For off-campus apartments, you will almost certainly be required to sign a lease (rental contract). Be sure to read the lease carefully before signing. When you sign a lease, you are legally committed to the conditions of the document, including payment of rent for all months of the agreement. Make sure you avoid leases that obligate you for more than a year. Most landlords will require a security deposit ranging from one or two months' rent. This deposit will be returned to you when you vacate the apartment, provided nothing has been damaged and you have maintained the conditions of the lease. You should be certain that you have found a satisfactory living situation before you sign any sort of a lease, as this is a binding legal contract.

To fill out a housing contract you may need the following:

• Passport, visa, and I-94 printout/card.
• Financial declaration (proof of income or bank statement).
• Bank account (to pay by check).
• Social Security Number (as soon as you get one) or some may accept your Brown University ID number.
• Deposit and fees (security deposit, redecoration fee, application fee, pet fee, etc.).

If possible, try to find a place to live before you arrive in Providence or budget money for temporary lodging.

There are several apartment listing resources on the internet. Many of these links include floor plans and pictures of the units. Providence's newspaper, the Providence Journal has a real estate section that includes apartments, houses, and condominiums for rent. You may also want to browse the classified section once you arrive to find home furnishings, cars and many other items.

Search online databases to find apartments for rent in Providence and the surrounding areas. Properties located on the East Side, in College Hill or Downtown are likely the closest to Brown University's campus. Among sites you may wish to consider are:

• RealtyRI
• Craigslist
• ProvidenceRent
• Zillow

As international graduate students arrive in Providence to begin their studies, they are confronted by one of the grim realities of life--how to furnish an apartment with little money and without accumulating things they will only have to sell in a couple of years. The answer is to be found at the Household Leasing Service (run by the Women and Men of Brown University) which rents used furniture and household goods to international graduate students, postdocs, and visiting faculty.

They rent beds, tables and chairs, bureaus, desks, lamps, baby furniture, kitchen equipment and miscellaneous items at extremely low prices. It is possible for a family to rent furniture for one year for a whole apartment for around $300, of which the 50% deposit is returnable at the end of the leasing period. They also rent single items.

Household Leasing Service is a voluntary group which has been providing its services to the Brown Community since the late 1970s. The people they have served over the years have said that the Household Leasing Service meets a real need and is a useful aspect of their welcome to this country.