Looking for off campus housing in New Brunswick can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be. I wrote this guide so you can learn from my experience and avoid the mistakes I made. This guide will walk you through every facet of renting a house/apartment off campus at Rutgers: finding a place, budgeting, roommates, and dealing with landlords.

For Houses: Leases open up at the beginning of November for the next year. It's incredibly early and most kids aren't thinking about housing yet. get rented very quickly because they're in such demand.

Budgeting: There's a wide range of options you can choose from depending on your budget. On the cheaper end, you can live in a house in a double which will be $550-$800. On the more expensive end, you can get a single in a house which will be $900-$1400. The closer to College Ave the house is, the more expensive it will be. The more people living the house, the cheaper the rent will be per person. Leases are 99% of the time going to be 12 month leases, so make sure to budget accordingly. It's common for people to sublet their place for the summer to someone is doing an internship in the summer to save money on rent when they're not living there.

Roommates: Make sure your roommates are ready to sign for housing when you start looking and if you're looking for roommates make sure you have a full group before you decide on a house. Make sure you facetime or meet your roommates in person before you sign for a house. Also make sure to get a tour of the house you plan on living in before signing a binding lease for it.

Amenities: For houses, most landlords don't include utilities in rent, which can come at to $100/person per month. You or one of your housemates will be likely required to setup a PSE&G account for electricity/water.

IMPORTANT: If you have a car, go for a place that has parking because street parking in New Brunswick is the worst. Most houses have parking but some don't. Before you sign for a house make sure you and your buddies are on the same page about who's getting parking spots at your place.

Security Deposit: Most landlords require 1.5 months rent for the security deposit which you give to them along with the signed lease to secure the house. Often times a group will be ready to sign for a place, but they can't get the security deposit together and another group swoops in and takes the house. If you trash the place you probably won't get all of it back, so don't do that.

Paying Rent: Rent is not done on an individual basis. You and your housemates pay as a group, the entire rent at once. That means that you guys can agree on rent splits based on room size, etc. If a place is $4400 in total rent per month and it's you and three friends, you don't pay the landlord $1100 for your split. You guys all send it to one person and they give it to the landlord. Most landlords take venmo/zelle, though some are stuck in the 80s and they only take cash or check.

Budgeting: apartment living is on average more expensive because the apartments are new builds, are very nice, and include utilities. A single in an apartment can be from $1200 up to $2500 on the super high end. A double can be from $900 up to $1300. Similar to houses are 99% of the time going to be 12 month leases. Some apartments allow you to to sublet your place but not every apartment allows that.

Amenities: For apartments, utilities are usually included. Most houses and apartments have in unit or in building laundry, but make sure it does because going to the laundromat is not fun. Parking at apartments is done by permit and can be anywhere from $100-$300/month.

Security Deposit: Most apartments required 1 to 1.5 months rent for the security depoist that can be paid after you sign the lease. Some apartments require an application fee which (maybe) they will refund if they don't accept you.

Paying Rent: Most apartments have a rental portal where you can connect your bank account or debit card and they deduct rent automatically and it's done on an individual basis.

Freedom: no RA's knocking on your door cuz you're being too loud or to search for alcohol (this was a regular occurence in my dorm, I lived in Mettler freshman year).
No Meal Plan: If you're looking to save money and eat better, you should live somewhere with a kitchen so you can buy groceries, which would come out to way less than $17 per meal at the atrium.
Option For Single: if I remember correctly it's very hard to get a single on campus and if you do get one it's quite expensive.
Privacy: no communal bathrooms like in the dorms.
More Space: Houses and apartments afford you and your group more space overall, the rooms are bigger, you get a living room, kitchen, etc.

Furnishing: You got to furnish the place yourself, this shouldn't be too expensive if you and your housemates split everything.
Quieter: If you like the action of living in the dorms and living with a lot of people off campus housing can seem quiet.
Parking: Living off campus at a place that doesn't have parking means you have to deal with street parking which is not fun.

Thank you for reading! I hope this guide gave you everything you need to know to make your move off campus as smooth as possible. Any lingering questions please leave a comment below and I'd be happy to answer them, peace out :)