Have you ever rented a room without visitting it first?

[FattySlug]

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So the situation is that I will have to move pretty far and finding a place to stay is such a pain. I haven't moved this far ever; normally I would just drive to the new area, check out all the listed rooms and rent one. However to do that this time I will have to fly 5 hours, get a hotel room and rent a car just to look at rooms. All this could cost close to $800 money I don't have since I am about to take an oversea trip and will be extremely broke afterwards.

Do you think it is a good idea to just rent a room based on pictures/descriptions? You ever done it before? How did it work out. Not to mention the fact that some people would like to meet their roommates beforehand. If you are looking for a roommate would you be comfortable renting to someone you never met in person? Any suggestion to make this process less painful and costly is appreciated.

Edit:
Any good website recommendation? I got Padmapper, craiglist, the school off campus housing site. Thanks.

 

[Jennet]

So the situation is that I will have to move pretty far and finding a place to stay is such a pain. I haven't moved this far ever; normally I would just drive to the new area, check out all the listed rooms and rent one. However to do that this time I will have to fly 5 hours, get a hotel room and rent a car just to look at rooms. All this could cost close to $800 money I don't have since I am about to take an oversea trip and will be extremely broke afterwards.

Do you think it is a good idea to just rent a room based on pictures/descriptions? You ever done it before? How did it work out. Not to mention the fact that some people would like to meet their roommates beforehand. If you are looking for a roommate would you be comfortable renting to someone you never met in person? Any suggestion to make this process less painful and costly is appreciated.

I moved across the country without seeing the room first. My now current roommates put together a video tour and we talked via Skype before settling. It was a huge leap, but turned out ok in the end. I used padmapper to make sure I was close to local amenities and public transportation and calculated my commute ahead of time. You can do a lot with just a little research and Google Street View.

Also, try looking for a room that sublets by the week. This would give you a chance to go around the city and get acclimated and it provides a proper introduction to the neighborhoods you may live in.

 

[ppfizenm]

So the situation is that I will have to move pretty far and finding a place to stay is such a pain. I haven't moved this far ever; normally I would just drive to the new area, check out all the listed rooms and rent one. However to do that this time I will have to fly 5 hours, get a hotel room and rent a car just to look at rooms. All this could cost close to $800 money I don't have since I am about to take an oversea trip and will be extremely broke afterwards.

Do you think it is a good idea to just rent a room based on pictures/descriptions? You ever done it before? How did it work out. Not to mention the fact that some people would like to meet their roommates beforehand. If you are looking for a roommate would you be comfortable renting to someone you never met in person? Any suggestion to make this process less painful and costly is appreciated.

If you are talking about for med school I would encourage you to try and get to know some people going to your school first before getting a place.

Otherwise. I have done this. Rented a room when I moved to start a new job. It definitely was not as nice as it appeared in the pictures. I ended up moving out after I found an apartment. You can always go week-week in a room while looking for a place. That way you are in the area and still have a regularly priced place.

 

[pkwraith]

My first apartment out of school I got out of school I got off craigslist. Based it off six pictures. Lived there for three years without any issues with the apartment or room mate.

My apartment for med school was off facebook from other med students. They made a video tour. No problems so far.

You just have to vet the roommates.

 

[FattySlug]

Also, try looking for a room that sublets by the week. This would give you a chance to go around the city and get acclimated and it provides a proper introduction to the neighborhoods you may live in.

Thank you that sublets idea is new to me but it sounds good. Padmapper seems like a really good website for this kind of thing too.

If you are talking about for med school I would encourage you to try and get to know some people going to your school first before getting a place.

Otherwise. I have done this. Rented a room when I moved to start a new job. It definitely was not as nice as it appeared in the pictures. I ended up moving out after I found an apartment. You can always go week-week in a room while looking for a place. That way you are in the area and still have a regularly priced place.

I don't think I can get to know them that well since the most I can do is posting on discussion board and such. Not planning to go to second look week either because it coincides with my trip. Will look to try that week to week thing for sure.

 

[wasabid]

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I rented an apartment and put out a roommate inquiry on Craigslist. Talked with one over the phone, he sent his friend out to scope the place out and take some photos, and it was a deal...the guy ended up being a dirty, smelly bastard that got trash all over the place and damaged both the apartment and my furniture. I will never forget the image of him when I got home from work one day, sitting on my leather couch in his underwear with a plate of chicken nuggets perched atop his gloriously large and hairy stomach, crumbs dribbling all over himself and the furniture, sweating profusely while smoking hookah and laughing at reruns of Arrested Development.

An apartment is an apartment, but try to learn as much as you can about your future roommate.

 

[EBTrailRunner]

Personally, I wouldn't live somewhere I haven't seen up close. Two years ago I almost signed a lease for a basement apartment that, based on pictures posted by its owner, appeared to be awesome. Luckily my dad convinced me to fly out and give it a look. It was HORRIBLE. I ended up spending a few days finding another apartment and in retrospect it was a wise decision.

 

[ppfizenm]

Thank you that sublets idea is new to me but it sounds good. Padmapper seems like a really good website for this kind of thing too.



I don't think I can get to know them that well since the most I can do is posting on discussion board and such. Not planning to go to second look week either because it coincides with my trip. Will look to try that week to week thing for sure.

try facebook maybe if the school has a group for accepted students

 

[ljpm8224]

Rent a temporary room or a sublet situation for a few weeks, then look for a permanent situation in person. Just bring a suitcase when you first go out, then ship the rest of your stuff once you have your "real" pad established.

