For Fordham University students looking for an apartment near campus, the search can feel intimidating. There are many different realty companies that own or manage buildings in the Belmont neighborhood and cater to Fordham students interested in moving off campus.
Although rent is steadily increasing, it is still usually cheaper for students to live off-campus than in the dorms. The average Fordham student pays $900-$1,200 a month for an off-campus apartment, while a double room with a (required) meal plan on-campus can cost over $25,000 for the school year.
Belmont is south of Fordham’s Rose Hill campus, just across Fordham Road. The neighborhood boundaries are Webster Avenue in the west and the Bronx Zoo to the east, and Belmont stretches south all the way to 180th Street. However, the Fordham student population is concentrated inside the triangle made by Third Avenue, Crescent Avenue and Cambreleng Avenue.
The Ram recorded which buildings were owned by realty companies that cater to Fordham students and created a map of six local realty companies: Belmont Realty, LandSeAirNewYork (LSANY), Fordham Realty, Rhamco, NV Properties and Bluesky.
All the groups listed above were contacted multiple times, but only NV Properties and LSANY responded.
Aristotle Hatzigeorgiou founded NV Properties with his wife, and the two of them still own and run the business together. He has his own construction company that adds high-end finishes to his buildings.
“I have a background in the hospitality industry, so I’m not comfortable buying a building and throwing a coat of paint on,” said Hatzigeorgiou.
Jack Loughney, FCRH ’26, lives in one of Hatzigeorgiou’s buildings. He found the apartment through his cousin and enjoys living there.
“My landlord will come at 2 in the morning to fix alarms that are going off, and that’s really nice,” he said. “But I do wish I had roof access.”
Like Loughney, many Fordham students who live off-campus move into apartments that are “passed down” from someone they know. This is typical with houses or apartments rented by sports teams, passed down as new teammates move in and seniors move out. Moving into an apartment that a friend previously lived in allows students to find out more about the living space and the landlord than one learns from a quick walkthrough tour.
Joel Abreu, the founder and head broker of LSANY, said that “[LSANY’s] goal is to make the transaction [of renting an apartment] easier for students and parents.” LSANY offers virtual tours and electronic transactions to make it easier for parents to help their children rent their first apartment from a distance.
In addition to a resident benefit package that offers renters free liability insurance, LSANY is also working on creating a roommate matching system to help prospective subletters find empty rooms.
Both Hatzigeorgiou and Abreu recognized that there are challenges with renting to students. “The challenge with students is there’s generally more turnover because they graduate,” said Hatzigeorgiou. “And when they do leave, they all leave at the same time.” Abreu said, “There is a learning curve for students because it’s their first apartment, so we try to educate them on how all of this works.”
For some students, the prospect of finding an apartment, furnishing it and remembering to pay the bills each month can feel daunting. Indira Kar, FCRH ’25, said she chose her current apartment because it had many of the conveniences of dorm living. She rents an apartment from Belmont Realty, which includes WiFi and water in the monthly rent, as well as furniture and a biweekly cleaning service.
NOTE:
These companies were chosen because they are the most well-known among Fordham students. The Ram only noted properties that had a visible sign on the building. On the map, the commercial districts along 187th Street and Arthur Avenue seem to lack student housing, but that is only because those buildings did not have signs on them.
The map is a reference tool rather than a search tool and will eventually become outdated. Many companies still have apartments available for next year, but it is best to reach out to them directly or use their website’s search function to find an apartment.
