Three Subleasing Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
1. The Deadbeat Tenant
We have all seen this guy, and yes it usually is a guy. The one who never seems to make it to class or wake up before 2 PM. But you could care less about these traits, you simply want to find a tenant who can pay the bills. So how do you avoid subletting your place to a deadbeat?
- Ask for the last two residences he / she has rented. From this information, you can contact these landlords and find out if payments were made on time and in full.
- Get a deposit for one months rent. This way if he / she fails to pay, you have that months rent and can work on evicting him / her without losing money.
- Get a contract signed. A contract will legally bind the renter to pay the rent and fulfill his / her debt.
2. Protecting Furnishings and Valuables
If you are fortunate, mommy and daddy have bought you some really nice furniture to play xbox or PS2 on while you skip class. If this is the case, here is what we recommend.
- Get more than 1 months rent as a deposit to cover any damages incurred to the furnishings.
- Include terms about the furniture in the sublease agreement.
- Take the furniture with you and let the new tenants fend for themselves.
- Charge a higher price to sublease the place furnished as opposed to unfurnished.
- Sign up for renters insurance.
3. Roommates Are Not Compatible
So you live in a 2 bedroom apartment and you are leaving for the Summer. However your current roommate has flunked and has to hang around for Summer classes if he wishes to graduate within the allotted 7 years his parents are giving him. So what do you do?
- When showing your place to potential tenants, make sure your roommates are home to meet them. This way they can tell you if they would mind living with that person. That is assuming you like the person you are currently living with and actually care what they think.
- If more than one person is moving out attempt to find that same number of people in a group to take over the lease instead of finding one here and one there.
- Thoroughly explain to your roommate that you desperately need money and unless he is willing to pay your rent, he is stuck with somebody else.
Consider yourself educated. You should now be able to successfully sublease your place while avoiding the most common pitfalls college students make while attempting this amazing feat. GOOD LUCK!

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