Hello... I will start my P1 year at U of Houston, TX this Fall and so far I am quite lost in finding a place to stay. The school orientation website only gives very very general infos. I tried searching on apartment.com and other websites but it seems like every complex has nothing but good stuffs to say about them. Any advices on particular complexes names (so I can go and look at them immediately) from current and former UH students would be truely appreciated! Thanks in advance! I am from Dallas by the way...
Help with U of Houston Housing for new students
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I will be starting this fall also and I'm completely lost. I would like to live on a bus route so I wouldn't have to deal with traffic. I would also like to live with other pharmacy students. I've only been to Houston twice in my life. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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I actually live in Houston, and I too am looking for a place right now. If you go to google.com, you can try to find some apartments using their maps. Would either of yall be interested in rooming together (to cut costs)?
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Unfortunately, housing in Houston is really expensive....or at least compared to College Station. If you want a fairly nice, safe place to live, be ready to pay alot. I recommend the Houston apartment guide book. I'm not sure where you get one but Im pretty sure you can get it almost anywhere in Houston. It really helped me out.
I can't wait to meet all of you! 😀
I can't wait to meet all of you! 😀
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Not really, I don't have specific names of apartment complexes. I'm kinda putting my eggs in one basket when it comes to apartments. And I do agree with what you said about living on our own the first semester, but Aggie is right as well, it is EXPENSIVE here, especially in the nicer areas.
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they are ok. Bayou oaks is where all the frats live. Cullen oaks is ok. I am tired of living on campus though.
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I'm a fourth year medical student at UT Houston Med School, and I would be more than happy to answer anybody's questions about apartments (which are nice, safe, conveinient, etc). I can also give advice about condiminium complexes, which are pretty popular among med/dental/pharm students, and just as affordable as apartments while making an investment as well. I must admit that I have a condo that we put on the market recently (it is on the SDN Classifieds under Houston Med Center Condo), but I will answer any questions about housing that anyone may have. Congratulations on your next step in your professional career, you will really enjoy Houston!
What do you know about these places....
Valencia
7575 Kirby
Riverwalk
Briarwick
City Plaza
Cambridge Glen (I believe this is your complex)
What are some places to look at and which ones should we avoid in the med center? Thanks.
Valencia
7575 Kirby
Riverwalk
Briarwick
City Plaza
Cambridge Glen (I believe this is your complex)
What are some places to look at and which ones should we avoid in the med center? Thanks.
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My honest opinion:
Valencia/7575 Kirby-Extremely Nice! (and extremely pricey!) If you are a nontraditional student with a nice bank account from previous job, or parents are willing to lay down the dough, this would be high end living in graduate school. Otherwise, too much debt, on top of tuition and no income. Honestly, Valencia would be a little more convenient because it would be 5 minute walk to light rail, but I think 7575 Kirby is in a nicer location. I never even considered buying either place.
Riverwalk- More in a grad student's price range, but one of the more expensive complexes in "condo land." A metro stop is pretty close, but the UT shuttle stop would be a descent hike. You can get some 2br/2ba, but most are less than 1,000 square feet, so may be cramped living. Most do have nice bathrooms, and the exterior landscaping is really pleasant. My wife and I were interested in a condo in this complex, but could not justify the price per square feet.
City Plaza- Along the same lines as Riverwalk, you can find a nice two bedroom condo, but you are really going to have to pay for it. Not too bad of a walk to the light rail. My wife and I also really liked a 2br/1ba, but we were wanting to own for the same price as renting, and it was not possible here. I do know a few med students here, and they are happy, and their places are nice, but they were all 1br/1ba.
Briarwick- I don't know anyone who lives in these condos and never considered looking for a condo here. I think the prices are so cheap because they are in a kind of run down area, and even the higher priced condos were dumpy inside. Maybe you can find a good deal on one and fix it up?
Cambridge Glen- Obviously I am biased, but if you get one that has been updated, I think they are one of the best buys in the med center. Although our place is only 2br/1ba, ours has more square feet than almost any 2br/2ba in the other complexes. With a condo, all of the exterior structure and building is covered by the condo association, so all you really have to worry about is appliances, pretty much all of which we have replaced in the past two years. There are a couple of other units in our complex that are good finds as well. It is very convenient, with the UT Shuttle and Metro stop directly across the street, and the grounds are really nicely landscaped and kept very clean. They are not the newest and most modern condos on the outside, but they are being well maintained, and ours has really been updated on the inside and are a great investment for pharm/med/dental students. Okay, I'll stop advertising my place😀 . If you do want to see it you can look on SDN Classifieds under Houston Med Center Condo.
