Best Time to move for Availability (Milwaukee, Madison: sublease, apartments, renters)

[Bythewayof]

I may be returning to Madison to go to UW grad school while my SO goes to MATC. We lived in the isthmus area (E. Johnson) and further east (Milwaukee) during our previous stay. I enjoyed living in both areas, but prefer the bus availability living closer to downtown/campus. When we first lived in Madison we moved around June. But I may have the opportunity to start school either in the Spring (January) or Summer (May/June). My question is given my desire to live in the isthmus area, which time would provide a better opportunity for a nice place to rent? Because I have lived through winters before, I am not worried about weather, just availability. I would be looking for a 2/1+ small dog friendly, home/apt/duplex/split-home preferably with off street parking.

My thoughts are that while there may be more availability in terms of campus housing (especially around Aug. 15) I am not looking for College housing . So I may be able to find more gems, graduate/adult places during the winter. But I don't know, hence the question.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[7G9C4J2]

Most renters try to avoid moving in the winter because of the added navigational hazards of ice and snow. And most landlords try to avoid having their leases start/end in winter, because of the impact on the apartments from movers hauling stuff in and out of the place through snow and slush. So while you might find something adequate in December or January, especially if you can take over a sublease from someone leaving in the middle of the school year, you are far likelier to find the "gem" you seek if you look for a move-in date in the spring to early summer.

You mention August 15, so I assume that you know what happens every year at that time. What you may not realize is the fact that the August 15 to August 14 leases seem to be expanding outside of the immediate campus area, and you may discover that even three, four or five miles away from the UW, you'll still mostly find apartments with an August 15 availability date. If you want to live anywhere close to downtown, unless you are planning to drop major bucks on one of the fawncy trendy yuppie developments near the Capitol, you are almost certain to wind up with an August 15 or August 20 start date.

That said, an August 15 move-in date need not automatically equate to an undergrad party palace. The UW has thousands of grad students, most of whom are well past the point of wanting to spend their lives in an alcoholic fog, but they still prefer to live near the university. It's possible to find a quieter area and still be close to campus, though as I am sure you are aware, the closer you get, the more you'll pay in rent.

You definitely want to avoid Langdon Street (a/k/a Frat Row), likewise the big overpriced high-rises down around University and Frances and Lake. But if you go a little farther to the western edge of campus, around Walnut, Kendall, Old University, Farley, Lynn Terrace and the like, you can find a much quieter area with a mixture of single-family homes, duplexes and small (eight to twelve units) apartment buildings from the early part of the 20th century. Not fancy, and most won't have the extras like multiple electrical outlets in each room, air conditioning, internet capability, etc, but if you're looking for grad student neighbors near campus, that would be a good area to check out. The Monroe Street area (at least a mile away from the stadium) could be a good possibility as well. And more to the east side of the isthmus, check out Williamson Street, Jenifer Street, Dayton and so on.

The other thing you might want to do is to start hunting for sublease possibilities. Those tend to open up pretty regularly, because students graduate, transfer, drop out, etc., and they want to find someone to cover at least part of their rental obligation. When I worked for a campus-area landlord some years back, they kept lists of tenants who were looking for sub-lessees, and they'd give out contact information to interested apartment seekers to help facilitate the tenant's efforts to arrange a sublease. You'd definitely find more options in terms of start dates, though you'd be well advised to ask in detail about whether or not the apartment has already been leased out for the following year. As you may know, some landlords start signing leases up to nine months prior to the move-in date, so a place that's available for a sublease may not be available for you to keep after the sublease period is up.

Good luck to you in any case, and if you identify more detailed questions about specific neighborhoods, by all means stop back again.

[Bythewayof]

MBW, Thank you for that information. Yes I want to avoid the Aug. 15 date! I remember the loads of stuff on the streets! I will keep in mind the subleasing. I guess I should start looking now!

[mlb]

Week after graduation. Kids move out of Madison in droves....

[sholomar]

Like any college town, I've found May or June to be the best times. Back when this town had a real apartment shortage, the best time of finding units was just after college done with, late spring to early summer.

[spectator80]

Originally Posted by stockwiz

Back when this town had a real apartment shortage

madison *still* has an apartment shortage. in fact, the shortage is worse now than ever before. according to this article (posted in march of 2012), the apartment vacancy rate in madison 1.5%... the lowest rate in the country!

Low apartment vacancy rate in Madison - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports