Feature
by Emily Landes
Even though Jacqueline Sandoval grew up in South San Francisco, when she enrolled in the University of San Francisco last fall she and her mother decided that it was important to her "college experience" that she move out of the house. So, like most freshmen and sophomores at USF, Sandoval lives on campus. But she is already thinking about what she wants from an off-campus apartment once she can move out of the strict, but quiet, all-girl dorm she was "stuck in" by the school's housing office.
The apartment should have an updated bathroom and a kitchen (two things she doesn't get in the dorm, though her shared room does have a sink, which many other dorm rooms do not), and it should have multiple bedrooms so that she can have her own room while still feeling connected with her classmates. "I kind of like having my friends around," she says of having roommates. It should also be walking distance or one bus ride from campus, and it needs to have high-speed internet access so she can study and research papers from home.
But even as Sandoval is anticipating a more independent life after sophomore year, she is also anticipating the challenge of finding the apartment that fits all her criteria. She has heard tales of housing woe from upperclassmen who, every year about this time, lament the lack of off-campus housing opportunities with the amenities that students want at student-friendly prices.
What has been a challenge for students all over San Francisco could be an opportunity for property owners who are willing to reach out to this underserved population. According to 2004 census data, San Francisco has 615,895 people over the age of 18 and 62,513 are in college or graduate school. Further census data shows that 45% of the city's 18-to-24 population is attending one of the city's many colleges and universities. At San Francisco State University alone, there are almost 30,000 students (55% from the Bay Area, 40% from Southern California and about 5% international and out of state) and less than 10% of them live on campus, according to the university.
A Constant Need
With so many students in need of housing, it is no wonder that schools usually have waitlists for their on-campus dorms and apartments. At SFSU, no one is guaranteed housing, including freshmen, despite the fact that the university recently purchased two large high rises expressly for student housing. "The need is constant," says Senem Ozer, assistant director of residential administrative services at SFSU. "The rental market has gotten a little better in the last five to six years, but it's still a challenge." Since housing is first come, first served at SFSU, Ozer recommends that students apply for housing a year in advance, even before they find out whether they've gotten into the school.
The housing crunch is no different for graduate students. At the University of California-San Francisco, Resident Relations Manager Todd McGregor reports that on-campus housing options on the Parnassus campus are 95-100% filled each year and that the newly built Mission Bay campus will reach that occupancy within five years. Right now the new campus and the surrounding area are still under construction, so its been somewhat difficult to lure UCSF students there, but the university has had no problem filling its rooms with students from other city schools like University of California-Hastings, College of the Arts and Golden Gate University, all of which provide even less housing for their students than USF, SFSU and UCSF. Janine Mixon, director of student life at GGU, says the school doesn't have any housing set aside for students and doesn't even have a staff member to help their more than 4,000 students find a place to live.
No More Animal House
So, how can you attract the large mass of students looking for housing? The first and most important thing is to make yourself more open to the idea of student tenants. Many property owners envision their properties being turned into disaster areas from out of Animal House, with punched-in walls, broken windows and stained carpeting, if they rent to college kids. Certainly, it's impossible to rule out destructive tenants in any segment of the population, but students are no more likely than any other group to damage your property. In fact, many of them are more responsible and quieter than others in the under-30 age group. One former USF professor, who wished to remain nameless, has been renting to students at the school for years and never encountered a single problem. "Especially if you have law students, they're working day and night," he says. "So they're very quiet. And they stay for three years."
Once you've decided to attract students to your building, your next step is to talk to a college housing office and post your property on their off-campus-housing online bulletin board. Some schools charge a minimal fee for this service, and some provide it free of charge, but it's the easiest way to reach students in a forum that they trust.
Almost all schools are happy to get the word out about additional housing opportunities for students. James Wade is the graduate assistant for off-campus housing at USF and says that the school encourages its juniors, seniors and graduate students to find off-campus housing because it relieves the school of the pressure to find them a place to live once they are no longer guaranteed housing. But once landlords get over their initial trepidation in renting to students, they always come back for a new academic year. "Some landlords don't enjoy renting to students," he relays, "but we're lucky in that regard because we have a base of people who like to come to us."
Even if you don't use a school's online service, placing an ad in an online venue like Craigslist is a much more effective way to reach students than an ad in the paper or posting a notice on campus. "Young, smart people don't even read the printed word," says the landlord and former USF professor. "They use Craigslist."
Additional Amenities
Once you've gotten students to notice your ad, there are a few simple ways to keep their interest piqued. Emphasize the amenities in your property that will most appeal to students: proximity to campus, high-speed internet access and other above-the-norm amenities, and a price that is in keeping with what they are used to paying on campus.
Of course, buildings that are walking distance to campus are going to be most attractive, but just because you can't see a college from your building doesn't mean it would be unappealing to students. Wade says USF students will live anywhere between the outer Richmond and the Western Addition, as long as the building is near the 5 busline that goes right by campus. McGregor at UCSF says students there will live anywhere along the N line, from the Lower Haight to the Sunset, although he adds, "there's a big psychological barrier to crossing 19th Avenue."
For some, particularly older students and graduate students, proximity to campus is not nearly as much of a draw as the amenities of the apartment itself. Randy Roach, a 25-year-old junior who transferred to USF, says he and his girlfriend, also a USF student, are much more interested in a place with parking that will allow them to keep their dog than they are in an easy commute. In fact, proximity to campus is a bit of a deterrent to Roach, who proclaims, "If I live near campus it would also be near a bunch of 20-year-olds and I'm not interested in that."
What Roach is interested in is high-speed internet connection, an amenity many students consider a must for any off-campus apartments. Including internet access in the rent is an easy way to make your building very attractive to students. In fact, the more utilities included in the rent, the more appealing your property becomes; many undergraduates have never lived on their own and are not used to paying these monthly bills. USF's Wade says that one-quarter of his off-campus listings include internet and cable and some include other utilities as well. "A few years ago, landlords caught on that if you include utilities, students would be more interested," he comments. Other above-and-beyond services that university personnel reported seeing include month-to-month leases, cleaning services and even meals for students transitioning off of the school's meal plan.
Creating amenities has become more important as schools across the country have increased their on-campus offerings. Stylish modern furniture and hardwood floors have replaced the industrial-grade look that previous generations of students remember. Fitness centers, computer halls equipped with the latest technology (and, of course, high-speed Ethernet) and in-building cafes with healthy, savory dining choices are yet more amenities.
In response, some larger apartment buildings hoping to attract students have had to offer even more to compete, like The Villas at Park Merced, right next to SFSU. Erica Gunnison, a rental agent at the complex, says that the apartments have many students, though she didn't have exact numbers. The complex has a business center "for those who want an ergonomically-correct, well-lit place to type," billiards, a movie theatre, a lounge with a gourmet kitchen, a fitness center and even offers a free one-year subscription to Tivo, although that offer is not always available. Plus, The Villas offers online photos of apartments, as well as online applications. "You can have your roommate check out the website if they're not local or its not convenient," says Gunnison.
Cost Concerns
Of course, your building could have all these amenities and more and it won't make a difference if the rent is drastically higher than living on campus. But luckily, as schools' amenities have increased, so have their prices—and at a faster rate than rent control would allow. At SFSU, for example, the price for a one-person apartment with a kitchen and bathroom in University Park South was $925 a month (plus a $1,300 first installment) for the 2005-06 academic year. For 2006-07, that price is now $961 a month (plus the $1,300 first installment). For a two-person unit in the same building, $846 per roommate is the going rate for 2006-07, up from $825 last year. According to the rent-surveying website sf.rentslicer.com, the average price for a two-bedroom rental near SFSU was only $1,719 a month, almost exactly the price that both roommates are paying to rent a similar space from SFSU.
And many students are willing to sacrifice some of their on-campus amenities for an even more persuasive bottom line. Ozer of SFSU reports that the students she talks to, particularly those from outside the Bay Area, often have high-flying dreams of off-campus amenities but are quickly brought down to earth after a few weeks in the market. "Sometimes the expectations of students who aren't from here are a little skewed. They think they can afford their own place, and it's a little shocking," she says of rental prices. "Most students I've talked to aren't as enticed by amenities as the bottom line: the rent."
This is particularly true of students who already have a family, adds UCSF's McGregor. These students are dealing with particularly tight economic resources and have more of a financial burden than the average undergraduate.
In the end, a good balance between amenities and price is the best way to make your property appealing to the types of responsible, long-term student tenants that make for excellent residents, like Andrea Woods, a law student at USF who has lived in her Twin Peaks apartment for several years. She loves the views and the neighborhood, even though it's a 45-minute walk from campus or a two-bus ride, and she wouldn't think of moving…unless she could find a place with a dishwasher for the same rent she pays now. "But I don't think I'll find that," she laments.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Emily Landes is the managing editor of the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. Copyright © 2006 by the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.