Apartment or house rental near University? (Tucson: rentals, hotel, townhouse)

[nambis]

I have a job at the University of Arizona so we will be moving to Tucson this summer. I start in September so we will be looking for a rental beginning September 1. We are looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom place within walking distance to the University (I don't mind walking a good 20-30 minutes each way though). Covered, off-street parking would be awesome too.

Can anyone tell me what areas I should focus my search on, and what kind of prices we can expect to pay? We are pretty simple folks and don't need anything fancy. Thanks!

EDIT: I read on this forum that the MLS website lists rentals too. Is that true? I tried looking on there, however I had to select the area I wanted and I'm not sure what areas are within walking distance. Can anyone tell me what area the University is in LOL???

[coatimundi]

Look east and north of the university. If you go north, I would stay north of Grant.
The price depends on the dwelling type. A 2br apartment within about 2 miles of the university tends to be around $650 or $700. A 2br townhouse would be $700 to $800. A house (usually they're 3br and higher) would be closer to $1000.
UA is a big biking university and Tucson is a big biking town. It would be best to keep your search area to biking distance (~5 miles) and try to be near a bus line for the rainy or sick days (or just suck it up and pay the $8 for parking). UA offers discounted annual bus passes for staff.

For the MLS search, try searching by zip code. The neighborhood meta data is somewhat inconsistent, particularly since there's quite a bit of discrepancy in neighborhood definitions in Tucson. Start with 85719 and 85716, which is bounded by 1st Ave, Alvernon, 22nd, and River Road.
Also check out Craig's List's apartment listing for Tucson. It's one of the best resources to use for rental searches if you can't be in town to look for places.

You may also want to look into the Downtown area. If you'll be staying for a few years, there will soon be a light rail ("modern streetcar") running between Downtown and UA, but it's not a bad bike ride as it stands now, and there are buses (including a free UA-run shuttle). Obviously, like any city's Downtown areas, there are rough-around-the-edges issues but, if you enjoy the urban lifestyle, that's where you should look.

Keep in mind also (sorry for the book) that where, on campus, you'll be working will make a big difference, as it's a fairly large campus and takes almost a half hour to walk across at points. If you want a back up parking pass, then working in the middle of the campus is much more difficult than working on its fringes, as the most popular lots and garages are in the middle.

Hope that helps.

[nambis]

^^wow, that was a GREAT post - thanks a ton!!!

I'll be working in the SW corner of campus, but yea I guess I can bike it so it doesn't matter too much

[nambis]

hi,

I am moving to Tucson from out of state and am looking for housing that is biking distance from U of A. Can anyone tell me if the area immediately west of Gene C. Reid park is a safe area or not?

Any suggestions on good neighbourhoods within biking distance of U of A?

[CheyDee]

Hi and welcome!

While waiting for replies, there is a great search feature near the upper right hand corner of the Tucson page, where you can glean a whole lot of info - since this question has been asked many times before.

Here are a couple of threads to get you started: 1 2

[robabeatle]

What is your budget?

[nambis]

$1000 or less, but preferably cheaper (maybe around $700 or so)

[nambis]

Hello,

I am relocating to Tucson and looking for housing within biking distance of the University. I will be moving down in the 3rd or 4th week of August, and am looking for housing beginning last week in August or September 1st.

I have been looking at properties on craigslist, however I'm very hesitant to sign a lease without having visited the property first. I would much prefer to get a hotel for a week or so, and be able to visit properties in person.

Can anyone tell me if this is possible for areas near the U of A during the last week of August? I know that many students will be moving in during that time as well, and i'm wondering if there will be a lot of housing available then, or if there will be a huge shortage (in which case I should try and find something online before coming to Tucson).

In case anyone is wondering, i'm looking for a 2 bedroom house for $1000 or less.

Also - what is the housing market (in general) like in Tucson? what is the vacancy rate like, and are there many or few rentals available?

Thanks!

[coatimundi]

It will be harder in late August to find a student-oriented rental near the university. You'll probably have to open up your search area a bit. "Biking distance" means many different things to different people. I would assume you mean <5 miles. That covers a vast territory, so you should be able to peg down a few places. Just post on here with specifics and you can get feedback on the areas.
You will be able to find a 2-bedroom townhouse for under $1000. That would also get you a very nice apartment. But it will not get you a detached house except in low-end and very suburban areas.
High vacancy rate, particularly with houses. But it's not high to the point that any decent ones have dropped to $1000. Apartment vacancy is very high, but mostly in the worst complexes.

[nambis]

Thanks for the very informative post, coatimundi! Does anyone else have any opinions on what the rental availability near the university will be like in late august (move in date of 1 September)? It's kind of a huge deal for me, since I am moving to Tucson from a different country, so my options are to either: 1) try and find a rental over the internet (and likely pay August rent when i'm not actually in Tucson), or 2) hope to find something near the University during the last week or so of August. I would really appreciate any more advice, as I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing! I really don't want to try and sign a lease without physically seeing the property, but on the other hand, I don't want to live 45 minute car commute in the burbs either! I'd really appreciate any more help!

Thanks to everyone for their great advice!