I’ve compiled the following information to assist UCI Merage MBA admits in gathering information on off-campus housing options during their time at the program. Obviously, there is no charge for this information, or for my rental services. All I ask is that should you fill out any application for off campus housing, you please reference “Stacey Harmon, Surterre Properties” as the referring source. Thank you so much and I hope you find the following post helpful!

Many MBA students who can’t get on-campus housing are interested in still being within walking distance of UCI. The good news is there are lots of opportunities for this. However, there is also a lot of demand for these apartments, so they don’t come cheap (you can save some money if you are willing to drive to campus). But, for those who won’t have a car during their MBA experience, or simply want to be right next to campus and in the middle of everything, there are some great, convenient housing options available.

In summary, there are a total of 9 community options that are considered "withing walking distance" of UCI. They fall into two main ownership segments, IAC or Private Ownership. Which category they fall in determines how easy, or difficult, it is to:

1. Find availability
2. Negotiate a price
3. Predict the level of maintenance on the property
4. Get information about the property
5. Navigate the rental application and leasing process

Following are more details related to the above list for each of the two ownership options.

IAC vs. Private Ownership:

Irvine Apartment Communities (IAC)

The first thing to know about apartments within walking distance of UCI is that the bulk of the properties are owned by the Irvine Apartment Communities (also known as IAC). IAC is owned by the Irvine Company and has a strong majority of the apartment housing that immediately surrounds the campus with ownership of 5 of the 9 communities and a greater overall quantity of apartments available than the private ownership communities. Overall, IAC manages approximately 70 apartment communities in the Coastal Orange County market (Irvine, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, and Tustin).

IAC is an attractive option for many students for many reasons:

Finding Availability

It is easy to determine what the availability for apartments is as the process is centralized for all IAC properties. They have an Apartment Information Center equipped with "Housing Specialists" who will help you to find the right IAC apartment for your needs.

I suggest you contact Bernadette Ort, Housing Specialist at the IAC - she has worked with me to place several Merage Students in the past. Bernadette can tell you the current and projected availability and rental rates for all of the IAC properties. You can also place a “future hold” on properties if you want to, say, start a lease 2 months from the time you are inquiring. Working with the Apartment Information Center is far more efficient than going to each of the individual properties where you will only be given the availability and lease rates for that particular property and you will receive the “sales pitch” for that property. You can email or call Bernadette at (949) 223-0800.

IAC also has a roommate paring service to help you find a roommate if you need one. They feature people who have existing leases at IAC communities and need roommates, or people who are looking for a roommate and then want to go in on a lease together. The form to fill out for this service can be found here.

Negotiating Price

It is easy to know what the rental price is. There is very little room for negotiation with IAC…the rate posted is what you will most likely pay. Sometimes they run 2 week move-in specials for people who are willing to move in immediately…these specials fade the closer you get to the school year, but it is worth asking before you sign a lease!

A summary of the UCI apartment options from the IAC Spring/Summer 2008 Rental Catalog can be found here - prices are subject to change and you can expect your rent to go up when you renew your lease.

Maintenance Level

The properties are very well maintained and professionally managed.

Level of Information about the Property

There is ample information, including property descriptions, multiple photos, floorplans, and amenities descriptions available on line.

• Ambrose
• Stanford Court
• Dartmouth Court
• Harvard/Cornell
• Berkeley/Columbia

Rental Process:

The process for renting is clear, well defined and very structured. IAC will guide you through the process.

IAC apartments are an excellent option for international students as they rent to a lot of them and they have a very clearly defined and established process for doing so.

It is possible to rent an IAC apartment sight unseen (if you are comfortable doing so). Because of the level of maintenance and upkeep done on IAC properties, you are likely not going to run into an issue of poor condition if you decide to rent without first seeing the property. Of course, without seeing the apartment, you will not be familiar with its location in the complex, which is a risk. But there are students who simply can’t get to Irvine before school starts and they need to lease a place site unseen. IAC is your best option for this.

IAC Rental Application & Needs:

• Click here for the IAC application form.
• Details about what IAC requires for when you are ready to rent an apartment can be found here

   

Private Ownership Apartments

Within walking distance of campus there are 4 developments which were sold to private owners. Because a different person owns each property, the experience of locating and leasing one of these apartments can vary dramatically as each owner may choose a different method of advertising their apartment, will maintain their property to their own level of standards, and will have their own method of entering into a lease agreement. Private owners may also have their own "rules" (within legally definable limits) for who they will rent to (i.e. they may or may not allow smokers, or tenants with pets).

