Apartment hunting tips in NYC

After (finally) signing the lease yesterday, I would like to reflect my experience on this post as a reference point for anyone who's looking to rent an apartment in NYC. This is by no means an inclusive guide, so feel free to chip in any thoughts/idea that you find helpful for the newcomers!!

 

=== THE SEARCH ===

Both I and the other person were located outside of NY when we started the process, and won't be there until a few weeks later. Prior to this, our knowledge of the city was limited to just a couple of visit during short college breaks. Neighborhood and whatnot, were not something we were familiar with.

 

** Timing: Knowing that getting an apartment in NYC is hard, we decided to start early. But it turned out to be somewhat fruitless. We spent 2 weeks prior to arriving looking up places, and tried to arrange an appointment with agents. The general response I got back, however, were mostly reluctant and with hesitation. If you are not ready to see the place in the next few days, then don't bother. Don't plan for more than 1 week in advance if you are remote.

 

** Price: you definitely what to get this straightened out at the beginning, and be prepared to adjust on the upper side if you don't know the market that well yet. The smaller the range the better. Setting out something like $2400 to $2900 is not gonna help. Define your max rent because I feel like that's the only number that the broker is going to work with. There are plenty of listings for every price incremental imo. The housing market here has more demand than supply, and the price, although ridiculous, are well calculated. An apartment with the same price in a different area can't be judged based on just the location or accessibility. Generally speaking, you really get what you pay for. Just have to "trust" the system on this. It's really not the same as when you try to buy a new laptop and can compare all the pros and cons.

 

Brokers or not: Brokers control most (some numbers I've seen around are ranging from 70 - 90%) of the listings in NYC. So hiring a broker and paying 15% of ANNUAL rent fee is common. Is it ridiculous? Yes, absolutely. But unfortunately it is (very) difficult to go around this, unless you're well-connected. I heard it can be negotiated down to as low as 10%, but it really depends on who you are working with. If you find it hard to wrap your head about this "mental accounting" symptom, then think about it as an equivalent "monthly" rent increase. I.e, if you are absolutely firm on $3000 of rent coming out of your pocket monthly, then ask your broker to work with a max budget of $2600.

Brokers will have access to many listings and will curtail to your needs. He/she will also represent you during the whole process (paperwork, negotiation, etc) once you have decided to go with an apartment. You do not owe the broker any money until you rent a place that he/she shows you.

Speaking of broker, I would like to give a shoutout to the man who made my life so much easier, u/tmm224 (Todd Rohulich). I actually found him here on Reddit, and you can expect pretty much everything from his past reviews. There are good and bad brokers, for sure. Work with one that you're most comfortable with, because at the end, you are paying for his/her services.

 

It's also worth mentioning that I almost went for a service that provides you a "customized list" of available apartments like Landlordlinks The cost is ranging from $200 - $1K. The website contains pretty amazing stories of how people get to bypass their brokers and get the desired apt for cheap (if true). Maybe it's valid, maybe it's not. If anyone who has used this service or similar ones before, I hope you can share your experience here.

 

** Setting criteria: That is to say, you can familiarize yourself with the vague ideas of the different neighborhood locations and characteristics, imagine how you are gonna spend most of the time when you live there, your favorite spots etc. One take-away tip is try to think with an objective mindset that are different from a 'tourist' mindset. I fell into this trap when lining out the criteria for my apartment. A fun area to stay for short term as a tourist is not necessary a good area to live as a long term resident

Also some advice from my brokers:

• In-unit laundry is RARE in NYC. People here use laundromat services and there are more shops in a block than the number of convenience stores where I live.
• Having a pet will limit your choices to 50% of what's available.
• Small -> mid side groceries/convenient stores are everywhere. Looking to stay near a big supermarket (H-Mart, Wholefoods, Treasure Island) will limit your choice a lot.

 

** Searching: I find that most of Manhattan, especially the lower area (East/West village, Chelsea, midtown) have very old buildings (pre-war). What it generally means is: no elevator (sucks for higher floor), small rooms, or having really disproportionate bedrooms (makes it hard to settle between 2 people), no central air or even lacking heat/air-con. Some terms you will come across often are: co-op, winged rooms, flex wall. IMO, 3K will get you a "decent" 2BR in Manhattan, but you will get much more value when moving towards north (Upper East/West Side), or outside of Manhattan

If you rely on public transportation, use the NYC Subway map to eliminate area that are too far from the train line. Walking in the summer could be nice but I doubt it's the same during the winter. It's worth to mention that if you are looking to stay in Williamsburg or nearby, plan ahead with the L-train shutdown in 2019.

