Or at least that's what I've been hearing when it comes to taking things off campus.

What neighborhoods do you recommend, particularly along Hillsborough ST? Any bad experiences, or things to look out for? Any positive things to say about it (at all)? Why do you recommend a house over an apartment? What kind of pricing do you think is reasonable? Advice mongrel summons thee.

11/23/2009 11:47:26 PM

Pros: close to campus, some are inexpensive

Cons: most of them are shitholes, most of them are shitholes, most of them are shitholes.

11/23/2009 11:53:57 PM

if you pick the area behind NY Pizza then watch out. I had some buddies who lived back there and aside from the steady flow of homeless people/crackwhores, their house was broken into at least twice and one guy had his car broken into (car was his fault, he left a $5 bill laying in the seat

11/24/2009 12:04:46 AM

i live 4 blocks behind NY pizza and never had a problem, i feel safer here then i did when i lived in north raleigh

11/24/2009 12:07:41 AM

I saw some homeless people fighting behind new york pizza the other day and the police had to break it up.

11/24/2009 12:07:42 AM

I'm looking at a house a bit up Brooks and another on Vanderbilt, right next to Foundation's Edge and Young Life.

Is that whole area behind Hillsborough St going to have signs up and such? I feel like Craigslist can't have EVERYTHING. I wouldn't know where else to look (besides the paper) or walking around.

11/24/2009 12:19:44 AM

I hope your stuff isn't worth a lot.

11/24/2009 12:42:39 AM

Quote :

"i feel safer here then i did when i lived in north raleigh"

what part of north Raleigh could you have possibly lived in that was scary?

11/24/2009 12:46:05 AM

unless she lived in North East Raleigh, which is different than most of North Raleigh. Plenty of areas off Capital Blvd are sketchy.

my friends that got robbed ended up getting out of their lease because of it and moved. They lived off Logan ct, right near Chamberlain & Hillsborough st

11/24/2009 12:54:18 AM

Dude, the whole neighborhood isn't bad, it just starts to get a little sketchy over toward Chamberlain. I lived in a house barely a block up Dixie Trail from East Village for 3 years. The house was a nice enough place, we never got broken into/robbed. One item was stolen from a car parked in front of the house, but the doors were left unlocked, so probably a happenstance crime of opportunity. Other than that no problems, no bums, close to campus and a nice place to live.

In that neighborhood, with a few exceptions, it's nicer on the west and north ends, and gets a little suspect going east. Brooks and Vanderbilt should both be just fine.

Looking for signs might not be your best bet, though it helps. Scan craigslist and also look at the web sites of the various realty companies that operate in the area. We found our house on the Wilson Property web site before we saw the sign up.

11/24/2009 1:03:52 AM

Also, make sure you get someone to test for mold.

11/24/2009 1:06:37 AM

What are some good property management groups, and what ones should I look out for? I've been told Preiss is like a plague descendant from the scourge of Satan himself.

11/24/2009 1:08:34 AM

I was reasonably pleased with Wilson, in the situation mentioned above. Maintenance was a little slow, but otherwise fine.

And actually, I'm going against the grain here, but I found that once you get away from the "university XXX apts" style places, Preiss isn't that bad. I rented a condo from them for two years north of Cameron Village (yes I'm old) and had zero problems. If you pay your rent on time, don't get in trouble, and take very good care to clean/fix things when you leave (and document everything), and don't appear like the typical irresponsible student, the experience is different. They wouldn't have been my first choice due to the reputation, but if they happen to be listing the house you're interested in, it shouldn't be a deal breaker IMO.

I've heard good things about Rhyne, but no personal experience. Heard bad things about Hailey.

11/24/2009 1:16:54 AM

i live off oberlin near cameron village. it's super quiet over here. all our neighbors are rich old people. and it's close to all sorts of convenient shit. its like the best house ever.

11/24/2009 6:24:09 AM

Quote :

"i live 4 blocks behind NY pizza and never had a problem, i feel safer here then i did when i lived in north raleigh"

11/24/2009 6:37:56 AM

fifty fifty, right now i am paying a rental property less than my mortgage on a another house, yet, i am traveling back and forth to my job and spending more in gas than my rent or my mortgage...it all sucks in the end

11/24/2009 6:46:07 AM

Rhyne Management seems to be pretty good in my experience

11/24/2009 7:39:34 AM

^^ sucks to be you

11/24/2009 7:43:13 AM

Don't know if you plan on living with roommates. But if you do, try your hardest to get separate leases...even in a house.

11/24/2009 7:47:15 AM

Quote :

"i live 4 blocks behind NY pizza and never had a problem, i feel safer here then i did when i lived in north raleigh"

you must be talking about something east of Wake Forest/Falls. Closer you get to Capital the worse it is. I agree with the above poster...that's more North East Raleigh than North Raleigh. big difference.

