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My husband and I with our three cats will be moving to Ithaca. Our hope it to move at the end of July or beginning of August. I've started looking at the rentals listed on Craigslist, but I'm sure that doesn't give me the complete picture of the rental landscape. I'm hoping I can get some more info here. I have a few questions.
1. When is the best time to look for August 1 move in dates? (In some cities/towns, it pays to look 3 months ahead while some cities operate much more in the 3 weeks ahead model.)
2.Are there good management companies or apt owners you'd recommend?
3. Best neighborhoods for a new couple to the area that wants to be active in the local community?
4. Are there any unique things about Ithaca's rental market that I should know?
5. Is it possible to get good choices on a month-to-month basis or find apts that allow sublets? (I ask because we plan to buy a house and there's a chance we'll find the right house before a 1 year lease is over.)
Given that it is a college town, I'd say to look as soon as possible. I'd say that Downtown Ithaca may be an area to look at or on its West Side. Here are some more apartments in the city/area: The Solomon Organization, LLC
Cornell used to maintain a list of available apartments for graduate students. It's somewhere on the grad student website. You're better off starting there instead of someplace random, since a lot of the rentals in Ithaca are geared towards undergrads and those apartments are not necessarily well kept, plus you'd be surrounded by partying coeds.
Ithaca gets a lot of people moving in and out so the landlords are used to people buying houses mid-contract. You can ask upfront and see what kind of policy folks have.
1. When is the best time to look for August 1 move in dates? (In some cities/towns, it pays to look 3 months ahead while some cities operate much more in the 3 weeks ahead model.)
I think August 1 leases starts can start showing on Feb. 1; in my renting experience (the less student-heavy sections of town), they start showing them in late Feb. or early March. The very student-heavy places will have leases signed before the kids leave for winter break, because they have a sample apartment and don't need to show that specific place. There will be many fewer choices 3 months before. There may actually be MORE options 3 weeks before due to last minute changes in plans.
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2.Are there good management companies or apt owners you'd recommend?
I had a good experience with the Solomon group (who mostly has larger complexes on the northern edges of town) and PPM homes (who mostly rent rooms in houses closer in to campus, and as such may have more variable housing stock).
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3. Best neighborhoods for a new couple to the area that wants to be active in the local community?
Without any further information on what you're specifically lookin for, Fall Creek is a great area, very walkable and friendly, and a mix of renters and longer-established folks.
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4. Are there any unique things about Ithaca's rental market that I should know?
The presence of lots of well-off students means that the prices can be pretty high. There are not a huge number of big apartment buildings compared to other places with a similar transient population; most non-undergrad focused apartments are a converted single-family home, a duplex, or something like that. As such there can be a lot of variability in quality etc., and if you possibly can, I'd recommend coming to look at places in person, or find one of the larger but more soulless apartment complexes. (We knew this when we moved back after having been students here, did exactly this, and had a good experience. We moved out of the soulless place shortly after, but it was a perfectly comfortable place to land.)
Depending on where you are working, I'll mention that trying to get through downtown can be challenging in the morning (the traffic is much easier than a big city, but more than you'd expect for a city of this size because of the geography). So if you're working at IC, look around South Hill, Cornell, look north around Lansing, near the hospital, up West Hill, etc.
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5. Is it possible to get good choices on a month-to-month basis or find apts that allow sublets? (I ask because we plan to buy a house and there's a chance we'll find the right house before a 1 year lease is over.)
Month to month is really rare, because it would otherwise be hard to find a renter in the summer (It's a school-year population.) Sublets are pretty common, but it's hard to find a subletter in the summer, and the competition is so fierce even during the year that you'll probably need to sublet for 50-75% of the rent unless it's SUPER desirable. I've also had landlords talk to next year's renter, and they've occasionally wanted to move in early, which is ideal. The real estate market knows this and heats up considerably in early spring so that people can move into their new house before August 1. (According to the real estate agent that showed me my house, who I'm friends with.)
