I'll be living abroad for half a year and want to keep my apartment while gone. I spend, including utlilities, about 1,000USD per month. In the current rental market, I could easily sublet it for 1,800USD. Therefore I would make a substantial profit. I have already listed it at that price on a couple of well reputed subletting sites (the type that let out to corporate travelers mostly) and gotten serious inquiries at that price.
However, I will be leaving most of my possessions in it including some things of high value. I also have many, many plants (around 50) that need caring. In theory I could move both the high value possessions and the plants out to family and friends' homes if needed.
Due to the overheated rental market, I have a close friend who has had trouble finding a good place to live due to just having finished his education and being in the first few months of regular (though not yet full time) employment. His current living situation is nearly intolerable.
My instinct is to offer the place to him for free in exchange for housesitting my plants. He has actually watched them for me in the past when I've been traveling for shorter periods and everything was perfect when I came home.
But the rational financial self interest looks, on paper, to be to sublet it out and make a profit.
I can easily afford the 6k I will spend on the place, it doesn't really harm me to pay that while gone (but I am not wealthy so 6k + 4,800k profit are considerable sums to me).
My instinct is to lend it to my friend, since it helps both him and me out and I will feel much better about my plants and possessions being in his care instead of either in the care of a stranger or having to burden probably several friends and family by asking them to care for them for me in my absence.
What do you think I should do?
TL;DR Trying to decide whether or not to sublet my apartment. I will feel much better doing a nice thing and giving it to my friend who has need of it and also with the peace of mind that my plants and stuff are in good care and not burdening anyone, but it seems more rational to sublet it to a stranger and make a substantial profit.
EDIT: I acknowledge the dumb typo in the title! "Cost" should have been "profit". Sorry.
ETA: Due to my friend's financial situation he cannot afford to pay me anything for the apt right now.
Submitted October 12, 2017 at 05:20AM by quellepris http://ift.tt/2gxLUVQ
