If you've never lived off-campus before, we hope these hints will be of some help.

• Work out your budget carefully

  To secure an apartment, most realtors will want the first and last months' rent, a deposit (equal to one month's rent) and a fee (usually equal to a month's rent). That adds up to a lot of money.

  You can get an apartment without the realty fee but you have to search around for landlords and realtors that provide their services free (usually this means the landlord pays the realtor or searches for tenants themselves). One way to do this is to find a neighborhood you like, go around to each building and write down the owner/management's name and phone number, and then call them all. By avoiding the realtor middleman, you might save a whole month's rent (the fee).

• You get what you pay for

  There are very few genuine bargains. If something is very cheap, be very suspicious. See what is included in the rent (gas, heat, water, electricity).

• Landlords

  There can be some very bad ones, speak to the current residents if at all possible.

• Get your own apartment first

  Then fill it with people. There are many more students than apartments, so if you can secure an apartment you like, and you can afford the deposit, then it might be worth taking a gamble that you can fill the extra rooms.

• Realtors

  There are some good ones. But there are some very bad ones who will try to coerce you into renting an apartment you don't want. Beware.

• Keep your aims realistic

  You probably won't get the place of your dreams first time around, so it's better to get the first "reasonable" place rather than end up with nothing.

• Go househunting with a friend

  It's a lot less pressure, and you can get a second opinion you trust on the place.