Michigan Class of 2013 Forum

[03121202698008]

Got my UNIQNAME today! Too bad all of the ones I wanted were taken. I considered using hireme...

[Go State]

I'd love to have some more housing discussion going on. Checked out Woodbury last weekend and it seemed pretty alright...I definitely want to keep looking, though. If anyone has had good experiences with other quiet, well-kept complexes in the area for a similar (or slightly higher) price point, I'm all ears.

I'm getting to this point in my LS process and would love to hear the impressions that people have had re: housing.

I've decided on the LC. It'll be a bit of a sacrifice with the dorm lifestyle, but I think the social benefits and convenience make it worth it (for me).

Although living in the LC would have been a terrible decision for me (just because of some of the times I've needed to be in A2 this year when the LC was closed), I still envy people that live in the LC. You can literally wake up and stumble over to class.

[ShibaDan]

I'd love to have some more housing discussion going on. Checked out Woodbury last weekend and it seemed pretty alright...I definitely want to keep looking, though. If anyone has had good experiences with other quiet, well-kept complexes in the area for a similar (or slightly higher) price point, I'm all ears.

I'm getting to this point in my LS process and would love to hear the impressions that people have had re: housing.

I've decided on the LC. It'll be a bit of a sacrifice with the dorm lifestyle, but I think the social benefits and convenience make it worth it (for me).

Although living in the LC would have been a terrible decision for me (just because of some of the times I've needed to be in A2 this year when the LC was closed), I still envy people that live in the LC. You can literally wake up and stumble over to class.

Yeah that is so nice. Not that Woodbury is far but I'm also looking into a place on Packard that is only $600 a month and less than a 10 minute walk to the quad. I'm having one of the housing ambassador people help me out. I really hope it turns out to be decent. The major setback for me on woodbury is the $200 +$30 a month pet fee. Privately, I haven't run into that but in the complexes they usually charge a fee.

[Kiersten1985]

Can you request a single-sex "block" in the Lawyers' Club or is it totally random? I'm ok with a little dorm lifestyle but not THAT much haha.

[Reinhardt]

Reading the reviews of Woodbury on Google, I'm not so sure I want to live there anymore. It sounds like the insulation is pretty bad (noise and heat), so that winter heating bills run between $150 (maybe in the 1 bedrooms?) and $300 (in the townhomes). Landlords closer to campus will very often give you free heat. You pay a share of the entire complex's water bill (read: sprinklers), so your water bill is $40 to $60 a month. Closer to campus you can often find free water. If a Woodbury 1 bedroom is going to cost me $1100 a month instead of the listed $900, then it suddenly doesn't seem like such a good deal.

[summertimechi]

just in case there are any last-minute summer starters out there, the link below is for a summer sublet really close to the law school.

--LinkRemoved--

[Tangerine Gleam]

Reading the reviews of Woodbury on Google, I'm not so sure I want to live there anymore. It sounds like the insulation is pretty bad (noise and heat), so that winter heating bills run between $150 (maybe in the 1 bedrooms?) and $300 (in the townhomes). Landlords closer to campus will very often give you free heat. You pay a share of the entire complex's water bill (read: sprinklers), so your water bill is $40 to $60 a month. Closer to campus you can often find free water. If a Woodbury 1 bedroom is going to cost me $1100 a month instead of the listed $900, then it suddenly doesn't seem like such a good deal.

Damnnn, you heard that noise was bad? The extra expenses are a bummer, but noise will definitely be a problem for me. I currently live in an apartment with very thin walls and it's regularly frustrating...I was hoping to have a bit more peace & quiet (and privacy, for that matter) next year.

I guess I would consider living in an apartment (or house) closer to campus, but I'll be equally worried about noise from my neighbors in any area popular with undergrads.

[snickersnicker]

If you want to avoid the undergrad areas, try Kerrytown/the Fourth Ward (north and northwest central Ann Arbor) or the Old West Side (basically anything west of Main Street). I'm staying a block from the law quad for the summer because it's not terribly loud then, but once the year starts I'm heading west for sure. Your walk might be a bit longer, but rent for a comparable place tends to be cheaper and it's mostly grad students or one-bedroom places.

[hooty86]

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[tamlyric]

Reading the reviews of Woodbury on Google, I'm not so sure I want to live there anymore. It sounds like the insulation is pretty bad (noise and heat), so that winter heating bills run between $150 (maybe in the 1 bedrooms?) and $300 (in the townhomes). Landlords closer to campus will very often give you free heat. You pay a share of the entire complex's water bill (read: sprinklers), so your water bill is $40 to $60 a month. Closer to campus you can often find free water. If a Woodbury 1 bedroom is going to cost me $1100 a month instead of the listed $900, then it suddenly doesn't seem like such a good deal.

Damnnn, you heard that noise was bad? The extra expenses are a bummer, but noise will definitely be a problem for me. I currently live in an apartment with very thin walls and it's regularly frustrating...I was hoping to have a bit more peace & quiet (and privacy, for that matter) next year.

