r/bostonhousing

hi everyone

I know this might sound silly yo ask about, but I’m looking at apartments in Boston and found two in the same building on Commonwealth ave on diff floors. one is front facing top floor, 5th(one closet bigger kitchen) and the other is 2nd floor back facing(two closets smaller kitchen).

The building has elevator. Im moving from out of state so I dont know how Boston weather will be but I know its pretty hot in summer. I’m liking the top unit for having a better view compared to the park lot but Im worried about the heat in summer and if a window AC might be enough to cool it down in a heat wave. I’ll be only paying electric. Any insights would be appreciated! Im wondering how much would my electric bill average in summer in each unit to see if it would be that bad on the top floor.

Hi! I’m looking for a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment for my fiance and I with an ideal move in date by 09/01. My budget is up to $2700 and ideally would like something within a commutable distance from the seaport area.

Hello fellow Bostonians,

My husband and I are officially moving to Boston!We’re a young gay couple moving from Fort Lauderdale to Waltham. The official date is mid August, it is soon, we are super excited for Boston!!

We picked Waltham because the location works for us. My husband has office in Waltham. We love the convenience of getting into the city with commuter rail. Also, rent in waltham is better priced compared to the other neighborhoods like Cambridge and Eastie.

We have yet locked in on any lease because we are finally touring the apartments this weekend.. Currently we are looking at Edison on the Charles, the Merc on Moody.
-Is there any residents in any of these buildings? -Any comments and ideas of how you guys are loving them?
-Pricing is still fluctuating as of now, it was trending higher and we spotted lower before. We know it is the high season for moving now, should we lock in as soon as we see something we like, or should we hold a little longer till end of July because of the scenario of “lesser people moving to Boston in 2026”
-are we missing any apartments that the locals know of?

For Waltham residents, how is life in Waltham?? We know these buildings are on the main streets, are quiet hours respected in the community? Does it get loud?

Any feedback or opinions would be so helpful! Thank you kind people!

Hey everyone! I am starting a year-long position on Harvard campus and looking to rent in the Cambridge/Somerville/nearby areas from September 2026 - August 2027. I am looking for roommates or to rent a single room in an existing group, and I'd like to stick around $1200 a month but could go up to $1400.

A little about me: I (she/her) am originally from the Midwest and just graduated from Vassar College where I studied astronomy and applied math, and I will be applying to graduate school in the fall. I am pretty laid-back but appreciate a quiet, clean space. In my free time, I like to be outside, watch shows, and craft. I will be pretty busy with research and applications but would love to make some friends and enjoy my time in Boston!

Let me know if you are looking for a roommate, know of any fitting housing opportunities, or have any advice!

I'm looking at few apartments and would love to know how the neighborhoods are (moving from out of Boston for a job);

1. 1600sqft $3200 near the Seaver Street entrance to Franklin Zoo.
2. 1300sqft $3600 near Fort Hill Tower park.
3. 1500sqft $3300 near Mission Hill JFK elementary.

My impression, from the internet, is that #1 is farther from transit and closer to crime. #2 is quieter and #3 is busier but both are safer than #1.

I'm trying to prioritize parks (for dogs), commute to work (mission hill), and commute to grocery/dining.

Thanks for any insight!

Edit: Crime source from Boston PD. Literally someone downvoted every comment I made. Why? Haha

Edit 2: To all the offended butt-hurt folks who think mentioning the existence of crime is itself a crime. Get bent. I saw the data (linked) but am aware that's not the whole story of living there. Each of you took the chance to get offended by someone asking what it's like to live somewhere. I didn't bash it, act scared, say the crime is bad, or anything like that. But guess what? If there are a bunch of whiny little bitches who can't handle hearing that there is crime where they live (as there is EVERYWHERE) then I don't want to live next to your offended-for-fun-on-reddit asses anyhow. That said, I get why you are offended. Commenters on the "other side" are acting like it's Gaza over there. The internet is insane.

Hey everyone, my partner (f23) and I (m24) are young professionals with job offers in the Boston area. Finding housing has been really tough as a couple with a cat, so I figured I should put out a cry for help here.

We’re young professionals who enjoy a clean space and good times! Our cat is the sweetest lil girl who is super chill and somewhat social. Our budget is $1400-$1700 and would love access to laundry in unit although it isn’t a necessity. Our move in date is mid-September, and we plan on staying in Boston for at least 3-4 years if we love it! My job is in Everett so I would prefer to have a 30 minute or less commute to work.

Please reach out with questions, we hope to visit Boston in late July to meet with potential roommates. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I am going to be relocating from Florida to Boston at the end of July, and in the process of looking for apartments to live in.

Currently looking in: Woburn, Medford, Somerville, Malden, Everett, Chelsea, Wakefield
Max Budget: 2,500 for Studio or 1b1b but willing to live with others in multi room configurations too.

About: 22M, Software Engineer working in Andover/Tewksbury

Will be bringing my car for commute to work so parking is needed

If anyone has advice on apartments I've started looking into, it'd be appreciated.

