Housing

A housing advisor and a faculty advisor will hold regular office
hours at the Longwood campus on the last Tuesday of each month. The
advisors will be available to answer questions and provide up-to-date
information about off-campus and affiliated housing to all Harvard ID
holders. Please call the Housing Office at 617-495-3377 with questions.

Housing in Boston is in limited supply, and rents are among the
highest in the country. We recommend that you plan to spend time
checking out the different areas and applying for apartments.

Places to stay while looking:

Bertram Inn, 92 Sewall Avenue Brookline, MA 02446, 1-800-295-3822
$109-$229 per night, subject to change.
The Inn at Longwood, Best Western Boston, 342 Longwood Avenue Boston, MA 02115, 800-GOT-BEST, 617-731-4700 phone, 617-731-4870 fax, Info@innatlongwood.com
$169-$309 per night, subject to change

When renting an apartment, you are often required to pay:

first month’s rent,
last month’s rent,
and/or
security deposit when you sign the lease. The average rent for studios
and one-bedrooms in most areas go for around $1,000-$1,500 per month.
If you use a realtor, you may also be required to pay a realtor fee (see Realtors and Realtor Fees).

Harvard Housing advisors are at the Longwood Medical Area one day a week. Call 617-495-3378 or visit the link for a schedule.

Vanderbilt Hall,
the Harvard Medical School dormitory rents available rooms on a monthly
basis with a one month minimum stay at about $800/month. There may be a
waiting list and rooms are not available for some portions of the year
so this is only a good option for a short-term stay. They also provide
a list of options for "Short Term Accommodations "which might be useful
for your first week or month here.

Harvard School of Public Health has a housing resource page.

Harvard International Office provides some recommendations on their web site.

Take a look at advertisements in the daily newspapers and notices on bulletin boards.
The lobby in Vanderbilt hall is a favorite posting place for Medical
School Students to advertise for roommates or to sub-lease their
apartment.

Craig’s List is a very popular site for finding an apartment and/or roommates on-line.

There is a service called Boston Homestay Incorporated
that bills itself as “a homestay placement service for International
Students and Business/Medical Professionals seeking an alternative to
dormitory lodging, hotel stays, and apartment dwelling.” They offer
rooms in private homes for short stays of several weeks to several
months. The economy room rates are $600-$700 per month and $300 per
week.

Neighborhoods:

Allston, Brighton, Jamaica Plain (“JP”), Fenway, Brookline, Beacon
Hill, the Back Bay, South End, South Boston (different from the South
End; the western edge, near the Red line, is the most convenient) and
most of Cambridge, Somerville and Newton are all convenient to the
Longwood Medical Area. But most of Greater Boston is accessible, if you
don’t mind adding 20-40 minutes to your commute. The above referenced
areas listed are names for areas of Boston, except for Newton,
Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville, which are different towns with
separate administrations, school districts, etc.

Allston has
a very industrial past and still holds the remnants of its history.
Allston's population includes lots of students and young families. It
is a mixed neighborhood with discount furniture stores and thrift
stores as well as trendy eateries, pool halls and bars.
It's a lively area in all the hours of the day and night. Harvard owns
quite a bit of property in Allston and you may want to check out the Allston Initiative.
Brighton borders
on Allston. It was home to a lot of agricultural plots and
industry but the addition of the street car lines helped to encourage
residential neighborhood growth. Brighton is now very residential and
quiet. The population is primarily made up of graduate students,
families and young professionals. The housing is a maze of streets with
houses and small apartment buildings. There are quite a few local
family businesses as well as chain stores. Washington Street is the
main street which runs straight through Brighton Center to Oak
Square.
Jamaica Plain, or JP as it is called, is very mixed as far as ethnicity, sexual orientation and economics are concerned.
JP is located between Roxbury and Brookline. It is a rich, diverse
neighborhood which is close to the Longwood area that allows its
inhabitants to live as if in the suburbs. It boasts the Arnold
Arboretum which is the jewel in Frederick Olmstead's park creation, the
Emerald Necklace, as well as Jamaica Pond.
Fenway
is a neighborhood in Boston. It is the closest residential neighborhood
to the Medical School. This is a student neighborhood. It is convenient
to public transportation, a nice park and Fenway Park Stadium. A
company called Copley Rentals, 109 Queensberry St. Boston, 02115,
(617-247-3070) manages most of the large apartment buildings in this
neighborhood. The area can be described as only "moderately" safe for
street crime and theft. Although crime in general has been
significantly reduced in Boston in recent years. The Residences at Fenway
is scheduled to open in Summer 2006 on Brookline Ave & Kilmarnock
Street. Harvard has purchased 170 of the 580 apartments and they’ll be
available for students, faculty and staff by a lottery conducted a few
months prior to opening. These units will be priced at market–rate but
will have the advantage of being brand new and very close to HMS.
Brookline is a popular town for
people working in the Medical Area, particularly if they have children.
It is close to the Medical School, attractive, safe and has a
reputation for excellent schools. Housing here can be expensive and
apartments are usually found through rental agencies.
Another close neighborhood is Mission Hill,
with a combination of freestanding houses, blocks of traditional brick
rowhouses, and many three deckers. It is a diverse community close to
downtown. Many students from nearby Northeastern as well as HMS
students chose to live in this neighborhood.
Roslindale,
like Jamaica Plain is also quite diverse. Roslindale Square, in the
center of the neighborhood, is the subject of a National Trust for
Historic Preservation Main Street
award. It is considered to be an example of the value of historic and
aesthetic preservation in economic revitalization.
Beacon Hill, is
an old neighborhood with cobblestone streets and brick rowhouses. It
houses the Boston Common and the Public Garden, America's first
botanical garden.
Senator John Kerry lives here and the State
House Rotunda, covered in gold leaf, is easily seen when looking across
the Charles River at the Boston skyline. This is an elegant and
expensive part of Boston with great architecture.
Back Bay, is
located behind the Public Garden. It is also an elegant and expensive
part of the city. Back Bay includes fine shopping on Newbury Street and
exclusive real estate.

