With the school year approaching the halfway point, it’s crunch time for students looking into off-campus housing for next year.

The Off Campus College (OCC) Office is available to help students with their housing searches, and ensure they have the necessary knowledge to get the right lease and make the move off campus.

While the OCC does not help students actually secure a lease, they aim to make the search easier by providing helpful information. Officials recommend that students come in before they begin searching so that they know what to look for.

“Students should look for a variety of things when looking to move off campus, such as neighborhood, condition of the house, cost, utilities included, location and more,” said David Husch, director of OCC. “There is a variety of things we would be willing to help them with as they make that search.”

Students can search for available housing on the OCC Web site, occ.binghamton.edu. Under the housing section, the Web site has an updated list of houses and apartments available for rent that students can check.

The site also contains lists of students looking for housemates and features links for other classified ads in the neighborhood, such as Binghamton’s Craigslist, a local online classified listing.

Students can also look on the bulletin boards located around campus for fliers advertising for roommates and housing. Looking for places that have already been leased and need sublets is also a good option for those late to find housing, according to OCC staff members.

University Plaza, located on Vestal Parkway, and C Fred Plaza Apartment Complex in Johnson City, also provide student housing off campus, but spots fill up quickly and wait-lists are formed.

“My roommates applied [for housing] the first week of school,” said Lisa Sperber, a sophomore nursing major.

According to Ellie Farfaglia of the Landlord’s Association of Broome County, for students who are picky about where they want to live, it could be late to start looking for housing.

The better the apartment, the quicker it will be leased by students, she said.

“Years ago, most people didn’t start looking for housing until they got back from winter break in January, then [the search] started earlier and earlier,” Farfaglia said.

There are always going to be houses or apartments available, so there is no need to panic if you have not started your search yet.

“With off-campus housing there will be some availabilities that come up all the time,” Husch said.