A couple years ago, when I thought seriously that Craigslist might ask me to remove their listings and that I should have a backup plan, I created PadLister for listing directly on PadMapper. Over time it started to seem like CL was probably OK with PadMapper, so I haven’t pushed PadLister at all except for a little link on PadMapper. Many of you are now asking me about direct listing options, so it seems like I should let everyone know about it now.
With Craigslist gone, PadMapper is likely missing a lot of the best sublet/small landlord options, so I’d really like to get small landlords to list directly.
So, if you or anyone you know wants to find a tenant, let them know that they should post on PadLister (they should also post on Craigslist – PadLister helps with that, actually). By doing that, they’ll get the almost-undivided attention of lots of PadMapper’s millions of searchers, and they’ll get to use PadLister’s handy features for managing the search for a tenant. It’s a free service.
http://www.padlister.com , or go to PadMapper and hit the “Post a Pad” link.
It’d obviously be better if PadMapper just got Craigslist back, so hopefully Craigslist will change their mind or improve their apartment searching interface soon, if that’s what prompted this, but with peak apartment hunting season upon us, I’d like to give you guys as many tools as possible and make PadMapper useful again quickly. Help spread the word to every landlord you know! They’ll get a lot of free advertising, and the more listings there are, the better PadMapper will be for everyone.
Thanks everyone for your overwhelming support in this, I’ve gotten hundreds of emails about this, most of them extremely nice. I’ve been trying to reply to as many as I can, but I apologize if I don’t get to yours, they’ve come in faster than I’ve been able to respond.
[…] Many of you have asked me how you can post to PadMapper now that Craigslist is gone. I just posted about PadLister, a way to post directly to PadMapper. I still want to get Craigslist back on there, but in the […]
[…] “With Craigslist gone, PadMapper is likely missing a lot of the best sublet/small landlord options, so I’d really like to get small landlords to list directly,” DeMenthon said this morning on the PadMapper blog. […]
Surprised you didn’t mention here that PadLister does online applications and automated background/credit checks. I’d think that might be the killer feature for some landlords.
Also, is there a way now to get roommate ads onto PadMapper?
My parents have been using PadLister. They are fans. They also mentioned that they thought it was really helpful that you had sample lease documents they could use. You should really be marketing all these awesome freebies! It’s so much better than listing on Craigslist!
Sent today, good luck!
Dear Sirs,
I have never written on behalf of any company or organization, but in this instance I feel the need to. My lease was ending on my current apartment on June 11th. For weeks I had been searching on various sites and scrolling through endless useless posts on craigslist. It didn’t take long for me to give up on craigslist. Then a friend told me about padmapper.com and within a couple days I not only found what I needed, but I found an apartment better than my current one for significantly less than I was paying before. The ad had been posted 10 hours before I found it.
Now, less than 1 month later, I’m getting a promotion and have to move 800 miles away to Philadelphia. Unfortunately, I am now unable to use padmapper to assist me in finding a new home because you will not allow them to map where your ads are in the city. It is unrealistic to use craigslist in looking for an apartment without an easier way to see what location the ad is for. Although using other sites like rent.com or apartments.com tend to be quite tedious and time-consuming which I do not have, I definitely do not have the time to plot out locations on craigslist on a map of Philadelphia to be able to find a place to live.
I understand that craigslist may not want other companies piggybacking off of their website, as you may see it, but unless craigslist will make an easier way to use their website effectively, it is not worth my time. The concept of a search engine that plotted your ads on a map for you, surely only increased the number of ads being posted to your website. In our fast-paced society, the most useful tools to us are those that are the most efficient. Sometimes a combination of tools provide the most productivity. It appears to me that by refusing to allow padmapper to plot the locations of your ads, you are throwing away a tool that makes your website useful.
Sincerely,
Jeremy S.
Kudos for taking this all in stride, via High Rd. If nothing else, you’ve got good karma coming your way. Well done, sir.
#killingthemwithkindness
I’m sad that craigslist made such a poor decision to discontinue letting Padmapper use its listings. In my opinion, Padmapper only helped to promote Craigslist is a much clearer, visual manner. I will promote Padlister to landlords in the future since this is such a great website, but will discontinue usage of Craigslist. In time, you might even be able to overtake the almighty Craigslist with your direct posting option to Padmapper since CL ignores the need for a visual display of rental properties. Thank you Padmapper for helping me find my new apartment on Craigslist by the way, I’m sure my landlord appreciates it as well!
I’m upset that Craigslist is not allowing you to post their ads, but I’m also wondering why the only ads left over on you site appear to be for apartment complexes, condos, and so forth, rather than for houses and simple apartments. I’ve tried to enter parameters so that these apartment complex ads won’t appear, but I haven’t managed to find the right words. Is there anything you can suggest because I love your site, but everything blip I hit is only bringing up the very thing I don’t want to see. (This is without any additional parameters added in).
thank you,
JenB
Yea!
Thanks Eric for having the balls to do this!
I also believe that PadLister is reaching critical mass and can make CL obsolete for apartment hunting.
I was getting 20% of the phone calls by just listing on PL and not CL. In such a hot market, 20% is still plenty, and of course the online rental application is a bonus.
DONE!!
PadLister has been used by my mom and dad. In other words, they are devoted followers. They also found it useful that you provided example lease contracts that they could adapt to their needs. All these great freebies might really benefit from advertising. Compared to posting on Craigslist, this is a huge improvement.
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