The Wake Forest House

Thanks for your interest in our home!

Update 004/05/2023:

We are now accepting applications for Summer and Fall 2023.

Move-in dates can often be flexible depending on the move-out plans of the current tenant/s.

Thanks for checking out the site!

6908 Wake Forest is a freshly renovated family-style rental home in College Park, Maryland, geared towards graduate students and young professionals, and most tenants are students at the University of Maryland.  We pride ourselves on providing a clean, study- and sleep-friendly home where students and young professionals can trust that they can sleep and work when they need, without interruption.  We hope to hear from you soon!

Quick FAQ's

The Sections

We have broken down the house details into sections.

• Common Areas of the House

• Bedrooms and Moving

• The Terp Bedroom

• The Capitol Bedroom

• The Potomac Bedroom

• The Tarrapin Bedroom

• The Hillside Apartment

• Utilities and House Supplies

• Security

• Location and Transit

• Contact and Application

Jump Ahead

House Common Areas

The Kitchen + Dining Room + Pantry

The kitchen is set up for cooks.  Though we usually have a mix of people who do and do not cook, we make sure the kitchen is fully stocked. 

This includes but is not limited to:

• Dishwasher and Gas Range

• Commercial-grade pots and pans

• Commercial grade KitchenAid mixer

• Plates, bowls, cups, silverware, etc.

• Food processor

• Heavy-duty foil and other consumables like Ziploc bags, plastic wrap, parchment paper, etc

• Cutting boards

• Steak knives

• Cooking/ chef's knives, paring knives, bread knives, etc.

• Espresso Maker

• Crockpot

• Toaster

• Hot water pot/electric kettle

• Coffeemaker

• Ice cream maker

• All the necessary accessories and utensils.

The dining room has extra shelving space on stainless rolling kitchen storage racks, a microwave, wine rack with space for each tenant, baking supplies, and a corner cupboard for storage of specialty glassware with enough beer and wine glasses for all.  There is tenant food storage space on racks as well.

The pantry off the kitchen also connects to the living room and contains a second fridge, a pantry closet for extra house supplies, a half bath for all to use, and the basement stairs.  

We have two full-size fridges to ensure we are not cramped on fridge space.  This is in addition to the full size fridge in the basement apartment, for a total of three in the house.

Patio + GriLL

The house also comes complete with a furnished patio located right off the kitchen.  It is covered with a protective UV shade over the entire patio and has string lights for using the patio at night. The patio has two larger tables, three end tables, and a number of chairs.  It also has an outlet for connection of laptops, full wifi connection, and a grill.

Living Room and Front Entry

As you walk in through the front door, we have Waterhog rugs covering the entire entryway complete with benches and shoe storage space for taking off shoes and hanging up coats.  There is also a front hall closet for coats, cleaning supplies, vacuums, etc.

The living room is stocked with everything you need for a cozy night with a movie or a long day of studying, with plenty of lamps, blankets, pillows, work surfaces, chairs, etc.

The TV has an HD cable box, Amazon Fire Stick, and is logged into Netflix and Amazon Prime as well.  Each tenant is given his/her own user profile on the house Netflix account.

THE GOAL - A GREAT PLACE TO STUDY, WORK, AND SLEEP

We try to cover all the bases that we can think of, have had requested thus far, or that are needed for grad students and young professionals.  The internet is set up with multiple wireless routers in different parts of the house so that on each floor, and even on the patio, you will have a full wifi signal with a Gigabit grade (1000 Mbps) connection. 

WHAT IF I HAVE TO ASSEMBLE STUFF?

Regarding setting up furniture or basic tool needs, we keep a house toolkit with a hammer, pliers, tape measure, screwdrivers, etc., available in the common areas for basic repair/ furniture setup and other needs.  We also keep more tools in our utility room available upon request for heavier duty needs.

Laundry Room

The house comes with both washer and dryer, and the laundry detergent and dryer sheets are typically part of house expenses.  The laundry room is located at the base of the basement stairs and has shelving for all your common laundry soaps and accessories.  We also keep a couple of small plastic wash bins in the laundry room for soaking specialty or stained items.