Here are some of the sources that I used. My take away is that more options doesn't means better. You will be happier (and more efficient) by just focusing on 1 OR 2 sources in your search

• Streeteasy: I'd say the most updated and reliable sources to get a glimpse of what's available in the city. We found most of the stuffs that fits our criteria on here. Although you're seeing tons of broker names/companies out there, they all seems to be under the umbrella of a few very big companies. And it looks like all those big guys are relying on this site for the time being. From what I've seen, brokers updated their stuffs here pretty quickly. My apartment literally went "Unavailable" after I made a "good faith" deposit to hold it.

• NYBits & NakedApartments: different UI, but I doubt they have anything unique out there that Streeteasy doesn't cover.

• Craigslists: I'd say unless you are really familiar with the system, and like to tackle challenges as a hobby, then get a taste of this. Maybe you can find a hidden gem from honest people. IMO, since it doesn't require any form of verification, you will likely find trash 95% of the time. I did find some good listings for the price I wanted, but did go go forward with because the choices my broker offered were still superior, given all things considered.

• Facebook group: you have to navigate through spams, but contains more "trusted" listings than other "free" sources. You're better off with "closed group" than "open group" for this very reason. The pictures are more accurate imo. Listings on streeteasy have professional edited photos, and they tend to trick your mind on how big the space is. I believe this is a superior choice if you are looking for yourself only. Finding an apartment for a group of more than 2 won't likely return anything. Here are some of the groups that I found helpful:
  *NYC Summer Housing Exchange https://www.facebook.com/groups/NYCHousing (closed group, 15K members)
  *GYPSY Housing NYC https://www.facebook.com/groups/1438152599794284/ (closed group, 80K members)
  *NYC Housing Helper https://www.facebook.com/groups/NYCHousingHelper/ (closed group, 22K members)
  *NYC housing, Rooms, Apts, Sublets, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1225966920763001/ (open group, 120K members)
  *NYC Sublets & Apts https://www.facebook.com/groups/nycsublets/ (open group, 33K members)

 

** Open house / Checking the place: If you use a broker, he or she will generally show you anywhere from 10 - 15 listings on a full day. Trying to think from their perspective, I believe good/best-fit choices are generally shown first, depending on availability. The demand is high and time is money, so it doesn't make sense to show you the "bottom" stuffs. *Therefore, if you see something that you really like, bite it and don't wait. There is a good chance that you are not the only one who see the apartment at the time, and things move really fast.

There is another thread on reddit that contains tips on what to check for here.

 

=== CLOSING THE DEAL ===

It all happened very quickly for me, from the moment I saw the apartment until I penned the lease agreement (3 days). Because all kind of complexity can arise in between, and there's a chance that someone could snatch it before you, you will want to move quickly. Thus, it helps (a lot) if you have all the documents prepared beforehand. The following are generally required:

IF you are employed:
• Photo ID
• Letter of employment on company letterhead; the letter must include hire date, title, base salary, and bonus if applicable. Must be able to demonstrate 40x's the monthly rent in annual income.
• Top 2 pages of most recent 1040 tax returns
• Balance page of most recent bank statement
• 2 most recent pay stubs
• If needed, landlord reference letter on company letterhead
• If you own your property, a mortgage statement or the deed

 

*** If you are self-employed, same requirements with above with a letter from your CPA or accountant verifying your annual income

If you are a student (who doesn't make much money)
• Guarantor who makes 80 to 100x’s the monthly rent in annual income, if you are not employed.
• ID
• Letter of enrollment
• Top 2 pages of most recent 1040 tax returns (if applicable)
• Balance page of most recent bank statement
• If needed, landlord reference letter on company letterhead

Pay very close attention to the income requirement (40x for working professionals and 80x for students). It sounds ridiculous, because for a 3K rental you will need someone who makes AT LEAST 240K to vouch for you, and the paperwork requirements for them are as much as an applicant. I have a well-paying job, but the other applicant is a student and it triggered this 80x requirement. Despite him showing off balance of a big bank account, with a possible oversea guarantor satisfying the required annual income, it did not help that the paperwork does not have a US validity (all oversea). It's better to have someone with good credit in US represents you, even if they are not as "rich".

You might be able to negotiate your way around by submitting extra security, or prepaid some month rents like I did. There was some drama involved with my process with regard to the guarantor and we ended up not having one. Luckily my broker did the talk (with the landlord) for me.

That's it! Good luck and I hope you can find a place soon.