A cautionary tale about Craigslist

[Amalia222]

Cool advice!!! Thanks a lot!

I guess what I am really afraid about living with someone who is not a friend of a friend is not that they will kill me while I am sleeping but that they can steal something from me. How can I trust a person I don't know?? I guess I am so paranoic about it because I've never lived with a room-mate found online...

Well, I guess if you're really paranoid, you can have someone else there when you interview them, and then ask to see their student i.d. to make sure they really are a student at the school. Your best bet is to get a roomie through the school. When I went to UCSD, they had a "board" where people could post up roommate requests. I found 2 roomies that way. Other schools have an online roomie search. Those are pretty consistently safe, since only students use those web sites ( i think). I think craig's list in general can be sketchy, but just write down their student i.d. # and confirm that they are a student at the school, and that should work out. Or if you want just a random person, I guess you could write down their driver's license #?

[nhyn]

Cool advice!!! Thanks a lot!

I guess what I am really afraid about living with someone who is not a friend of a friend is not that they will kill me while I am sleeping but that they can steal something from me. How can I trust a person I don't know?? I guess I am so paranoic about it because I've never lived with a room-mate found online...

lol, are you serious? I've had food left in the dorm's fridge eaten but that's inevitable - you have no way of knowing who among the 40 something dorm-mates ate it. Also, people (read: freshmen, yes it happened more often when I was in a all-freshmen dorm) are stupid and most often drunk. Why would your roommate/housemate steal from you, knowing that you'd KNOW they steal because, um, unless there's a ghost in the house the culprit is quite obvious? If you live with a kleptomaniac I think you'll know right away. Also, I doubt if you'd share a room - unless you're super cheap and desperate to save money. You will most likely have your own room, and hey, locks are there for a reason.

Sorry, I just find your worry a tad ridiculous calm down, not everyone is out there to get their roommates - oh wait, I guess there's that chick in that awful movie, "The Roommate" - and no, that's not how roommates in US colleges are like, I swear.

**PS: there's also something called "peaceful confrontation"/talking about your issues. I've always found being honest and upfront with my roommates/housemates helpful, whether it being about them leaving dirty dishes in the sink for a century, or about them worried that I'm not comfortable with their guests, etc.

Edited March 18, 2011 by nhyn

[rising_star]

I didn't read all of the other responses, so I apologize if this is redundant.

I've used Craig's List to find every place I've lived in PhD University city. In MA University city, I found my first place via the classified ads in the "alternative" weekly newspaper and my second place via roommates.com. Honestly, I've had one bad time with Craig's List (long distance searching, should've just waited until I got here) and got super-lucky with the place I was able to find on very short notice. (In a nutshell, I moved into a place, discovered that my roommate was crazy and did lots of passive-aggressive things that were annoying me, and gave my 30 days notice [month-to-month lease] a week after moving in. I then posted a "housing wanted" ad on Craig's List and got dozens of responses, most of which were probably legitimate. I eliminated all of the ones that obviously didn't meet my criteria, found a few I liked, checked them out, and was moving in by the end of the first week of class [so about 2.5 weeks after I arrived in town]. I lived in that place for something like 21 months.)

If you're careful and cautious, then it will be fine. Use Google Street View to check out neighborhoods/houses to see if they look okay and if it looks kinda like what you see in the ad. Stay in a hotel for a few days or with other grad students so you have time to hunt for a place to live. If you can, line up a bunch of places to visit so you can hit the ground running when you arrive. I've seen as many as ten potential living situations in one day, which while daunting, is also useful for helping you figure out exactly what you must have, what you want, and what you can do without. Take copious notes and don't rely on your memory.

[Strangefox]

Amalia222, Nhyn, thanks for your replies, they really calmed me down!

On a second thought...

Nhyn, I've reread your reply about stealing and I want now to reformulate my concern. Sure, it's ridiculous to think that they will steal something from me and stay in the same apartment. But what if they steal things and go away?? Like, for good? The very first time I am out of the apartment? Are there any kind of scammers that specialize in doing this?

On the other hand, I will definetely not have too much to steal, most of my money being on the bank card and no brilliants in my drawer

Edited March 18, 2011 by Strangefox

[Strangefox]

If you're careful and cautious, then it will be fine. Use Google Street View to check out neighborhoods/houses to see if they look okay and if it looks kinda like what you see in the ad. Stay in a hotel for a few days or with other grad students so you have time to hunt for a place to live. If you can, line up a bunch of places to visit so you can hit the ground running when you arrive. I've seen as many as ten potential living situations in one day, which while daunting, is also useful for helping you figure out exactly what you must have, what you want, and what you can do without. Take copious notes and don't rely on your memory.

Thanks for the advice! One question: I've read that apartment ads on Craigslist are grabbed very quickly. So if I see one, will it be reasonable to start reading about neighborhood at first and looking at Google Maps or should I grab it first and then investigate? And cancel if I don'e like what I will be reading/seeing? Will it be fine or not very good?

