I'm Back! and Moving! (Soon)

Hi guys, sorry for my absence the past couple of days, I made the 5 hr drive home to the Hudson Valley to spend my birthday weekend with my family and friends. I think I must be getting used to this haul (I made the same drive for four years in college as well..) because the drive didn't seem bad at all to me! My little three day weekend was very relaxing and I got a ton of stuff for my studio apartment as birthday presents (thanks mom and dad), which I am moving into in TWO WEEKS! I'm excited, can you tell?

As I mentioned in a previous post, I had to sublet my current apartment for three months since my lease here isn't actually up until August 1st, and thankfully my roommate and I found two responsible girls to take our rooms (she's leaving early as well).

Here are the steps I took along this subletting process that might be useful for some of you!

1. Ask your landlord if it is okay to sublet your room. Find out if he/she wants to meet your subletter or if they have any requirements for who sublets the room.

2. Tell your roommates as far in advance as possible. For me, this was two months, for others it could be more or less time. It's only fair to be considerate of the roommates staying in the apartment when looking for someone to take your place.

3. Write up a sublease. Here are a few sublease samples found online. Sample 1, Sample 2, Sample 3.

4. Post an ad! You can use craigslist, off campus housing websites (if you live near a college town), bulliten boards, your Facebook account- whatever you choose!

5. Develop a list of criteria for your subletter (remember, you are the landlord in this situation!) Then filter out the responses that don't fit your needs.

6. Contact those that do, and set up a time to show them the apartment. Remember to be very wary of responses you receive from websites like craigslist that can sometimes be breeding grounds for creeps.

7. When you find a subletter,have them sign the sublease agreement and collect rent as you see fit. Word of mouth agreements are great, but signing a contract makes things official and binding.

8. Keep the agreement on file throughout the whole period of the sublease.

9. Celebrate and get ready to move into your new apartment! Make sure to clean your apartment before leaving so that it's ready for your subletter!