7 Steps For Conducting Meetings With Potential Subtenants

By Jessi Stickel on June 18, 2016

Subletting your apartment or a share of your apartment can be scary when you are in college. College students are not the cleanest or most responsible people in the world, which is why you need to be very careful of who you pick to sublet your apartment to.

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However, there is a process to choosing another student to take over your lease for a few months or longer. First, you must set up a meeting with potential subletees, which may be the trickiest part of subletting.

Here are the seven steps to setting up a meeting with potential subtenants.

Step 1: Find them on social media.

Before meeting your potential subtenant, you should strongly consider adding or following them on social media first. This will give you a basic idea of who this person is. You can possibly find out their interests, their major, where they work and who they hang out with. You probably should not base your whole opinion of this person from their social media accounts; however, you can get a little background information on them before meeting. You may even decide not to meet with the person based on their social media accounts, which can save you some time and hassle as well.

Step 2: Talk to your roommates.

You can also share the information you found on the potential subletee with your roommates, considering the person could become their new roommate. It is a good idea to get their opinion on the person as well. If you do agree to set up a meeting with a particular person, you want to make sure all of your roommates can be there, so they can meet them as well. Meeting the person with other people around is also the safer route.

Step 3: Schedule an “in-apartment” meeting.

Once the subtenant wants to come see the apartment and meet your roommates, try to schedule time that works for you, the sublettee and your roommates. You want to have the meeting in your apartment so that the person can look around and make sure they want to live there.

Step 4: Give them a tour.

You should show your potential subtenant around your apartment and express its amenities. Showing them the bedroom and bathroom they would have, along with the common areas would allow them to make their decision better. You should also try to clean up your apartment prior to the meeting; no one is going to want to move into a messy place.

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Step 5: Ask/answer questions.

When someone is interested in taking over your lease for your apartment, they will most likely have a lot of questions. It is important to make sure you are ready to answer anything they ask about the apartment or other living arrangements. You should also be prepared to ask questions about the subtenant as well. This way you can learn a bit about them to make sure they will make a good fit with your roommates.

Here are some sample questions that the sublettee may ask you, and some questions you could ask them.

Questions they may have: 

•Does the apartment include a washer and dryer?

•Does the apartment include a dishwasher?

•Does the apartment include security?

•Are the utilities included in the monthly rent price?

•Is there cable available?

•How many bedrooms per bathroom?

•Is there anything I will need to bring besides my personal items?

Questions you or your roommates could ask: 

•Do you consider yourself clean, moderate or messy?

•Are you an early riser or night owl?

•Are you in a sorority or fraternity?

•Do you expect to have guests or parties in the apartment?

•How many classes do you take a semester/What is your schedule like?

•What’s your major?

•Will you be working while you live here?

Step 6: Give them time.

After your meeting in the apartment, allow them time to think (and maybe talk to their parents) to be sure they want to live in your apartment. Try not to rush them or make them feel like they have to make a decision right there on the spot. This is a big decision to make since they are committing to a lease.

Step 7: Follow up.

Give it a week or so, (you can also meet with other potential sublettees during this time) and then contact them to see what is going on. You don’t want to wait too long because they could have decided not to go through with it or found a different apartment and did not notify you. This can waste a lot of your time as well.

So within a week, shoot the person a text or email asking if they have any further questions to let you know and that you would appreciate their decision in the next week or so, if they have not already made one.

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