Finding an apartment on Craigslist: 5 tips
In decades past, your housing search was likely to center on newspaper classified advertisements, expensive real-estate brokers, and, for those in the know, word of mouth. But now, at least in select cities, the apartment search often revo lves around a single website: Craigslist. Even brokers post on it. In June, Craigslist listed 564,000 apartments to rent or share and 51,000 sublets in 205 cities spread over 50 countries. Nonetheless, Craigslist won't necessarily solve your apartment search. It simply gives you another resource that requires a strategy all its own. Some tips:
Be first in line. "Early contact is crucial," says John McKinley, 25, who found two apartments through Craigslist in Washington, D.C. "Often, the early bird gets the worm in the Craigslist-driven market." Craigslist users have been known to refresh the website for their target city continuously throughout the day so they can be the first to see and respond to new apartment postings. You can also subscribe to search-based RSS feeds to view new apartment listings in real time. You'll get an E-mail as soon as the apartment with your search terms (like a neighborhood or a price range) is posted on Craigslist. Going to open houses early doesn't hurt, either. "If the open house begins at 8 p.m., arrive at 7:30 p.m., and chat it up with the landlord," McKinley says.
Give a little. In addition to being the first person to respond to an apartment posting, you also want your response to stand out. Tell the poster of the rental when you'd like to move in and what you are looking for in an apartment or a roommate. "Include something personal about yourself," says Alyssa Ottow, 24, who found her apartment, roommate, and job (and joined three sports teams) through Craigslist in Boston. "Also, respond to anything they may have mentioned or asked in the ad like 'hoping our new roommate will have furniture to contribute,' " she says. That could be key to scoring the apartment. McKinley also likes to mention his credit and references to reassure the potential landlord that he is a responsible tenant. "If you can get a cellphone number to follow up and reiterate your strong interest," he says, "do so and kindly remind them that you are very interested and able to move forward."
Cross-reference your responses. Your first impulse when apartment hunting may be to respond to 10 different apartment postings, which will have anonymous E-mail addresses on Craigslist. But often, once you get a reply from a poster's actual E-mail address, you may not remember which apartment he is referring to. "An important thing to remember is to reference something specific from the ad for your own sake when replying," Ottow says. To avoid confusion when replies start coming in, she advises that you devise a system to remember which E-mail address corresponds to which posting. Two ways to do this: Paste the apartment description at the bottom of your original E-mail to the poster, or use the title of the apartment listing as the title of your E-mail so that you can search for that exact post again later.
Ask questions. If someone offering an apartment has actually picked your E-mail to respond to, you're ahead of the game, but you still have to make sure the apartment is right for you. "Keep a list of requirements you have with you in hand when you're looking at the apartment so you're not swayed by an overzealous landlord," says Craigslist spokesperson Susan MacTavish Best. She and her partner, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster, found their rented house on Craigslist by frequently visiting properties that included photographs in the Craigslist advertisements. Best also recommends that you find out what utilities are included in the rent, check out the apartment at rush hour for noise and traffic, and hang out in the neighborhood to see if you feel comfortable there.
Wait until the last minute. Much as with writing papers in college, you just might have better luck if you wait until the last minute. "Craigslist is notoriously friendly to the last-minute shopper," says McKinley. "Apartments are frequently rented within hours of being posted." A recent quick search of the New York Craigslist site found 2,705 housing posts containing the word immediately. So don't worry if you only have a week or two to find a place to live. That should be more than enough time.