The Pros and Cons of Using Craigslist to Find an Apartment For Rent

Are you looking for a new apartment to rent? If so, you may turn to your local newspaper classified section. You will find apartment rentals there, but you will also find them on the popular classified site Craigslist.org. If this is your first time using Craigslist, you may wonder what the pros and cons of using the classified website to find an apartment are.

The Pros

It is free to use the Craigslist website. Unlike many other popular apartment rentals sites online, Craigslist.org is free to use. You can view the listings for 1 apartment or 100. There are no limits. The website is 100% free to use. When it comes to finding a rental, the only money you should pay is for rent.

It is relatively easy to search Craigslist.org. To find a local apartment for rent, visit the Craigslist home page. Then, select your state and nearest city location. Look to the left side of the page for a search box. Change the search settings to housing and then search. The only problem you may run into is if you want to search multiple areas at once. Unless you download a Craigslist search tool, you would need to perform separate searches on each location page.

Your choices. Not only can you browse or search through apartment rental listings, but you can also create a housing wanted ad. Landlords will occasionally browse through these sections looking for tenants.

The Cons

Property owners don’t always include pictures. Before renting an apartment you will go and see it. For that reason, pictures aren’t a huge deal. If a landlord does not have pictures on Craigslist, ask to have them emailed to you. Look at the pictures. Is it a quality apartment that is worth the look?

There are some scams that surround Craigslist.org and apartment rentals. Most of these scams tend to focus on rental services. Remember, the only money you should pay is towards your rentals costs. You shouldn’t need professional help to find an apartment, so don’t pay for it.