The four private ownership communities are:

• Columbia Square
• Princeton Townhomes
• Oxford Court
• Cambridge Court

Finding availability

Finding availability in private ownership condos and townhomes is hit and miss. Each owner chooses to advertise their leases in different ways. The most common ways to find availability of private ownership apartments around UCI is as as follows:

1. The Multiple Listing Service: Some owners will choose to hire a Realtor to advertise their rental and find them a tenant. If they do this, the property will be listed in the Multiple Listing Service (the database that all Realtors use to see available inventory). I created this link to take you to a search that lets you see the same current lease inventory in the immediate UCI area (known as University Town Center) that I can see as a Realtor. The data is current and any changes are updated daily. You can subscribe to an RSS feed of the listings as well. If you are interested in seeing any of these leases, I can show them to you.
2. Craig’s List Orange County: Sometimes a good place to find rentals or roommate needed ads. It can be a bit of a task to narrow down and search for leases that are within the immediate walking area of UCI due to the nature of Craig’s list. I suggest narrowing down your search by searching the term “UCI” within the housing section of the site.
3. The Pennysaver: Sometimes a good place to find rentals or roommate needed ads. The way the system is organized makes it hard to narrow down and search for leases that are within the immediate walking area of UCI.
4. UCI Housing Outreach Office: Most of the owners who choose to lease out their condos and townhouses know that a great place to find UCI students is by placing an ad at the UCI Housing Outreach Office. For $15, UCI admits and students can access the housing listings.
5. Drive Around: Occassionally owners will place "for lease" signs in windows of apartments that are available.

Negotiating a price

Within walking distance of UCI, the rates for privately owned apartments are comparable to the IAC communities. Because of the strong demand for these units based on their location, the lease rate advertised is often the rate that is paid. However, because each unit is privately owned, there may be more flexibility in negotiating the price of the lease than if you were to go with the IAC option, depending on the landlord/owner you are dealing with. If you aren’t able to negotiate price, you may find that these owners are more flexible on terms such as move in date, amount of security deposit, etc.

Getting information about the property and predicting the level of maintenance on the property

With private ownership communities, the amount of information you get about a property can vary dramatically. This is really up to how well the individual owner gets the word out. If you find the listing through a Realtor or the MLS, chances are you will get more photos and information about the property than if you find the listing on Craig’s List or in the Pennysaver. It is also harder to predict the level of maintenance that the property has, or will have, over the time of your lease. This is a topic you will want to ask about before you sign a lease. I recommend that on every privately owned rental, you tour the property before signing a lease as condition of the units can vary dramatically from one place to another (even within the same complex) and the photos you see aren’t always reflective of the true condition of the apartment.

Navigating the rental application and leasing process

The process for leasing private ownership units can vary, depending on how you find the available unit. If you work with a Realtor or find a place through the MLS, the Realtor will manage the negotiation, and lease agreement process for you, making sure that you are properly represented in the lease transaction (the landlord pays all fees associated with this service, not the applicant/tenant - in other words, you do not have to pay to be represented by me on a lease you find via the MLS). If you find the lease via Craig’s List, or other direct advertising option where you are directly in touch with the landlord or owner, they will inform you of how they will handle the lease process. They likely have a standard lease agreement and credit checking process you will have to follow. The thing to remember is that you are dealing with private owners, so your experience with each of them can be very different. This is in contrast to dealing with IAC who has a very standardized, predictable rental process. I would definitely not recommend renting sight unseen for privately owned rentals. The condition of privately owned rentals can vary dramatically and should be inspected prior to signing a lease.

Selecting an apartment:

If you plan to be in the Irvine area prior to starting your lease and would like some help in viewing the properties (either IAC or Private Ownership), please contact me. I am happy to meet with you, drive you around to help orient you to the various apartment communities, and even take you to the IAC Apartment Information Center to speak with Bernadette or one of their housing specialists. In addition, if you find an apartment in the Multiple Listing Service that you are interested in seeing, I can get us an appointment to see it. Also, as a reminder, all the information provided here is a free service to you and there is no cost for me to talk with you or show you different apartments when you are in Irvine. Just contact me directly to coordinate a time.

More posts on renting off-campus housing will be coming in the weeks ahead. If you have a topic you’d like discussed, please send me an email or post a comment below. I’ll be happy to address it!