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The
Cal
Rentals is Berkeleys housing service and resource guide.
It contains valuable information about the housing market
in the Bay Area. Once accepted as an exchange students,
students may request a letter of introduction from IAS,
and register for the service. Here are some extracts from
a CalRentals publication that may be of interest to the
incoming exchange student:
Cal Rentals
2610 Channing Way
2nd floor
Berkeley, CA 94720-2272
Phone: (510) 642-3642
E-mail: homeinfo@uclink4.berkeley.edu
Homepage: http://calrentals.housing.berkeley.edu
Housing and Dining Services: www.housing.berkeley.edu
Cal Rentals is the University's rental listing service and
many people who advertise rentals with us are eager to have
a graduate student for a tenant.
The rental market is highly competitive and nothing stays
on the rental market for long. Places that are advertised
may be rented within a day or two. Rentals are advertised
for immediate occupancy in almost all cases, and rarely
more than 30 days in advance of availability. Plan to initiate
the rental services no earlier than 6 to 8 weeks in advance
of your target move date, as once you secure housing you
are likely to be required to pay rent immediately. Housing
searches can be difficult during July and August, which
are considered peak months. Please note that during peak
times apartments and houses are extremely difficult to secure
and we highly recommend that single students consider shared
housing and room rentals to expedite their searches during
these times. How do you compete in this kind of a rental
market, especially if you are coming to Berkeley from far
away? Consider Cal Rentals' Custom Web and E-mail Listing
Service.
The Listing Service features:
Listings on the web, which are posted as received Monday
through Friday, for on-demand viewing. Plus, the service
includes automatic searches ten times a week to forward
new rentals that meet your preferences directly to your
e-mail. You may also come into our office Monday through
Friday between 10 and 4 to obtain updates and make printouts
from our self-service computers.
If needed, a consultation with an expert Housing Counselor
who can guide you to making realistic choices about types
of housing and rent limits.
The cost is only $35 for one month and $15 per month after
if you inform us you have not secured housing after your
paid month.
Exchange students may initiate service by taking these steps:
Please
fax to 510-642-4026 (the private fax for Cal Rentals) the
following:
- A
copy of your letter of IAS acceptance letter stating that
you have access to the Visiting Scholar list.
- Your
e-mail address, clearly typed or printed.
- A
daytime phone number for you.
- A
Visa, MasterCard or Discover card number.
- The
expiration date on the card.
- The
name that appears on the card.
- Your
housing criteria: the maximum rent you are willing to
pay, the minimum bedrooms required, whether shared housing
is acceptable (usually your own room in a shared house
hold), and the maximum tolerable commute to campus.
- Anything
else you think we should know about you in terms of housing.
The cost of the service as outlined above is $30, which
we will charge to the credit card.
You may also initiate services in our office at 2535 ChanningWay
in Berkeley (office hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m.). Please bring proof of your student status.
Questions? Please feel free to e-mail us at homeinfo@uclink4.berkeley.edu
or call us at (510) 642-3642.
Please note: Rentals are advertised for immediate occupancy
in almost all cases, and rarely more than 30 days in advance
of availability. Plan to initiate the rental services no
earlier than 6 to 8 weeks in advance of your target move
date, as once you secure housing you are likely to be required
to pay rent immediately. Housing searches can be difficult
during July and August, which are considered peak months.
Please note that during peak times apartments and houses
are extremely difficult to secure and we highly recommend
that single students consider shared housing and room rentals
to expedite their searches during these times.
Cal Rentals provides listings of all types of rental housing,
including: Shares and Room rentals: These are by far the
most plentiful and least expensive types of rental listing.
Rents usually range from $500 - $800 for a private room.
Apartments, Cottages, Small Houses: Studio or efficiency
apartments are usually advertised for $900-$1,500 per month.
One bedrooms range from $1,100-$1,850; two bedrooms start
at $1,250 outside of Berkeley, but expect to pay $1,450-$2,500
in Berkeley. Three bedroom apartments are rare.
Houses: Houses are usually advertised for $2,400-$4,000
and up.
Work Exchanges: Sometimes a homeowner will seek a student
to perform a job, such as baby-sitting or gardening, in
exchange for a room; Expect to work approximately 15 hours
per week for a rent-free room.
Where to Stay while Looking
Cal Rentals offers a list of local hotels and motels that
you may find on our web site: http://www.calrentals.housing.berkeley.edu/hotel-motel.html.
Make reservations as soon as you know your travel plans,
as hotels and motels fill up quickly. In the summer, the
campus operates a Summer Visitors' Residence with reasonable
daily rates: follow the Conference Services links on the
Housing web site (www.housing.berkeley.edu)
for information and reservations.
Cal Rentals recommends that Cal Students try out listings
for several days before investing in a supplemental service.
Many of our rental listings are exclusive to our services
because the landlords want a UC Berkeley tenant. Some will
be duplicated by the other services, leaving a very small
percentage of rentals that might be gained by paying for
a supplemental service.
How to Search for Housing:
1) Newspapers have classified ads of rentals. Daily
newspapers that list East Bay rentals include The Daily
Planet The Oakland Tribune and The Daily Californian, which
is the UC Berkeley campus newspaper. Weekly newspapers include
The Montclarion and The Berkeley Voice (same classifieds
in each), and the East Bay Express,
2) Property Management Companies, listed in the yellow
pages of the telephone book under Real Estate Management,
may allow you to flip through cards of available rentals
and leave a key deposit to go directly to examine a vacant
apartment. These companies also tend to advertise their
vacancies with Cal Rentals.
3) Commercial Rental Services provide rental listings
to the general public for a fee. These services are much
more expensive than Cal Rentals and do not offer the exclusivity
of a University clientele. These are listed in the telephone
book's yellow pages under "Apartment Finding &
Rental Service".
4) Friends and colleagues are often excellent resources
for rental referrals.
5) Bulletin Boards in supermarkets and postings on
kiosks may offer rentals, but this generally isn't a very
efficient way to look for housing.
6) Signs posted in apartment windows sometimes advertise
vacancies. Most landlords do not want to be disturbed at
all hours and are more likely to advertise in a different
way, so this is not a very efficient way to look for housing.
7) www.Craigslist.com
is a great website with free listings. Make sure you are
looking in the San Francisco/Bay Area section of the Craigslist
since it now lists postings for many cities and countries.
IMPORTANT TIPS
- Talk
with a Cal Rentals counselor to get advice on how to expedite
the search process.
- Get
a good map of the area and plot the maximum commute distance
you can tolerate, remembering that some of the surrounding
communities are within an easy commute by bicycle or public
transit. The broader your commute options, the more rentals
you will be able to consider. An alternative map may be
found by visiting the Housing web site at www.housing.berkeley.edu
and pressing Cool Links to get to Yahoo! Maps to pinpoint
your rental listings.
- Be
within easy reach of a telephone so you can receive return
phone calls from landlords (renting a cell phone for a
short time during your housing search may be a very worthwhile
expense).
- Also,
get a phone card so you don't need change at public telephones
when you are calling on rentals.
- Follow
up on new rental listings immediately.
If you have questions about these neighborhoods or other
parts of the East Bay Area, please consult with a Cal Rentals
housing counselor. Additionally, when you look for housing
you may input addresses to find the proximity of rentals
to campus with the help of Yahoo! Maps or Google Maps, which
is linked to the Housing web site at www.housing.berkeley.edu
on "Cool Links" at the top of the page
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