The City of Boston website has additional information about the different Boston neighborhoods.

Different towns have surprisingly different personalities when it comes to parking.
Brookline has NO on street parking overnight (even if you’re a
resident), so it is difficult to keep a car in Brookline unless your
apartment comes with a parking space. Many other towns have large areas
of “resident parking only”. But the resident parking stickers are
usually free or very cheap.

Rents are expensive so many postdocs have roommates.
Most people find roommates either through personal contacts or notices
on bulletin boards, such as the bulletin board in the lobby of
Vanderbilt Hall. There is also a bulletin board in the Harvard School
of Public Health. The Harvard University Housing Office keeps a list of
persons looking for roommates.

Some realtors or real estate agents
handle the rental of apartments and houses as well as sales. It is best
to have someone familiar with the area recommend a reputable realtor.
Realtors usually charge a one-time fee of equal to at least half but
most often one full month’s rent. You pay the realtor’s fee only if you
sign a lease.

No-Fee Apartments
- No fee apartments
  do exist and are usually rented directly from the owner of the
  property. Most of these listings will be found in the newspaper or on
  websites (see Links, below).
Leases
- Most
  landlords require tenants to sign a lease, a legally binding contract
  outlining the conditions which both the landlord and the tenant agree
  to meet. Leases are usually for one year. Do check that you understand
  what you’re signing before you sign it. Your signature on a lease
  commits you to pay the amount of rent specified on the lease every
  month for the duration of the lease whether you occupy the apartment or
  not.
- Landlords may ask for the first and last month’s
  rent when you sign a lease. Some will also require a security deposit
  (equal to a month’s rent). The security deposit will be returned to you
  when your lease has ended, provided that there has been no damage to
  the property. For your protection, the landlord must document in
  writing any damage, which existed before you moved in the apartment.
  Many landlords now handle this by asking you to write an “apartment
  condition statement” within 15 days of moving in.
Does the rental price of an apartment or house cover utilities (heat, electricity, gas)? The cost of heat and electricity is an important consideration when you are pricing apartments.
Water usage for apartments is usually included in the rent.
If
utilities are not included in your rent, your monthly expenses will be
considerably higher, especially if the apartment is heated by
electricity. Find out from your landlord which type of heat you have
and which company supplies the service. You can ask the utility company
for an estimate of the monthly bills for that apartment. Before moving
in you will also need to call each of the utility companies to arrange
service.

Anyone living in a rented apartment should consider having personal property insurance (renter's insurance)
to cover both property loss and personal liability. When discussing
your coverage with an insurance representative, you should mention any
special conditions such as subletting, roommate coverage, or additional
coverage for expensive items like jewelry, personal computers, and
stereo equipment. If you have automobile insurance, you may want to
contact your insurer to see if they offer renter’s insurance. Many
companies offer discounts if you hold multiple policies with them.
Renter’s insurance can be as inexpensive as $100/year.

General Boston:

Apartment listings:

Massachusetts Housing and Rental Laws site.

The Harvard Housing Office maintains current information on
housing owned by the University and other landlords in the
Cambridge/Boston area. It provides listings of apartments and houses
for rent and for sale, roommate files, and work/housing exchange
opportunities.

This site will also ask you for a Harvard ID, but you can enter 9999 instead and that will work.
617-495-3377, 800-252-5020. Until you have a Harvard ID, the people at the housing office will need to see your offer letter.

Harvard also assists with the process of buying a place:

Housing & Mortgage:

Real Estate Advantage Program:Real Estate Advantage Program
http://hpre-srv2.harvard.edu/RRE/NewWeb/
Brochure/Faculty/homebuying.htm

This
program provides Harvard University employees with a wide range of real
estate services, including cash back when buying or selling a home;
individualized counseling; representation throughout the buying and
selling processes; and free home buying seminars.
The program is
administered by Harvard Real Estate Services and offered through
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. For details, please call Harvard
Real Estate Services at 617-495-9368, visit the Coldwell Banker
Residential Brokerage web site at
http://www.newenglandmoves.com/home/index.htm, or call them at
1-800-874-0701 and ask for the Harvard representative.
Please do not
contact a real estate agent before registering for this program or you
may not be eligible to receive the benefits.

Home Mortgage Financing:
You
can benefit from offers interest rate discounts of up to 1/4%,
discounted closing fees, and home equity loans through Harvard's
preferred mortgage lender program.

Washington Mutual offers
discounted interest rates and a $300 reduction in closing costs for
both purchase and refinance transactions. For more information, email
Daniel P. Heffernan, Senior Loan Consultant, or call him at
617-757-4141 or Lisa Gill, Sales Assistant, on 617-757-4142.