When your lease on your Athens apartment ends, you must have renewed the lease or found a new place to live in Athens. Ideally, you would have decided on your course of action three to six months before your lease runs out. Especially in a place like Athens, you want to have your housing planned out before UGA's off-campus apartment hunting season begins. Incoming UGA sophomores will add a lot more of people trying to sign leases in the Athens apartment market. The earliest apartment hunting starts is in December, but it picks up around February and March. If you like the place you’re living and don’t see a need to change, the easiest thing would be to stay in your current apartment.
The Renewal Process
Most apartments start promoting renewals around winter break, especially before their rates go up. Usually, they will post reminders around the community, even on your door or mailbox. They will usually give you a final date to resign before the rates go up, just make sure you have everything in by that time. The most common form of renewal involves being sent a new lease for that year and you and your guarantor, if applicable, will need to resign it. For more information about leases check out this article. If you have renters’ insurance or anything similar with your Athens apartment community, make sure you check on that as well. If you are unsure if you are good to go for the next year, as a UGA international student, call your apartment's leasing office to confirm they have everything from you. Renewing is less stress on you, because if you renew, you get to stay in your apartment, no need to move out.
Moving Apartments as a UGA International Student
Moving apartments can be a little more difficult, but sometimes necessary. Just be careful timing things, since sometimes there are weird few weeks where you must be out of your apartment, but you can’t move into the next one. This can especially be a problem for UGA students involved in fall Sorority Rush, as they have to be in Athens earlier than most students. In that case, be prepared to store your furniture and other items in a storage locker, or if available, at your parents' house. There are a few moving companies and storage places in Athens that might offer these kinds of options to international UGA students. When moving out, make sure that the management company knows of any marks from previous tenants, so you won’t be charged.
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