Use a Temp Phone Number for Your Sublease

If you need to sublease your apartment, condo, or house, using a temp phone number is the easiest way to streamline the inquiries, prevent your phone from blowing up, and instantly make all the calls and messages disappear when someone’s signed the agreement.

Because, let’s face it: As much as we can get shy and would prefer every interaction to be handled via a low-key email (no pressure, no rush), there are times when you have to suck it up and answer a phone call. *shudder*

Why does the phone number matter?

Organizing a sublease with your real phone number can cause a lot of problems.

• IT’S SKETCHY: You don’t know who is going to come across your sublease ad, and you don’t want random strangers knowing your real phone number
• IT CAN BE DANGEROUS: If you’re still living in this unit, including your real phone number on the sublease ad is just giving away more of your personal information
• YOU CAN’T TAKE IT BACK: Months from now, when the sublease has been organized, your real phone number is still going to be out there somewhere (getting annoying calls from people asking if the unit’s still available)

But using a temp phone number keeps everything streamlined and safe.

• LOCAL: You can pick a local area code, or an area code far away (if that’s where the rental is located)
• AFFORDABLE: You can pay as little as $2.99 for the phone number and phone plan (less than a small coffee in most spots)
• CONVENIENT: It comes with free voicemail, so you can screen the calls first, if you want (and have a custom voicemail greeting that talks about the details of the sublease)
• FAR-REACHING: You can call and text with anyone who’s interested, without long distance fees
• STREAMLINED: All calls and texts about the sublease will go to your temp phone number, so you don’t have to mix those inquiries with your personal calls and texts
• BLASTABLE: Promote the sublease literally everywhere because it’s not your real phone number, and you’ll be getting rid of it soon, anyway
• TEMPORARY: You can cancel the whole phone number as soon as the agreement’s signed, and never have to hear from any of those people again
• SECURE: Your real phone number won’t be floating around forever on fliers and message boards

What is a temp phone number, anyway?

A temp phone number (or temporary phone number) is a real working phone number you only plan on keeping for a short time, usually for a specific purpose.

Here at Hushed, we offer temporary phone numbers that run over the internet (called “VoIP numbers” or “Voice Over Internet Protocol” phone numbers). They don’t run over traditional phone carriers, which means you can talk and text all over the place without worrying about long distance charges.

Why are they good for a sublease?

Temporary phone numbers are awesome because you don’t have to be precious about who gets ’em, and that’s what makes them perfect for selling something online or subleasing an apartment. Put them on fliers. Blast them over social media. Put them anywhere and know you can delete them whenever you want.

How do you use a temp phone number?

• CALLING: Make and receive phone calls (no one knows it’s a temp phone number)
• TEXTING: Send and receive real SMS text messages with or without pics
• VOICEMAIL: Record a personal greeting and accept voicemail messages

How long do I have to keep it?

Hey, if you sublease your place without a couple of hours, you can cancel your temp number immediately. If it takes a few months of haggling with people, that’s fine, too. You can cancel a Hushed number absolutely anytime.

How to get a temp phone number

Ready to try a temporary phone number to help organize your sublease? Great! You can use it right away …

1. DOWNLOAD HUSHED: We’re on the App Store and on Google Play
2. CREATE AN ACCOUNT: All we need is an email address — no name or personal info
3. PICK A NUMBER: Choose from 300+ area codes all over the place
4. CHOOSE A PLAN: Decide how long you want your temp phone number
5. START USING IT: Now that you have it, you can use it immediately!

Good luck organizing your sublease, and we hope you find new tenants really soon!