Indianapolis Help!
 

My son is moving to Indianapolis and is having a hard time finding a place. He is a Navy Submarine vet, he has his BA and is currently halfway through his Master in Library and Information Science. I guess finding housing is tough everywhere but does anyone know any resources? Thanks!

Have him check the university housing office for private listings AND the same office at other universities in Indianapolis. See if there are resources to help homeless people look for housing. Check cheap motels.

I haven't lived there in a while but I do have friends there still. I found it to be a very affordable place to live. Is it just availability or is it the prices? Are there certain parts of town he's limited to?

Is he at IUPUI or one of the local private colleges? I know most IUPUI students live off campus and they have some, but not a huge amount of student housing. I lived in the southern suburbs. Boring, but affordable and a very easy drive into the city.

Finding a place in general or a place he can afford?

what criteria is he using?

is he looking close to a location?
is he looking at apartments or rental homes?
is he looking for just getting a bedroom?
what sites is he using?
what can he afford?

Start with the university housing office. He might be eligible for an apartment (not the same as a dorm room for undergraduates) in a building for graduate students; these are often operated on a coop or nonprofit basis. The housing office should have rental listings in locations that are convenient to campus as well as information about leases, buildings or landlords to avoid, etc.

The university is likely to also have an office that provides services to vets; it might have access to additional housing resources or know of landlords who favor vets.

Otherwise, check city and local/suburban newspapers (and city weekly papers or city monthly magazines) for ads, google or use websites like apartments.com, the apartment website that pops up periodically on FT as a sponsored thread (ad), grocery store and university (perhaps in the student union) bulletin boards, drive around neighborhoods of interest to spot "for rent" signs, read the past business section of the newspaper and any city business newspaper to find articles about or notices of new buildings that are opening now,

Are his expectations regarding price, size, amenities, newness, location, etc. realistic?

While probably more expensive on a daily or $/square foot basis, a monthly Air BnB could bridge a gap and enable more "boots on the ground" time for searching for a longer term rental.

You may also find an Air BnB host who would be willing to provide a discount for a multi-month stay, giving even more time and flexibility in the search process.

Could renting long term in a hotel be an option, at least for a while...

What is the prospective tenant doing with their housing search? I assume that the prospective tenant is over the age of 22. Do they have experience with renting? When I was younger, I went to college and found friends for roommating and then we found apartments for living. This was pre-smartphone days so there was probably less competition for housing. My point is that if I could do it before I even turned 21, then I think that anyone over the age of 21 can also do it.

If he’s going to a university their housing office usually has an internal referral list of

people renting a housing with an empty room
permanent residents who offer up a room for students or a separate apartment in their home.

some non profit grad housing is not publically listed but only thru the university referral system