Housing Guide for Families
Welcome to the University of Texas at Austin! This guide is designed
to help you find housing from private households of faculty or staff
temporarily on leave from the University of Texas at Austin. The University
of Texas at Austin has no faculty residences. Moderately priced rental
housing in Austin is severely limited.
Budget Considerations
Not sure how much you can afford to spend on housing? Ideally, you
should spend no more than 1/3 of your monthly living allowance on rent.
Visiting scholars' allowance varies. International scholars are required,
because of immigration regulations, to maintain the minimum finances
indicated below. The following table gives an example of how you can
estimate your housing allowance*:
Example of how you can estimate your housing
allowance
| Monthly Living Allowance |
Set Aside for Rent and Utilities
(~33% of Monthly of Allowance) |
| $900 scholar |
$300 per scholar |
| $450 scholar spouse |
$150 additional with a spouse |
| $1350 per couple |
$450 per couple |
| $180 per child |
$60 per child |
| $1530 per family of three |
$510 per family of three |
| $1710 per family of four |
$570 per family of four |
The accomodations in this list are private and may not entail the following
financial guarantee procedure commonly used by rental managers. Commercial
apartment managers require current evidence of income three times the
price of the rent to qualify applicants. A copy of the financial information
used to obtain your exchange visitor visa is the appropriate documentation
to offer: your UT departmental appointment or invitation and UT salary,
home institution salary, personal funds, international sponsoring agency
allowance, or sponsoring company salary. Sometimes, in cases where there
is no credit or rental history, the landlord requires an additional
guarantee. A financial guarantor may be requested. In this case, a clarification
of your invitation and finances from your host department or sponsor
faxed to the rental office will meet this requirement in a timely manner.
Neither the host nor the sponsor is likely to co-sign an agreement that
specifically guarantees the rent.
* Please note: Central Texas is experiencing a volatile housing market.
Visitors may require additional funds for housing.
The Renter's Question
Guide (PDF format - download Adobe Reader)
The Renter's
Question Guide (HTML format)
Inventory Checklist
The homeowner from whom you are renting may present you with an annotated
inventory of the home/condominium and its contents. As soon as you move
in, carefully review the inventory. Add notes to describe, in detail,
any and all damage to the home and its furnishings--any and all soil,
chipped paint, stains, nicks, cracks, loose fixtures, and "wear and
tear." Photographs can be a useful addition to this record. If you are
not provided a damage check/inventory list, make your own. Sign and
date the damage checklist. Give it to your landlord and keep a copy.
This list will be used upon termination of your lease to assess your
responsibility for damage above normal "wear and tear" to the home.
You do not want to be assessed for damages that you inherited!
Families with School-Age Children Consider Neighborhood
Schools
Families with school-age children may initiate their search for accommodation
with the selection of a public school for any child five years old or
older by September 1 of the school year. Public school assignment in
Austin is based, primarily, on attendance areas. Exceptions are based
on individual circumstances. (Consult the Office of the Austin Independent
School District (AISD) http://www.austin.isd.tenet.edu/.
See "The Guide to Public Education for Your Child," in the International
Welcome and Resource Center and Lounge, Room, 233.)
These websites identify the top schools in the Austin Independent School
District (AISD).
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/account/
For a quick overview of the most recent Accountability Standards and
the standards for Additional Acknowledgment.
Several neighboring school districts are also popular
with University families. Round Rock and Eanes schools may be of particular
interest to scholars who will be based at the J.J. Pickle Research Center,
north of the main UT campus.
http://realestate.yahoo.com/
Use this site to search for homes in the Austin area. Use of this site may produce
an advertisement offering a reduction in price of rental furniture,
which may be convenient for some families.
Admission to private day care centers, homes, and pre-schools is not
restricted by residence. However, waiting lists exist for many of the
private institutions.
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Care/Search_Texas_Child_Care/Default.asp
Schools and homes are listed by neighborhood (zip code). General information
about standards and selection of a program are also available at the
Child_Care site.
Websites Helpful for Making Plans to Live in Austin
http://www.utexas.edu/international/
University of Texas at Austin International Office
http://www.Austin360.com/
Search Austin and the Web
Autos / Entertainment / Recreation / Things to Do / Health / Homes / Shopping
/ Sports / Travel / Your Town
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/
City resources and departments. A full listing of departments and services
is available via the City Directory.
http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/immunize/schmain.htm
Immunization Compliance for Schools and Child-Care Facilities
http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/consumer/cb043.html
Renters Insurance
http://www.statesman.com/classifieds/content/classifieds/realestate/rentalssearch/
Rental Housing currently listed in the Austin American-Statesman daily
newspaper
http://www.austinchronicle.com/classifieds/
Rental Housing currently listed in the Austin Chronicle weekly newspaper
http://www.austindorms.com/
Austin Private Dormitory Association
http://utdirect.utexas.edu/dsorg/lists.wb?method=T&data=9
International Student and Scholar Organizations registered at UT Austin
http://www.capmetro.org/riding/schedulesandmaps.asp
Public and University Bus Service in Austin
http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypBrowse.py?Pyt=Typ&ycat=7737166&city=Austin&state=TX&country=us&slt=30.2669&sln=-97.7428&cs=5
Austin "Yellow Pages" = commercial directory information
http://www.consumersunion.org/
Not-for-profit product testing and services evaluation organization publishes
Consumer Reports with in-depth information on automobiles purchasing.
http://www.kbb.com/
Private and standard source for in-depth information on used automobile
purchasing.
http://autotrader.com/
Used automobiles for sale
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/
Driver License Information
http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/consumer/cb020.html
Automobile Insurance Made Easy
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/vi/index.htm
Vehicle Inspection Information
http://www.utexas.edu/parking/
University of Texas Parking and Transportation Services
http://www.state.tx.us/
State of Texas, residents and visitors information
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