By Alicia Geigel

Subletting your apartment over the summer can be a great option to not only help you save money but also give you the freedom to do what you like before the start of the school year in the fall. As with anything, subletting comes with its risks and benefits, so it’s important to know exactly what you’re getting into before you jump into it.

If you are considering subletting your apartment over the summer, here are six tips to help you get started.

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1. Evaluate the Risks: Before you jump right into subletting your apartment to a friend or potential stranger, it’s important to recognize and evaluate the risks of doing so. Subletting your apartment to someone has the potential to go well or go terrible, depending on your tenant. When subletting, you run the risk of being stolen from or even having your property damaged in certain ways. That’s why, at least in the beginning, try to keep your pool of potential subletting candidates limited to those you know or friends of friends rather than renting to strangers right away. If the immediate risks sound like something that you don’t like or perhaps cannot control, subletting may not be for you.

2. Keep Your Search Close, At First: Finding the right person to sublet your apartment to can be difficult, especially if you don’t know where to start your search. It is smart to begin your search among those who are closest to you first, rather than jumping onto Craigslist, Facebook, or other sites right away. Start your search by asking family, friends, classmates, or acquaintances if they are interested or know anyone who is interested in renting a sublet for the summer. If that doesn’t work, then you can start to dabble in searching online for the right candidate. The right person may just be a text or phone call away!

3. Take on the Landlord Role: Just because you technically don’t claim the official title of “landlord” of your apartment, doesn’t mean that you can’t act like one when it comes to subletting-actually, you should! Laura Gaskill, a Houzz Contributor writes on Forbes, “Just because it’s a short-term rental situation doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be just as careful as a landlord looking for a long-term tenant. Ask for a security deposit, check references and get a signed rental agreement.”

This may sound extreme but start with a background check. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and doing so can give you insight into the person’s employment history, criminal history, and anything noteworthy that could affect their reputation. Then, call around and check for references, from previous rentals or even employers and friends. This is another way to get to know the person without learning firsthand through a bad experience. If all looks good and you’re ready to move forward, then collect a security deposit and sign a rental agreement. From there, you can get pictures of the place and keep in touch when needed.

4. Get Before Pictures: Just like a landlord obtains before pictures before he or she rents out a property/unit to a tenant, you should prioritize getting before pictures of your apartment before your tenant moves in for the summer. Getting pictures gives you a crystal clear idea of what your place looked like before they moved in, which can make it easier to detect potential damages.

Set the perfect environment for pictures by having plenty of lighting, whether from windows or from indoor lights (the more lighting, the more you’ll be able to clearly see what checks out and what is messed up). Then take pictures of each area of the apartment that will be inhabited, from all angles. Rooms can include the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, etc. If you have particular appliances or belongings that you are worried about, be sure to snap a couple of pictures of those as well.

5. Establish Ground Rules: Taking on the role of the landlord can extend past just getting background checks and collecting a security deposit. While no one has fun bossing others around, it is important for you to give your subletter a breakdown of common ground rules to follow while they are living there. Try to touch on these as early as you can in the subletting process to avoid a disaster in the future. Ground rules can be as simple as taking out the trash on a weekly basis, respecting quiet hours, refraining from large and loud gatherings, etc.

6. Keep in Touch: While you are gone, be sure to keep in touch with the person/people living in your apartment. It’s not only important but it’s also healthy to keep open communication with them! Additionally, have someone in the area available to check in once in a while or when the tenants may need your help if you can’t be available right away.

Being in a position where you sublet your apartment can be difficult at points because it requires taking on a lot of responsibility. Though some tenants can be difficult to deal with, most just want to be able to have a place of their own for a period of time.

By subletting your apartment for the summer, you will be able to do what you want/need to during the summer, all while helping out someone who needs a place to call home for a couple of months. It’s a win, win situation! Who knows, maybe based on this experience you’ll want to sublet in the future.