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Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of The Berkeley Graduate’s new graduate student orientation edition.
As the Fall semester approaches, new graduate students are faced with the often daunting task of finding an apartment in the Berkeley area. The rental market can be quite competitive, and around campus this is the most competitive time as there is a huge rush for securing apartments close to the University. To help you keep your sanity and your stipend, this post will offer some helpful tips for navigating the apartment search gauntlet.
Make technology your friend. Search Craig’s List for the neighborhood and price range you’re looking for. It can be helpful to set up an RSS feed to track the latest listings. It’s also useful to do a text search for important items, such as move-in dates, whether there is a yard or garage, etc.
Another great option is PadMapper, which integrates Craig’s List postings with a Google Maps interface. Just input a price range, scroll and zoom to find your favorite neighborhoods, and you’re good to go.
Cal Rentals hosts apartment listings geared especially for members of the University community. While there is a small fee to subscribe and the volume of postings is much smaller than Craig’s List, Cal Rentals can still be a useful resource.
Know the process. Take the time to learn about what you will be asked on a rental application so that you will be able to file them quickly. Be prepared with a check at each apartment showing—many property owners charge an application fee to allow them to run a credit check. Alternatively, think ahead and get your own credit report to provide to property owners, saving you money in the long run.
Know your rights. Berkeley’s Rent Board has a reputation as being friendly to tenants, but you still need to do some due diligence to avoid sticky situations. You are entitled to interest on your security deposit, to a walk-through inspection by your property owner, and to the protection of rent control. Remember that rental laws vary by city, so if you’re renting outside of Berkeley you’ll need to research the local rental laws.
Document everything. Before you move anything into your new place, go through the apartment and take photographs of the entire living space. If anything is broken, tell the property owner immediately. These are key steps to a smooth move-out—the last thing you want is a battle with the property owner about whether you left the place in worse condition than you found it. If you document along the way, you’ll have a compelling case if any issues need to be resolved by the Rent Board.
Use local contacts. Trying to find an apartment remotely can be tough, but if you have some friends or family in the area, it’s time to call in some favors! Have them check out some of your favorite listings so you know whether it’s everything you hoped it would be. Colleagues in your department might be willing to help as well, so don’t be afraid to ask for a favor in return for a beer when you get into town.
Know what to compromise on, and what not to. You probably don’t need granite countertops and fancy appliances, but you might really want some space to garden, a garage for your car or hobby, or a living room big enough to have friends over. The one thing you should never compromise on is safety and comfort. If you don’t feel safe and comfortable walking in the neighborhood at night, it’s going to be very difficult to focus on your teaching and research. If you don’t need a lot of space and can’t afford a one-bedroom in a nice area, think about finding a studio, or try to connect with some students in your department to get a place together and save on rent. One and two bedroom apartments in Berkeley are fairly expensive, but the prices get much more reasonable with three or four bedrooms, since those apartments will often take up one floor of a house.
Technology can help you figure out how safe a neighborhood is. The Berkeley Police Department has a crime map that can give you a sense of how often crimes are committed in an area, and how serious they are. Oakland has a similar site. These are important tools to use since safety can vary dramatically, even from one block to the next. Talk to folks in your department about where they’re living, and be sure not to rely on stereotypes—many parts of Oakland are much safer than some parts of Berkeley, for example.
Photo by Flickr user Dionne Hartnett
The days are long, the weather’s warm and sunny. All in all, it’s shaping up to be a great weekend! Here are a few things from around the web for some laid-back Friday afternoon reading….
A public transit odyssey from San Francisco to LA
Berkeley unveils two exciting anew resources: the California Language Archive and, for climate change science, Cal-Adapt
What happens to the the contents of Berkeley’s green waste bins?
A 24-hour cafe on Telegraph
And just in case you missed it: Gettin’ real in the Whole Foods Parking Lot
By phoosh
Welcome back to campus and classes. Here at the Berkeley Graduate, we hope your vacation was refreshing and the new semester is productive.
