The process of finding housing as a student at the University of Georgia can be overwhelming. Between school, work and your social life, setting aside time to start looking for a student apartment is difficult to make a top priority.
At Rambler, we’ve helped hundreds of students find purpose-built student apartments, and have advised many students and parents on when to begin the process of signing a lease.
Read Next: Ultimate Guide to Living Off-Campus for UGA Students
The housing timeline can look different for everyone, especially in the ever-changing Athens market. In this article, we will walk you through all the information needed to help determine which timeline best suits your needs.
In this article, we will cover:
- The typical student housing timeline in Athens
- How signing earlier can save you money
- When you should begin your apartment search
When to Start Looking for Student Apartments in Athens
What is the typical student housing timeline in Athens?
While the timeline for leasing an apartment at UGA largely depends on the individual conducting the search, most students choose to lease for the next school year at some point during the Fall semester of the prior year.
For example, if you are an incoming freshman at UGA, you will most likely sign a lease for your sophomore year within a few months of starting school in the fall of your freshman year.
Read Next: A Freshman’s Guide to Student Housing at UGA
The majority of newer, off-campus apartments in Athens near the University of Georgia begin leasing in spring or summer of the year prior to the next leasing season. So, leasing for 2023-2024 generally begins in spring of 2022.
April of the year prior is typically the earliest you can sign a lease, and November or December of the previous year is when many units will begin to sell out. Newer developments with high demand, like those located near UGA campus in downtown Athens, tend to fill up quicker than students anticipate.
You will often see that rising upperclassmen will sign even earlier than the typical Fall semester timeframe. Some will sign as early as April of the year prior, right when leasing opens for many apartment buildings, to assure that they will get a prime unit. This means that a current sophomore is signing a lease in their Spring semester for the housing that they will occupy during their senior year!
This may seem extreme, but this is because upperclassmen have witnessed how chaotic the fall leasing season is for many students. By signing in the spring, students are able to score the best rates and highly sought-after units.
To best understand why students sign leases so early, it’s important to clearly define the pricing system and how it works. Next, we will be explaining the benefits of leasing early and why the time at which you sign a lease influences how much you will be paying each month.
Read Next: 8 Steps to Finding an Apartment Near UGA
Can signing earlier save me money?
If you go to The University of Georgia, you have likely seen advertisements for student housing apartment complexes that coin phrases such as, “our lowest rates,” or “almost sold out, lease now!” While these statements may come off as cliché, their claims hold some truth.
For newer developments near UGA, the majority of complexes offer their best rates if you sign early in the leasing timeline.
Most commonly, apartment complexes will divide their individual bedroom spaces into tiers, with differing rates at each tier. The first leases will be signed with first tier rates, which offer the lowest prices. After the first tier is full, spots in the second tier will then be leased at a slightly increased rate. This pattern will continue until the entire building is fully leased.
As each tier is leased, the price of monthly rent per bed for student housing apartments will typically increase from around $10 to $20. However, pricing per bed can increase significantly more in between tiers at certain properties, so make sure to research a property’s tier system.
Considering the tier system, signing a lease for your apartment as soon as you can typically ensures the best possible price. However, there is a caveat.
If you happen to lease at the very last moment (think summer months immediately prior to move-in), you may receive a first-tier deal.
This is because apartment buildings are racing to lease the remaining beds as soon as possible prior to move-in. To fill these final vacancies, they will often offer deals and discounts until all rooms are filled so that they won’t have any units go un-leased. All in all, collecting any amount of rent is better than nothing.
However, lower rates are not guaranteed and your options during this crunch time will be much more limited. Those who lease early will have their pick of floor plans and units, while those who lease at the end of the period will be left to choose from the few remaining apartments.
One other exception to keep in mind is that, sometimes, apartment complexes with a small bed count (think less than 100 units or 500 beds) or many floor plan types may opt to skip the tier system altogether. In this circumstance, all units of the same type would be leased at the same rate, aside from premiums. Premium units could include larger windows, balcony space, extra square footage, etc. but vary by apartment complex, so be sure to ask before you sign a lease!
Read Next: 15 Questions to Ask While Touring a Student Property in Athens
Taking all of this into consideration, the best deals on student housing near UGA are typically available very early or very late in the leasing timeline.
Should I Lease Early?
At this point you might be thinking: is leasing early truly worth the hype? Athens has plenty of apartment options for students… is the demand to lease so early actually real?
When you sign early, you have the most options at the best price point. However, we understand that you may not be ready to sign as early as 18 months in advance. Maybe you’re unsure of who you will be living with, or you’re considering studying abroad. Whatever the reason, we recommend that once you are ready, sign a lease as soon as you can.
Ultimately, you can lease an apartment at the last minute – the only real deadline is the move-in date, and there is an abundance of housing near UGA’s campus to go around. However, the most important question to consider is, will you be comfortable living in one of the apartment options that remain come August?
The spots remaining in August will be the rooms that people didn’t want to sign for, and there is a reason for this undesirability. These rooms are typically the least accommodating for students – the bedroom may not have windows or the apartment complex may have poor reviews and be located far from campus.
When there is the ability to sign a lease that is equally as great of a price on a far better apartment, people are inclined to sign early, and the early leasing hype is born.
Overall, there are several benefits to signing a lease early at an student housing apartment near UGA, including:
- Competitive pricing options
- Greater choice of apartment complex
- Better floorplan choice
- Newer, more luxury amenities
- Greater flexibility in roommate choice
Read Next: 5 Benefits of Leasing Early at UGA
When should I start my search?
At this point, you’ve likely decided an approximate time you may want to sign your lease based upon the factors listed above.
We recommend giving yourself an additional month or so before the date you have in mind to start your search. So, if you’re hoping to be on the earlier side of the leasing timeline (around August of the year prior), you will want to start seeking potential roommates in June or July, and start touring as soon as you have an idea of what features you want in an apartment.
Even if you find yourself on the late end of the leasing timeline, you will want to give yourself at least one month to evaluate your options of locations, apartments and roommates.
Read Next: Which Type of Housing is Right for Me? Student Housing v. Traditional Housing
Finding the perfect apartment for your Athens lifestyle can take some time – it’s always smart to get an early start so that you can maximize your options.
To help you simplify your UGA housing search, we’ve put together a complete guide to off-campus housing near UGA:
We hope that this article have you an idea on when to start looking for a student apartment in Athens. For more information on Rambler, visit our amenities and floor plan pages, or contact our leasing staff, who are more than happy to answer any questions you may have about housing.