Heating & Cooling

We have built as much efficiency and comfort into the home as possible, and are constantly adding more.  Between the full home renovation in 2017 and the continued improvements, we have re-weather stripped each entryway into the home, insulated a large number of walls throughout the home, and laid down over 600 linear feet of caulking (not a joke) on every seam in the house we can find and are continuing to caulk more as we go.

THE HOUSE HAS TWO SEPARATE HEATING/COOLING SYSTEMS

One system heats and cools the upstairs of the home.  The second system heats/cools the first floor and the basement apartment. 

We have EcoBee Smart thermostats connected to both systems, with temperature sensors in each room of the house.  Even though this is an older home (as are all homes in the area), we have a very high level of control over temperatures in each room and efficiency at the same time.  The system can automatically turn on and off and control temperatures based on whether or not people are home, space isn't being used, and even preemptively heat and cool spaces in anticipation of people coming home from classes or work as it adjusts to our schedules. 

During the renovation energy efficient light fixtures, LED and halogen bulbs, and water saving fixtures were installed throughout the home.  More safety features were also added with better electrical grounding, many new GFCI outlets, and other upgrades.

Guests

Guests are genuinely welcome in this home.  We always try to rent to people who are both responsible and easy going with regards to roommates and are conscientious of themselves and their guests, ensuring respect for all roommates. It is each tenant’s job to ensure he/she is being quiet and respectful as well as an understanding of others.  Tenants studying and sleeping comes first, before guests and gatherings. 

Each tenant is responsible for making sure they communicate via the house group chat well in advance of guests coming to town to check and see that it works with everyone else's schedule.  Tenants are responsible for making sure their guests are respectful in the house, including respectful of the noise levels expected for studying if and when anyone needs to study.  This is not a party house. Studying/sleeping has the right-of-way.

It is common for tenants to have over friends or relatives from out of town, and as long as timing, courtesy, and communication are respected, it always works out just fine. 

Bathrooms

The house has 4 bathrooms (3 full, 1 half), for 5 total people.  The half bath is located on the first floor, off the pantry. One full bath is located in the basement apartment, and a second bath upstairs is for use by the upstairs tenants. The third full bath is in the Terrapin Bedroom on the first floor. The net total of bathrooms means that even in the case where the house has guests, we can always work out a way to have enough bathroom space.   

Bedrooms and Moving

The TERP Bedroom

With abundant natural light through two windows, a 12.5'x10.5' floor area, and its own closet, the Terp Bedroom has everything you need to live well and within budget at the same time.

The Potomac Bedroom

With windows on three sides of the house, a full walk-in closet, and built-in storage in the walls, this master bedroom has everything you need and thensome to have an awesome bedroom.

The Capitol room

The Capitol Room is a perfect blend of space, with a walk-in closet and built-in dresser drawers plus great morning light every day with Northern and Eastern windows.  Even the walk-in closet has a window!

The Terrapin Bedroom

With five total windows, its own full bathroom with bathtub/shower, and two closets, the Tarrapin room is desiged to be its own oasis away from the world.

The Hillside Apartment

The Hillside Apartment is the perfect retreat from campus and the ideal study space for your workload at the same time. The apartment comes with space for a living area and bedroom, a kitchenette, its own entrance, and a gorgeous full bath complete with wood grain tile.  

Bedroom prices are based on an unfurnished price but can be rented furnished or unfurnished.  The common house areas are furnished.  The furnished bedroom price is based on what each tenant needs, and if you are interested in having your room furnished, please feel free to get in touch, and we can work out the details.  Furnished bedrooms often rent for an additional $20-$60 per month depending on what is requested in the room, and this has always worked out well and conveniently for those looking to rent furnished. 

Before you move in, each bedroom is thoroughly cleaned, touched up or repainted, and brought up to a high standard for any family home.  We do not treat this as a student rental, we treat it like a family home.  While each bedroom has closet space, there is also common storage space available in an attic and some in a basement utility room.  Let us know if you will need additional storage space beyond your room and we can discuss the options and what may or may not fit.  Before move-in, we are also happy to work with everyone to make sure you and your belongings have a place to go between leases.  We often have new tenants move some belongings in a little early and have even stayed as a guest for a night or two before the lease starts.  While we cannot ever guarantee space or accommodations before a lease starts without advance planning, when advance plans are made with us we always find a way to work with the tenants and figure everything out one way or another.   