Quote :

" Fuck Apartments, Lease a House?"

correct. there are a number of reasons why this is true. get a group of friends, and rent a house., or at the least get a duplex or something...

and like EMCE said, make sure you get separate leases if possible<, depending on how well you know your roommates(s)

11/24/2009 8:45:36 AM

probably lived in a gated community in wake forest, and felt unsafe away from mommy and daddy

11/24/2009 8:46:57 AM

Quote :

"Rhyne Management seems to be pretty good in my experience"

Same here.
http://rhynerentals.com/

11/24/2009 9:52:45 AM

there's nothing sketchy or dangerous about the area behind ny pizza

there are bum fights

but they're a source of entertainment, not a reason to avoid the area

and logan ct. has a badass treehouse and easy roof access

11/24/2009 11:22:59 AM

It all depends on the landlord. If you have a good landlord, then you will have an awesome experience. If you have a shitty landlord, your life will be hell.

11/24/2009 11:23:52 AM

also, unless you work downtown and want to get an apartment so you can walk/ride the elevator to work, there are no advantages over a house

even if you do work downtown, there are plenty of affordable options within biking distance

and everywhere encircling downtown is getting gentrified like crazy, so the few places where there are still nominal safety concerns are becoming the subject of "squeaky wheels" with RPD

11/24/2009 11:32:08 AM

I have always preferred renting houses, mainly for the privacy and space. I have had 2 awesome landlords, and 2 very shitty landlords.

11/24/2009 11:33:57 AM

i own a number of moderate wattage tube amplifiers

i do a lot of home recording

these amps don't sound good until they're turned up loud

which for some of them is quite loud indeed

when i lived in an apartment, i got yelled at by neighbors for playing loud and had to restrict any serious noise to the middle of the day

i now live in a house

i was playing quite loud at 5:30 this morning

i do this quite often

i've never heard a complaint

quite quite

11/24/2009 11:44:59 AM

Good luck finding a house in that area. I spent a while trying to find a house there or in other areas close to downtown and I always had one of three problems:

1) Run down house
2) Too expensive
3) Too small
4) Little (or no) parking

After 1 1/2 months of searching I said fuck it and now lease a house in Trailwood Hills (close to where I lived previously).

11/24/2009 1:10:36 PM

house > apartment


its that simple.


my first year here i lived in an apartment....it was ok but nothing special but i had been in an apartment for 2 years in college so i was cool w/it


2nd year i lived in a house for 2 years = awesome. Loved it, only problem was it was a bit more $$spensive so i had to juggle roommates. Not always fun


4th year i moved into a townhouse w/a friend. Pretty much in between. House-ish with apartment feel.

11/24/2009 1:14:07 PM

A good bud of mine lives off of Hillsborough St., off of Gardner St.(across from D.H. Hill), down behind that State employees credit union and he really likes the area. But, he has more of professionals and grad students that live in his neighborhood. Oh, and break out your check book if you want to live in that neighborhood b/c its not cheap.

However, he told me that he likes the fact that he sees City of Raleigh, and NCSU Campus police patrolling his neighborhood(which is a nice older neighborhood), and he likes the diversity in his neighborhood. But, im not kidding about get ready to pull out your checkbook, in his neighborhood...!

11/24/2009 1:52:04 PM

i tried to find a house in the area around campus almost 2 years ago. i scoured craigslist and local rental companies multiple times a day when i was doing my co-op, and i still had a really hard time finding 3 BR houses. part of the problem is that a lot of houses get snatched up really quickly after they go up for rent, particularly on bagwell, or they're houses that are rented by people in greek organizations that just get passed down. if you know anyone who lives back in that area now who might be graduating in may or planning on moving out after their lease ends then i'd recommend getting in touch with them and finding out who their landlord is. it's probably the best way to get a place in that area. also expect to spend at least $400 a month for rent. i ended up having to get a place in trailwood hills, but i enjoyed living there last year.

also, some of my friends lived in the house that's on the corner of chamberlain and everett with the big parking lot. it wasn't a particularly nice house, but we had a lot of fun there. you might wanna keep an eye out for it if a sign goes up in the yard or something.

[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 2:32 PM. Reason : .]

11/24/2009 2:29:52 PM

It is true that to get a good quality rental house in the neighborhood north of Hillsborough, you have to be willing to spend a little. The 4-br house I and some friends rented was $1600/month, and that was from 2001 to 2004.

11/24/2009 3:22:15 PM

DO NOT RENT FROM THE DENNINGS FAMILY.

I repeat, again...

DO NOT RENT FROM THE DENNINGS FAMILY



[Edited on November 24, 2009 at 4:16 PM. Reason : ]

11/24/2009 4:14:24 PM

^ lol what'd they do to you?

11/24/2009 7:32:01 PM

1600 a month with all or partial utilities wouldn't be that bad for a 4 bed, at least in my opinion.

