Tips for Tenants

To Rent on Campus or Off Campus Some random thoughts: Many students want to rent close to campus for obvious reasons: walk to class, able to go home easily when you have a break from class, lots of restaurants, that’s where your friends are, etc. Sometimes non students like to live close to campus too so that they can be close to […]

Advantages of Renting One of the best things about renting is that when something needs attention in your rental–a dripping faucet, trouble with the furnace, a stopped up drain–you just need to know one phone number, your landlord’s.  You don’t have to wonder who to call–are they good at their trade?  Will they show up?  How much will […]

Typical Lease Terms in Champaign-Urbana Champaign Urbana is influenced by the academic calendar of the University of Illinois.  Often people who are not students are surprised to learn that most of our leases run from August of one year to August of the next year because of the University schedule.  Some apartments are available in January for second semester. Another […]

Freedom Sweet Freedom Do you think you are freer when you rent a home or when you own a home? Well, when you own your home you can have pets, you can decorate any way you please, you can change things. So it would seem like you have more freedom. There’s one big problem; what about when you […]

Roommates Ahhh–roommates. Now that’s a big subject. I won’t try to get too deep here but will just make a few observations. It is fun to live with your friends, and it can be a great idea to share expenses, but here are some things that I have heard from students. Sometimes it’s hard to get […]

The Bottom Line When you are considering your price range for a rental, there are several items to think about in addition to the rent. What utilities are included? Utilities have gone up a lot in the past few years, so they will be a big item. Is garbage hauling extra? How about parking? internet? Is the place […]

Campus living–Champaign or Urbana There are differences between the two towns even though they are divided physically only by Wright Street. I’m not an expert on this and so have only my opinions to offer, but here’s what I’ve observed. The Champaign side of campus is more lively; there are more apartment buildings, more bars and more parties. Consequently […]

Personal preferences Before you start your search, think about what size apartment or house you need. And where would you like to live? If you are a U of I student, do you want to live close to campus? Do you prefer Champaign or Urbana? What is your style preference–old or new? What kind of neighborhood do […]

Looking for a rental in C-U My favorite place to advertise is Apartments.com because the ads are not limited in length; and there are pictures!! Zillow is good too. So you can really get a lot of information. There are many other sites that advertise rentals. Of course, there are reviews for you to consider. I don’t have any reviews except […]