I've been starting to contact apt managers from this list. I wish I were having more luck though.
It really does sound like a number of places are full already for August, and many don't allow cats. I've just got to keep emailing and calling. Thanks guys, I cannot wait to move and really get to know the place!
I've lived in Ithaca for a while with five years of experience with renting. Most of the housing is townhouse-style apartments- homes that have multiple apartments, a smaller portion of which have shared common spaces. There are almost no entire houses for rent unless you're willing to pay a lot of money. Single-bedroom apartments also tend to be more expensive in square footage than multiple bedrooms so even though it's just the two of you, you might find a two-bedroom place that is almost the same price as a one-bedroom apartment. There are also a number of apartment buildings that have identical rooms in each building, they will be better kept, but they really charge you. I prefer to live in townhouse-style apartments since the rent is generally lower, and the apartment buildings are mostly located on the perimeter of town.
1. When is the best time to look for August 1 move in dates? (In some cities/towns, it pays to look 3 months ahead while some cities operate much more in the 3 weeks ahead model.) If you're looking at non-apartment building renting, I find the best apartments start being listed as earlier as February and can be over as soon as early April. Don't lose hope though if you haven't found something, there will be an occasional landlord who either had a tenant change their mind or they only oversee one place so they list closer to the rental dates. Move in/out dates revolve around the academic calendar so you'll see they start July/August, but if you find an especially good place and have a good rapport with the landlord, you might be able to talk them into adjust dates to what you want.
2.Are there good management companies or apt owners you'd recommend?
I've heard horror stories from all sorts of management companies and owners. But I would generally recommend PPM Homes, they responded to maintenance requests the day of, and Sioux O'Connor (she's not a management company, but she owns a few homes and takes care of her renters) never rented from her, but I've heard nothing but good things.
3. Best neighborhoods for a new couple to the area that wants to be active in the local community?
Fall Creek neighborhood is my favorite area to live after experience South Hill (filled with Ithaca College undergrads) and Downtown (too much noise and crime). When I say crime, I mean, more crime than any other parts of Ithaca, though it's still really, really safe compared to most of America. Fall Creek is technically anywhere North of State St., roughly between Linn St. and Third St. What people refer to as the "Ithaca ghetto" starts at Third St. and goes all the way West to Route 13. Once you start going up East Hill from Linn St., you hit basically Cornell University grad students, then into their undergrads. Likewise for South Hill, anywhere South of State St. and east of Spencer St. means you're in Ithaca College undergrad land, which means parties all the time and beer-soaked carpet.
Fall Creek is within walking distance of the Commons where there are lots of restaurants and bars. During the week and weekends, there are farmer's markets nearby. And my favorite neighborhood event is Porchfest, happens in September, where over 100 local musicians place on volunteered porches for a few hours in the afternoon. Everyone in town gets a map and just walks around listening to all the music.
If you have a little more money, looking for housing in Belle Sherman and Cayuga Heights are also really nice neighborhoods. Belle Sherman is more residential so generally more people own those houses and have families. Cayuga Heights has one of the highest percentages of post-graduate degrees per capita in the country, and also lots of expensive homes, but there are a few for rent.
4. Are there any unique things about Ithaca's rental market that I should know?
Check up on any management company or landlord you plan to rent from. Also, the regulations on the state of what people can rent is appalling so be sure to see the place in person. I lived in a place where the windows wouldn't shut all the way, however, my heat was included so I didn't care as much. I live in a place right now that many of my friends consider one of the best apartments they've ever seen- in size and old-home personality. It has a bay window and lots of light, but not all of my outlets are grounded, which is typical in the old homes here.
5. Is it possible to get good choices on a month-to-month basis or find apts that allow sublets? (I ask because we plan to buy a house and there's a chance we'll find the right house before a 1 year lease is over.) You won't find many month-to-month apartments, there are a few, usually in the apartment buildings. Most landlords/rental companies will allow for subletters to finish off the lease. As a side note, the place I live in Fall Creek went on the market earlier this month and was sold in a week. It's a hot area to live in.
