.” Other Logistics ò With your roommates, pick one person to be the point of contact the with landlords and coordinate paying bills. ò Easy options for paying rent are to alternate monthly, or have one person pay and divide costs among the others. ò Figure out a chore each roommate is willing to do, or rotate responsibilities each week. ò “Make sure you have bleach, and buy the big black garbage bags — they will make your life easier.”
Navigating
Sara Lopez
Marketing Manager
the OC housing search
1. prioritize
Choosing the right place depends on your needs and preferences. Setting your priorities can help you narrow down choices and make the best decision.
Budget: Knowing how much you are willing to spend is essential. Create a budget by taking into account anything that will amount to your total cost of living — rent, utilities, extra fees, food, gas, parking, etc. Splitting the cost with a roommates is a great option for those looking to save.
Location: Distance from campus can affect a variety of things including transportation and commute time. Know your preferences regarding distance, whether you’ll be driving, biking or taking a bus, and familiarize yourself with the area(s) you intend to search. (*see map on p. 10 for more info*) Amenities: What is most important to you in a living space? Is Wi-Fi or a cable TV indispensable? Are laundry appliances a must? Make sure to account for these into your budget.
2. search SEARCH
Think Schedule Planner is fun? Searching for housing is just as entertaining. With a wide variety of resources to help guide you, set some time aside to dive into the interwebs and begin your housing search.
Social media/word of mouth: Take advantage of networking resources, such as the “Rice Student’s
Selling Stuff” page and class or college groups on Facebook. Post a search ad and talk to people in your college because options could be opening up with student graduating, going abroad or returning on campus.
Specialized sites: There are a number of sites such as Zillow and HAR that will show you local listing
directly. You’ll be able to make more specific and advanced searches, so knowing zip code areas and what your priorities are comes in handy with these. The following sites are useful (and not sketchy): har.com — zillow.com — rentjungle.com offcampus.rice.edu is an all-in-one compilation of housing and off-campus entertainment options. It’s a great resource during your search and during your time beyond the hedges.
Be organized: Making spreadsheets might work for the bullet journalers of the world, but simply copypasting links and ranking options can simplify your search.
3. making a choice
Before signing anything make sure to:
Talk to the landlord directly: Prepare questions and ask away. Be sure to inquire about extra fees, occupancy limits or any unanswered questions relevant to your priority list. You’ll have to deal with the landlord for a variety of things (water leakage, broken AC, payments, etc.), so make sure to take them into account. Schedule a visit: Pictures can be deceiving so getting a look in person is definitely a good idea. Inspect the general condition of place carefully.
More to consider: The landlord seems nice and the place is in good condition, but don’t forget to consider general security of the area, neighbors, parking and nearby shops.
8
Housing Guide
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
the Rice Thresher
LEASING 110 011 Anita Alem
Managing Editor
Finding yourself signing a lease that entails where you are going to live for the next year can be scary. You might be tempted to just frantically sign on the dotted line. However, instead of skipping over the details and accidentally signing your soul to the devil, read the lease carefully, and read our tips carefully to rent an apartment with all the suave know-how of a young professional. The lease is a contractual document including information on move-in and move-out dates, fees, and regulations, that the tenant and landlord agree to when renting property. If you’re living off campus, unless you’re moving in with your parents (or you’ve got really stingy parents), you WILL be signing a lease.
As someone who accidentally lived in an apartment complex that had multiple break-ins and renamed itself because a police officer fatally shot an alleged burglar in a unit the year prior, I cannot stress this enough. Do your research, whether that is looking up crime statistics at the complex or talking to Rice students who used to live in the unit, before you sign anything. Don’t be afraid to directly ask the landlord and tenants, especially for apartment complexes, how often break-ins occur and whether they are reported to the entire complex, as well as how often repair requests are called in to the units. This reveals red flags that influence whether you choose to sign. And if you do choose to sign, because hey at least the unit’s cheap, they could help you decide whether to purchase additional security like a monitoring service or renter’s insurance.
Do your research before signing.
Expect an extra fee just to apply.
Expect security deposit fee and don’t forget to get it back.
Request a walkthrough before moving in.
Verify subleasing options and occupancy limits.
Finally, make copies of your lease.
Yup, you don’t even know if you can live there yet and you’re already paying the landlord. Many housing options will require potential tenants to complete an “application� (read: background and credit check) in addition to the lease. This typically costs an additional fee because it costs the landlord to run a background check. However, be wary if this costs more than $75 per tenant; at that point, they’re probably just using this as a moneymaking scheme. If you feel uncomfortable paying this fee, it’s worth bringing it up with the landlord, as they might be willing to let you provide some other proof of income.
Most housing options will require tenants to submit a security deposit of one or two months’ rent. The landlord uses this fee to preemptively cover the cost of any repairs due to damage incurred from your stay. It’s very easy to forget that you submitted this fee at all, especially at the end of the year when all you’re trying to do is not fail your finals and get home as soon as possible. Texas law requires landlords to return the safety deposit to the tenant within 30 days of the tenant moving out. Make sure to write down how much you paid in your security deposit and when you expect to have the amount returned.
