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Hey! I've been looking for information on renting for foreign students and the most I've found is from this site. So hopefully you guys can help me out.
I'm a grad student starting at Columbia in the fall and I've recently agreed to room with another student. We're trying to find an apartment. Here are the issues:
- while he has some history of living in the US for college, he's coming straight from his home country
- he does not want to use a broker
- he can't pay a whole year's rent upfront, but is sure he can pay for rent regularly
- he does not have a guarantor at all
- he won't be here until August and I want to sign a lease BY August
What is the best case scenario here?
I thought about having the apartment solely under my name and paying upfront a couple months. Then my roommate could just pay me back every month and we'd just pay together after that. Or is that against the rules?
How well do you know this person? This could be a disaster in the making.
I don't know if this can work if he's not flexible about August. Because you probably won't qualify for the lease on your own financial status - or are your parents going to be guarantors? I suppose that if your parents are guarantors and you want to do a lease solely in your name, and just demand enough upfront money from your roomie to cover, say three months, okay - but, still, he probably doesn't want you to sign a lease until he arrives.
I met him on OCHA and after a long chat, seems pretty serious about going through this process. You guys have every reason to warn me, but I feel as though international students have way more reason to be worried about finding housing. If it really doesn't work out, I have a few good connections to keep me afloat in nyc, while he doesn't have that luxury. That's just my faulty logic, I guess. I may just wait until August to actually meet him and find a place together. I'm more worried about the hurdles we'll face because he's foreign and can' t easily pay the huge amount usually requested, i.e. extra deposit, a few months' rent up front.
Yeah, my parents will pretty much be the guarantors. But there has to be something about being the sole name on a lease and having a roommate, right? Aren't landlords afraid that I'll try to make a profit from the roommate?
No, landlords won't worry about your profit. They're only concerned with their own profit.
Look, it's nice of you to be concerned about this person, but then tell him that either he has to arrive earlier, or has to send you a big check and trust you to do the choosing. I'm guessing that the real hurdle you'll face is the competition with a million of other students arriving at the same time.
OCHA could be something, people are often afraid of doing something bad or stupid in the community.
Are you finding a private building yourself or through that office also ?
So I think I have a good feel for this as I AM an international student who got a roommate through craiglist in a large non-NY city. I know what it's like to have to try to find a place to live without a US guarantor or even bank account and how difficult it can be. It's really tough.
That being said DON'T DO THIS. Look, the thing about roommates is that even normal seeming people can be really irresponsible. It's not that he's an anti-social freak, just that even this nice seeming guy may stiff you on the rent. You also barely know him. What if he has some emergency and has to go home? What if he has visa issues? The fact that you are willing to "pay several months upfront" with someone you had a few hours chat with is just crazy to me. On that basis alone, don't do it.
You are very nice. But he can find a share house without too much difficulty. And if you do decide to do it, get his money for at least 4 months upfront. As part of the requirement for his visa, he would have had to show the full amount of tuition + living for the year, either through loans or sponsorship. If he is paying himself or family is paying, he must have the money. If he is getting loans, they will be dispensed 2x a year. He can easily pay in August 4 months in advance.
I haven't, mostly because they would take this way too personally and tell me to cut ties with this guy all together. So, not too productive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Harlem resident
OCHA could be something, people are often afraid of doing something bad or stupid in the community.
Are you finding a private building yourself or through that office also ?
I've been searching every website I can on available properties. The off housing office doesn't exactly go out of its way to provide really helpful info, other than 'get a broker' or 'have lots of money,' which is why I'm here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by person900990
That being said DON'T DO THIS. Look, the thing about roommates is that even normal seeming people can be really irresponsible. It's not that he's an anti-social freak, just that even this nice seeming guy may stiff you on the rent. You also barely know him. What if he has some emergency and has to go home? What if he has visa issues? The fact that you are willing to "pay several months upfront" with someone you had a few hours chat with is just crazy to me. On that basis alone, don't do it.
You are very nice. But he can find a share house without too much difficulty. And if you do decide to do it, get his money for at least 4 months upfront. As part of the requirement for his visa, he would have had to show the full amount of tuition + living for the year, either through loans or sponsorship. If he is paying himself or family is paying, he must have the money. If he is getting loans, they will be dispensed 2x a year. He can easily pay in August 4 months in advance.
I didn't know that about the visa. I'm really glad you told me that. Anyway, I didn't mean to sound as like I was going to do this for sure. It sounds crazy to me too, but **** if I weren't getting desperate already...
Does this mean we should just bite the bullet and go for a broker?
I don't think it matters. What matters is that either the broker or a private landlord will want security from someone. I don't really get why, on the basis of knowing him 5 min, you are willing to put it down?
You'll most likely have to learn this lesson yourself, as I certainly had to despite being advised otherwise, but TRUST no one when it comes to housing. I've been fcked over by friends and strangers alike. It's terrible bc I tend to always think people are inherently good, but I've personally experienced some horror stories over the years. And you are setting yourself up for one.
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