<p>My D will be attending grad school in NYC. Grad school may not have dorm availability so looking to find a roommate(s) in NY. Preferably a person or people who already have an apartment, so she can meet the people and actually see the living arrangements, rather than meeting a potential roommate and having to find an apartment together.</p>
<p>Has craigslist worked well for you - seems that she has had to wade through "fake" ads to find real ones. </p>
<p>Any ideas of what worked out well for your child is much appreciated.</p>
<p>I was leery of craigslist too when looking for a summer sublet for my D in another city, but there are many credible entries. You have to read them carefully and after a while you will be able to separate the “real” ones from the creepy ones or the ones posted by real estate agents. Also, go to the websites of NYC schools and check out their Classified Listings for students looking for roommates. Good luck!</p>
<p>My daughter found her current spot in a great apartment using craigslist. When she showed up to look at it, though, she found out that the woman who was moving out, and whose place she would be taking, was the older sister of a friend of hers from home.</p>
<p>That’s cool JHS. Might also contact the grad program and see if there is any bulletin board or housing office where folks ask for roommates or do sublets.</p>
<p>D is in the process of renting an appartment with a friend. Craig’s List of course.</p>
<p>My S found his current apartment and roommates through Craigslist. The roommate who was leaving posted the room, and he met the 3 other roommates a few times before committing to the apartment. My S is actually subletting that departing person’s share of the lease through the end of the lease in July and then they’ll all decide whether to resign or not. It’s worked out very well for him.</p>
<p>FB or Craigslist seems to be the current roommate finder according to my daughter. She found her first two roommates through FB and her last two through Craigslist. All really nice girls. She lives in Brooklyn.</p>
<p>Post #7 posts a good question. ANYONE can write and post an ad there. So, some apartment ads are placed by roommates, other times by a landlord or rental agent showing many properties. It sounds like, for your D, it’s a waste of time to be shown an apartment by an agent and then told “it’s yours if you can find 3 more roommates.” She doesn’t yet know other people to pull together to make a group. </p>
<p>Other times, a student will post having just found an available, empty apartment and is trying to collect a new group so they can make it happen. That’s a bit harder on your D, because she might begin to commit herself to a group as the second of a needed group of 4, and wait for others to join in. Meanwhile she needs to understand to keep many options alive all at once, until she has a real agreement. Some of these situations fall apart, not because anyone’s malicious. I’ve watched my son go through several rounds of Craigslist over the years, and it just takes persistence. </p>
<p>As your D corresponds with various ads, she will soon get the hang of it. Figure out by asking questions or reading the ad which sound like “real people” and not agencies. Sometimes the ad itself says “no agencies.” She can also ask directly in her e-reply. </p>
<p>Basically, she should look for chattier ads where the students mention something specific about their situation and sound like human beings. </p>
<p>Good: “we have 2 cats” or “3 NYU students just lost a roommate; need to replace her asap!” </p>
<p>Bad: “beautiful room in 3-br apartment; needs roommate; for details please reply.”</p>
<p>Best situation is for her to have her own signed lease with the landlord, even if she lives in a group, but that’s not always possible. Each situation’s a little different. If she’s moving there for a summer start, she might find it easier to sublet someone’s “spot” who is away only for the summer. She might move again in August, but she’ll know the territory better by then. Or, she might sublet for the summer and put herself in a decision-making position at the end of August. If she likes the group, and there becomes an opening she can opt to stay on with them. If she isn’t very happy with the roommates, it’s only a summer and she has no obligation after the summer months and can move on to a group she’s had more time to research or get to know beforehand.</p>
<p>My kids have both found shared living situations through Craigslist at various times – no problem. These days, if a potential roommate has an uncommon name, its pretty easy to get basic background info via Google, Facebook, and Linked In.</p>
<p>Last June, when my son was moving to the Hartford, CT area, he found his roommate, apartment, and complete set of free living room furniture on Craig’s List. </p>
<p>I was concerned about finding a roommate in this manner rather than through a friend of a friend. Total stranger, are they on the level, etc. They met in a restaurant and were comfortable enough to proceed with touring apartments together. Everything worked out fine. </p>
<p>When you think about it, freshmen heading off to college end up sharing a hall with complete strangers. Roommates can usually contact each other in advance, so they may become acquainted a little bit before moving in.</p>
<p>By exchanging email and phone calls prior to meeting, and then meeting in a public place, kids can prequalify potential roommates somewhat.</p>
<p>I was scanning listings for apartments and roommates for a couple of months prior to this, and found that often the personality of the poster came through, as some one else mentioned. </p>
<p>The apartment they ended up renting was listed on Craig’s List with minimal text and no photos. (The senior landlady did not have a digital camera.) It turned out to be a very desirable and large apartment on the first floor of a house. Everything worked out well.</p>