Notes on Craiglist

Once again I am apartment hunting and once again It Is Not Going Well. However, I think I'm getting a lot better at it. And this is one of only two rants I'll do on the subject this time around.

Job Search:
It occurred to me that anyone looking for writers or editors on Craigslist is either clueless or trying to score a cheap deal. Because when I think about how many writers I know (and I know A LOT of writers) who send their resumes and clips out to every single newspaper or magazine in the area and aren't getting hired (which is also a lot of people) it seems to me that any legitimate newspaper or mag capable of actually paying someone is not exactly lacking in potential employees. They hire and promote the employees they can barely afford to keep In House or recruit through colleges or local talent or agented submissions. Having to actually go out and look, even advertise, is not the mark of a flourishing or worthwhile publication unless you are advertising on an actual, well established, professional writer's job market forum. Craigslist just looks like you threw up a vague idea in hopes that someone else will help with your vague idea for cheap or even free.

THINGS THAT SHOULD BE IN YOUR CRAIGSLIST HOUSING AD

First, of course, THINGS YOU CANNOT PUT IN YOUR CRAIGSLIST AD

Any language that states a preference for certain types of people. It is illegal by federal law to discriminate against tenants due to race, religion, national origin, familial status, disability (physical or mental), gender or age. And in New Hampshire, the law also includes sexual orientation and marital status.

Do these laws apply to everyone? No. If, for example, you are looking for a roommate, then you can state a preference for a gender or age or family type ("looking to share with another single mom"). You can even ask for a certain race or religion, but you have to tread carefully. You can say "I'd like an Indian roommate" but you can't say "No white people". You can say "Looking for another Christian" but you can't say "do not email me if you are not Saved".

None of it applies if you're a landlord who owns four or less units and/or lives on the property. And by "none of it applies", I mean, you can discriminate as much as you want, however, you can't say so on Craigslist. Craigslist has its own internal TOS in addition to the laws of the countries it hosts boards for. Breaking the rules you agreed to when you posted your ad can get your ad "flagged", removed, even get you permanently banned.

It is also illegal in New Hampshire to charge first and last month's rent PLUS security. You can charge last month's rent OR security but NOT BOTH. A lot of people don't know this, so tenants probably won't call you on it, but if you still do it after knowing it's not legal, you're a gigantic creep.

There is no excuse for not including any of the following. Craigslist ads are free (except for certain professional categories that aren't Housing) so you can include as much information as you want.

Why should you include this information? Because Craigslist visitors will have to scroll through hundreds of ads, deciding which ones to click on and which ones to take time out of their day to respond to. You have to give them a reason to click on yours.

Things Your Ad Needs:

Coherent sentences in English: Or whatever language the rest of your Craigslist board speaks. Type out the whole word, correctly spelled, without overuse of teenage/internet slang and multiple exclamation points. Ads that look like they were typed by concussed children or stoners don't work out too well. If you need help, ask for it.

Complete description: Size, whether it is a walkup or has an elevator, which floor it's on, how many bathrooms and what kind, full kitchen, kitchenette or lack of cooking facilities, how many bedrooms, what else is in the neighborhood, security, laundry, parking, internet/cable, age of the place, etc. You have no business renting the place out if you can't answer those questions. And you may feel that these questions can just be answered when the tenant comes to look at the place but there are a lot of people who won't even answer your ad if they don't see this information in it. I know what I want and I want to know if you have it.

A picture: One photo of the outside, one of each room in the unit, or one photo of the outside and one photo that shows as much of the unit as possible. Photos do not have to look like professional magazine work but they should be clear, in focus, well sized, decently lit and the right side up. There are many affordable digital cameras out now, and plenty of easy to use free photo editing programs (they often come with the camera, whether you wanted them or not). Picassa, Photobucket, Flicker, among others are all free or semi free online photo storage sites that also provide editing tools. Remember, Craigslist is not Ebay, you don't pay a fee per picture.

Once again, if this is too hard for you, please ask for help. But you're not getting points for effort, no one's going to look at your upside down picture of a staircase and think “Oh, I'll contact him about this apartment because he's really trying.”

