Best way to find a sublet in Washington DC?

January 1, 2019 6:34 PM

Hi all -- asking on behalf of my sister who is looking to move to DC in February, and both of us realizing we have no idea how to go about finding a sublet there.

She specifically wants to sublet an apartment for six months or so. Looking in DC proper only -- so not NoVa or Maryland suburbs. What are the best places to start looking for this? Is Craigslist still a thing?

(Anything else she should know about subletting that's specific to DC?)

Thanks!

posted by kalimac to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Is she planning on staying in DC after six months? I ask because she should keep in mind she may be able to get a significantly lower rent now than if she looks again in the Summer.
posted by cacao at 6:50 PM on January 1, 2019

Craigslist is definitely a thing and there’s a fairly high number of sublets in DC. My main advice would be to pounce on Craigslist posts fast. If you’re responding to a post that’s more than a couple days old they have most likely already filled the listing.
posted by capricorn at 6:51 PM on January 1, 2019

Is she part of any alumni or special interest groups with chapters in DC? How about Facebook (if she's on FB) groups for DC activities? When I lived in DC, I found my sublet through a church's listserv. DC is full of young professionals who cycle through housing so there are typically tons of openings but also lots of people looking for spots.
posted by rogerroger at 6:57 PM on January 1, 2019

Nextdoor is also pretty active for things like this, especially if you have specific neighborhoods in mind.
posted by Karaage at 7:27 PM on January 1, 2019

I would strongly suggest for you and her to post widely in your personal social media channels, especially if she is willing to be in a MIL apartment. When I lived in DC, tons of people had these but only rented them out regularly to friends of friends.
posted by k8t at 8:26 PM on January 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

DC Resident -- most of my friends have found places initially through Craigslist, and then later through friends of friends as their network grows. It's a pretty fast churning market -- new possibilities are always showing up, but they're also snatched up fast.

Craigslist, of course, does have a tremendous amount of scams to sort through. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
posted by matrixclown at 9:30 AM on January 2, 2019

You say that you're looking at DC proper only. Is there a specific reason for that? Depending on what she wants to be near, some neighborhoods in MD or VA may be closer and cheaper than some parts of DC. For instance, my neighborhood in MD is like a mile from the northeast border of DC and is cheaper (though by no means cheap) than living on the other side of the line.
posted by runcibleshaw at 7:06 PM on January 2, 2019