[michpc]

Thanks for the advice! One question: I've read that apartment ads on Craigslist are grabbed very quickly. So if I see one, will it be reasonable to start reading about neighborhood at first and looking at Google Maps or should I grab it first and then investigate? And cancel if I don'e like what I will be reading/seeing? Will it be fine or not very good?

I'm not sure what city/town you're moving to, but I might suggest asking around to find out what the best neighborhoods are, and then using that as a search template.

[rising_star]

On a second thought...

Nhyn, I've reread your reply about stealing and I want now to reformulate my concern. Sure, it's ridiculous to think that they will steal something from me and stay in the same apartment. But what if they steal things and go away?? Like, for good? The very first time I am out of the apartment? Are there any kind of scammers that specialize in doing this?

On the other hand, I will definetely not have too much to steal, most of my money being on the bank card and no brilliants in my drawer

If this is how you're thinking about it, then you need to live in a place without roommates. Honestly. If you are this worried that a roommate would steal from you and then leave town/state/country, then you are not cut out for living with someone you don't know. Or, you can live with roommates but you have to keep everything in your room and change the lock on the door (by going to Home Depot) to one that locks with a key that only you have. But, really, I wouldn't want to live with anyone that did that because it shows they don't trust you, and then you have to start wondering if you should trust them.

Thanks for the advice! One question: I've read that apartment ads on Craigslist are grabbed very quickly. So if I see one, will it be reasonable to start reading about neighborhood at first and looking at Google Maps or should I grab it first and then investigate? And cancel if I don'e like what I will be reading/seeing? Will it be fine or not very good?

Apartment ads do go quickly. Unless you want to start paying rent now or May 1, I wouldn't even start looking until late May or early June. Then, look for ads that have move-in dates that you want. You're going to have to pay a security deposit and first month's rent, at a minimum, to hold a place. If you cancel, you may not get all of the money back. So I would definitely NOT grab a place and investigate later.

[michpc]

Apartment ads do go quickly. Unless you want to start paying rent now or May 1, I wouldn't even start looking until late May or early June. Then, look for ads that have move-in dates that you want. You're going to have to pay a security deposit and first month's rent, at a minimum, to hold a place. If you cancel, you may not get all of the money back. So I would definitely NOT grab a place and investigate later.

90 days is a fairly standard lease clause, I've found, so basically two months before you want to move in is when listing for that date will start popping up.

[communications13]

Many schools have off campus coordinators who know all the best places to live, can put you in contact with tons of people and are a great resource. That said, I've found the best roommates I've ever had on Craigslist. They are not all horror stories.

[Strangefox]

If this is how you're thinking about it, then you need to live in a place without roommates. Honestly.

They say "Hope for the best, prepare yourself for the worst" and I believe there is nothing wrong in thinking about the worst case scenario. I will be coming to the US from another country, I have never lived with a roommate found online (actually, I've found out that it is possible and that there are sites for that from this very thread). And I do not want to make any foolish mistakes.

Or, you can live with roommates but you have to keep everything in your room and change the lock on the door (by going to Home Depot) to one that locks with a key that only you have.

But, really, I wouldn't want to live with anyone that did that because it shows they don't trust you, and then you have to start wondering if you should trust them.

I am talking about not trusting a person whom I've known for a week. Of course, once I have lived with them for some time, I won't keep everything in my room and won't have a padlock on my door I believe there is nothing wrong in being extra careful with people you have only seen a couple of times in your life and who are not a friend/aquaintance of somebody you know and trust.

You're going to have to pay a security deposit and first month's rent, at a minimum, to hold a place. If you cancel, you may not get all of the money back. So I would definitely NOT grab a place and investigate later.

Sorry, I used a wrong word. By grabbing I actually meant calling a landlord and scheduling a visit. And cancelling it if having read more about the place where it is situated I will see that I don't like it that much and change my mind. Of course I will prepare a list of good and bad parts of the city I will be moving to, but surely I won't be able to put all possible details there.

Edited March 19, 2011 by Strangefox

[Strangefox]

I'm not sure what city/town you're moving to, but I might suggest asking around to find out what the best neighborhoods are, and then using that as a search template.

I will certainly do that, thanks!

[neuropsychosocial]

By grabbing I actually meant calling a landlord and scheduling a visit. And cancelling it if having read more about the place where it is situated I will see that I don't like it that much and change my mind. Of course I will prepare a list of good and bad parts of the city I will be moving to, but surely I won't be able to put all possible details there.

Yes, that's fine - nothing wrong with it. I have a friend who grew up in the city to which I'm moving, and I've been sending craigslist postings to her, asking what she thinks about the area. Sometimes, one block of a neighborhood can be okay and the next one has more problems, and that's hard to know when you don't live in a city or are new there.

[Strangefox]

Yes, that's fine - nothing wrong with it. I have a friend who grew up in the city to which I'm moving, and I've been sending craigslist postings to her, asking what she thinks about the area. Sometimes, one block of a neighborhood can be okay and the next one has more problems, and that's hard to know when you don't live in a city or are new there.

Thanks for the input!

