If you’re having trouble finding someone to sublease your place while you’re away, subleaser.com might have the answer: “get in or get out.”
This innovative website, which promises to conveniently help students save time and money, is a new user-friendly online service that lets students search for off-campus listings nationwide and post their own subleases as well.
“Our goal is for [the website] to make the whole subleasing process painless,” said founder Justin Baldwin, a graduate from the University of Alabama. “We just want you to be able to find a place, [for] people to make informed decisions.”
Launched only two weeks ago, the site already hosts hundreds of listings from students in colleges across Florida. And it’s slowly making its way to our campus thanks to its easy, Facebook-meets-eBay-style system.
Here’s how it works: To search for subleases, students select a state and college, which pulls up any listings for that campus. Students then have access to the information posted by the leasers.
To post a listing, which is free for a limited time, students must fill out a profile with details like name, address, price per month, number of bedrooms and any amenities. And for $2, up to four pictures of the housing can be posted.
In addition, for an extra $2 a listing can be featured, meaning it will show up above all the other listings in a colored banner when a search is run for that campus.
“It’s a lot cheaper than printing flyers and spending your time putting them around campus,” said Baldwin. “We’re basically doing the marketing for you. Millions of people see [your listing].”
The website also offers a variety of informational articles, ranging from basic how-to guides for beginners to fun tips on how to customize the ultimate college pad.
“It’s not an uptight site at all. It’s got a great college feel,” Baldwin said. “It’s just a matter of time before word gets out to the major universities.”
Rafael Sangiovanni can be contacted at r.sangiovanni@umiami.edu.