Dear Emma,

Hello! With all of the troubles going on with WSU announcing the move to online classes, I am struggling quite a bit with my apartment situation. Thinking ahead of time, I applied for an apartment early on and got it. 

However, now that I do not actually need to be there in person, I am trying to get rid of it, but my apartment demands that I find someone to relet to … as well as pay them $500. I would rather be saving money and staying home, but it’s nearly impossible to find anyone that wants to take my apartment! I am literally panicking, but many other students are trying to get out of theirs as well, so I am worried about not getting too lucky, unfortunately. Suggestions? Help? Anything really?

(Side note, if you find any girls interested in this spot, can you let me know?)

Best wishes,

Pretty Dang Desperate

Dear Desperate,

This is a difficult situation, and I’m sorry you’re going through it. I know a lot of people are in the same boat now that classes are online and students aren’t going back to Pullman. 

One thing I encourage you to think about is where you will live spring semester if we are allowed to be on campus again. You may want to look at apartment options ahead of time (as you did before!) so you are not caught off guard if and or when WSU announces a return to in-person instruction. Alternatively, if you are able and think it is a good idea, it may be worth it to keep your apartment this semester so you aren’t caught in a mad scramble for housing in the spring. I know you are trying to save money by living at home, so it may not be the best option to continue paying rent, but it is something to consider. 

Another thing you could do is post on any WSU-related social media pages. There are multiple “Free & For Sale” Facebook pages for WSU and the Palouse area that you could use. You could also check out the WSU parent page on Facebook or WSU’s Reddit. All of these sites get a lot of traffic and may have people who are looking for housing. The worst-case scenario is someone deletes your post. Best-case scenario is you find someone to take over your lease. I would say that it is worth the post. 

Finally, try bargaining with your landlord. It may not work, but if you are out of other options, it is worth asking. They probably won’t have other people interested in your spot because very few students are going back to campus, so try asking if you could pay a discounted rent rate to hold your apartment for the spring. Again, it never hurts to ask. 

I hope some of these suggestions are helpful!

Best of luck,

Emma