Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with craigslist and Rent

Craigslist alternatives for Europe?

mkn — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 22:48:57 -0800

Craigslist alternatives for Europe? Hi, I plan on moving to Europe in the summer and I'm wonder what Craigslist-like sites are good for finding sublets and room/temporary rentals (I'd prefer to avoid hostels/hotels) across Europe? I know of gumtree.com for London, but would like to find equivalents for the rest of Europe. And yes, I know that craigslist has a lot of European locations but, save for a few metropolises, most are pretty bare.

English friendly sites preferred (my English and Polish are pretty weak).

Similarly, are there other couchsurfing-like sites around?

Going rate for apartments in San Francisco

PercussivePaul — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:32:31 -0800

What's the going rates for apartments in San Francisco? Is it as bad as it looks on craigslist? So I'm idly contemplating moving to the Bay Area after I finish my Master's in eight months or so. If I do that I would work in Silicon Valley and I would want to live in San Francisco. (I did this before as an intern. Had a great time. Would likely be returning to the same company.) Last time I was there I found a room in a great 4-bedroom in Haight-Ashbury. Anyway this is all daydreaming right now but I'm just wondering what kind of life I could make for myself down there.

I'm currently happily set up in Vancouver and have my own apartment for the first time in my life and really love it. I'm not sure I could go back to living with roommates again. Real estate's crazy here and people tend to ask for way too much on craiglist - but they find buyers because there's so much traffic. The going rate at most apartment complexes is much lower, but they don't advertise on craigslist. I found my current place by walking past a "vacancy" sign and calling the number.

If I were to attempt to move to San Francisco and try to find something like this:
- studio / bachelor / 1 bedroom - not too small - maybe 300, 350 sq ft minimum? enough so I could have a few people over
- not in a basement, not falling apart or vermin infested or anything, proper kitchen and bathroom... doesn't have to be slick and new, but at least fully functional
- biking distance to caltrain?
- colorful neighborhood? (haight, mission, something like that)

Is this really going to cost me, um, what, $1200 or so? At minimum? Cause that's what it looks like. Or is the rate more reasonable if you walk around looking for 'for rent' signs?

Protect against apartment rental scam

lilybeane — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 10:27:02 -0800

How can I protect myself from a scam when I can't check out the apartment in person? I live in Boston and am about to rent a place in D.C. The place I found on craigslist seems good--they're offering the short-term lease length we need, the building is in the area we want, the rent is acceptable, we've seen lots of photos (although we can't verify that the photos are actually of the place in question), etc. We'd be renting a condo from the person who owns it (that's what he says, anyway).

I would go down there and meet the person face to face if I could, but I can't. I asked the person if he would accept a Paypal transaction for the security deposit so that I could pay with a credit card and later dispute the transaction if necessary. But then I realized that would require the condo owner to pay fees--and that's not something he wants to do, I'm sure.

If I pay cash from my Paypal account, I'll be on my own. Any other ideas?

How do I figure out the best time to rent?

one_bean — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:02:41 -0800

Is there somewhere on the web that offers analyses of the best time to look for an apartment in an area (specifically, Berkeley/Northern Oakland)? Or, alternately, is Craig's List conveniently archived somewhere? I'm planning on looking for an apartment in Berkeley either for August 1, August 15 or September 1. Basically, I'd like to see how the volume changes among these rental dates, and other data on available rentals -- price, room size, distance to campus, etc. Personal anecdotes are also appreciated.

Jersey Shore Rent Must have Internet

matimer — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 21:43:19 -0800

How do I find a cheap 1 room shack at the Jersey Shore for the summer? Requirements: wireless internet / within 1 mile of the beach / cheap cheap cheap / New Jersey

Is there some cool website like craigslist for beach goers/renters?