[psycholinguist]

I am talking about not trusting a person whom I've known for a week. Of course, once I have lived with them for some time, I won't keep everything in my room and won't have a padlock on my door I believe there is nothing wrong in being extra careful with people you have only seen a couple of times in your life and who are not a friend/aquaintance of somebody you know and trust.

I agree with this. Even when I was careful one time to find a student at the same school to live with, it turned very negative very quickly. That doesn't always happen, of course, but caution is a very good idea.

By the way, I wholeheartedly second the recommendation of using Google Street-View! To find my place in Toronto, I: a) spent a couple of weeks doing the legwork on there and getting a good feel for which neighbourhoods looked the most appealing to me; got on sites such as viewit.ca to do a general apartment-search and zeroed in on the single area I liked the best, identifying a few buildings that looked promising; c) flew out to Toronto in July, went out to that neighbourhood (okay, can I just say that wandering around a place you know well thanks to Google is incredibly weird? * laughs *), went by the buildings I liked the look of, wrote down phone-numbers for all of them, made calls to find vacancies for September, and made a few appointments. The second apartment I toured, I absolutely loved, and it is the one I'm sitting in right now.

[Strangefox]

okay, can I just say that wandering around a place you know well thanks to Google is incredibly weird?

Oh yeah, I know what you mean!

Thanks very much for the information!

[thesnout]

Has anyone said Kijiji yet? That's what I used to use. Craigslist has always scared me. Most schools have off campus housing lists too. That's a good way to search.

There are always sketchy people and scams though. Just be as careful as you can. Good luck.

[leopolds]

I've also used Craigslist successfully a few times, sometimes for a sublet (posted by the renter) and other times for the lease (posted by the landlord). But in all honesty, the best apartments that I've ever rented where ones that came from a legitimate real estate agency. I know that it means you might have to dish out some extra money (unless there's a free apartment locating service, which there are many of in Austin) but it really is worth it in the end because, from my experience, they tend to be the most efficient and the most legitimate landlords. I found my last apartment through a real estate agency and I did have to pay the realtor a fee but the apartment had really cheap rent, it was a great place with a terrific location, and the landlords were ON TOP OF THINGS, seriously. I never had an issue that wasn't resolved within the next couple of days.

Also - a good thing to try to do when you find a property or even a landlord, google them. If you're looking at a place in an apartment complex, you can check out apartmentratings.com or another similar site. Folks who have lived in any given complex will post reviews about what their experience living there was like, pros and cons, and how the landlords are with maintenance, are they friendly, etc. It's a really useful tool. Sometimes you can also find reviews on Yelp. But googling a landlord's name or the name of the apartment complex can sometimes give you a sense of how things are looking.

Best of luck!

[Strangefox]

But in all honesty, the best apartments that I've ever rented where ones that came from a legitimate real estate agency. I know that it means you might have to dish out some extra money (unless there's a free apartment locating service, which there are many of in Austin) but it really is worth it in the end because, from my experience, they tend to be the most efficient and the most legitimate landlords. I found my last apartment through a real estate agency and I did have to pay the realtor a fee but the apartment had really cheap rent, it was a great place with a terrific location, and the landlords were ON TOP OF THINGS, seriously. I never had an issue that wasn't resolved within the next couple of days.

Interesting idea, thanks! And how do I find such agencies? How big is usually this fee?

Also - a good thing to try to do when you find a property or even a landlord, google them. If you're looking at a place in an apartment complex, you can check out apartmentratings.com or another similar site. Folks who have lived in any given complex will post reviews about what their experience living there was like, pros and cons, and how the landlords are with maintenance, are they friendly, etc. It's a really useful tool. Sometimes you can also find reviews on Yelp. But googling a landlord's name or the name of the apartment complex can sometimes give you a sense of how things are looking.

Best of luck!

Thanks for the great advice!

[Strangefox]

Has anyone said Kijiji yet? That's what I used to use. Craigslist has always scared me. Most schools have off campus housing lists too. That's a good way to search.

There are always sketchy people and scams though. Just be as careful as you can. Good luck.

I will read about it! Thanks!

[michpc]

Interesting idea, thanks! And how do I find such agencies? How big is usually this fee?

The standard fee around here is the equivalent of one month's rent. Sometimes you can get a half fee by having the landlord split it with you. These fees are kind of a scam anyway, since the agent is really working for the landlord, not you. But sometimes you can't get around it.

[InquilineKea]

How about Facebook Marketplace?

[neuropsych76]

I'm considering using Craigslist for my search of an apartment but I'm a little wary about putting my cell phone number to create an account.

Is there any way around this? anyone have trouble (spam phone calls) when they put their number in?

[hardcrashxyz]

neuropsych76, I had no spam calls after creating a craigslist account. I wouldn't think that would be a problem, they require a phone number as part of their security to (try to) reduce scammers. It would reflect poorly on the organization to allow those numbers out. I would be sure to never place my number in an ad and always use anonymous email when posting an ad.

I have used craigslist to rid myself of items too bulky to move for graduate school. I suggest placing a disclaimer at the bottom saying "cash only, local pickup only, no trades". I didn't do this for my first ads and received many scam replies and offers to trade for tattoos.