The Off-Campus Housing Hunt and Avoiding Scams
By: Lauren Liang ‘23
Trying to balance apartment finding, touring, and dealing with flaky leasing companies on top of keeping a healthy academic and social life is incredibly draining, and the off-campus housing hunt is possibly one of the most stressful aspects of college life outside of academics. Whether you’re a transfer or a rising junior with no guaranteed housing, this article will (hopefully) help you get a better sense of where to look for off-campus housing and avoid scams while doing so.
Some of the most common ways of finding off-campus housing include Facebook groups or going straight to nearby apartment complexes like Gateway or The Lorenzo. If you’re already at USC, you can always reach out to friends and see if they would like to join you in the housing hunt. Sometimes, you’ll even be able to connect with potential roommates on Instagram through stories posts.
When I first transferred to USC, I didn’t know many people, so I turned to USC Off-Campus Housing Facebook groups (the one I’ve hyperlinked is just one of many) to find housing. While there are many legitimate postings, there are also a good amount of scam posts. Posts like these will typically seem too good to be true– if you suspect this, it’s probably the case. Another telltale sign of a scam: when the description says something along the lines of “screenshot this post when messaging.” To me, this screams I’m running scams in so many housing groups I can’t keep track of them all.
For this reason, I always recommend touring/visiting the place you’re considering leasing before you sign anything. Another tip for finding housing: walk around the different areas surrounding campus to get a better sense of where you might like to live. More often than not, there will be houses/townhomes with “for lease” signs up with a number/email to contact for more information.
It also doesn’t hurt to ask around about or Google the leasing agency you’re thinking about signing with. Sometimes, these agencies can be unreliable– taking a big portion of your security deposit, or ghosting when it comes to maintenance requests. While they aren’t legally “scams,” they’re definitely something you’ll want to avoid if you can.
TLDR: reach out to friends, join Facebook groups (but be weary), and if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!
Want more from Trojans 360?
Visit Trojans 360 on Facebook & Twitter to stay up to date with more student content! You can also Ask A Trojan an anonymous question, and we’ll try to answer it in a future post. And don’t forget to follow us on Instagram!
Trojans 360 is USC’s official student-run blog. Content created by students, for students.
