Renting in Bowling Green (BG) offers a range of options —from cozy downtown apartments to shared student housing near campus —each with its own price tag and perks.
Mecca Management figures out how to set their house and apartment prices with several things.
“We usually just look at the market. One of the number of things that in the real estate business that we look at is something called the consumer price index. It’s put out by the federal government every month, and it’s an indicator of inflation,” said Steve Green, owner of Mecca.
Along with looking at the market and consumer price index, the employees at Mecca need to be paid as well.
“On top of that are the labor costs. So not only the material, but all the people that we have employed here. We have about 24, 25 people employed here. As inflation rises, we increase their salaries and wages,” Green said.
Skylar Dixon, a sophomore, can see the price increase from last year, and nothing in the house or apartment has changed.
“I think after kind of going through some apartments and house hunting, the prices aren’t as bad as I was thinking they were gonna be,” Dixon said. “But I did definitely notice that they have raised, but it doesn’t look like many of them have been updated, so it was kind of confusing that they were raising almost $100, but nothing’s really being changed.”
Sophomore Kalen Dougall feels thankful that he does not have to worry too much about cost.
“I think that I’m in a privileged position where I can afford most places, but I think the way most of the properties are divided, a lot of times rent costs put a lot of pressure on students who are already paying for school,” Dougall said.
After numerous phone calls, Greenbrair and The Edge declined to comment.
Examples
On the Meca website, it lists a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment located at 122 S. Maple St. The rent $821 a month. There is off-street parking and a refrigerator. The house is about a three-minute drive and a 15-minute walk to the BGSU campus.
On the Toledo off-campus website, it lists a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment at 1744 N. Westwood Ave. The rent for this apartment is $839 a month. The apartment is furnished, allows pets, has a washer and dryer and has parking. This apartment is a three-minute drive and a 12-minute walk from the University of Toledo campus.
On the Greenbrair website, they list an apartment with two bedrooms and a bathroom for $870 a month. It is located on 519 Ridge St. and is a seven-minute walk to campus, while the drive is about two minutes. Ridge Manor apartments have AC, on-site laundry and are furnished.
On the Toledo off-campus website, a one-bedroom, one bath is $575, located on 4424 Hill Ave and is a five-minute drive and a 50-minute walk from their campus. It has a laundry room on site, parking, AC, a dishwasher, a refrigerator, an oven and room-to-room climate control.
On the Edge website, it has four bedrooms and two bathrooms for $575 per person each month, along with electrical, gas, and heat. The amenities that the Edge has are a pool, allows pets, parking, a gym, a computer lab and free tanning. The edge is at 706 Napoleon Rd. and a three-minute drive and a 20-minute walk to campus.
On Kent Apartments, Eagles Landing has a two-bedroom and one bath for $550 per person each month. They allow pets, off-street parking, a rec room, a laundry room, AC and a pool. It is on 936 Morris Rd., a two-minute drive to campus and walking takes 10 minutes.
