In this episode of the Ditch Your Dorm podcast, we are interviewing Irfan Raza. He graduated from the Fox School of Business in 2008, as an accounting major. Four years ago, he made the switch over to real estate. His company, Raza Homes LLC, over the short four years that they've been in business, has acquired over 80 properties and they are managing properties around emerging areas within Philadelphia. His company  buys, renovates, and then rents out these properties. The most important thing when you are deciding where to live is your income. Irfan suggests that you record all your income on your tax return, so you can provide it to once you need to for your housing needs. Irfan encourages everyone to be open to adapting to the changing real estate market. There is a possibility that you might find significant decreases in the housing market for sale.

In this episode of Ditch your Dorm podcast, we are interviewing Lauren Soss. She is a property manager for a very large company located in Philadelphia.  As property managers, they are involved in the process from beginning to end. They want to ensure that the process is smooth and not as stressful. Budging is such an important part of the moving process because you want to make sure that you are able to afford it.

In this episode of the Ditch Your Dorm podcast, we are interviewing Qadim Ghani. He moved to Philadelphia in 2003 and he participated in the Drexel home purchase Assistance Program. When renters are first looking at properties, the first thing that comes to his mind is cost. The market will come with different costs, depending on what school you're looking at, if you're in the city or outside of the city.

In this episode of Ditch your Dorm we are interviewing  Julie Foyle. She is the leasing director for Watchtower Property Company. The lease is an extremely important part of this process. On most it is required by landlords going to have to sign a lease, and you're going to have to place a one-month deposit to secure your space.

In this episode of Ditch you Dorm podcast, we are interviewing John Sacks, who is a property manager. A property manager is effectively going to be your day to day contact. They are acting as an extension of the landlord that owns the property. A typical lease is going to include the introduction, names of the renters, the landlord's name and the property's address. Then there's information about co-signers, if the lease includes that. It is very important to read the lease in its entirety because a lot of times there may be information that will surprise you.

In this episode of the  Ditch Your Dorm podcast, we are interviewing a very special guest Anya, who is a junior at New York University.  When going through this process of searching for an apartment, it is important to read the contract from front to back and make sure that you are satisfied with it. “Do not be afraid to be persistent with the person that you are communicating with. At the end of the day, like it is their job to help you get this apartment as easily and as possible”, Anya said.

In this episode of Ditch your Dorm  podcast, we interviewed Temple University student Mollie about her experience renting off-campus. Mollie recommended a private landlord over an agency, especially for freshmen. Sometimes you have to trust others, when you are looking for your first apartment.