How Do Most Student Renters Approach the Apartment Searching Process?

By Danielle Wirsansky on April 15, 2017

Students are always on the hunt for the best bargain, whether that be for food, books, or even living. Students encounter many financial burdens that cause them to search out the best deals. They especially look for quality, low price housing because it is such a high priced item within their budget — it is often the most expensive bill a student has to pay per month.

So how do most student renters approach the apartment searching process? Read on to learn about some of the sources many students use.

pexels.com

Facebook groups

Facebook is the most utilized social media platform being used on the web today. Online sales are also on the rise — a big part of this is Facebook groups created solely for buying and selling! You can connect with people who are specifically looking to buy something, which is great when you are looking to sell something.

There are many different groups to join, divided either by area and region or by the particular kind of item you want to sell. While there are plenty of groups to join, you want to be careful that you join one that will actually have buyers (or in this case renters) for your item (the property). You want to be sure that you have not joined a group that only allows for the sale of clothing and shoes or that you are not in a group specifically for people located in the state of Florida when you are in New York; you will not sell anything that way!

Students like the availability of being able to shop on Facebook and being able to interact directly with people, either online or face-to-face to make their purchases. You can put all the details for your rental property as well as photos that really will show it off to advantage. There are also often pages specifically associated with universities, separated by class or year, which you can join to target students directly into renting your property.

Craigslist

Another great avenue to target students through is Craigslist. This platform has gotten an out-there kind of reputation in recent years, but students still use it. It is a convenient place for them to search out the kind of property they are trying to rent in the correct area or region in which they want to live. They can fill out their search parameters to their exact specifications. Your property can easily show up and the more information and the better quality of it as well as the photos will make it really attractive to viewers.

Many people posting on Craigslist do not put that much detail or care into their ads so the more care that you put into it, the more likely you are to get a hit off your ad. Be sure to fill out all the information windows so that your property shows up under appropriate search parameters and does not get overlooked.

pexels.com

Apartment search websites

There are many apartment search websites but they are a huge resource for students who use these sites frequently. It is an easy and convenient platform for them to comb through that shows them (what they consider to be) all their options all at once. The more of these websites that you have your property advertised on, the more likely you are to rent out your property. You can look up statistics to see which ones are more popular in your area and focus first on those sites but they are certainly important to get listed on.

On-campus fairs

There is a very famous phrase that says, ‘If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.’ So if you cannot get the students to come to you, then you must go to them! A great way to access students is by checking on any on-campus housing fairs that a university offers. Students are likely to attend when they are looking for housing because it is a great way to check out many different rental properties all at once.

First-year students may not have cars or have a great way to get off campus to check out housing. It is also very reassuring for students to know that the university approves of you and your properties and has allowed you to be a part of the fair as a property owner. They also get to meet with their potential landlords, property managers, and lease consultants that they would be working with if they moved to the property. Meeting in person makes the whole situation seem less shady and uncertain. Students can feel confident in the choices they make and confident in the property they will live in and the staff they will work with.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Student Housing News Monthly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format