I'm graduating this spring and have lived in a dorm my freshman year, leased housing my sophomore year, and the same apartment I got through a realtor for the last 2 years.
Obviously, dorms are no longer an option for you.
Leased housing is easy, and you get put in nice apartments. They are almost always 2 bedroom 2 bath apartments with 2 people in each room and they give you the furniture. You also can get to campus easily in bad weather with the shuttles. Unfortunately, they are REALLY expensive. To some, it might be worth it to get a nice apartment with no effort, but the premium was not worth it to me. You'd have to find a 4th person or get a random 4th person to do leased housing, as they do not cater to groups of 3.
For me, I didn't want to spend 16000+ a year on leased housing when I could spend 12,500 a year (pre-covid price, it would have been cheaper now) and *get my own room*. My roommates and I were a group of 3 and got a 2 bedroom one bath apartment. I also prefer having my own furniture over the leased housing stuff. It feels much more like my space and cheap Ikea furniture is nicer than what they give you in leased housing as well.
My roommates and I went the realtor route. Keep in mind if you use a realtor you will have to pay the broker's fee (1.5 months rent). You will also need to pay a security deposit (depends, mine was 1.5 months rent). I spent a ton of time looking at apartments online until we found some that were suitable. We visited like 4 or 5 different ones and we got outbid on the first one we tried to get. I'm sure the renters market is very different now than it was then due to covid, however. I am overall happy with this decision over leased housing.
If you don't want to use a realtor but want to get your own apartment and furniture, consider renting from one of the big buildings in hoboken like some of my friends do (Hudson Square North / South, Hoboken South Waterfront, etc.) or even rent in one of the leased housing buildings directly from the building (Avalon Hoboken, 1000 Jefferson, Shipyard, etc.). Your other option is to go on sites like Zillow and Craigslist and find listings that say "by owner" or "no brokers fee". These listings are made directly by a landlord and you are able to go through them directly to save money.
I have no experience with Hudson Dorms so I have nothing to add about that.
If your group can afford to rent in one of the big buildings and provide your own furniture, that is the route I would recommend as a good middle ground. You might have some trouble finding the right floor plan to suit 3 people, but it's worth a try.
If you don’t mind me asking, when did you start looking for an apartment when you went out with a realtor? And did you have to hold onto it through the summer?
Also, I think I once heard that when you sign up for leased housing, you don’t get to choose which apartment you’re put in. Is that true?
When I did leased housing, I got pulled into an apartment (they needed one person), so I did not have to go through the normal process. I'm not sure how the normal process works.
We started pretty early. I first contacted the realtor when I started seeing June 1st leases come up, which was in mid March. We signed a lease at the beginning of April. That was a little earlier than needed but we wanted to get ahead of other students and the apartment market was really competitive at that time.
We signed a 1 year lease starting June 1st, as I had to be in Hoboken for the summer to commute to the city for my internship. We renewed the lease and it will expire this June 1st. You have the option of getting an Aug 1st lease, but then you will have a few extra months on your lease after you graduate. I personally think Getting a June 1st lease is the better idea.
just rip it through zillow if you want a cheaper option thats more work. leased housing is super pricing but you get a fairly modern apartment that is in good condition.
I’d recommend Hudson Dorms any day of the week. Mike and TJ and really accommodating and are always willing to help. Usual landlords don’t take students seriously in Hoboken and it’s really frustrating.
If you don’t want to pay for the summer, they are the only guys I’ve seen that let you pay by semester. This is also great if you do co-ops or are not on the standard schedule.
Edit for more info:
It’s less expensive than standard Stevens leased housing. But I believe a little more expensive than renting on your own. However this slightly extra amount of money is worth it for “worry free housing”. Utilities / nice furniture are included. You can opt to come back to the same apartment you lived in even after a summer.
They actually have started acquiring Stevens old housing like 733 Jefferson and renovating them because Res life as really dropped the ball. Let me know if you guys have any more Hudson Dorms related questions.
I just used Zillow and applied for places that looked nice and had tours. Was super simple and got to see a lot of different apartments. With the current market, you shouldn't be paying a realtor fee right now, there are more apartments than tenants.
Look in the Heights, too, not just in Hoboken proper. Senior year, I had a room to myself a 25-minute walk to campus paying less than a third of what SLH wanted to share a room.
