Sylvia Said:

Renting a house as a graduate student (PhD); What is it like?

We Answered:

If you're looking for a place to share, you have 4 options:

1) Look for someone who is also looking for a house, and sign a lease with them, so you'd both be liable on the lease. Some landlords will agree to have each housemate have their own lease. That way, if one person breaks the lease or fails to pay rent, then the other person is not liable.

2) Find a place you like, then find a roommate, or multiple roommates, to fill the other rooms. The downside is that ultimately you are responsible for the rent and any damage the other tenants do. There are resources online for drafting leases, but they're specific to every state. Just search for "lease" or "rental agreement" and your state. Make sure your landlord is OK with you renting out rooms (some aren't, and will want the roommates to join you on your lease).

3) Look for someone else who's looking for roommates. Check out the "room/shares" section of craigslist.com to see what's available.

4) Live by yourself! Perhaps you can find a 1-bedroom apartment or a studio within your means so you don't have to worry about roommates.

To protect yourself, the best thing you can do is to have all roommates on the lease, so you don't end up having to foot the bill if they bail on you or damage the property. On the other hand, this means that you can't kick them out if you don't get along, since they'll have just as much of a right to live there as you do. It's definitely possible to split the lease; just decide on rent that's fair. If it's 4/3 you could still have 4 roommates, just 2 of them would share a bathroom (and pay less rent than the other 2).

Lillie Said:

Rent student housing without a co-signer?

We Answered:

That was very irresponsible of you to make such a big commitment with nothing to back it up. Even if you could, it would be just plain dumb. Do you think for one second they will even fix your air conditioning knowing you are paid in advance? You might consider offering a larger refundable security deposit, but stop spending money you don't have. This shows that you are a bad risk.

Darren Said:

i want to buy my student house to rent out.....?

We Answered:

of course . if it looks profitable and you have a real good business plan the better your chances . but I think that you will have better luck with a venture capitalist or the S.B.A. if thats not working for you then try a hard money lender .

Billie Said:

student houses?

We Answered:

Newpaper or craigslist are your best bets.