Photo by Russell Mondy
While school’s out, the Berkeley Graduate is also on vacation. Here are a few links from around the web for your enjoyment.
Some pleasure reading for those of us experiencing a quarter-life crisis.
Turns out the Bay Area’s best hot chocolate is in Rockridge; a cup of Bittersweet’s most popular drink would definitely lift my spirits on a rainy day.
Tips for staying safe during winter travel.
Enjoying the holidays when you’re broke.
Rent your apartment while you’re out of town or find a place to stay while you’re traveling.
The following message comes from a Rhetoric Ph.D. candidate who also volunteers as a translator for Bay Area Legal Aid:
Language interpreters and other volunteers needed at Bay Area Legal Aid, an organization serving low-income litigants in different areas, from housing to immigration.
Help people gain much-needed legal access! My name is Alisa and I am a grad student in Rhetoric at UC Berkeley. I volunteer at BayLegal translating and interpreting from Spanish-English for domestic and sexual violence survivors as they apply for U visas and undertake other family law pleadings (divorce, custody, civil restraining orders). The clients receive needed legal services, and also empowered, they are speaking out against violence and using the law to protect themselves and their families. It is empowering to me to be a part of this process.
This work is important. The injustices of these cases are infuriating. This organization really helps to make a difference – but the clients and lawyers have to be able to communicate! Please volunteer as a language interpreter. You’ll work with people committed to legal access for all and learn about the legal system. While a range of positions and time commitments exist, language interpreters (in many languages!) are especially needed.
Several Berkeley City Commissions have vacancies and City Councilmember Jesse Arreguin is looking for people, including students, to appoint to fill these openings. Serving on a City Commission is a good way to learn more about local issues and to affect local policy decisions.
The following commissions currently have vacancies:
- Community Health Commission
- Elmwood Advisory Board
- Homeless Commission
- Housing Advisory Commission
- Human Welfare and Community Action Commission
- Loan Administration Board
- Police Review Commission
- Transportation Commission
- Youth Commission
If you are interested in serving on one of these commissions or have questions, please contact Councilmember Arreguin’s office at (510) 981-7140 or JArreguin@ci.berkeley.ca.us. General information about commissions can be found at: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/commissions/general.htm.
Many graduate students are concerned about what the reorganization suggested under the Operational Excellence initiative may mean for them and their departments.
Graduate Student Services is soliciting graduate student feedback to inform this process by holding small focus groups on Wednesday, December 1. To talk over the issues that concern you and share your ideas, email Assistant Dean Corinne Kosmitzki (ckosmitzki@berkeley.edu) to reserve a spot in one of these groups. Include in the email your name, department, degree expected, and year. Also indicate whether you wish to attend Session 1 (12-2 pm) or Session 2 (6:30-8:30 pm). Both sessions will be held in 394 Minor Hall (School of Optometry).
If you need further incentive, there will be free Zachary’s pizza and drinks provided.
There is a chance that the proposal to change the name of “educational fees” to “tuition,” which the regents will vote on next week, could undermine the guaranteed fee remission that GSIs currently receive. (For graduate students, educational and registration fees total about $9,000/year.) To learn more about what the language change may mean for graduate student instructors as well as the status of ongoing contract negotiations (the existing contract extension expires on Monday, November 15), attend today’s union meeting. It begins at 4 pm in 88 Dwinelle.
It’s mid-November and time for our final giveaway of the semester, hopefully leaving the lucky winner enough time to use the prize before this school year ends. This week we’re giving away a $55 gift certificate to the RSF. This is enough for a 50-minute massage, but can also be put toward any other product or service the RSF provides.
For a chance to win, leave a comment below letting us know what issue or issues concern you as a member of the UC Berkeley campus community. The giveaway is open to all UC Berkeley students and staff. Only one entry per person. Good luck!
Update: Lucy is our winner. Congratulations! And thank you all for your thoughtful responses. In the future, the Berkeley Graduate will do its best to expand coverage of those issues.