• Wakefield: Nexxus, Everly

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice with dealing with scummy Property Managers (I’ll gladly DM you their name if you want to avoid them!)

I’m currently living in a 4 bedroom apartment. We signed the lease two years ago with four of us on the lease. We’ve had no issues until this most recent renewal of the lease. One of our roommates planned to move out, and another was uncertain. We were told we could sign with just two of us, and later the uncertain roommate could join on with whoever our new fourth roommate is. It sounded like they did our a favor, and we were thankful for their accommodation.

Needless to say, they went behind our back and executed our lease with just two of us on it. Had we known they planned to do that, we would not have signed the lease. Now to add our two other roommates on, they told us we’d need to pay a Lease Assignment fee of $1000. The below statement is from the last page of our lease as an addendum:

“If you are looking to change a roommate with a new applicant, you can do a process called a Lease Assignment. It's essentially a sublet, so this person will be replacing the current roommate and taking over the lease.
The new applicant will need to fill out application and will most likely need a co-signer. Please, call the office and we can email you a copy of those forms. If the new person coming in is an international student, we do not need a cosigner form, but a copy of their 120 (or 1-1, etc) and VISA. Please keep in mind that the incoming tenants) will need to reimburse the outgoing tenants) for the deposits (last month, security deposit, and key) as the deposits we have for you here would be transferred to the new tenants. This is because those funds are in an escrow account, so we cannot simply touch it or take the funds out.
Per the lease, there's a fee for doing a lease assignment, the fee is half of the full months rent (not what you " - split between each other, it's half of whatever the rent is for the apartment). Keep in mind that the fee can be paid by anyone, so the incoming tenants) can pay or it can be split between everyone as well.
The fee can only be paid in a form of a check, so a personal check, money order, cashiers check, or bank check. Please have the check made payable to Real Estate Management & Investment.
Once the fee is paid and we have the applications & cosigner forms, the lease assignment documents as well as the new lease will be sent out via Docusign for everyone to view and sign.”

This seems blatanly illegal to me under MA’s laws for there being no charged except for first month, last month, and security deposit for leases. Especially since we had not granted permission for them to execute the lease in the first place… Right now my roommates and I have begrudgingly accepted to pay the $1000, but the Property Manager isn’t even emailing us the paperwork we need, and refuses to let us speak directly to the owner of our building.

Reddit, please help! Should I get the MA Attorney involved? I don’t want to jeopardize our lease this late into the housing cycle.

TLDR: Being charged $1000 sublet fee to alter our lease after our 4 bedroom lease is executed with only 2 people on it.

Hey guys. I (M28) am an Incoming International student (Masters, Babson) at Boston in September; Just wanted to ask a couple of things:

1. What is the cheapest place (a single furnished room) I can find in the city with basic amenities ? (As I am on a tight budget)
2. If any leads, do let me know. Anyone needing a roomate pls leme know as well, would appreciate any guidance as I’m finding it difficult to navigate

Thanks!

My landlord in Southie is raising rent from $3000/mo to $3800 a month, which for a 3 bed in Southie isn't terrible, but the place is riddled with sanitary code violations (including fly infestation and squirrels living in the walls).

I decided to move out due to this, but I haven't said anything about the violations.

Do you think I should tell her?

Im not sure what to do because I will feel bad about anyone leasing this place in the condition it's in, but how can I make her fix this stuff if I am leaving?

Hi, I’m looking for another woman who’s in need of a roommate for a 2 bedroom apartment and would like to search together.

Ideal move-in date: Sept 1st or October 1st.

Location: Anywhere in the greater metro area but ideally near the red line.

Budget: $3200 total, $1600 each (I’m open to paying a bit more for the perfect place though).

My apartment dealbreakers: no laundry in building, no dishwasher, carpeted throughout, no AC (window units ok).

About me: Early 30s, freelance creative including narrating spicy romantasy audiobooks (so someone sex positive is a plus), big into cooking and baking, likes hiking and traveling, nerdy in the dnd and fantasy books way. Non-smoker (including weed) but occasionally will have some wine. Shellfish allergy so I can't have shrimp/clam/etc. cooked in the kitchen, sorry! Costco member lol. No pets but I’m happy to live with a cat. Queer friendly and progressive.

I WFH so I’m happy to proportionately split the utilities and pay more since I’ll be running the AC/heat more often.

Ideal roommate situation: I value a well organized and fairly tidy home but I’m not going to flip out if you leave some dishes overnight in the sink. I’m a big fan of a roommate chore chart or cleaning rota so we both feel like we’re equitably sharing the load and making sure public spaces are being kept relatively clean. I’m also open to splitting the cost to hire a cleaner once or twice a month if you’re into that.

I’m a sociable creature but I also love my alone time so my ideal roommate would love to have dinner or watch a movie together a couple nights a week but is also independent and has their own stuff going on.

I’m open to overnight guests/guests from out of town but would love advanced warning via text whenever there’s gonna be someone else in the apartment just for my own peace of mind.

If you think we could be a good fit, send me a message with a little bit about yourself (age, what you do for work, what kind of apartment and roommate you’re looking for, your IG if you’re chill with that, etc.)