Finding a new house with 2 friends

[GirLScouTs]

So we are 3 college kids in need of a house for next year... We're looking for 3bed/2bath at $1300 area. I think location is critical becasue we toke a lot and we probably need chill neighbors... The lease is important because we want to make sure they include garbage/water... can anyone else think something that i'm not seeing??

[Jizzle Blizzle420]

washer, dryer, fridge, stuff like that. unless you already have your own

[home.grower]

will you get a grow on too, not all students have to be poor!!

[Frivolous248]

Free utilities? Like...water. Free water = free ice.

[officerleeroy]

$1300 is expensive. Our 3 bed/2 bath duplex is only $895/month split between me and 2 other guys, that includes water/garbage. But I'm in Texas so it could be different in other states...

[napolitana869]

$1300 would get you a nice 3 bedroom place in baltimore. Make sure you check out the market in your area so you're not over paying for something.
Make sure they pay for repairs (for plumbing and things like that)
is there a washer/dryer or at least the hook ups if you want to buy your own?
what do you have to do in case you want to get out of your lease

[JaggedEdge]

In my experience, renting houses while in college leads to bad situations down the road.

You have a greater chance of having a landlord that won't fix shit.

One of your friends will move out and the two left will have to rush to find a new roommate.

As for garbage and water, you don't need them to include it. You may find a cheaper place that doesn't include it. Water and sanitation usually isn't a very big bill, at leas not in my area.

Are you and incoming freshmen? If so rooming with good friends is also a big mistake. You don't think you will ever hate them, but some people turn out to be very hard to live with...

Not trying to be negative, but that is my own experiences and what I have seen from others.

As for what you want. I imagine appliances is important since y'all likely don't have any of your own.

On top of that just read the lease carefully and tell your roommates they better have money to afford it...

Three people splitting rent and bills means extra people who may not have money when it comes time to pay those bills and/or rent.

[officerleeroy]

^^^Very good points...

We've gone through 3 different roommates in the past 3 months and it's starting to get old. Especially when the new guy takes forever to buy his part of the groceries and eats all of our shit.

I would never get a place with one of my close friends...the guy I live with now I met through seeing them at parties every now and then and haven't had any problems living with.

[Skink]

So we are 3 college kids in need of a house for next year... We're looking for 3bed/2bath at $1300 area. I think location is critical becasue we toke a lot and we probably need chill neighbors... The lease is important because we want to make sure they include garbage/water... can anyone else think something that i'm not seeing??

Just curious why you have Real estate agent as your occupation in your profile...

Heat included??? what energy source is used for heat and hot water??? if electric and you pay for electric... college towns usually have the typical houses that are rented to college kids,,,the landlord knows there is a probability of destruction and prices accordingly and also neglects repair until the next rental time comes around... try not to pay more than a month for security,,,treat the house as if it was your own or say good bye to the security... search for evidence of cockroaches,,,don't wanna be living with them... washer and dryer,,,laundry cost a lot in a Laundromat...

[AR15]

^^^Very good points...

We've gone through 3 different roommates in the past 3 months and it's starting to get old. Especially when the new guy takes forever to buy his part of the groceries and eats all of our shit.

I would never get a place with one of my close friends...the guy I live with now I met through seeing them at parties every now and then and haven't had any problems living with.

I found in my experience that you're much better buying your own groceries. All you have to do is just respect your roommates by not eating their food and just worry about your own. Everyone has different tastes, so this makes it much easier. Also some people (like myself) like to shop more frequently and buy less while others like to shop less frequently and buy more. And then there's always the medium.

This makes it a lot easier to plan out your meals and what not. Sometimes you have no food or no money and you do eat your roommates food (sometimes for convenience). In that case, we'd just tell each other and get them back as soon as we could.



As for renting a house, are you sure you want a house and not an apartment? Houses usually tend to lead more often to parties, which lead to shit broken, pissed off landlords, pissed off neighbors, lots of clean up, or any combination of these. Because you would have a house, you might be pressured into being the one among your friends who has the party.

Like said earlier, look around at other houses in the area and see the price range, that will help you gauge the price of the one you're interested in. Also when looking, do a little driving around. The more schools you see around, the more likely they're going to be families in the neighborhood, the more likely the neighborhood won't want college kids moving in a house.

I think you'll be fine with smoking no matter where you are. Just don't do it in plain view of the neighbors/public and make sure you close the windows or doors if you're that paranoid.

If you're going to throw a party, it really makes a difference to talk to the neighbors first. Let them know by saying you're going to have some people over. Tell them if it gets too loud or if there are any problems, you would appreciate it if they would call you and you'll take care of it. Trust me, neighbors like this as they see you as responsible, and they appreciate you having respect for them. This will probably save you a visit from the cops in the middle of the party.

And last thing, when renting a house, take a look at the size of the bedrooms. It doesn't really matter if one of the three rooms is a master bedroom, that's to be expected, but it's gonna suck if two are regular or master room size while someone gets shafted with a utility closet size room. If that even happens to be the case, that person should pay a significant amount less of the rent.

Just some things to look out for, good luck.