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Q: Who is eligible to use the Community
Housing office for finding housing?
A: Any current direct Stanford affiliate can use this service.
This includes students, employees, faculty, postdoctoral
scholars, visiting scholars, and visiting researchers. Alumni,
however, are not eligible to use the service.
Q: What is the rental market like right now?
A: As of Fall 2007, the rental market is fairly tight very close to campus, but there are still quite a few rentals available further from campus, such as in Mountain View. The market for houses and apartments is tighter than for rooms and shared rentals. Many rooms
sit vacant for long periods of time, so if you see an ad
and know that it has been running for quite awhile, you
should not assume that it has been rented or that there
is something wrong with it! The toughest market is for short-term housing. With so many visiting researchers and people coming to do medical rotations, it can be VERY difficult to find a short term rental.
Q: Does the Community Housing office get the
housing listings from the newspapers?
A: No. Landlords submit rental listings directly to Community
Housing in order to reach prospective Stanford
tenants.
Q: What other resources should I use?
A: Check www.craigslist.org and www.supost.com. Because of free on-line advertising, the newspapers no longer have many rental ads. However, you might still want to check the local papers, These might include the Palo Alto Weekly, the
Stanford Report, the Los Altos Town Crier, the Almanac or
the San Jose Mercury News. All of the newspapers mentioned here have
on-line versions.
Q: The Web site requires a password for in-coming Stanford affiliates who do not yet have a SUNet ID. How do I get the password?
A: Send proof of Stanford affiliation, along with your e-mail address, fax number, or address, to the Community Housing office. This can be faxed to 650-736-1297 or mailed to 630 Serra Street #110, Stanford, CA 94305. We will promptly send you the Web address and passwords needed to access the rental listings.
Q: How often are the rental listings updated?
A: Listings are updated continually whenever the Community
Housing office is open - generally Monday through
Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM.
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Q: Are the posted rents discounted in any way?
A: In general, no. However, there are some landlords who
offer lower rents in order to help students - most of these
are people with rooms for rent in their homes.
Q: How far ahead of time can I secure housing?
A: In this area, most landlords don't advertise a vacancy
until it is already available, or up to a month ahead of
time. For this reason, you should time your concentrated
housing search for as close to your desired move-in date
as possible.
Q: How long should I allow to secure housing?
A: You should allow two weeks, keeping in mind that you
may be lucky and find something in two days or unlucky and
not find anything for a month. If you have a pet (especially
a dog) or have a very limited amount of money to spend on
rent, it will probably take you longer to find housing.
Q: Should I hire an apartment-locating service?
A: Many of these services charge a fee - sometimes as much
as a month's rent. In this area, that can be a considerable
amount of money! For this reason, we recommend that you
try to find something on your own. On the other hand, some
rentals are only advertised through these services, and
so your only chance to rent a particular unit may be through
such a service. In this case, you will have to decide if
the unit is worth the extra money.
Q: Where do most Stanford affiliates live?
A: Stanford affiliates are scattered all over the area -
generally within 4.5 miles of campus. Many people prefer
to be within Palo Alto and Menlo Park because of the proximity
to campus, but these cities are more expensive than most
of the surrounding communities. More and more Stanford affiliates
are choosing Redwood City, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale
because of the lower rents.
Q: What time of year do leases begin in this area?
A: There is no certain time of year when leases/rental agreements
begin. Start-dates are available at all times of month and
all times of year.
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Q: Is there anything I can do to make myself a more
appealing tenant?
A: You need to sell yourself somewhat, as if you were applying
for a job. Make your house-hunting calls between 9 AM and
9 PM so as not to disturb anyone's sleep, be punctual for
appointments, call the landlord if you are delayed or need
to cancel and appointment, dress neatly, and be polite.
Make yourself a list of questions to ask when viewing a
unit, and be sure not to ask questions that were answered
by the advertisement to which you responded. Address any
concerns you have about the condition of the unit and/or
appliances, but try not to seem overly nitpicky. If you
like the unit, say so. If you definitely want to rent the
unit, apply for it on the spot. The day after applying,
call the landlord to thank him/her for showing you the unit
and to express your enthusiasm for the unit.
Q: What information should I have available to give
to a landlord?
A: Your residence history - dates, addresses, rents, and
names and (current) phone numbers of managers/landlords.
Your employment history (if any) - dates, titles, company/school
names, names and (current) phone numbers of your supervisors.
Current credit information - creditor names, account numbers,
addresses, and monthly payment amounts.
A copy of your credit report, if possible.
Income information - amounts of income from employment,
student loans, grants, parental support, government support,
trust funds, etc. Provide documentation where possible.
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Q: Are there application fees in this area?
A: Yes. Landlords can charge a fee for processing applications
and running credit checks. However, if they do not run a
credit check on you they are required to refund that portion
of the fee. Fees often range from $20-$50 per adult.
Q: If I have a problem with a landlord, what should
I do?
A: First, try to work it out with the landlord. It may be
a good idea to communicate in writing or follow up your
conversations with a letter confirming your understanding
of what was said or decided. If you are not satisfied with
the outcome, you may want to use some of the following resources.
The Community Housing Services office has books on landlord/tenant
law that you can look at while at the office. Residents
of San Mateo county can use the mediation services available
through the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center (650-571-0367).
Residents of Santa Clara county can contact Project Sentinel
(408-720-9888). Registered students can make an appointment
with the ASSU Legal Counseling Office for legal advice (650-723-3381).
If you feel that there is a problem with discrimination,
call Mid-Peninsula Citizens for Fair Housing (650-327-1718).
Q: Is there public transportation in the area?
A: The public transportation system here is not extensive,
but it does exist. Caltrain runs along the peninsula between
San Francisco and San Jose. It has stops in Redwood City,
Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale.
Stanford operates a free shuttle that runs to two train
stations in Palo Alto, to the Menlo Park train station,
and into downtown Palo Alto.
There are buses that run up and down El Camino Real, along
Middlefield Road, out Willow Road, etc.
Stanford's Transportation Services office has a great Web
site with links to route maps and schedules. The Web address
is transportation.Stanford.edu.
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