For many students, senior year is a time to get away from dorm life and transition into something more closely resembling the real world by living in one's own house, dealing with utilities and having a kitchen and private bathrooms. But for those planning on living off campus next year who have not already secured a place to live, it may already be too late.
Prime off-campus real estate leases are usually signed at least a year in advance, according to Jolin Salazar-Kish, who manages several properties that house 189 Dartmouth students and staff. Many students who live off campus their sophomore summer will sign leases to rent the same apartments for senior year before junior fall even starts.
"That's been a trend with me for the past five years," Salazar-Kish said.
Prices for off-campus houses are partially based on proximity to campus, with nearby apartments renting at $750 a month and more distant apartments renting at $650 a month, Salazar-Kish said. The price for living at a senior apartment at Maxwell or Channing Cox, both Dartmouth owned, is $2,325 per term, according to the Office of Residential Life.
Unlike the price of on-campus housing, the $750 one might pay for an off-campus house is not all-inclusive, as the prices of utilities are not factored into the cost.
"A few owners include heat and almost none include electricity," Salazar-Kish said. "But almost all include high-speed internet, furniture, a washer and dryer and a refrigerator."
When Frances Battin '07 was a senior, she and six other girls shared two West Wheelock Street apartments, which they reserved immediately after their sophomore summer. She paid $750 a month, as opposed to the $630 she would have paid if she lived on-campus.
"They tell you you can get internet, but it rarely works," Battin said. "They took the whole security deposit even though we left it clean. Plus, there are lots of windows, and they're not insulated, so winter utilities are so expensive."
Tenants lack the leverage to hold landlords accountable because there is so much competition for off-campus housing, according to Battin.
"There are so many people looking for housing that if you demand more, you don't live there," Battin said.
Salazar-Kish has her tenants purchase the fuel they use directly from her rather than from the electric company to reduce the costs of utilities.
"I go out of my way to make sure places are convenient," Salazar-Kish said.
Even with all the competition for prime off-campus housing, including places such as those on West Street or West Wheelock Street, owners only raise their prices approximately $30 every year.
"Owners rent to keep the property, not to make a huge profit," Salazar-Kish said. "If you can hang on to the property, even if you're just treading water, it's worth it."
The main profit stems from the increasing values of Hanover property, according to Salazar-Kish.
Besides students' signing leases earlier, another trend is the changing composition of the tenants. Salazar-Kish said that while undergraduates used to account for about 50 percent of tenants, they now represent less than 25 percent, with most others being graduate students. Salazar-Kish attributed this change to the College's building so much new housing.
Salazar-Kish said she started her company because she found that landlords were not willing to rent to students when she was a student herself.
"It's the few people that leave the place like Animal House that discourage student rentals," Salazar-Kish said, "but it's not a majority."