How do I start looking for an apartment in NYC?
Aug 19, 2009
in
Commercial Mortgage FAQ
My friend and I are looking to get an apartment together. Neither of us has rented before, we both make about 36k annually. If necessary we know a third person who could also room with us (same finances, never rented).
What do we need to do to make this happen, hopefully by the end of spring/beginning of summer?
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One comment
LORI on August 19, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Figure out exactly how much you want to pay per month for rent. Find a neighborhood or two that you would like to live in. Make sure your credit scores are good- if there are any problems with your reports resolve them ASAP- most landlords require good credit or a guarantor (sp?).
You should also figure out what kind of apartment you would like ( #bedrooms, size, light, top floor, elevator,etc.), what kinds of places you won’t live in, what you can compromise on, etc.
Do a little research on websites and see what rents typically are for the area you’d like to move to, make sure you have a realistic idea of what it will cost.
Save up for deposit (2 or 3 months rent) if you haven’t already. If you don’t have good work history or credit the landlord could require a larger deposit.
Then you have to decide if you want to use a broker or find the place yourself. Brokers usually charge about a months rent I think. Otherwise, you can search on Village Voice, Craigslist, NYTimes, etc for places. Most apartments aren’t listed ahead by very much- so if you want to move say April 1st, you can’t find many places before March, if that makes sense.
Also walk around the area, ask doormen if there are any, ask friends/acquaintances if they know of a place. Good luck!