How to Find an Apartment You Can Afford in New York City

Apartment hunting in the urban jungle of New York City will push your survival skills to their limits. The rental market, especially in Manhattan, is extremely competitive with sometimes dozens of potential tenants applying for the same apartment. And New York apartments are notoriously tiny and expensive. All this can be daunting to the graduate student or other person of moderate income who plans to move to the city. But it's still possible to find a decent apartment at a reasonable rent in the Big Apple. If you know what you're doing.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• a pair of sturdy walking shoes
• ready cash to put down as first month's rent and security deposit
• proof of income
• proof of employment
• photo id
• credit report
• a heavy helping of intestinal fortitude

1. Draw up your budget and determine how much you can devote to housing. Keep in mind that you will probably have to pay some utilities, at least gas and electric, on top of rent.

2. Determine which neighborhood or neighborhoods in New York you would like to live in. Rents will vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood as well as borough to borough. If you're looking for a bargain, much of Manhattan and many of the trendy, well-known areas in Brooklyn, like Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights, will probably be out of your price range. However, there are still some up-and-coming, neighborhoods throughout the city where the rents have not yet reached stratospheric heights. Some of the best neighborhoods for inexpensive, but decent, housing in the city include: Washington Heights and Inwood in northern Manhattan, Bedford Park and Mott Haven in the Bronx, and Sunset Park and Bay Ridge in Brooklyn.

3. Decide whether or not to use the services of a broker. Although a broker can make the logistics of renting an apartment much easier, going this route will cost you. Usually, a broker will demand a fee equal to 15% of the annual rent for the apartment. That's a lot of money, especially when you're scrambling to get together your first month's rent and security. If money is a big concern, you'll probably be better off consulting no-fee listing sites such as Rent-Direct.com and Craig's list or dealing directly with landlords.

4. Once you've narrowed down the areas where you'll be apartment hunting to one or two neighborhoods, do some research. Check ads on Craig's list and other free apartment listing sites to get an idea of the standard asking rent a studio or one-bedroom. If you can, take a walk in the neighborhood before you embark on apartment hunting, so that you know where the nice areas and the rough spots are. As you walk around, you may see signs advertising apartments for rent. Keep an eye out for any signs that advertise available spaces and direct you to call the owner directly-- generally, these are apartments that will have no broker fee. If you see a building you like, don't be shy-- see if the super is on the premises and ask if there are any openings. If the super isn't helpful, try to get the name of the landlord or building manager. If you encounter a friendly looking resident, ask him or her how she likes living in the building, how much he or she pays in rent, and ask for some advice about trying to nab an apartment there.

5. Set aside at least three to four days that you can devote exclusively to looking for an apartment. If you use the services of a real estate broker, you may be able to find an apartment within a day or two, although it may take longer for the landlord or management agency to give your rental application their final approval. If you forgo the broker and rely on your own resources, you should be prepared for your search to take up to two or three weeks of steady apartment hunting before finding the right place. The exact amount of time it will take to find your new home will depend largely on the neighborhood, the time of year (competition for apartments is particularly fierce in the late summer and early fall when school starts), and luck.

6. Collect all necessary personal and financial paperwork so that you can fill out a rental application on the spot. This includes photo id, as well as proof of your income and employment, such as pay stubs or a letter from your boss detailing your salary and the length of time you've been at your job. To speed things up, you can bring along a copy of your credit report, as well.

7. Collect the necessary funds to pay first month's rent and security for your apartment. Landlords usually want these payments made by certified check or money order. No personal checks.

8. Compile a list of apartments you'd like to view, and begin calling and e-mailing to set up appointments. Try to cluster your appointments for one day within a five to ten block radius, so that you spend most of your time viewing apartments rather than shuttling back and forth from one appointment to another on the bus or subway.

9. If you see an apartment you like, don't hesitate. At least fill out the application. If you take time to "think about it," someone else will grab the apartment while you're making up your mind. Make sure that the landlord or rental agent who takes your application knows that you have copies of all your financial paperwork ready to submit on the spot as well as the funds to pay the first month's rent and security.

10. Don't get discouraged. It may take several days, even weeks, to find a rental in New York City. But you will find a place. You're bound to meet with disappointment and frustration, but don't give up. With perseverance, you'll survive both the ordeal of apartment hunting in New York and the rigors of living in the city itself.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't want to rely on a real estate broker, you will find tons of apartment listings on Craig's list and other sites that offer you access to rental ads free of charge, such as urbansherpa.com and the online classifieds section of the Village Voice.
• Because the rental market is so competitive in New York City, it is important to have good credit. If your credit is less than stellar, it will take you much longer to find a landlord who is willing to rent an apartment to you.
• At least a couple of months before embarking on your apartment search, request a copy of your credit report. Quite often, negative items on a credit report are erroneous. Check your credit report to ensure that the information contained in it is correct. Dispute any items that are inaccurate with the credit reporting agencies. Under federal law, you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report each year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
• If you do have credit problems, all is not lost. Many landlords will rent to someone with a spotty credit history if he or she can provide a guarantor, an individual who basically agrees to be responsible for your rent in the event that you don't pay. If you don't have a suitable guarantor, you can put a landlord's qualms to rest by offering to pay anywhere from three to six months of your rent in advance or by providing two months' rent as security instead of just one. If you do have concerns about what's on your credit report, you should consider using a real estate broker. A broker will know which landlords are receptive to renting to individuals with less than perfect credit and will serve as your representative in pushing your application through the approval process.
• If you use Craig's list or another online classified service in your apartment search, beware of scam artists. Never deal with anyone who claims to be trying to find a tenant for his or her apartment while staying in another country. Never send money in exchange for a set of keys to an apartment. If that ad for a two-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side renting for only $500 sounds too good to be true, then it is.
• Ignore those ads that promise to give you access to tons of apartment listings in exchange for a fee. Generally, what you'll get is a list of apartment buildings, landlords, and management agencies-- basically information that you could gather yourself with minimal leg work. There are some services, such as rentdirect.com, which, for a reasonable price, provide actual listings of available rentals, complete with landlord contact information, photographs of the apartments, and information about the immediate neighborhood. But make sure that the service is legitimate before handing over any money.
• Many landlords and management agencies will require you to pay an application fee when you apply for an apartment. The fee is purportedly assessed to cover the administrative costs of running a credit and background check. Some landlords will charge as little as $15 or $20, while some large management companies expect you to pay as much as $150. Usually, the fee is nonrefundable, although some landlords will return your money if your application is rejected. In some cases, you may be able to avoid the fee by bringing a copy of your credit report with you when you go to view an apartment.
• Although you can expect to pay some fees if you decide to apply for an apartment, never, under any circumstance, agree to pay money to a super, landlord, broker simply to view an apartment.

[ezyas123]

on 8/24/2009 Great tips, thanks for sharing!

[fecker4]

on 8/22/2009 Also try using www.nearlots.com, it shows available apartments on a map, has pricing statistics, and you can filter results by shortest commute times.

[LilacGirl]

on 8/16/2009 Great suggestion, tips, and information for finding an apartment in NYC. You sound like you have a lot of experience finding an apartment there. Very detailed and well-written article.