Student Apartment Hunting in Peoria, Illinois

In spring, students look eagerly toward the end of the school year and the beginning of that wasteland of inactivity and air conditioning called summer. And students can easily enjoy that air conditioning once they have found a place to live for the next school year. Sometimes, however, some students were either too busy or too lazy to look for apartments in the fall when most leases are signed. So spring can also be a frenzied search for the perfect (or acceptable) student dwelling.�¯�¿�½

About 6,000 students attend Bradley University in Peoria, and this number, added to that of students attending Illinois Central College and other community colleges, is fairly large, demonstrating that many people will probably be looking for cheap student housing. A great starting point for finding apartments and houses for rent is college newspapers. Most have a classified section, where landlords list their descriptions and amenities and wait anxiously by the telephone for a needy student to take the bait. Ads that say they have more than one apartment for rent from the same landlord are key; checking out several apartments from one person will cut down on the search time.�¯�¿�½

Local newspapers also contain apartment listings, but these newspapers cater toward the entire community. Students may have trouble finding apartments that are close enough to campus.�¯�¿�½

Some rental companies will include utilities with rent. An example in a classified ad would be, “Rent $450 a month, heat included.” This usually works out to be a great deal. In going down this route, however, it would be wise to rent from places that include both heat and water, or at least heat. Water is pretty cheap; heat, on the other hand, is not. Students will realize this fact when they get their gas and electricity bills for the months of November through March and the total is over $400. That’s a lot to pay for one utility, especially for a student living alone.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½

Another area to consider is that of the number of tenants. This is very important for students looking to rent a house. In Peoria, most houses aren’t zoned for four people. Be wary of companies that say they have a plethora of 4-bedroom houses. Sure, four students can live there, but they would be doing so illegally. To cover their behinds, rental companies will only allow three prospective lessees to sign the lease, so the fourth roommate will probably get the boot if Johnny Law finds out. However, college newspapers abound with classifieds advertising five and six-person houses, so those interested in renting a house should find a few more roommates before signing a lease.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½

Location is important, and students should choose locations based on their personalities. If a student is reserved, enjoys a quiet atmosphere and refrains from constant partying, he or she probably wouldn’t want to live across the street from a frat house. It would be annoying, noisy, and probably messy, especially after the weekend. Students who dig that sort of lifestyle, however, could cozy up right next door so that the nearest party would always be a beer bong’s length away.Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½

Before students put ink to paper and find themselves suffering through the school year because of an unfair lease, they should really talk to the people who currently live in the apartment or house they’re considering. Doing so will let prospective lessees know how the landlord might treat them, whether or not he or she will respond to their complaints or if the location is crawling with mice and roaches. This is probably the smartest thing a student could do concerning apartment hunting.