Though tenants do not normally use them and we all usually keep our doors open, each room can be locked with a key from the outside if you so desire.  Rooms can, of course, be locked from the inside too.  During periods when everyone is away at the same time for holidays and such, we do encourage all to lock up.  We keep keys to the entire house both in case someone loses a key and in case of emergencies. 

We do not go into anyone’s bedroom, locked or unlocked, without prior verbal/written notice for any reason other than safety concerns.  Safety concerns that come up include smelling or seeing a lit candle, a medical emergency, a fire, or some other type of theoretical damage like a leaky pipe or broken window.  All bedrooms come with blinds on the windows for security and privacy.

The Terp Bedroom

The Terp bedroom is a roughly 12.5’ x 10.5’ room with a storage closet, two windows, and is located on the second floor.  The Terp Bedroom shares the full upstairs bath has access to all common areas of the house including the first-floor half-bath.  As with all bedrooms, it has a temperature sensor connected to the thermostat. It has a main overhead light connected to a switch inside the door.  This room gets great mid-day and evening light with northern and western windows.

The Potomac Bedroom

The Brightest Room In The House

Full Comfort

The potomac Room is perfectly set up for those who want to look out at the world with a view on 3 sides and have plenty of floor space while they do it.

Did we mention that there is a dedicated wireless router just for this end of the house with a 1000 Mbps connection? The competing apartments in College Park will maybe offer 2-10 Mbps,… on a good day….

Your Own Walk-in closet

The bedroom has a walk in closet with upper and lower clothing rods, and plenty of hanging hooks so it is ready for all your clothes.

Bonus- the room has multiple heating/ cooling vents, and its own temperature sensor tied to the dedicated top floor furnace and A/C unit. Yup, the house has TWO heating/cooling systems. And the top floor has one all to itself.

Everything You Need

This bedroom is well over 20 feet end to end and has four windows, two built in storage spaces, access to a full bathroom just outside the bedroom door, and around Christmas, a patridge and a pear tree in the hallway (JK, but we do put up Christmas trees every year…). Its got the light, the space, the convenience, and the storage.

The Capitol Bedroom

The Capitol Bedroom is a roughly a 12.5’ x 10.5’ room and has a walk-in closet with an additional 23 square feet of floor space, hanging rods, a window in the closet, built-in bookshelves, and a light.  The room has two windows, a storage/crawl space door with storage for boxes/ luggage, more built-in bookshelves, and a built-in three door dresser.  It has a main overhead light connected to a switch inside the door.  As with all bedrooms, it has a temperature sensor connected to the thermostat.  This room gets great morning and mid-day light with northern and eastern light coming from three total windows.

The Terrapin Bedroom

THE Perfect space to stretch out

Full Comfort

With its own temperature sensor tied to the thermastat and freshly remodeled and painted walls/ceiling/carpet, the Terrapin Room is ready to go for comfortable Grad Student living, It has built-in pot lights and/or ceiling lights across all areas, and separate shower and main area lights in the bathroom. 

Your Own Bathroom

The bathroom has a full shower/tub combo, sink, toilet, and its own window.

Everything You Need

The Terrapin Bedroom can come furnished upon request.  The room has five windows, including one in the closet room and one in the bathroom on top of the three in the bedroom area. The room has windows on the North, East, and Western sides of the house!

The Terrapin Bedroom is set up to be the perfect grad student sanctuary. It has its own full bath, plenty of daylight and built-in lighting, and access to all common areas of the house, including the full kitchen.

The main area of the bedroom is setup off the first floor living room with a storm door in between to keep noise out and is roughly XxX dimension. Off the bedroom is a closet room that is roughly XxX dimensions and contains a linen closet, a window, and an extra deep clothing closet with plenty of storage space.  

The Hillside Apartment

THE PERFECT HOME FOR STUDENTS AND YOUNG PROFESSIONALS ALIKE.

