According to the New York Times, some college students from the University of California, Merced, are living it up in McMansions instead of tiny dorm rooms.
Merced was hit especially hard by foreclosures and now mini mansions are sitting, empty, depreciating at a quick rate. Couple that with the limited dorm space at the university and it seems like a perfect match. College students who need rooms pay rent to the McMansion owners.
Comparisons show the university charges over $13K a year for room and board but if a student lives off campus, that amount falls to around $7K. And with these large homes having 5 or 6 bedrooms, roommates are able to obtain rooms for as little as $300 a month…which is unheard of for most rentals.
While it may be a bed of roses for the students, not all neighbors are happy that partying students have moved in to the neighborhood.
