Is it better to rent a house or apt for school?
- Thread starter jinduy
- Start date
Originally posted by: Chaotic42
Nah, mine was Richard from Caroline in the City. He didn't like us much because we lived above him and called him Richard.
haha, that's awesome. I would have watched every episode, and then started quoting dialogue from the show.
KeyserSoze
If you've got a lot of friends who will live with you, rent a house. Usually its cheaper (I don't know about Irvine area). But of course you'll have to deal with a lot of roommates. Otherwise, apartments are fine I think.
I think the biggest factor you should put into your consideration is location. I would pay an extra $10-$20 a month to have a decent place that is walking distance to school.
Chaotic42
Lifer
- Jun 15, 2001
- 35,344
- 2,476
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Well, it depends on the size, of course. By that I mean cubic feet, not square feet. Houses with cathedral ceilings are more expensive to heat and cool. Another huge factor is window placement and leakage. A nice apartment should be cheaper to heat and cool than a house, but it's hard to say that one will always be higher/lower than the other.
dullard
Elite Member
- May 21, 2001
- 26,196
- 4,868
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It all depends on the apt and the house. But in general houses will cost a lot more in utilities. The reason is that most houses that are rented to college students are old and run down with lots of leaky windows and hidden cracks - meaning they cost a fortune to use the AC or heater. For example, I live in a 800 square foot apartment in the most expensive place to heat and cool (a corner apartment on the top floor). My highest electric bill ever (no gas in the apt) was $85 one January and I average $53. Of all my friends I know who rented houses (generally a bit over 1000 sq ft) their minimum electric bill in the summer/winter was $250.
That doesn't mean you won't find a good well insulated house, and that you won't find a horribly insulated apartment. But be careful and ask - at least in my state, the utility company is required by law to give an average cost for the apt/housing area.
One other major factor to consider is noise. In an apt you need to be quiet for the other apts in the building. In a house you can make a lot more noise without bothering neighbors. And the reverse is true - often in an apt when you really need to sleep some neighbor may be blaring a stereo - a house likely won't have that problem.
Do you want to do the extra housework? Think of mowing and watering the lawn, etc.
Do you live in a hot area where the shade of a garage will make your car trips so much more pleasant. And cheaper too since you'll use the car AC less and you can get a car insurance discount at many places for storing it indoors.
That doesn't mean you won't find a good well insulated house, and that you won't find a horribly insulated apartment. But be careful and ask - at least in my state, the utility company is required by law to give an average cost for the apt/housing area.
One other major factor to consider is noise. In an apt you need to be quiet for the other apts in the building. In a house you can make a lot more noise without bothering neighbors. And the reverse is true - often in an apt when you really need to sleep some neighbor may be blaring a stereo - a house likely won't have that problem.
Do you want to do the extra housework? Think of mowing and watering the lawn, etc.
Do you live in a hot area where the shade of a garage will make your car trips so much more pleasant. And cheaper too since you'll use the car AC less and you can get a car insurance discount at many places for storing it indoors.
alkemyst
No Lifer
- Feb 13, 2001
- 83,769
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You were accepted to a college right?
Anyways...utility bills are based on use of the utilities, certain things like a refridgerator isn't going to be different if it's in a house or an apartment. Where the difference is is square footage and how much you are cooling and heating. A 3000 sq ft apartment or house would have the same electric bill usually (insulation and some other variables come into play).
Usually for a house most students are relying on having 4-6 roommates as opposed to 1 for an apartment.
If you have the cash the house is the best bet, easy to have parties, easy to have privacy, etc....but that's assuming you are living on your own or with one roomie.
I have never had a roommate, I wouldn't want one either. When the time comes I move the right girl in and that's that.
Depends on your situation. Since you're a college student, I would guess you're going to have at least one roommate to help split the bills. If you're going to have only one roommate, I'd go with an apartment. Cheaper rent, utilities, etc. If multiple roommates, definitely get a house, since you should be able to swing the rent/utilities more easily that way.
Definitely get a house. Depending on where you live, if you get a 4 bedroom house to rent with 3 others, you could save a lot of money. The utility bill will be significantly higher but there is more space and you'll get your own room.
Here is how it was broken down for my situation. I rent a 2-story 4 bedroom house (2400 sqft) with 3 others and I pay $567 for my own room. If I was to get an apartment, I would be shelling out somewhere between 700-1000 dollars to get my own room -- not to mention, you get a LOT LESS space.
Here is how it was broken down for my situation. I rent a 2-story 4 bedroom house (2400 sqft) with 3 others and I pay $567 for my own room. If I was to get an apartment, I would be shelling out somewhere between 700-1000 dollars to get my own room -- not to mention, you get a LOT LESS space.
I did both in college. In an Apartment, I had one roomie and paid $225 and month. In a house, I had three roomies and paid $250 a month (rent). The Apt. was 4 miles from campus, the house was 1 mile. Utilities were a little higher and we had to pay for water, but some bills like cable and internet were the same for 2 as they were for 4, so a little was saved like that. So money doesn't have to be the real factor. And by the way, 3 sane roomies is better than 1 insane roomie.
basically the rent of a 3 bedroom apt (owned by evil firm) is about equivalent to the rent of a 3 bedroom house (owned by private owners) in the irvine area .... it's about 1700~1800 for an apt and about the same for a house. so with that said, i'm prolly gonna live with 3 other guys to help split the costs. i dont think we'll use AC at all...
good point... my roommates, at least two of them, are very lazy and don't like to do any maintenance... it sucks to be the cleanest person. i think apt is the best way to go. for some reason i still think that house utilities will cost more overall.
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