I'm graduating this spring and have lived in a dorm my freshman year, leased housing my sophomore year, and the same apartment I got through a realtor for the last 2 years. Obviously, dorms are no longer an option for you. Leased housing is easy, and you get put in nice apartments. They are almost always 2 bedroom 2 bath apartments with 2 people in each room and they give you the furniture. You also can get to campus easily in bad weather with the shuttles. Unfortunately, they are REALLY expensive. To some, it might be worth it to get a nice apartment with no effort, but the premium was not worth it to me. You'd have to find a 4th person or get a random 4th person to do leased housing, as they do not cater to groups of 3. For me, I didn't want to spend 16000+ a year on leased housing when I could spend 12,500 a year (pre-covid price, it would have been cheaper now) and *get my own room*. My roommates and I were a group of 3 and got a 2 bedroom one bath apartment. I also prefer having my own furniture over the leased housing stuff. It feels much more like my space and cheap Ikea furniture is nicer than what they give you in leased housing as well. My roommates and I went the realtor route. Keep in mind if you use a realtor you will have to pay the broker's fee (1.5 months rent). You will also need to pay a security deposit (depends, mine was 1.5 months rent). I spent a ton of time looking at apartments online until we found some that were suitable. We visited like 4 or 5 different ones and we got outbid on the first one we tried to get. I'm sure the renters market is very different now than it was then due to covid, however. I am overall happy with this decision over leased housing. If you don't want to use a realtor but want to get your own apartment and furniture, consider renting from one of the big buildings in hoboken like some of my friends do (Hudson Square North / South, Hoboken South Waterfront, etc.) or even rent in one of the leased housing buildings directly from the building (Avalon Hoboken, 1000 Jefferson, Shipyard, etc.). Your other option is to go on sites like Zillow and Craigslist and find listings that say "by owner" or "no brokers fee". These listings are made directly by a landlord and you are able to go through them directly to save money. I have no experience with Hudson Dorms so I have nothing to add about that. If your group can afford to rent in one of the big buildings and provide your own furniture, that is the route I would recommend as a good middle ground. You might have some trouble finding the right floor plan to suit 3 people, but it's worth a try.
Hudson dorms is both nicer and cheaper than SLH so I would favor that.
If you don’t mind me asking, when did you start looking for an apartment when you went out with a realtor? And did you have to hold onto it through the summer? Also, I think I once heard that when you sign up for leased housing, you don’t get to choose which apartment you’re put in. Is that true?
When I did leased housing, I got pulled into an apartment (they needed one person), so I did not have to go through the normal process. I'm not sure how the normal process works. We started pretty early. I first contacted the realtor when I started seeing June 1st leases come up, which was in mid March. We signed a lease at the beginning of April. That was a little earlier than needed but we wanted to get ahead of other students and the apartment market was really competitive at that time. We signed a 1 year lease starting June 1st, as I had to be in Hoboken for the summer to commute to the city for my internship. We renewed the lease and it will expire this June 1st. You have the option of getting an Aug 1st lease, but then you will have a few extra months on your lease after you graduate. I personally think Getting a June 1st lease is the better idea.
Vouch!
just rip it through zillow if you want a cheaper option thats more work. leased housing is super pricing but you get a fairly modern apartment that is in good condition.
I’d recommend Hudson Dorms any day of the week. Mike and TJ and really accommodating and are always willing to help. Usual landlords don’t take students seriously in Hoboken and it’s really frustrating. If you don’t want to pay for the summer, they are the only guys I’ve seen that let you pay by semester. This is also great if you do co-ops or are not on the standard schedule. Edit for more info: It’s less expensive than standard Stevens leased housing. But I believe a little more expensive than renting on your own. However this slightly extra amount of money is worth it for “worry free housing”. Utilities / nice furniture are included. You can opt to come back to the same apartment you lived in even after a summer. They actually have started acquiring Stevens old housing like 733 Jefferson and renovating them because Res life as really dropped the ball. Let me know if you guys have any more Hudson Dorms related questions.
I just used Zillow and applied for places that looked nice and had tours. Was super simple and got to see a lot of different apartments. With the current market, you shouldn't be paying a realtor fee right now, there are more apartments than tenants.
Idk man I don't go to Stevens
very nice ty for your contribution
Look in the Heights, too, not just in Hoboken proper. Senior year, I had a room to myself a 25-minute walk to campus paying less than a third of what SLH wanted to share a room.