Last summer was my first experience living on my own outside of the dorms. The amount of freedom I’d found in East Lansing during my freshman year was something I did not want to let go of once summer rolled around.
So when my friend told me she was subleasing her apartment for the summer while she went on a study abroad trip, everything felt as if it was falling into place. For the most part, everything did fall together perfectly for the summer, minus a few snags with a missing key that left me occasionally locked out.
However, there were a few things that made my summer sublease both lucky and survivable.
Besides the missing key, the only thing that had me on edge was my terror at the thought of moving into an apartment with three people I didn’t know very well, since socializing has never been a forte of mine.
I feared feeling like an intruder in someone else’s home, but that fear didn’t last longer than a day.
My new roommates were friendly and bubbly and made me feel at home with meals and binge-watching sessions of “Doctor Who” whenever I was at our Cedar Village apartment.
While my own subleasing experience was pleasant, I’ve heard horror stories about subleases gone wrong and roommates barely being able to tolerate each other during the summer’s short, three-month span.
From tales of passive-aggressive sticky note messages to new roommates stealing — and later destroying — each other’s clothes, I feel like I lucked out with my own situation.
But in case you’re subleasing from a total stranger, you should make sure to try and spend some time with potential new roommates to make sure your personalities mesh. You don’t want to be trying to rip each other’s hair out by the end of the summer.
Other than getting to know potential roommates, subleasers and those looking to sublease their apartment for the summer should just try to be organized in their search.
Many of those looking to sublease are graduating in the spring and are already up to their ears in stress. If you’re looking to sublease your apartment, start posting in different Facebook groups to try and generate interest. Ask your co-workers, your friends and the friends of your friends if anyone is looking for a place to live.
Those looking for a place to stay over the summer, all you need to do is ask around, but start planning now so you’re not scrambling for a last-minute location that even CATA won’t pick you up at.
And once you have a potential subleaser or person to sublease from, communicate with them. Introduce them to your roommates, let them know how rent, groceries and chores are divided and arm them with everything they need to know about living in your former home.
If all goes according to plan, your summer sublease shouldn’t end up a disaster.
