Guide to Off-Campus Housing in Denver

Within Denver itself are several well-known institutions of higher education which attract students from around the country.�¯�¿�½ They include two campuses of the University of Colorado system (one of them being the medical school/health sciences campus), as well as the alma mater of the current Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, the University of Denver.

Nearby, in Boulder, is the main campus of the University of Colorado, with its student body numbering in the thousands.

A number of regional and local 4-year institutions, as well as community colleges, are located in and around the Denver metropolitan area.�¯�¿�½ Consequently, there is an appreciable demand for off-campus housing for college and university students

Students searching for housing should take advantage of craigslistÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ (www.craigslist.org) to find a suitable place to stay.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Denver has its own pages on craigslist.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Not only can students search housing ads on that site, they can place their own ads–free of charge–on the site, indicating their particularÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ housing preferences (i.e. apartment or house, location, amount of rent, etc.).

Currently, the housing market in the Denver area is in a slump.�¯�¿�½ For students, this presents golden opportunities, especially when it comes to renting a house.�¯�¿�½�¯�¿�½ Ambitious students can canvass areas that appeal to them, taking note of houses with for sale signs in front of them.�¯�¿�½ Then, they should contact the owner(s) of a property, proposing either to rent the house, or to lease it with and option to buy it.

Desperate owners, who need funds to cover mortgage payments (especially on investment properties they’re holding), just may be open to such a proposal.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ In short, students have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

In the case of a straight rental, students could enjoy having the use of a nice-looking home, in a location they like, with all the amenities (e.g. backyard) available to occupants of a single-family dwelling (or condo).Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Since there areÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ usually several bedrooms in a home, a group of students who are comfortable with easy other and would be able to share a house as roommates, could sign a lease with the property’s owner for the duration of an academic year.

If a forward-looking student is thinking about not only having a nice place to stay, but also making some money at the same time, she or he could make a deal with a property’s owner to rent the place with an option to buy itÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ atÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ a later date.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Realizing that the real estate market in the Denver area will eventually rebound, a student could lock in a price (to buy a property at a later date) considerably below market price.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½

At the same time, a portion of the rent paid each month would (thanks to the option to buy agreement) be going toward the purchase price.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ And by having a group of roommates of the student’s choosing, the student benefits again becauseÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ part of the rent she or he collects from the roommates to make the total rent payment to the property owner would actually end up going toward the purchase price.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ In short, the student is getting welcome financial help in coming up with the amount ultimately needed to purchase the property.

When it comes time to exercise the option to buy, and market values have indeed increased, the student can first follow through and buy the property and then sell it, realizing a tidy profit, thanks to the appreciation in the property’s market value.

If, however, students aren’t that foresighted, they can simply search for rental ads in the local papers–The Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Post–as well as on craigslist.

Finally, word of mouth remains a tried-and-true method for locating a place to stay.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Not only should students talk with professors and administrative staff members about vacancies they may be aware of, they should talk with people in local communities.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Churches, for example, are a prime source of information.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Most of them have bulletin boards, for example.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Not only should students put up notices in such places indicating they’re looking for a place to rent, they should also stop by when churches hold coffee hours (or other such informal gatherings) following either Sunday morning services or midweek prayer meetings or Bible study.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Letting people size them up in person just might do the trick when it comes to persuading someone to rent to them (or to refer them to someone who does have a rental property available).

The Denver metro area has abundant off-campus housing possibilities available for students. Students should be creative in search for the place they want to occupy as they earn their degrees.