I've lived in Ithaca for a while with five years of experience with renting. Most of the housing is townhouse-style apartments- homes that have multiple apartments, a smaller portion of which have shared common spaces. There are almost no entire houses for rent unless you're willing to pay a lot of money. Single-bedroom apartments also tend to be more expensive in square footage than multiple bedrooms so even though it's just the two of you, you might find a two-bedroom place that is almost the same price as a one-bedroom apartment. There are also a number of apartment buildings that have identical rooms in each building, they will be better kept, but they really charge you. I prefer to live in townhouse-style apartments since the rent is generally lower, and the apartment buildings are mostly located on the perimeter of town.
1. When is the best time to look for August 1 move in dates? (In some cities/towns, it pays to look 3 months ahead while some cities operate much more in the 3 weeks ahead model.) If you're looking at non-apartment building renting, I find the best apartments start being listed as earlier as February and can be over as soon as early April. Don't lose hope though if you haven't found something, there will be an occasional landlord who either had a tenant change their mind or they only oversee one place so they list closer to the rental dates. Move in/out dates revolve around the academic calendar so you'll see they start July/August, but if you find an especially good place and have a good rapport with the landlord, you might be able to talk them into adjust dates to what you want.
2.Are there good management companies or apt owners you'd recommend?
I've heard horror stories from all sorts of management companies and owners. But I would generally recommend PPM Homes, they responded to maintenance requests the day of, and Sioux O'Connor (she's not a management company, but she owns a few homes and takes care of her renters) never rented from her, but I've heard nothing but good things.
3. Best neighborhoods for a new couple to the area that wants to be active in the local community?
Fall Creek neighborhood is my favorite area to live after experience South Hill (filled with Ithaca College undergrads) and Downtown (too much noise and crime). When I say crime, I mean, more crime than any other parts of Ithaca, though it's still really, really safe compared to most of America. Fall Creek is technically anywhere North of State St., roughly between Linn St. and Third St. What people refer to as the "Ithaca ghetto" starts at Third St. and goes all the way West to Route 13. Once you start going up East Hill from Linn St., you hit basically Cornell University grad students, then into their undergrads. Likewise for South Hill, anywhere South of State St. and east of Spencer St. means you're in Ithaca College undergrad land, which means parties all the time and beer-soaked carpet.
Fall Creek is within walking distance of the Commons where there are lots of restaurants and bars. During the week and weekends, there are farmer's markets nearby. And my favorite neighborhood event is Porchfest, happens in September, where over 100 local musicians place on volunteered porches for a few hours in the afternoon. Everyone in town gets a map and just walks around listening to all the music.
If you have a little more money, looking for housing in Belle Sherman and Cayuga Heights are also really nice neighborhoods. Belle Sherman is more residential so generally more people own those houses and have families. Cayuga Heights has one of the highest percentages of post-graduate degrees per capita in the country, and also lots of expensive homes, but there are a few for rent.
4. Are there any unique things about Ithaca's rental market that I should know?
Check up on any management company or landlord you plan to rent from. Also, the regulations on the state of what people can rent is appalling so be sure to see the place in person. I lived in a place where the windows wouldn't shut all the way, however, my heat was included so I didn't care as much. I live in a place right now that many of my friends consider one of the best apartments they've ever seen- in size and old-home personality. It has a bay window and lots of light, but not all of my outlets are grounded, which is typical in the old homes here.
5. Is it possible to get good choices on a month-to-month basis or find apts that allow sublets? (I ask because we plan to buy a house and there's a chance we'll find the right house before a 1 year lease is over.) You won't find many month-to-month apartments, there are a few, usually in the apartment buildings. Most landlords/rental companies will allow for subletters to finish off the lease. As a side note, the place I live in Fall Creek went on the market earlier this month and was sold in a week. It's a hot area to live in.
Good luck searching!
Great information and post! I never heard of Porchfest until this post. Sounds like fun.
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