I guess I would consider living in an apartment (or house) closer to campus, but I'll be equally worried about noise from my neighbors in any area popular with undergrads.

I haven't looked at the google reviews, so take this with a grain of salt, but I am guessing that noise is not too bad at Woodbury. It's apartment living, so you're bound to hear your neighbors every once in awhile, but I can't imagine (that probably doesn't speak too well for my imagination, does it? ) it's appreciably worse than other apartment complexes.

Also, I am 99% sure I am living at Woodbury next year, so I am wont to engage in some wishful thinking.

[washingtonian]

hooty86 and snickersnicker, would you mind posting where you will be living (names of buildings) and how you found your apt? thanks!

[ankit]

Reading the reviews of Woodbury on Google, I'm not so sure I want to live there anymore. It sounds like the insulation is pretty bad (noise and heat), so that winter heating bills run between $150 (maybe in the 1 bedrooms?) and $300 (in the townhomes). Landlords closer to campus will very often give you free heat. You pay a share of the entire complex's water bill (read: sprinklers), so your water bill is $40 to $60 a month. Closer to campus you can often find free water. If a Woodbury 1 bedroom is going to cost me $1100 a month instead of the listed $900, then it suddenly doesn't seem like such a good deal.

Damnnn, you heard that noise was bad? The extra expenses are a bummer, but noise will definitely be a problem for me. I currently live in an apartment with very thin walls and it's regularly frustrating...I was hoping to have a bit more peace & quiet (and privacy, for that matter) next year.

I guess I would consider living in an apartment (or house) closer to campus, but I'll be equally worried about noise from my neighbors in any area popular with undergrads.

Yeah I had read the complaints about poor insulation and high electricity/water bills as well, but based on what I saw online, there seems to be an issue or another with every apartment complex in Ann Arbor. Woodbury is very popular with MBA and Law school students, and so I assumed these weren't significant hindrances.

Perhaps some current students staying there (awesomepossum?) can provide another perspective?

[hooty86]

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[itzjulz]

Reading the reviews of Woodbury on Google, I'm not so sure I want to live there anymore. It sounds like the insulation is pretty bad (noise and heat), so that winter heating bills run between $150 (maybe in the 1 bedrooms?) and $300 (in the townhomes). Landlords closer to campus will very often give you free heat. You pay a share of the entire complex's water bill (read: sprinklers), so your water bill is $40 to $60 a month. Closer to campus you can often find free water. If a Woodbury 1 bedroom is going to cost me $1100 a month instead of the listed $900, then it suddenly doesn't seem like such a good deal.

Damnnn, you heard that noise was bad? The extra expenses are a bummer, but noise will definitely be a problem for me. I currently live in an apartment with very thin walls and it's regularly frustrating...I was hoping to have a bit more peace & quiet (and privacy, for that matter) next year.

I guess I would consider living in an apartment (or house) closer to campus, but I'll be equally worried about noise from my neighbors in any area popular with undergrads.

Yeah I had read the complaints about poor insulation and high electricity/water bills as well, but based on what I saw online, there seems to be an issue or another with every apartment complex in Ann Arbor. Woodbury is very popular with MBA and Law school students, and so I assumed these weren't significant hindrances.

Perhaps some current students staying there (awesomepossum?) can provide another perspective?

I live at Woodbury in a townhouse with two other 1L's, so here's my $.02:

-Utilities: Yes, heat gets expensive in the winter, despite our best efforts to insulate the place (put curtains over the doorwall and plastic on bedroom windows). During the colder months, our gas and electric together ran anywhere from $200-$280. Add $50 for water and our cable bill, and we were easily over $100 extra per month per roommate.

-Transportation: the main reason I am moving closer to campus. The bus and shuttle are GREAT for the most part, but I'm a person who a) can't get work done at home so I spend a lot of time on campus and b) likes to go out. Coming home late can be kind of a hassle, because you have to take a cab or get a ride from someone. I have a car this semester, so I've gotten into the habit of taking the bus home after class, eating dinner, working out, etc., then driving back to campus to get work done. My roommates spend more time at home, but they're also able to get more work done here, whereas for me, the apartment tends to be one big distraction. There's a group of us living at Woodbury, so when it comes to going out, people often share cabs home. It's also a good idea to make friends who will let you crash at their apt or LC room on a weekend night if you need to.

-Noise: I can't speak for the apartment complexes, but the area around my townhouse is pretty quiet. Though, the walls are fairly thin and for a while we had people living next door that made a lot of noise. It was mostly just kids stomping down the stairs, though - not crazy partying and loud music, so it was very manageable. The overwhelming majority of people that live here are grad students or families, so if you do happen to get an obnoxiously loud neighbor (this happened to PK, i believe), it's probably not the norm.

