What month to look for rental houses in South Bend? (Elkhart: rentals, to buy)

[MovingToTheBend]

Hi all. I'm moving to South Bend in July or August to work at Notre Dame. I want to rent a house within a couple miles of campus, so I'm going to fly in for a few days to find a place. I want to buy my plane ticket soon, but I don't know when to schedule the trip for.

When should I visit if I want to get a lease that starts in July or August?

I'm afraid if I show up too early, there won't be anything listed yet and if I show up too late everything will be rented out. I know that rentals in college town are sometimes on very regular schedules where 80% of listings are for July/August rentals and are posted months before.

[DLK55]

I'm no expert on the topic but if you're starting in July or August and are going to live that close to campus, I would say June, July at the latest depending on your start date. Try and find out exactly or close to when you're starting work and begin looking a couple, few weeks before then. I'm sure you would want to be settled in beforehand.

Commencement is in late May and graduating students will be moving out. The second, third week of August is when orientation begins and there will probably be some students looking for housing themselves before then.

Again, I'm no expert that's just my take. Good luck and welcome to the area(Soon).

[rdwoelfe]

You would be best around early June and late July. Watch rental sites like Craigslist and the like you will start to see a spike in listings around mid May for rental starting in June and July. Not an expert, but I rented a few places in the area and that tended to be the best bet to find a decent rental.

[fortwaynebandit]

Originally Posted by rdwoelfe

You would be best around early June and late July. Watch rental sites like Craigslist and the like you will start to see a spike in listings around mid May for rental starting in June and July. Not an expert, but I rented a few places in the area and that tended to be the best bet to find a decent rental.

I agree.

Also, unless you are wedded to living in South Bend and if you have a vehicle, I would check out Mishawaka,Elkhart, Niles,MI and Dowagiac. They are all relatively close and the soft economy in the area (Notre Dame is the major employer in the area) means that there is abundant housing available after graduation.