Loading ...Short-Term Housing – Options in the Greater Boston Area
Many people come to the Boston area with some uncertainty of how long they will stay. Some might be transfer students for a semester or two, researchers, or corporate employees here for a specific project. Maybe they’re someone who wants to test out the Bean Town magic before they settle down in a specific area. They might rent something long-term perhaps on their way to buying a home.
Whatever the case, there are three ways to secure short-term housing in the Boston area.
1) CORPORATE RENTALS
These are apartments that are being rented on a weekly and monthly basis. The apartments come fully furnished and equipped top to bottom. These units are being priced out in comparison to a hotel room stay, so if you compare them to a regular rental rate they are very expensive. The units are usually very well cared for, like a hotel, and include internet connection, cable TV, linen, and a fully applianced kitchen.
For example:
Standard hotel room rates in downtown Boston are, on average, $250 per night. Multiply by 30 nights and you’ve just spent $7500 that month on housing.
The corporate rentals will run about half that. So count on spending around $3000 a month for a one-bedroom or studio apartment in the downtown Boston area.
There are exceptions to that rule but I don’t know of any corporate rentals that are renting for less than $1400 a month for a studio or $2000 for a two-bedroom.
2) BED AND BREAKFAST
There are quite a few B&B’S in the Greater Boston area. You will most often find them in Cambridge, Brighton, Brookline but not so much in the heart of downtown Boston. They range in quality from a run-down motel/hostel feel to a homey, almost hotel-like feel.
Renting is usually done on a nightly basis with the option of a longer-term stay (per week or month) for a reduced rate.
Prices range from $100-300 per night for an apartment-like unit, not just a room. Weekly and monthly rates are priced around $600-$1500 per week and $2000-$3000 per month.
3) RENT A SHORT-TERM UNIT, RENT THE FURNITURE TOO
This is by far the most economical way of securing short-term housing in Boston. However, it requires a little more work on the renter’s part.
What you do is find a regular non-furnished market-rate apartment that would accept a month-to-month lease or a Tenant-at-Will agreement. Some landlords will be agreeable to this sort of arrangement from the get-go or sometimes only after some negotiations.
These arrangements are far and few between, but they are out there.
Once you have secured the apartment, you use a furniture rental company to furnish the apartment to your liking. This will cost you $70-$350 per month depending upon the quality of the furniture and how detailed you want to get. Do you need just a bed? Or do you require a living room and dining room set with chandeliers, a plasma TV and matching area rugs?
Companies that rent furniture in the Boston area are: Cort Furniture, Rent-a-Center and probably a few others.
Hope this helps.
IG
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