Valencia/7575 Kirby-Extremely Nice! (and extremely pricey!) If you are a nontraditional student with a nice bank account from previous job, or parents are willing to lay down the dough, this would be high end living in graduate school. Otherwise, too much debt, on top of tuition and no income. Honestly, Valencia would be a little more convenient because it would be 5 minute walk to light rail, but I think 7575 Kirby is in a nicer location. I never even considered buying either place.
Riverwalk- More in a grad student's price range, but one of the more expensive complexes in "condo land." A metro stop is pretty close, but the UT shuttle stop would be a descent hike. You can get some 2br/2ba, but most are less than 1,000 square feet, so may be cramped living. Most do have nice bathrooms, and the exterior landscaping is really pleasant. My wife and I were interested in a condo in this complex, but could not justify the price per square feet.
City Plaza- Along the same lines as Riverwalk, you can find a nice two bedroom condo, but you are really going to have to pay for it. Not too bad of a walk to the light rail. My wife and I also really liked a 2br/1ba, but we were wanting to own for the same price as renting, and it was not possible here. I do know a few med students here, and they are happy, and their places are nice, but they were all 1br/1ba.
Briarwick- I don't know anyone who lives in these condos and never considered looking for a condo here. I think the prices are so cheap because they are in a kind of run down area, and even the higher priced condos were dumpy inside. Maybe you can find a good deal on one and fix it up?
Cambridge Glen- Obviously I am biased, but if you get one that has been updated, I think they are one of the best buys in the med center. Although our place is only 2br/1ba, ours has more square feet than almost any 2br/2ba in the other complexes. With a condo, all of the exterior structure and building is covered by the condo association, so all you really have to worry about is appliances, pretty much all of which we have replaced in the past two years. There are a couple of other units in our complex that are good finds as well. It is very convenient, with the UT Shuttle and Metro stop directly across the street, and the grounds are really nicely landscaped and kept very clean. They are not the newest and most modern condos on the outside, but they are being well maintained, and ours has really been updated on the inside and are a great investment for pharm/med/dental students. Okay, I'll stop advertising my place😀 . If you do want to see it you can look on SDN Classifieds under Houston Med Center Condo.
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hey! i'm going to houston from dallas too!
i understand what you mean about the housing issue. let's hope we figure something out over the summer!
i understand what you mean about the housing issue. let's hope we figure something out over the summer!
Hi C-Gar,
Thanks for the reply. I have another question though. When she would start signing a lease? Would the end of May or mid-June be too late? I went to undergrad at UT-Austin so in Austin we had to sign a lease at least by April or early May so I'm not sure how "busy" the housing situation is like in Houston.
Thanks for the reply. I have another question though. When she would start signing a lease? Would the end of May or mid-June be too late? I went to undergrad at UT-Austin so in Austin we had to sign a lease at least by April or early May so I'm not sure how "busy" the housing situation is like in Houston.
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When to sign a lease?
If you are talking about a condo, then it really just depends on when you and the seller are willing to work it out. I would imagine most peole with homes on the market are willing to sign it off to you as soon as you want it, but not necessarily as late as you want it.
If you are talking about apartments, then just find one you are interested in renting and sign a contract telling them your move in date. I think now is certainly the time to start finding apartments/condos/houses before the really good deals are are sold/rented, but you should be able to work out a deal where the actual time you start owning/ renting works best for you.
I really don't think I answered your question. Feel free to ask again, I'll try to answer it again!
If you are talking about a condo, then it really just depends on when you and the seller are willing to work it out. I would imagine most peole with homes on the market are willing to sign it off to you as soon as you want it, but not necessarily as late as you want it.
If you are talking about apartments, then just find one you are interested in renting and sign a contract telling them your move in date. I think now is certainly the time to start finding apartments/condos/houses before the really good deals are are sold/rented, but you should be able to work out a deal where the actual time you start owning/ renting works best for you.
I really don't think I answered your question. Feel free to ask again, I'll try to answer it again!
Could you please provide the physical address of these places. I'll go to Houson this early May to see them and I have search on apartment.com but could not find their addresses. Thanks in advance! 🙂
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These are actually condos, not apartments, so that may be why you were having some trouble.
Valencia- 1711 Old Spanish Trail 204, 77054.
