Any uni students ever had problems sorting out housing?

[V TheSystem V]

I'm in my 2nd year of university, and due to a housemate dropping out of university, we have been forced to find a property for next year. Our aim is to pair up with friends from another house to rent a house together for our 3rd year. However, 2 months after the initial discussion about the house, we haven't gotten anywhere with finding a place.

This is due to 2 of the other house being so indecisive about what they wanted to do that we've only now got an indication of how many of us there will be, and even now one of them still isn't decided.

This has annoyed a lot of us, and I was told to book viewings anyway. However, last week, I was told that we should try and factor in another person (a friend of a friend's partner) as they can't find anywhere to live. Today, I booked 3 viewings, and was then told by one of our group that the houses I have booked may be too big, despite the fact that I consulted them after finding out how many there may be living there. I cited the extra person we may have, which pissed them off, as we apparently hadn't talked to them about it when I swear that we had.

This has made me feel like I have been controlling the situation, when all I wanted to do was find a place for me and my friends to live next year, with the indecisiveness of some of the people who were meant to live with us impeding the process of renting a property.

All I want to know, Escapists, is whether I did the right thing in booking viewings for houses that will either be too big or give the indecisive person in our group no choice but to not live with us. I feel awful about the whole thing at the moment, as I was just trying to get us all a place for the next academic year, and in the process have alienated my future housemates.

 

[Colour Scientist]

So, they're pissed off even though you're the only person doing any work to organise viewings?

You just want the certainty of having somewhere to live and you're only booking viewings so it's not like you're committing them to anything.
If they have a problem with the houses you're bringing them to see, why don't they get off of their arses to find ones they like to show you?

I don't know, do you think you might be coming across as pushy or acting in such a way that might cause them to react negatively towards you?


Also, is this for the academic year beginning in September?
Aren't you looking very early or is that standard where you live?

 

[Galletea]

When I was having similar difficulties, I said 'fuck it' and I booked into private halls of residence, which was fine for me, but may not be for you.

You might need to take charge properly here, get everyone together who is definitely going to be living in this place, because indecisive idiots can really mess things up, and should be cut loose. Then make some clear decisions about how much rent is reasonable and where you might look. Start it afresh. If you've been left to do all the legwork then make sure you act like you're in charge and get your future housemates together regularly to go over possible options, pros and cons of the properties you've seen, any realizations you may have had. People will be lazy about it and be all too ready to kick off it they don't like what you do, so make sure you keep everyone involved.

Also, is this for the academic year beginning in September?
Aren't you looking very early or is that standard where you live?

It was pretty normal when I was at uni. You're competing for the best and most affordable houses against thousands of students, also, later in the year it's harder to balance house hunting with uni work, so getting it sorted early means more time for studies/drinking.

 

[V TheSystem V]

I would go back into halls of residence, but some of the people I lived with last year were so unbearable to live with that I don't even want to consider that as an option.

February is very late to be looking at housing where I live. Last year we'd booked viewings in November, and had signed the contracts by mid-January. At this rate, it will be March by the time we've done all this. I looked for the houses because I'd rather do that than leave it to someone else so I know it gets done.

I think I came across as pushy in a sense, but I think bringing up the unknown party who I had taken into consideration when looking at houses pissed them off. One of them was surprised about this, the other had said that they hadn't given their thoughts on it. I booked viewings for places that will be big enough for those who are gonna live there, but will have enough room if someone drops out and so the other person can live in their place. That was what pissed them off, and then made me feel controlling.

May have repeated myself a bit there, apologies for if I have.

 

[Chemical Alia]

I sublet from a girl when I was in undergrad once. She had just graduated and was going to move out two weeks after the start of the semester and had started a new job, but she never left. I couldn't use the living room because she had made it her bedroom, and there was another girl living in the other bedroom as well (three people, two bedrooms).

She started mentioning stuff about next semester, implying that she had no plans on moving out by then, and I had agreed to stay for two semesters. I was afraid to make her mad because the lease was in her name and she could legally kick me out at any time. I think I ended up getting a legal letter written up and presented it to her, asking for my deposit back and said I wasn't staying because she never moved out. At first, she threatened to counter-sue me somehow, but eventually she left me my $500 and I learned to just commute an hour both ways to school for less hassle in the future.

 

[kurupt87]

They sound like a bunch of twerps. One thing though, you do not want to live with a couple.

 

[Mr. Charles]

I've had so many issues when it comes to large groups and shared acomodation - honeslty find like two people you get along with and get something small - more people means more problems

 

[Zombie_Fish]

Sit them all down for a meeting and refuse to let them leave until they have decided who is and isn't living with you next year. You can't start looking for houses until you know how many people you are living with, that's final. Once you have the people who are in, I'd recommend setting up something like a Facebook group to communicate privately between each other.

I've been pretty lucky in that everyone in my house is in the same year and doing the same length of course, but when we were first forming as a group there were some questions. First, we were a group of four (I think?) and then one guy dropped out; then we were a group of eight but one person's parents had issues with their daughter living with more men than women; and then we were potentially a group of six but we just said no to the sixth guy.

 

[V TheSystem V]

Sat down with them last night. Took a while, but we know how many are living with us now, and the unknown party who might be living with us was an issue that hasn't quite been sorted, but from what we gather they don't really mind them living with us.

I apologised to them about being controlling, but they said that it was good that someone had done something to try and help, rather than stay stuck in the rut we have been in since December. Got 4 viewings over the next 5 days, and one we have for tomorrow looks really good, so fingers crossed!

 

[V TheSystem V]

Sit them all down for a meeting and refuse to let them leave until they have decided who is and isn't living with you next year. You can't start looking for houses until you know how many people you are living with, that's final. Once you have the people who are in, I'd recommend setting up something like a Facebook group to communicate privately between each other.

We did have a Facebook group, but it devolved into random comments and a lot of people getting pissed off as some of them avoided the questions with random distracting things like 'I WANT TAKEAWAY' and stuff. It was like that when sorting it out in person, causing my housemate to sit down and be silent so as to not shout at them.

 

[Stu35]

One thing though, you do not want to live with a couple.

This.

Especially a fucking Uni-student couple.

Now, before everybody comes at me with their lovely anecdotal stories about how they met their sweetheart in 2nd year and now they've been married for 99 years and look forward to their "unobtanium anniversary" next year. Let's be honest here: 18-21 year olds in University do NOT, by and large, end up finishing the year with the same person they started the year.

They're also quite hormonal, immature, and do not deal well with the crippling emotional trauma of losing their beloved of the last 7 months.

This leads to problems with everybody who has to live with them.


Yes. This is a quasi-anecdotal, pretty stereotypical, very tongue-in-cheek post. The message remains the same though: Living with couples is shit.

Even if they don't implode around christmas time, they're still a pain in the fucking arse to live with (to the point you'll be dropping your one-night-stands knickers into the lads laundry just to get them to fucking implode so you don't have to put up with their shit anymore).

 

[Comocat]

If organizing people to find a house is this hard, imagine how rough it is going to be trying to get them to mow the grass, clean the bathroom, pay rent on time, or any other of the thousands of things that need doing to make a place livable. Sounds to me like you need to jump ship and find some other people to live with.