The unit you are moving into will have imperfections, whether that’s chipped paint or a broken trash compactor. To ensure these issues aren’t attributed to you and the repair fee isn’t subtracted from your safety deposit at the end of your stay, request a walkthrough of the unit before you move in. A walkthrough involves you and the landlord going through the unit together with a checklist to identify any imperfections at the time of leasing. You can look back at the checklist when moving out to see what damage can be attributed to your occupancy and what was already damaged at the time of leasing.
This is especially relevant for Rice students, who might begin their leases in May and hope to have subletters for the summer. Some landlords explicitly forbid subletters in the leasing agreement, and it is important to check this beforehand. Be careful with occupancy limits, as sometimes subletters might want to double up on rooms, but this could violate a leasing agreement that explicitly caps the number of tenants. Sneaking subletters in is not worth the trouble of possibly being evicted — just find a different set of subletters who will stay within the occupancy limit, and whatever you do, check the lease before signing any subletters.
Later in the year when you’re wondering everything from “Does my landlord replace the lightbulbs or do I?� to “Well shit I broke the garbage disposal, now what?� you can always check back with your lease. This also helps to keep your landlord accountable.
COME LIVE IN MIDTOWN McGowen St. and Austin St.
Incredible Location 7 min walk
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10 min walk
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15 min walk
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$1.25 metro or $7 Uber
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11 min drive
2318 DORRINGTON 8 unit complex
Amenities: 2 bedroom/2 bathroom and 2 bedroom/1.5 bathroom units available. Ceiling fan in living room. Patio off kitchen and balcony off one of the bedrooms (in 2-story units). Coin-operated laundry room on-site. One unassigned covered parking space per unit.
Conveniently located: 1/2 mile to Rice University 1/2 mile to Main St & W. Holcombe 580ft to bus stop 0.7 miles to light rail/Medical Center
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You pay: $835
Comfy Home
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Prices range $1,200-$1,400. 6-month to 1 year leases. Call to set up an appointment 713-799-5933, Denise.
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Housing Guide
the Rice Thresher
9
KICKED TO THE CURB
Colleges struggle to accommodate a growing student body Anna Ta
Assistant News Editor
Each residential college is at liberty to choose their method of determining who stays on and who gets relegated to off campus, but for each, one thing remains certain: There are not enough beds for everyone. As students across campus scramble to determine their housing arrangements for the following year, it may help to remember a time when there were only nine colleges to house undergraduates. Part of Rice’s Vision for the Second Century included plans to increase the student body by 30 percent. Overall, the freshman class increased by 23 percent from 628 in fall 2000 to 775 in fall 2008. McMurtry and Duncan Colleges opened their doors in 2009 to accommodate the increase. As a result of the ballooning student body population, nearly every college experienced an increase in the number of students bumped off campus. In 2009, Will Rice College was asked to take in 84 freshmen, leaving the residential college with more students guaranteed housing than there were beds available. At one point in this housing saga, Will Rice had negative six spots available for juniors. The same issue recurred in 2015. According to Will Rice Vice President Angela Zhang, those in charge of housing jack calculate the number of leftover beds for juniors after reserving a certain number of beds for incoming new students, a number the college coordinator provides. “They try not to give us more freshmen than we can handle,” Zhang, a junior, said. “My sophomore year, more freshmen came in
than we expected and they ended up having to move some of them to other, larger colleges. In any case, we haven’t had to kick off people who were already told they were eligible to stay on campus.” According to Gregory Van Kirk, the Duncan College legislative vice president, Duncan had to kick around 40 students off campus this year. “In the past it’s been as low as 30 and as high as 50 depending on how many people want to live on campus and how many bump-exempt people there are,” Van Kirk, a sophomore, said. “We don’t usually have beds open in the fall but sometimes do in the spring because of people studying abroad, graduating early, etc.” For students at other colleges who have not been deemed eligible to live on campus, there may be hope yet. While other colleges still utilize bonus point systems to incentivize those moving off campus voluntarily, in 2015, McMurtry voted on a proposal to remove those housing point bonuses to encourage students to remain on campus. According to Van Kirk, if there are extra beds available after all the Duncan students who want to live on campus have been given a bed, then students from other colleges can ask to live there if they have been kicked from their college. “Our waitlist is a little on the longer side this year so I don’t know if that will be a possibility this year,” Van Kirk said. “But I know this year we have a couple of students who are not Duncaroos but are living in Duncan this year.” Whether students are rejoicing another year on campus — perhaps at the comfort of their own residential college, perhaps not — or frantically hoping to find a reasonable apartment off campus, hopefully this brief history of housing jack makes you a bit more grateful there aren’t negative six available beds at your college.
