Students share their off-campus experiences

This is the third in a four-part series about how students affect various aspects of Boston’s economy.

Boston University’s infamous Guest Policy has motivated many students to move off campus and enjoy a greater degree of independence. But finding affordable housing can be a challenge for the thousands of college students in Boston who compete for a limited number of apartments, and according to students and off-campus housing services personnel, the task requires intensive research and patience.

Because of the steep cost of housing, in a September report released by the Boston Foundation and the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association, Boston was ranked the most expensive city in the country.

Justin Yates, a College of Communication sophomore, said that because of high demand for housing in Brookline, he and his roommates became involved in a bidding war to get an apartment in the area. In the end, Yates and his roommates ended up bidding $200 a month more to beat the other tenants. He attributed his success in winning the apartment to treating the process like a “sales pitch.”

“You’re trying to win them over,” he said. “Presentation is 90 percent of it. You have to dress nice, act nice and assure them that you’re responsible.”

Yates was successful, in part, because of his professional approach, he said. Because of previous property damage issues from fraternities, Yates said his current landlord prefers not to rent to male tenants. In order to “win him over,” Yates said he dressed nicely, accentuated his involvement in theater and told the landlord that he would be living with female roommates. His love of baseball and football, he added, were left out of the picture.

“I just looked the part [of a model tenant] and let him believe what he would,” Yates said.

Christy Letizia, off-campus coordinator for Emerson College Housing Student Services, agreed that presentation is essential when meeting with a landlord.

“I highly recommend treating the meeting like an interview, since the decision [about who gets an apartment] is ultimately up to the landlord,” she said.

Looking for cheap housing is a challenge in Boston realty, according to Letizia.

City Councilors considered implementing a system of rent stabilization last year, but the order did not pass.

“Lowering housing prices would be helpful to students,” Letizia said. “However, [rent control] probably wouldn’t make much of a difference, since it would deal more with senior citizens and low-income housing.”

Letizia estimated that students pay between $600 and $800 a month per person for rent. To diminish the cost of living off campus, students often share bedrooms, she said.

Laurie Debois, a spokeswoman for the Office of Off-Campus Service at the BU Medical Campus, said landlords generally approve of housing additional tenants, a provision that is often specified in the lease.

Still, Debois warned, untrustworthy realtors and landlords occasionally take advantage of naïve students who are unaware of their rights.

City Councilor-At-Large Stephen Murphy told The Daily Free Press in October that he is concerned with the overwhelming number of students in Boston who need low-priced housing every year.

“There are a lot of BC students that are living in the Brighton-Allston area,” Murphy said. “A bunch of affordable housing is eaten up by so many kids.”

Larry Fisch, owner of Boston’s Preferred Properties, said 60 percent of his business was with college students and that he was satisfied with the majority of his experiences dealing with student tenants. He emphasized that the few problems landlords have had with students get more attention than the 95 percent of students that are “fantastic.”

“I think that students who are properly motivated are good tenants,” Fisch said. “Tenants that live [in the rented property] treat it like it’s their home.”

Some students admitted to dealing with realtors who did not send contracts in time, after signing and paying for it, and ended up losing the apartment.

Steve Magnusson, a 2005 College of Arts and Sciences graduate, said he encountered realtors who are not always honest with student renters.

“Most realtors are paid on commission,” he said, “and thus, will tell you whatever they think will make you want [their housing], true or not.”

Magnusson added that to avoid being ripped off, he was patient when looking for off-campus apartments, but also realized that tenants will inevitably have to adhere to regulations set by the landlord.

“Right now, I have a rule that no more than 10 visitors can be in my apartment at any time,” he said.

According to CAS junior Nate Smith, most leases he has seen ban kegs, but in his experience, landlords cannot control parties hosted by their tenants.

“They’re not going to miss a month’s rent and evict you just because you had a keg,” he said.

Since the City of Boston Licensing Board passed a law mandating liquor storeowners to provide names and addresses of all keg purchasers to the Boston Police Department on Oct. 27, off-campus students have complained of excessive harassment from police.

Matt Edelstein, a CAS sophomore and resident of Gardner Street, said he has “noticed their presence on a nightly basis.”

Despite the increased police presence, Yates said that the independence of living off campus still outweighs BU’s strict security. “I felt like I was at a summer camp watching over my every move,” he said.