Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with housing and sublet

Do I want to live in Daddy Day Care?

andoatnp — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:56:42 -0800

What sort of agreements should I make or information should I consider before moving into an apartment that would be used as a daycare during the day when my roommate and I aren't around? I have a meeting in two days to potentially sign a lease for me and a friend to move into a 3 bedroom apartment as subletters. The apartment would be rented by young parents with a 1 year old son who live in a different apartment in that apartment building. During the day (from 7:30 to 4:30) they would hire a nanny who would watch that child and 3 other one year-old-children in the apartment in the living room and using one of the bedrooms. Theoretically, this will only be happening on weekdays when me and my roommate will both be out of the apartment at school. We would be able to make use of that third bedroom at night when they aren't around as some extra space.

Has anyone ever done anything like this before? What sort of agreements should we have in writing beforehand to guarantee a smooth year for us? After having four babies in our apartment for the day, when we get home at 5 do you think it would be immediately obvious that our apartment was a day care, or might we not even realize? [Is this an insane idea that we should avoid at all costs, and instead seek housing elsewhere?]

For what it's worth, we are in Israel, but all our previous real estate transactions have been similar to how they would be in America, so any advice that would apply in America would probably be helpful for us. I'm not looking for legal advice so much, as wondering about any agreements we should reach with the parents/subleasers beforehand that we should be sure to include in the lease. This is a slightly complicated situation, so please let me know if anything is unclear and I can clarify.

Any advice or comments about this situation would be a big help before we sign the lease in a couple of days. Thanks!

How to find an August sublet in Seattle?

grouse — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:09:05 -0800

I'm moving to Seattle! How can I find a sublet for August? My job starts in September, but I'm going to move there in August to get settled in and started up. I want to get a sublet before I move from the UK so that I can find a more permanent lease on the ground, looking at the places myself. Also, my new employer refuses to give me a binding contract until I have proof of my PhD which I won't be able to get for another week or so. So I'd rather not commit to a year-long contract until I have the commitment for the job.

I'll be working in the university medical center. I'm interested in living in Wallingford or Fremont, so I wanted to find a sublet there for a month to get used to the area and make apartment hunting easier. But most of the sublets available right now seem to be for July, or July and August, rather than just August. I think there are more sublets available now for the U-District in August, but August sublets in Wallingford might come available later, or as people realize they can't find a renter for July.

Unfortunately I'm going to start traveling on 12 July so I ought to have this nailed down by then. Do you think there is any point in waiting a few days to see if something in my preferred areas comes available, or should I just start looking for something anywhere today?

How much is your w/d worth?

hattifattener — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:17:36 -0800

How much is it worth to you to have a washer/dryer in your building? All else being equal, how much cheaper would an apartment have to be to make up for not having laundry facilities in the building? There's not a laundry in the immediate neighborhood, but you do have a car (and there are plenty of laundries in the city).

I'm asking because I find myself in the awkward situation of having sublet half of my space and, halfway through the lease, losing the w/d the sublessors are using. So, assuming I can't fix that, I'm thinking of offering to reduce their rent a bit to compensate. How much is fair?

subletting an apartment out shortterm?

jare2003 — Fri, 11 May 2007 08:52:10 -0800

Is it feasible to rent an apartment out for a short time? Like 1-3 weeks? I will be traveling during this summer, am in a high rent area (DC) and was pondering if that was a possibility. I see lots of ads on craigslist for shorterm sublets, and I was thinking of it as an option, especially during summer, when people are in need of more short-term leases or a place to stay that's cheaper than a hotel.

I'm in DC (Mount Pleasant), and it's a studio apt. Thoughts? Has anyone done this before? My thought was that people have had luck with it in DC, NYC, and other high rent cities.

If you have done it, how have you ensured security of your things, gotten a deposit, etc?

How can I find housing in a city I've barely visited?

moooshy — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 17:20:22 -0800

[Chicago Filter] Moving to Chicago in June. Start work 2 days later. No time to go to Chicago before the move. What's the best way to find an apt? (Everyone on CL wants to meet me first, which isn't possible.) I just found out that I have to move to Chicago for a full time job. The job starts approximately 2 days after I move there, and there's no way I can get to Chicago before June to scope the joint, so to speak.

I know nothing about Chicago, aside from what I've read online -- and I've posted/read Craigslist ads, but everyone wants to meet me first, understandably. I'd like to meet them first, too -- but I can't. This makes securing housing somewhat difficult, and I can't afford a hotel.

Ideally, I'd sublet for the summer before making an attempt to get a longterm lease in the fall -- but if I could find something longterm and decent now, I'd be a happy camper.