Staying social
The practicalities of party planning and social life off-campus Juan Saldana
Business Manager
Whether you’re “deep OC,” basically living in your college’s study rooms or you scored an on-campus significant other, social life when off campus requires more planning. The Thresher broke down the different components of the party life off campus, with help from students currently living the experience: Student Judicial Programs The Code of Student Conduct clearly states all policies of the code apply to students whether on or off campus. Additionally, any crime of which you are convicted or accused off campus can lead you to an SJP referral. This means a citation for driving under the influence or minor in possession can follow you back to campus. As always, the legal drinking age is 21. However, as the alcohol policy and Code of Student Conduct are separate policies, limits on amounts or types of alcohol do not apply off campus. Bridget Youngs, a Jones College junior living off campus, said one of the reasons she preferred living off campus was a greater liberty from judicial proceedings; however, she stressed that “SJP’s reach does not stop at the edge of campus.” Neighbors Much like in a college, your neighbors are still a collection of people that often didn’t have a say on who lives next door. Students’ experiences with neighbors differ, as expected. While Youngs has never lived in a place with noise complaints, another off-campus student, Ben HerndonMiller, said neighbors are truly hit-or-miss. “[Our neighbor] is prone to email our landlord if our TV is on too loud,” Herndon-Miller, a Will Rice College junior, said. Planning an OC party Unlike an on-campus party where spaces and resources are frequently shared, an off-campus party requires your own setup, coolers, speakers and more. However, one anonymous student touted the comparative financial benefits of hosting in their house. “People like going to offcampus parties because you can have liquor,” this student said. However, hosting parties off campus also requires the host to be liable for damages or legal violations that could occur at the party, in addition to always being subject to the code of student conduct. Police All off-campus students we interviewed shared the conclusion that neither Houston Police nor
RUPD are out to get you. “Unlike high school, cops around here have no interest in arresting anyone at a Rice house party,” Herndon-Miller said. Youngs agreed that legal consequences were not a concern to her. “In my experience, they’re not going to raid you and give you a [minor in possession citation],” Youngs said. However, the concern of legal ramifications still dissuades some from hosting off-campus parties. Kristen Smith, a Brown College junior living off campus, said both logistical difficulties and the fear of repercussions keeps her from hosting. “I don’t want HPD knocking on my door and arresting me for providing alcohol to minors or something,” Smith said. Some students said police have shown up to their parties. Youngs recommended having a member of the household over 21 answer the door respectfully in such situations. Young also said she would not let the police in, as is your legal right unless they have a search warrant. Another student suggested you “delegate the most sober member of your household” to go out and interact with the police. Off-campus parties Off-campus parties have a distinctive atmosphere and are typically populated by upperclassmen. One off-campus senior pointed to the lack of inexperienced drinkers at off-campus parties as one of the major draws and the reason they felt comfortable serving liquor. Youngs said she felt the flow of people is drastically different from on-campus events. “You don’t have people showing up to your party that you don’t want there,” she said. For others, the biggest draw of offcampus parties is the more relaxed atmosphere. “House parties are definitely superior to partying on campus: more space, more activities, more people,” Herndon-Miller said. Youngs agreed with the differences. “Unlike on campus, I’ve never played Rage Cage for two hours at an offcampus party,” she said. Transportation and logistics Getting on campus for a weekend night takes planning. Unlike on campus where you can haphazardly figure out your night, making plans for you and your mode of transportation takes extra effort. Youngs recommended finding a consistent place to sleep on campus — in a friend’s room or on a couch in your college common areas. Herndon-Miller recommend biking or Ubering to campus and leaving your car at home when you are not planning on spending the night on campus. While some students claimed they often bike home, biking while intoxicated can lead to a citation for public intoxication or injury.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHRISTINA TAN
BUDGETING FOR HOUSING AROUND HOUSTON HOUSTON AVERAGE RENT BY NEIGHBORHOOD
$2054 $1893 $1694 $1680 $1526 $1522 $936
Downtown Rice Midtown Montrose Medical Center West University Bellaire
HOUSTON AVERAGE RENT BY ROOM TYPE All beds
1 bed
2 beds
$1285 $1087 $1424
*data from RentJungle (2017)
INFOGRAPHIC BY CHRISTINA TAN
10 Housing Guide
the Rice Thresher
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
MAP OF HOUSTON NEIGHBORHOODS Our map marks many of the major stores, the METRORail red line, and Houston zip code boundaries, which are useful for online searching.
BASE MAP FROM MAPBOX
HOUSING CLASSIFIEDS Greenbriar Bend Apartments 1 Bedroom $900, 2 Bedroom - $1200. $400-$600 Deposit. Small Complex, only 31 units built around the pool. Three laundry facilities .75 wash or dry, Quiet & Peaceful located at 7000 Greenbriar at Bellefontaine and Greenbriar Dr in West University Place. Walking minutes from MetroRail or Quickline Bus. Walk/bike to Work/ school near Med Center. Call Lyla 713-660-9996
Clean, quiet furnished rooms in 4-room guest house in Rice Village. Male/Female. Individual rooms. Shared bathroom and kitchenette. Rent: $545.00, bills paid. Internet $15. Laundry available. Walk to Rice campus, TMC, restaurants and shops. Be prepared. Great opportunity to reserve room for summer months or/and school year 2018. International Students Welcome. Further details email: nutydreams2@yahoo.com. Text/call 713-703-6372