How Off-Campus Housing Is Changing During The Coronavirus Pandemic

Students are scrambling to find off-campus housing for next semester, more than what you’d usually expect to see over summer break. That’s not because they’ve put off finding housing until the very last minute, but because colleges across the United States have slowly started to announce their plans to reopen campus for the fall semester following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While there are still a ton of universities holding off on officially announcing whether classes will be held on-campus or online next semester until mid-July, it’s safe to assume that most college campuses’ plans to reopen will include adjustments to how many students can attend in-person classes at once and other plans to limit large groups. While the possibility of getting out of their on-campus living requirement may be a welcome change for some students, it will also mean that landlords should be ready for a possible flood of inquiries from potential student renters. 

To get a better feel for what that’s like, we spoke with the Chief Operating Officer of DABCO Property Management near Washington State University to figure out exactly what this pandemic has and will mean for them. 

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The 5 Most Popular Houses for Rent in Ames, Iowa

If you’re planning on calling one of the houses for rent in Ames, IA home for the 2020-21 school year, know that we’re here to help you find your next place. We have hundreds of available Ames housing options on our Iowa State off-campus housing page to choose from.

If you’ve only just decided you want to live off-campus next year, you may not know what you’re looking for. To help you out, we did a bit of digging and created a list for the five most popular houses for rent in Ames, IA on College Pads. 

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Ohio State’s Going Back to Campus: Sophomores Granted Off-Campus Exemption

Ohio State University students will make the return to campus for the fall 2020 semester! The Ohio State University President, Michael V. Drake, recently made the announcement that in-person classes will resume on campus beginning Tuesday, August 25 with the conclusion of the semester on Friday, December 4.

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Top 5 Houses for Rent in Ann Arbor Near the University of Michigan

Each year, thousands of students searching for Umich off-campus housing use CollegePads.com to find their perfect Ann Arbor rental. A majority of off-campus leases are signed during the Fall semester, almost a year in advance of the date that you would be moving in. If you’re looking to land one of the houses for rent in Ann Arbor, you’re going to want to have your search well underway in September and have a lease signed no later than November. Students still continue to sign throughout the spring semester, though options are severely limited by that point. 


These properties were the five most contacted houses for rent in Ann Arbor by Michigan students during the Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semesters.

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10 Most Popular East Lansing Apartments Near Michigan State University

Every year, thousands of students searching for apartments and off-campus housing near Michigan State University use CollegePads.com to find their housing. There’s a great mix of off-campus housing options near Michigan State, and apartment inquiries have been on the up and up! Like many other campuses across the nation, MSU students start looking for housing during their Fall Semester. Students begin their hunt for MSU apartments as soon as September, and the number of searches peaks throughout the semester in the months of October and November. 

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COVID-19’s Impact On Property Management at College Campuses

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last few months, you know that literally everything about our day to day life has changed. We are socially distancing ourselves from family and friends, wearing face masks when we need to venture outside, working remotely at home offices, and waiting on daily updates about what the new few months of our lives are going to look like. It’s boring, but it’s what we need to do.

Even though some places are slowly opening businesses back up, it won’t be business as usual. Not for a while anyway, and the off-campus housing market is no different. With some schools announcing they intend to have on-campus classes in the fall and others still holding off, it’s a tumultuous time for property managers.

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Indiana University Top 5 Bloomington Apartments for Rent

Each year, thousands of students searching for apartments and off-campus housing in Bloomington, IN  use CollegePads.com to find their housing. There’s a  great mix of off-campus housing options near IU and apartment inquiries have been on the rise! Like many other campuses across the nation, many students start looking during the Fall Semester. Students begin their hunt for IU apartments as soon as September, and the number of searches spikes throughout the semester in the months of October and November.

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5 Most Popular Houses for Rent in Muncie, Indiana Near Ball State University

Each year, thousands of students searching for houses and apartments near Ball State University use CollegePads.com to find housing. Just like many other campuses across the nation, many students at Ball State start searching for housing during the Fall Semester. Students begin their hunt for Muncie rentals early in September, and the number of searches picks up throughout the semester in October and November. 

This year is no different. Most leases are signed during the Fall Semester, almost a year in advance of the date that you would be moving in, but the slackers are still signing during the spring. If you’re a BSU student with a group looking for a place, you’ll want to sign a lease as early as September and no later than November. For those looking to live alone, you can buy yourself a little more time, but don’t wait too long. Get ahead of your competition and start your search for off-campus housing before your competition does!

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How to Avoid Rental Scams

From Telemarketing scams, identity theft, to credit and debit card fraud we’ve all heard horror stories about scams, or even worse, fallen victim. Rental scams are prevalent across the nation and first-time student renters looking for off-campus housing are especially vulnerable to fraudsters because they often communicate with landlords and lack experience when it comes to renting.

College Pads surveyed hundreds of students across campuses nationwide and found that many students have encountered an online rental scam when looking for off-campus housing near their university.

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The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign: The Top 10 Landlords In Urbana-Champaign

If you’ve ever looked for off-campus housing, we’re sure you know how exhausting, overwhelming and tedious of a task it is. Between your everyday routine, classes, work, and trying to maintain a social life, we know you don’t want to pile yet another thing on your plate—especially one as draining as searching for off-campus housing at UIUC.

To help lighten your load, we at College Pads have done the dirty work for you. We’ve searched high and low to find UIUC students the best landlords around the Urbana-Champaign area. After reading through tons of reviews, we leave you with our picks for the top ten landlords for students attending the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

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