Overall, I liked having this place for 1L. I liked having a "home" to come home to, and a place to be away from campus if I needed to. FWIW, I am moving closer to campus next year, (to the awesome undergrad ghetto of Packard and Hill) because I wanted to be closer to the quad and decided that I wanted to live by myself next year

[RhubarbPie]

hooty86 and snickersnicker, would you mind posting where you will be living (names of buildings) and how you found your apt? thanks!

Sent you a PM.

Hey would you mind sending me a PM too? I'd definitely be interested in housing that people have found.

Does anyone know anything about Harbor House?

[goblue1646]

Did anyone apply to Phid house? I applied, but I've got no idea how living there would be...any opinions?

[ShibaDan]

Reading the reviews of Woodbury on Google, I'm not so sure I want to live there anymore. It sounds like the insulation is pretty bad (noise and heat), so that winter heating bills run between $150 (maybe in the 1 bedrooms?) and $300 (in the townhomes). Landlords closer to campus will very often give you free heat. You pay a share of the entire complex's water bill (read: sprinklers), so your water bill is $40 to $60 a month. Closer to campus you can often find free water. If a Woodbury 1 bedroom is going to cost me $1100 a month instead of the listed $900, then it suddenly doesn't seem like such a good deal.

Damnnn, you heard that noise was bad? The extra expenses are a bummer, but noise will definitely be a problem for me. I currently live in an apartment with very thin walls and it's regularly frustrating...I was hoping to have a bit more peace & quiet (and privacy, for that matter) next year.

I guess I would consider living in an apartment (or house) closer to campus, but I'll be equally worried about noise from my neighbors in any area popular with undergrads.

Yeah...ok this is making the other place im looking at with no pet fee and free heat/water seem better and better...thats exactly what I was worried about. Sure it starts at $819 a month but then if you have a dog want a washer dryer you're already at $900+...add in high utilities and well $1000 I feel like is just unacceptable for A2. I think my plan is going to be to find a cheap place close to the quad and then maybe do a 2 bedroom in woodbury gardens 2L. Once I have friends and someone I want to live with it'll be much easier. Plus the nicer 2 bedrooms will only be $600 a month each tops.

[snickersnicker]

hooty86 and snickersnicker, would you mind posting where you will be living (names of buildings) and how you found your apt? thanks!

I'm not living in an apartment, actually. I never lived in a house growing up, so the last thing I want to do is end up back in an impersonal apartment complex. I found someone advertising a house share on Craigslist in a recently renovated two-story single family home on 2nd Street between Liberty and Williams. I like that area and don't mind the walk to campus, so it seems ideal.

From having looked at housing in Ann Arbor and living there the past two summers, I've found that there are some really good house share deals, especially if you can find homes that aren't owned by slumlord-ey property companies. You can get a lot more space and (in my case) even a big backyard for less than you'll pay at Woodbury or any of the places closer to campus.

[doinmybest]

For those of you that have already submitted your deposit, how long did it take for them to send you confirmation?

[weee]

For those of you that have already submitted your deposit, how long did it take for them to send you confirmation?

I got my uniqname login email pretty fast and you should be able to see if they sent confirmation on mail & money.

[ShibaDan]

I am going crazy. Legitimately insane. I am in Japan as I said before so the only way to find housing before I'm back in the US is through the internet. I can't justify spending over $1000 a month on a place but it seems the only options are REALLY far away and cheap, close, nice and super expensive, or tiny, expensive and close.

I am open to any suggestions, help please. Also, I have a dog.

I really shouldn't be paying more for a one bedroom in A2 than I am in Osaka. Seriously.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mo ... _employees

[ShibaDan]

Ok anyone whose been to A2 or current students if you could give me an idea of how long by bus it would take to get to the law school from the Hillcrest or Manchester Apartment complexes, I'd be really grateful. At this point I think money is going to out weigh convenience so if I have a 20 minute commute so be it. It's worth it to have a way nicer place for a few hundred dollars less a month. If it's really fat though that's a problem. I've been trying to use the AATA website but that thing is maybe one of the worst mass transit sites I have ever seen. I may just be spoiled though.

[Reinhardt]

You can try Google Maps for bus planning.

[JetstoRJC]

Just sent in an application for Woodbury. I am married and have been focusing mainly on two bedroom apartments in Ann Arbor. Also was considering Signature Club but wanted to be closer to the Law School.

What really appealed to me about Woodbury was they offer a 21 month lease with a 50 percent discount on rent during the summer between 1L and 2L if you have to move away. Then with the 21 month length the lease ends before the next summer. I know the sublet market in AA is tight and most the students i talked to at the ASW said they just had to pay the full rent price at their apartments during the summer. Now I will have to worry about finding a 9 month lease my 3L year but am happy to have the relief during both summers.

[ShibaDan]

You can try Google Maps for bus planning.

I've been using google maps to try to estimate distance, where is the bus planning feature I can't seem to find it?