I have financial aid that gives me housing aid that will apply for even an off-campus house--as does one of my roommates. The other two just comes from wealthy families. Basically, we're open to anything in the cheap to moderate range, and 4 bedroom is the minimum.

Believe it or not, there seems to be quite a few open places on Craigslist that have been so for a while, but it was in the middle of the semester. They won't last long. There's a few places in Hunter's Creek, along Kaplan, and on Brooks. Any idea about these areas?

Also, since this is for next year and likely the situation will be different in a couple months, at what point should I actively be viewing and talking to owners? Should I be jumping on this right now, or should I wait for next semester and into the summer?

11/24/2009 11:49:25 PM

House and "all or partial utilities" do not mix, generally speaking. In most cases the rent is just that--rent, and you're on your own for utilities. Also bear in mind that while water is included in the rent in most apartments, it is not included in the rent for most houses.

11/25/2009 2:32:19 AM

Bah. What can you normally expect to pay in utilities?

Also, if a house isn't wired for internet, I assume that pretty much makes it a no-go.

11/25/2009 2:46:06 AM

Bump bump.

Still don't know enough!

Can you secure a house/apartment ahead of time, or do I basically have to wait until late next semester?

11/30/2009 2:05:37 AM

how about call a leasing agency?

11/30/2009 2:26:53 AM

How about take even the tiniest bit of initiative and do some research.

Also, how about you skip Hillsborough st. and move away from campus a few miles. A 15 minute drive in the morning will get you a nicer, cheaper place in a neighborhood that is free of crackheads.

[Edited on November 30, 2009 at 2:29 AM. Reason : asdasdf]

11/30/2009 2:29:11 AM

I like how the guy recommending I do research didn't read the thread that would have hopefully zoned him in to the possibility that I've been researching this for a long time. It's funny that you think there's some OTHER amazingly detailed source on the specific leasing and off-campus housing experiences of NCSU students outside a forum meant to cater to their discussion.

And, as I said before, it has to either be within walking distance or on the Wolfline. Got a kid with us that won't have a car.

11/30/2009 2:36:09 AM

^^ why would you want to live that far away? going to class already becomes hard enough once you move off campus. plus the cheaper cost of a place farther away would probably end up being negated by the cost of gas from driving 15 minutes to campus and back every day.

11/30/2009 2:45:20 AM

Only if you drive a tank. 10 miles each way works out to 400 miles/month or approx. 20 gallons of gas, so $50-60 per month (probalby less, but assume 20 mpg).

Shit, even living in Falcon Ridge or Gorman Crossing it takes you 10 minutes to get to campus because of traffic.

I did the apt. close to campus, the house close to campus, and the house farther away from campus, and found the last one to be by far the best option, especially if you actually want to be able to study and not be bothered by constant parties, loud music, etc. Which tends to happen as you get closer to graduation.

11/30/2009 2:56:05 AM

in 2005-2006 me and some people rented a shitbox on oberlin and mayview (?) by Wade ave.

It was big and yellow and cost 900 bucks a month. There was enough room to easily fit 5 people in it.

ziiiiiiiiinggggggg

11/30/2009 3:04:14 AM

day 7 page 1

11/30/2009 8:32:48 AM

i live off oberlin near cameronglenwood village. it's super quiet over here. all our neighbors are rich old people. and it's close to all sorts of convenient shit. its like the best house ever.



lots of places around here have "For Rent" signs on and off--prolly either on craigslist or you'll have to be out doing some looking

11/30/2009 9:25:42 AM

I lived just behind NY Pizza without incident

of course, I probably just got lucky

you can seriously make friends with the bums

11/30/2009 9:27:19 AM

Cost of utilities depends on the house. I'd say, ballpark (BIG ballpark) you might pay, for the whole house, $50/month for water, $100-200/month for electricity (less if you have gas appliances or heat, but gas is expensive itself), $30-$60/month for internets depending on your desired speed, and $30-$100/month for cable depending on your desired number of channels and gizmos/features like DVR and HD.

Why would it be a deal breaker if the house isn't pre-wired for internet? You could get a wireless router and then put a wireless card in each PC for like $25 per machine. Or you could run long cables along the baseboards, though that looks a little ghetto. We actually ran cable inside the walls and installed faceplates, but I wouldn't recommend this. (Ours turned out well but we knew what we were doing, and we were still lucky the landlord didn't charge us for it as it could have been construed as damage even though it was essentially an improvement that we did for free.)

11/30/2009 9:33:25 AM

Vacancies are higher this time of year than summer you can probably snag a pretty good deal.

11/30/2009 10:08:59 AM

Be prepared to do yard work. Every house I ever rented required me to maintain the property (mow the lawn, rake the leaves, trim the hedges, etc etc)

11/30/2009 10:11:36 AM