Full Comfort

With its own temperature sensor, 5 heating/cooling vents, insulated walls, 3 regular windows, and a larger walk-out/emergency escape window, the apartment has full comfort year- round and great natural light from the east.  It has built-in pot lights across all areas, and separate shower and main area lights in the bathroom. 

Your Own Bathroom

The bathroom has a full wood-grained tile shower with built-in seat, heated fan and light above, and its own window. The bathroom is roughly 12’ x 4’ including the shower, toilet area, and sink.

Everything You Need

The Hillside apartment and kitchenette can also come furnished upon request.  The apartment has its own entry door with a small mudroom inside for coat racks or storage.  There is a separate door between the private apartment entryway and the main area of the apartment.

The Hillside Apartment is set up to be the perfect grad student sanctuary. It has its own kitchenette, full bath, private entrance, plenty of daylight and built-in lighting, and access to all common areas of the house, including the full kitchen upstairs via the basement stairs.  At night, it does not share the thermostat with any other bedrooms, allowing for full comfort without competing against differing temperatures on other floors.  During the day, the apartment shares the thermostat on the first floor. 

The main area of the apartment is set up in an open “L” shape and can be configured as desired.  It is roughly 25’ along the back, and 22’ from front to back of the house.  Each leg of the “L” is roughly 12-13’ wide.  The main area contains a closet with door and hanging rod as well as finished storage area under the basement stairs.  Most tenants set up one end as the bedroom by the bathroom, and the other end as a living area.  The kitchenette is located in the corner of the “L.” 

Security

The house includes a number of key safeguards to help keep everyone safe through both technology and actions.

The most important piece of this is the House Supervisor - Wait.. What?

• Ok, so in most houses we all wish there was someone there to help keep tabs on things like smoke detectors, toilet paper, and security, right? Yup, we have that person. The house supervisor goes around the house nightly to check window and door locks, repair and maintenance items, etc. The House Supervisor is both a fellow roomate and the best helper ever.

• Security System by Simply Safe… X 2 !

  • We have a security system for both the main+upstairs floors and a seperate one for the basement apartment. System codes must be shared with myself and the house supervisor if you wish to use them. For more details, get in touch below!

  • What if you want your own key phob? No problem.

  • What if there is a fire, yup it can be tied to smoke detectors too.

  • What if I’m too lazy to go downstairs to set the system when nobody else is home? There is an upstairs keypad, key phobs, and an app on your phone. Doesn’t get any better than that.

• Schlage “Encode” Wifi enabled front-door deadbolt system. Ok this one is super cool.

  • Forget your key? No problem! It has a pin pad and every tenant, contractor, etc, has their own code.

  • But wait I don’t want contractors to be able to come and go at any time! Each code can be made 24/7 OR timed for specific entry when requested by us.

  • Hold on though, I still want to use a key! It still works 24/7 with the key, including if the batteries die in the pinpad. The batteries need replacing about every 6-8 months, and is yet another item handled by the House Supervisor so you don’t have to worry about it.

Utilities and Supplies

The room prices are structured with utilities separate and averaging roughly $100-125 per month.  This monthly utility price includes internet, TV, electric gas, and a quarterly water bill, as well as other shared house expenses like toilet paper and paper towels (more info below). Utilities are relatively low for the area due to the recent renovation last year which made significant improvements to insulation, plumbing, and electrical efficiency. 

We have Costco, Home Depot Pro, and Target card memberships so that we can buy common house items in bulk and at discounts as a group and then divide it up each month as a part of rent payments.  The typical items include cleaning supplies, Tide/ dryer sheets, paper products like Kleenex and paper towels, olive oil, garbage bags, batteries, light bulbs, etc.  These items can vary as well from group to group depending on what everyone wants to do/ commonly uses. 

The house Netflix and Disney Plus accounts are a perk as a part of the rent, and you are not charged extra for it.  Each tenant has their own user profile in the account.  

Location + Transit

Location + Parking

The house is located in a neighborhood known as Calvert Hills, in College Park, Maryland.  Calvert Hills is one of the safest and nicest neighborhoods in the area around the university and is filled with many university employees and students.  It is a family-friendly neighborhood, not designed for partying or party houses. 