Your address: Normally, you would not put this on a public site online where strangers might see it and come to your home or place of business, but this time, you want them to. It's the whole point. Now, you don't have to give them all the info in public all at once. You can just list the street and name/number of the building, or just the street and get into which unit and where to park when you're making the appointment to meet the tenant. But you have got to give them something. They need to know what town it's in- just saying “New Hampshire” is not enough. New Hampshire is roughly the size of Wales (and it's one of the US's smallest states). That's like saying the apartment is located in “Wales”. WHERE in Wales? If the town or city is large enough, people like to know what neighborhood too, where in Brooklyn? What about the street? Streets can matter when it comes to bus stops, school districts, crime rates, and property values. Even what part of the street matters- the road I live on goes on for eighteen miles and passes through four towns and two states and the two ends could not be more different.

So give them something that tells them where your property for rent or sale is located, so they can decide whether they want to live there or not before they go out and see it. And don't lie, if they're locals, they'll suss you out.

Craigslist househunters usually search by location and price, so the more specific the location, the more likely you are to attract a potential tenant who is looking for exactly what you have. You don't want to cast the widest net possible, you want to close the deal, then you want to target people who will definitely want what you're selling. If I'm in Portsmouth and looking to stay there, I will only be annoyed by the ads for your apartment labeled “New Hampshire” that turns out to be Claremont. If I want to move to Claremont, I will type “Claremont” into the search box, thank you very much.

Only putting the state, or region of the state, also indicates you might be a scammer. Maybe you don't know where the apartment is located because you took a photo of someone else's house while driving past or scanned it from a magazine. And why so coy when I press the issue? If you're not a scammer, why are you afraid to tell me where you are? Yeah, I could be a serial killer or burglar but no one can rent from you if they DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIND YOUR HOUSE. At some point, you have to tell me.

How much it costs, including utilities and any fees: Shouldn't this one be so obvious I don't have to mention it? Apparently not! Craigslist is not an auction site (seriously, this is a hot button issue for Craigslisters). Yes, you can include an OBO (“or best offer”) clause, although Craigslisters tend to resent those if they are not in proportion with what the item is worth, but don't try to induce bidding wars. If you insist on haggling, first of all,mention the negotiable rent in the ad. Then make sure haggling for price is what you actually want to do- forcing tenants to guess how much the place costs and then refusing to budge an inch on the price is not haggling, it's some kind of weird gameshow. If you want people to bid on your home, go through a Realtor or auction house.

Make sure that you're clear on whether the price is by month, by week, or by the night, and that the price in your subject line is the same as the price in the body of your ad.

Tenants search Craigslist by price as well as location. So putting a price close to what you want to rent/sell for in the subject line of your ad can't hurt your chances. Someone might've told you to cast as wide a net as possible by not naming a price, that person was wrong. It only annoys everyone. It either makes them suspect a scam, or they assume that if they have to ask, they can't afford it. Oh, and it screws up their search parameters.

Mention the utilities. They're gonna ask anyway. Also mention any fees for credit checking, especially if they are over $10 and non refundable.

Pets, yes or no: DUH. There are pet people, and then there are non pet people, which one do you want? Better make sure you know and make sure they know too, whether they're allowed pets (and what kind) and whether there are already pets on the property. Man, guy in Candia? I was going to rent your apartment but the fact that you didn't tell me “shared backyard” meant “shared with the neighbor's large and hyperactive dog” was a major deal breaker.

Other requirements for renters: Do you require employment? If you require minimum income levels, then dude, find some legal way to indicate that before the tenant arrives to view the place (and DO NOT pretend these don't exist, you know it, I know it, but not everyone does). Are you age restricted? Subsidized? Section 8 eligible? Does the landlord live on site? Where does the landlord live?

A phone number and/or email address that you have daily access to: If you are worried about posting your private phone number in public, post one that you don't mind strangers having access to. Don't have one of those? Stick to email until after you meet the tenant in person. Worried about giving out your email? Craigslist allows you to “anonymize” your address. The link will appear as a series of random numbers and letters, the other person won't see your real address unless you respond to their email.

And can I make a plea on behalf of everyone? Don't demand that responders only contact you by phone. It's the 21st century and if you don't want email responses, stop posting on the internet For Pete's Sake. Criminy!

Next time: What to do if someone responds to your ad.