4 Tips to Help You Decide Who to Sublet To

By Alicia Geigel on August 31, 2017

For a number of reasons, subletting your apartment or room in your house may be the best option for you at the moment. Whether you found a job across town that you love or you have to spend summers at home but do not want to lose the current apartment you call home, subletting can be the solution to all of your problems.

If you are new to the process, however, you may find it to be confusing and difficult to understand, as there are many factors to consider, such as the person you are subletting to, the period of time you want them there/the length of time you will be gone, pricing, etc. One of the main reasons college students sublet apartments or rooms in a shared house is because of the opportunity to study abroad.

Many students list their places at the end of the summer and then travel abroad to study during the fall, but regardless of the time of year you decide to sublet, choosing the right person is a serious process. Are you subletting your apartment for the first time but would like some advice on how to select the best person to temporarily fill your spot? Check out my four tips below!

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1. Contact your landlord

Before you take any steps in searching for someone to fill your spot, be sure to review your lease and contact your landlord first to see if subletting is something that you can do. If your lease prohibits subletting, contact your landlord anyway and relay to them your situation; you never know what the outcome may be and they might be more understanding!

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2. Get a contract

To solidify your arrangement, always, always, always get a contract. A written, official document that lays out the details of your arrangement, as well as certain stipulations, is not only important but also makes your subletting process that much easier. Along with a contract, a security deposit will also help secure your arrangement and cover any potential damages that you may encounter while you sublet.

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3. Take before and after pictures

As well as removing any precious, important or expensive belongings before your new guest moves in, taking before and after pictures of your space not only secures your area and belongings but also determines what may/may not be missing and any potential damage that may be present.

4. Utilizing social media sites

Filtering through the potential person to take your spot temporarily is not an easy task. For your sake and for the sake of your roommates and apartment in general, you first want to pick someone who is going to respect your home and treat it well while you are gone. Perhaps a friend of a friend is having trouble finding a place to rent from and you happen to be subletting your room, or your friend unexpectedly fell out of a deal with their roommate and has no place to go.

Two popular ways to not only post sublet advertisements but also search for sublets are Facebook and Craigslist. Facebook is a great tool to search for potential people because you can make one or several posts and anyone can see it; friends can even share your posts as well which helps to broaden the audience of people you’re reaching!

Social media, in general, is a great way to find roommates or people to sublet your place. I found my first college roommate through a mutual university page we just happened to both belong to. After getting to know her and establishing a relationship, we moved in together our freshman year!

Craigslist, though it does sometimes get a bad reputation for the types of people it attracts and sketchy transactions that occur, is a great place to advertise for sublets. With both Facebook and Craigslist (especially Craigslist), you have to be especially cautious of the people you interact with. Regardless of who you choose and how you go about choosing them, the best thing to do first is to establish strong communication and determine the kind of relationship you either currently have with this person or will have with this person. The best thing you can do is make sure to get legit emails and phone numbers of the people you are talking to before you make any solid arrangements; it will save you all the hassle in the long run!

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Though it may seem stressful, subletting your apartment can not only help you while you venture elsewhere (either for work, school, etc.) while getting most of your rent money back but also help someone else find temporary housing when they need it! The key is to be cautious, do plenty of research, and make sure communication is flowing from both sides. If you do this, you will have no problem. As always, good luck!

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