The house has street parking for all tenants, and two visitor parking passes for when friends come over or family visits. 

To Campus

There are multiple options for transit to campus.  Many in the Calvert Hills neighborhood are either students or professors at UMD walk daily to campus.  To the southeast corner of campus, it is roughly a 12-minute walk.  If you’re going to the far side of campus, you can take a UMD shuttle bus from the edge of the neighborhood along Rt.1 or from the College Park Metro station which is conveniently located inside the neighborhood.  The metro station is roughly a 9-minute walk from the house.

To Grocerys + Food

The area has a number of grocery stores to choose from.  Most popular is the Whole Foods that is on the southern edge of the neighborhood and accessible via a paved walking path known as the "Old Trolley Trail."  You can also drive there, of course, and there is ample parking.  Other grocery stores in the area include a Shoppers, two Giant grocery stores, and for those who want to visit Takoma Park, a Trader Joe’s roughly 20 minutes away.  There are also Mom's and Yes Organic Markets in the area.  

Food wise, we have two Starbucks, plenty of restaurants, two brew-pubs, an abundance of pizza places, and a true gem of a local pizzeria called Pizzeria Paradiso which now has a location in nearby Hyattsville.  P.S.  Their beer list is a book...

Links are below to our favorites :) 

Tours & Application Process

How Does It Work?

We have a smooth and consistent process:

1. It all starts with a quick 15-minute call!

   1. Whether you have more questions about the house or already know you would like to schedule a tour, we start with a call with all prospective tenants.

   2. Finding a new place takes time! This we can make sure we are respectful of everyone’s time and make sure it’s a good fit for all before moving forward.

   3. What’s a good fit? You are looking for a place to study and sleep and live, and respect others in the same situation.

   4. Schedule a call by getting in touch below via the Contact Form (Click Here)>

2. Time for a tour!

   1. Once we have a quick call and know it’s a good potential fit for everyone, it’s time to schedule a tour! We schedule the tour during the initial call.

   2. Tours can be in-person or virtual via a Facetime/Hangouts/Zoom/Video call and are provided by the House Supervisor.

   3. After the tour, you have a call with Ben (the property manager) to answer any of your questions and talk next steps.

   4. NOTE: During COVID we are only scheduling video tours for everyone’s safety.

3. Application time!

   1. Think it’s a good fit for you? Great! Time to apply. Our application process includes a standard background check, reference check, credit check, etc.

   2. “But wait, I’m a college/international student, I don’t have credit!” That’s O.K.! We understand that college students may not have ideal credit or any credit score at all.

   3. We call references including friends, former roommates, professional references, former landlords, etc. We made sure that everyone in the house can feel safe knowing that they are living with others who have been background checked and screened.

4. Time for a Lease!

   1. Once the application process is complete, we draft up a lease! This can include furniture rental as well if applicable/requested.

So what do I do next?

Get in touch with the contact form below to schedule a call today! Contact Form (Click Here)>

Contact & Application

The Lease

• The lease is for 12 months, from August 1st through July 31st.

• Sub-leasing is allowed in certain circumstances, at my descretion. Please inquire for details.

• Deposit on the house is one month’s rent, which is due at time of signing along with a $125 cleaning fee. The cleaning fee goes towards cleaning, touch-up painting, etc. when you move out. If less than $125 is needed, the rest will be reimbursed. If more is needed, it will come out of the deposit.

• We warmly encourage co-signers

• No smoking, no animals.

• This is a non-party home.

The Application

• The application begins with a call, followed by scheduling a tour. We are happy to provide virtual tours via Facetime as well.

• If you are interested in a room and the house seems like a good fit, prospective tenants will:

  • Complete a rental application to be used for a background check and employment/address verification through RentPrep.com

  • Provide two credit reports via Credit Karma free of charge or via RentPrep.com for an additional $10 fee

  • Provide a minimum of three references other than parents,

  • Provide income verification, and if applicable, a co-signor application, credit check, and verification.

  • The background check through RentPrep.com costs $35, which can be paid to us at the time of paperwork submission.

Contact Us

Interested in join the home?  Get in touch!  We would love to hear from you.