$280,000-$170,000
7575 Kirby, 77030
$258,000-$176,000
Riverwalk- 2300 Old Spanish Trail, 77054
$140,000-$105,000
City Plaza- 1330 Old Spanish Trail , 77054
$185,000-$104,000 (the $104,000 is for a 650 sq feet 1/1)
Cambridge Glen- 8100 Cambridge, 77054
$132,500-$75,900
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It really just depends on your budget.
If you want to own a place for $110,000, then with interest rate of 6% (you may get a little bit better) then monthly payment is $660. After Condo association fee and taxes, that is pretty equivalent to renting, but you will be getting back your principle, appreciation, possible tax breaks, and will be building equity, all allowing you to profit (or essentially lose less) when you move on in you carreer.
If you want a place for $150,000 then you mortgage bumps up another $230 per month to $900. A $175,000 place is $1,050 per month.
There are plenty of condos throughout Houston, with a huge range of prices. As a professional school student, I would find out how much I wanted to spend, type in that amount to Har.com, find a nice looking place that has been taken care of, look at the location in relation the Med center, ease of transportation. After finding that, and are not sure about the complex or safety of the area, I would be happy to try to give my opinion. In general, any of the complexes in Condoland will be relatively the same in safety, convenience, and outward appearance, with some differences here and there.
So you can't rent these for a monthly rent, can you? I am just looking for 1ba/1bed apartment that I can rent. Do you have any recommendations? I'd appreciate it a lot!
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I am pretty sure that Braeswood Park were apartments that have recently been converted to condos, but I am not positive. On Har.com they use the same pictures for quite a few of the condos, so I think there must be a lot of empty units with the same floor plan. The pictures of the units did post look pretty nice on the inside, but they are really no different on the exterior from most other complexes. I really don't know how they justify asking that price for their units though. The location is nice in that you are across the street from a decent grocery store, but it really is not in a predominately residential area. It is probably a 5+ minute walk to the light rail, which is a plus, but hopefully there is a metro bus stop closer because you can get very wet with rain, or sweaty in a 5 minute walk to the rail. If you are not worried about spending $150,000+, you can do better than these condos. I would much rather live in Valencia if money was not a consideration, and if I was wanting to have a more reasonable priced home, I would pick a unit in Condoland.
Also, even though I truly am trying to be impartial, I can't help but be biased about where I decided to buy, and am now trying to sale. My wife and I look around a lot before deciding our place was what was best for us. You know what you are looking for, take my opinions with grain of salt, and best of luck with the home hunt!
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I thought I would throw this out there if anyone was interested:
I'll be starting Baylor Med in the fall and I have a place in UT-Houston student housing. 2 bdrm/2 bath. Your rent would be 365/mo + 1/2 Utilities. The 87 bus stops right out front and it's about a 5 (?) block walk to a rail stop (I'm guessing but that sounds right). I'd prefer a female. PM me if interested 🙂
I'll be starting Baylor Med in the fall and I have a place in UT-Houston student housing. 2 bdrm/2 bath. Your rent would be 365/mo + 1/2 Utilities. The 87 bus stops right out front and it's about a 5 (?) block walk to a rail stop (I'm guessing but that sounds right). I'd prefer a female. PM me if interested 🙂
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My best friend lived in Parque View for 2 years. It certainly is cheap, but there is a reason why it is cheap. The apartments are not really that up to date (at least my friend's wasn't), and he said that he thought his fellow residents in the complex were pretty shady. I would not want my wife or sister to have lived there, but as a guy (if you are a guy) as long as you keep yourself out of stupid situations, it may not be a terrible idea. If money is not too tight, I would suggest Archstone Medical which is across the street, and much closer to the light rail. Lanesborough and Archstone Greenbriar are also very close to the light rail, and are safer places to live. Let me know if you have any other questions or comments.
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Rice Village is actually fairly close to the med center. When you say "Rice Village Area," then anything east of Rice Village is getting closer to Med center, anything West is getting further away.
Pros: It would be great if you would like to bike everyday. Obviously Rice Village is right there so easy access to some shopping (if that is important to you), restaurants and bars.
Cons: No chance for using the light rail. I honestly don't know how much the Metro Bus runs through there.
For the most part, residential areas around Rice Village are relatively nice homes, but maybe I am just not familiar with the Apartments/Condos you are refering to. Maybe if you are a little more specific I would be able to help you out more.
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I had the same problem while looking for apartments in Amarillo. The apartment staff and anything on the internet just tells you all the good marketing stuff. Go to apartmentratings.com to get real feedbacks (neg and pos). That's how I narrowed down my choices. Hope that helps.
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