After learning about my internship position in New York City, I was thrilled. Once I had a chance to let the news sink in, I quickly moved on to the logistics of housing. I'd previously heard the horror stories of finding housing in the City, but because I had over a month to figure it all out, I remained relatively calm. Post initial search I knew I was out of the go-to option of NYU/Columbia student housing because the rooms had already been filled and housing applications had closed. Step two? Craigslist.
Initially, the site looked great. There seemed to be about a million options, and for reasonable prices. After researching locations and different apartment layouts, the first thing I did was email the owners. Once I emailed all potential options, I waited. It wasn't long before my bait got a few bites. I moved on to exchanging emails, and after a few messages a lot of people stopped responding. Those that kept in contact quickly asked for a down payment, or security deposit. I wasn't phased by their requests, at first. It seemed only normal to give them some type of monetary compensation in exchange for putting a hold on their apartment. Then things took a turn for the sketchy.
The first red flag was the fact that all of the owners wouldn't take my phone calls. Why was it that they couldn't have a phone conversation? Turns out it was mainly because they didn't speak English. Before I made this discovery, I was sent questionable lease agreements. These agreements were decorated with fake real estate seals and fake photographs of the property, not to mention they expected you to wire money to another state to a bank account that wasn't in their name. The situations usually only continued to get worse.
After the realization that these were fabricated lease agreements, I knew I could no longer pursue the properties. If I had not yet informed the "property manager" of my decision to no longer pursue the property they wouldn't hesitate to harass me about my decision. I knew until they received their money they wouldn't be satisfied. After I made sure they knew I wasn't interested, I was greeted with an inappropriate response letting me know I'd wasted their valuable time in the NYC real estate market.
The one thing I learned having completed my Craigslist journey is that the only way to have a successful outcome is through subletting. If you're looking on the site, people looking to sublet are the real deal. They have pictures of what things actually look like, and you have the ability to creep them on all platforms of social media.
Moral of the story? Don't fall victim to the Craigslist scams; use the site wisely. Go for the safer option of subletting through someone you can stalk or meet. If you have the pleasure of resorting to looking through Craigslist for housing options -- best of luck to you and I completely empathize with your struggle.
