Apartment Hunting

I need a place in Cleveland this summer and I'm letting it get a little close to the wire, but that's a separate story.

General apartment/place to live finding hints needed.
What kinds of information should I be getting from Craigslist people?
What little catches should I be aware of that I'm probably not aware of?
How exactly does subletting work? I take on someone's lease for while is all I really know.
How can I secure a place to live from Michigan without really going to Cleveland to visit?
Etc, etc.

>craigslist
something fishy here...

Anyways...
Make sure they have had a CO done, ask about utilities, animals, rent&security deposit is all I can offer.

subletting is generally a bad idea because you don't get any kind of guarantee. there are laws set up so that standards on the landlord/tenant relationship but there's nothing for subletter/subleasee. therefore whoever you're subletting from could say "hey, get out of the apartment by tomorrow", which would illegal in landlord/tenant court, but since you're not on the lease. you have to do what they say. it's really easy to get fucked over when you sublease an apartment. don't look on craigslist, honestly, unless you're looking for a temp place. check newspaper classifieds, you should be able to see them online if you can't get the paper.

things to keep in mind when signing a lease, let's see, pay attention to state laws on how much notice they have to give you before they can evict you, and how much is in the contract. always pay rent with checks and write on the memo line "rent - aprill '11" or "security deposit". take pictures of the apartment before you move in, that way damage that is there before you move in can't be taken out of your security deposit. just little things like that so that in case you ever get taken to landlord/tenant court, you have documentation proving you're in the clear. a lot of landlords will try to pineapple you over.

securing a place between states without checking it out first is a bad idea because you can't really check things out. maybe look on craigslist for a room to rent or something, stay a week in there, then when you get there do everything you can into finding a place. or stay in a hotel for a bit. you don't want to move across states without having a place to live but you definitely don't want to get locked into a really shitty place to live either.

I'm just there for the summer. 3 months. If I sublet, it would be from a student around Case Western who won't be there for the summer.

@Mute:
CO?

Subletting over the summer isn't a bad idea actually o_o People in Berkeley do it all the time.

I'd just check out craigslist and/or ask someone you know there( Im assuming you attend the school?). Ask a friend who attends the school?

I'm just there for the summer. 3 months. If I sublet, it would be from a student around Case Western who won't be there for the summer.

@Mute:
CO?

Certificate of Occupancy.

I'm just there for the summer. 3 months. If I sublet, it would be from a student around Case Western who won't be there for the summer.

@Mute:
CO?

ohh alright then that's not a bad deal actually, i thought you meant for an extended period of time

Subletting over the summer isn't a bad idea actually o_o People in Berkeley do it all the time.

I'd just check out craigslist and/or ask someone you know there( Im assuming you attend the school?). Ask a friend who attends the school?

I don't know anyone down there. I'm interning with GE for the summer.

What's wrong with Craigslist? I got my apartment through that and have had no problems. It's really not so bad.

And subletting is all right too, especially in a place with a college during the summer. Lots of people have internships somewhere else and need a way to ease up rent costs while living in two places at once.