I have never moved across the country, nor have my parents -- so we're kind of in the dark about this. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for such a move, and what might be the best way to proceed (My employer is small, and all of the employees live in the suburbs, so they're not going to know...)

What do I need to know to live in NYC for the summer?

Alterscape — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 14:17:45 -0800

MovingToNYCFilter: I'm soon to be a college grad, and I'm in the running for a 6-week internship in NYC that may become long-term employment. Please help me figure out what I need to know to live in the big city. I assume that for the time frame I'm looking at, I'll need to either rent a room from someone, or short-term sublet all or part of someone's apartment. I don't know where exactly in the city I'll be, but I know I'll be working long hours (6am-9pm .. ish) five or six days a week, and I'll need access to my car.

I've never rented alone, or an apartment -- for the past three years, I've been renting various houses in my small college town, with a close-knit group of relatively like-minded friends.

Where can I look to find out about commute times, distances, etc so when I find out where I'll need to be, I can have some idea of where I want to be looking for housing around there? Besides Craigslist, where should I be looking? I hope I'll know within about a month if I get the gig, and where I'll be working; theoretically the internship begins the week before July 4th, and runs through the middle of August.

What other questions am I not asking that I should be, and what are some possible answers?

I feel pretty overwhelmed with everything right now, but I know I need to take this internship to get my foot in the door in my industry of choice, and I want to avoid looking like an idiot and not making it to work on the first day or something crazy like that.

Lease/Sublet/Screwed Myself and trying to move

sinical — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 13:19:02 -0800

6 weeks ago we gave 60 days notice we were moving out by July 1, and just got a letter yesterday from the property mgmt that the notice is not valid. We're now responsible for rent here until April 2006. I'm supposed to move across the country next week...... For reference, this is in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

We recieved and signed a notice of rent increase Feb 2, 2005. We assumed this meant the rent would go up which was fine, but that we were on month to month terms since our original 1 year lease ended April 30, 2004. We found out yesterday that by signing this, we agreed to another 1 year lease term May 1/05 - Apr 30/06. We missed the month-month clause in the form.

We gave our 60 days notice we were moving out May 1. They called a few days later and left a msg saying if we needed help relocating to an area the property mgmt company served to give them a call. The apartment has also been shown at least twice. We got a letter yesterday stating that the notice we gave is not valid since we are in a year lease, and not on month to month terms. We can pay them a $150 fee and they will try to rent the place but we are responsible for rent until they do so. Subletting is an option as well, but from what I can tell, the market here is not great.

We're supposed to be moving across the country the week of June 20th. We do not want to stay in this city, especially until April 2006, and have both already quit our jobs.

ANY suggestions of what we can do?

Looking for Housing in San Juan, Puerto Rico

buddha9090 — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 22:50:36 -0800

Help me find residential (NON-vacation) housing in San Juan, Puerto Rico please In September, I'll be moving to San Juan, P.R. for two years. I am trying to figure out the best way to go about finding housing for atleast the first month or two of my stay. I'll be in Florida until I move and I don't think I am going to have a chance to go down to San Juan before September. Looking around online yields tons of vacation rentals, but not so much for plain old residential housing. I'm open to subletting for a while or moving in with roommates, but haven't had much luck online yet. Any suggestions?

need advice for subletting my apartment

picklebird — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 10:04:12 -0800

I am going to sublet my apartment for the last three months of my lease. I saw the question and comments here , but have a slightly different set of concerns about how to do this [more inside]. I am in a strict one-year lease which ends August 1. I found someone who is willing to move in April 15th. I have my landlord's permission to sublet, but I think that the lease will need to remain in my name for the duration. (My landlord is not very accomodating). I don't know the guy who is moving in (found him on craigslist), so what information should I get from him (that won't cost me a lot of money to obtain)? And should I create a contract or document for him to sign? He has offered to give me a security deposit. And I am in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, if that matters.

Where can I find temporary lodging in the D.C. area, quickly?

schoolgirl report — Mon, 07 Jun 2004 16:29:13 -0800

HousingFilter: I'm desperately seeking to sublet/rent a room in the D.C. area, where I'll be interning from June 14th through August 6th. I've hit up Craig's List, Roll Call, The Hill, Roomates.com, Sabbaticalhomes.com, and the Weekly Paper. I've tried the various universities, but I don't relish the idea of sharing a bunk bed. Anyone got any other bright ideas about where I might look on such short notice without actually having to be in D.C.? Barring that, anyone got a room for rent that's even slightly accessible to Dupont Circle? Sabbaticalhomes.com, by the way, is really great. Check out the last line of this listing.