Craigslist

rlmiller73190
rlmiller73190 Posts: 342 Member
edited November 8 in Chit-Chat
So I know of people who have used Craiglist to find furniture or miscellaneous items, but have you ever used Craigslist to find a home/apartment? If so, what was your experience? I just got into grad school, so my boyfriend and I are moving but we need to find a relatively cheap AND decent place to live. Can I trust Craigslist?

Replies

  • catfish9
    catfish9 Posts: 138
    Be careful. There are lots and lots of people on CL who would take advantage of you, so use your very best judgement. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. We were looking for a new place last summer, and someone was renting a really cheap, fully furnished house. Turns out the people were 'missionaries in Nigeria,' who 'accidentally' took the only set of house keys with them, and would mail them to us after we wired them 2 months rent plus security.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    Nigerian house rental scams. Classic.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Craigslist is the standard way to find apartments in many areas. But when I bought a home, I used a realtor and the MLS.
  • catfish9
    catfish9 Posts: 138
    Nigerian house rental scams. Classic.

    Naturally, they didn't mention any of that business until we gave them a phone number and they called to tell us their sob story. They actually kept calling back for about a week. I was glad we gave them my girlfriend's cell phone number instead of mine. :wink:
  • harleygirlT
    harleygirlT Posts: 223 Member
    I wouldn't, go to the local paper on line and look housing up in the classifieds or call a rental agency! I don't trust CL.
  • pixiexxgirl
    pixiexxgirl Posts: 141
    Be careful like catfish9, theres scammers out there.
    I found a fully furnish 2 bedroom house, for just 500 a month, which was great, would of been split in 2 ways, I emailed the lady and a few days later she emailed me back saying i was approved and now I only had to send 600$ to her friend in China, because her friend was taking care of the money and had the keys for the house.

    But their not all bad, I've found a house on there before and it was pretty nice, my brother has found all of his apartments through craigslist.
  • sangelic
    sangelic Posts: 207
    I've had a lot of luck finding some really great and cheap apartments from craigslist. BUT like everyone else said, there are a TON of scammers out there. Use common sense, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
  • alegrria72
    alegrria72 Posts: 34
    Of course you have to use caution and good judgment but I found the apartment I live in now on CL. I would never send money without seeing a place or even go to look at a place alone. Like the others have said, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  • clh126
    clh126 Posts: 115 Member
    It probably depends where you live, but where I am (in the Boston area), it's pretty much the way everyone finds their housing. I found my first sublet on there, new roommates, my current apartment. Just watch out for "too good to be true" ads, those are the ones with out-of-the-country landlords that want you to wire money;)
  • rlmiller73190
    rlmiller73190 Posts: 342 Member
    I'll be living on the Space Coast of FL... but thanks so much for everyone's advice! I'm definitely planning on using common sense. I've used apartments.com to browse, and I'm also using the Florida Today website
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