I think it's a horrible idea to rent a permanent place site unseen. Not to mention you open yourself up to a lot of fraud and scammers that way.

 

[blue0rchid]

I rented a room (sublet a room in a 2 br apartment) before with seeing just a few pictures. I found it on roommates.com
Ended up living there for like a year before the lease ran out and i had to find another place. It worked out OK for me. Personally I don't mind renting a place without seeing it first, as long as i'm not tied down in some long term contract. Month by month basis works fine.

 

[pkwraith]

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I rented an apartment and put out a roommate inquiry on Craigslist. Talked with one over the phone, he sent his friend out to scope the place out and take some photos, and it was a deal...the guy ended up being a dirty, smelly bastard that got trash all over the place and damaged both the apartment and my furniture. I will never forget the image of him when I got home from work one day, sitting on my leather couch in his underwear with a plate of chicken nuggets perched atop his gloriously large and hairy stomach, crumbs dribbling all over himself and the furniture, sweating profusely while smoking hookah and laughing at reruns of Arrested Development.

An apartment is an apartment, but try to learn as much as you can about your future roommate.

Dude, I offered to split the chicken nuggets with you.

 

[thesauce]

Moved in site unseen to the last 3 places I've lived and I've always been pleasantly surprised.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

I had to take a pierhead jump to an unseen room last summer. The roommates turned out to be a bunch of lazy slobs; when I moved in I had to scrape the grease off the stove with a hammer and chisel before it was clean enough for me to use. If you're moving to med school you should post in the school-specific thread. I've seen a few people there matching up rooms. At least that way your roommate will be self motivated enough to get into med school, maybe even to wash his dirty dishes.

 

[Rippy087]

I moved to Boston on short notice (about 2 weeks). I did a sublet off of craigslist. I only saw like four pictures, but I made my choice based on proximity to where I needed to be. Everything turned out better than expected. I talked on the phone with the guy that was moving out for like 30 minutes, and we exchanged a few emails, but that was it. My roommate is completely fine, and we haven't had any problems, even though I never saw him or talked to him before I moved it.

 

[235788]

you feeling lucky op?

 

[sector9]

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I rented an apartment and put out a roommate inquiry on Craigslist. Talked with one over the phone, he sent his friend out to scope the place out and take some photos, and it was a deal...the guy ended up being a dirty, smelly bastard that got trash all over the place and damaged both the apartment and my furniture. I will never forget the image of him when I got home from work one day, sitting on my leather couch in his underwear with a plate of chicken nuggets perched atop his gloriously large and hairy stomach, crumbs dribbling all over himself and the furniture, sweating profusely while smoking hookah and laughing at reruns of Arrested Development.

An apartment is an apartment, but try to learn as much as you can about your future roommate.

I fail to see a problem 😀

 

[thlaxer]

Rent a temporary room or a sublet situation for a few weeks, then look for a permanent situation in person. Just bring a suitcase when you first go out, then ship the rest of your stuff once you have your "real" pad established.

I think it's a horrible idea to rent a permanent place site unseen. Not to mention you open yourself up to a lot of fraud and scammers that way.

One of my friends got scammed this way. Lost like $1500. Anyone know of any good sites to get apartment building reviews (heard of a few a while back but forgot their names)? Thanks!

 

[tantacles]

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I rented an apartment and put out a roommate inquiry on Craigslist. Talked with one over the phone, he sent his friend out to scope the place out and take some photos, and it was a deal...the guy ended up being a dirty, smelly bastard that got trash all over the place and damaged both the apartment and my furniture. I will never forget the image of him when I got home from work one day, sitting on my leather couch in his underwear with a plate of chicken nuggets perched atop his gloriously large and hairy stomach, crumbs dribbling all over himself and the furniture, sweating profusely while smoking hookah and laughing at reruns of Arrested Development.

An apartment is an apartment, but try to learn as much as you can about your future roommate.

Can we have pics? Because in some circumstances, I would be completely willing to allow this. How cute was the underwear? How much body hair did he have? Was he handsome enough that you felt comfortable licking the crumbs off of him?

I just feel like without all of the details, it's very difficult to really understand your point.

 

[KLycos]

I moved across the country to PA and all I could do was use craigslist to find a cheap temporary sublet. I literally got off the plane, and took a cab to the place I had scoped out but had no way to check out before moving. I slept on a blow up matress in some fratty POS apt for a month. It was the second worst month of my entire life. I wanted to die it was such a gross POS and I felt so out of place. Finding a good roommate and a good place is SO HARD, but you'd be surprised what you can make possible when you are determined.

 

[nadaba]

I moved across the country to PA and all I could do was use craigslist to find a cheap temporary sublet. I literally got off the plane, and took a cab to the place I had scoped out but had no way to check out before moving. I slept on a blow up matress in some fratty POS apt for a month. It was the second worst month of my entire life. I wanted to die it was such a gross POS and I felt so out of place. Finding a good roommate and a good place is SO HARD, but you'd be surprised what you can make possible when you are determined.

Laguna Beach heals all wounds...

 

[KLycos]

Laguna Beach heals all wounds...

/miss T.T

 

[coughsyrup]

Are any of ya'll accepted at one school, but on the waitlist of another school (that you prefer)?

I thought about having an apartment-mate (we each have separate rooms), but what if i get into the other school?

Kinda sucks backing out...