Broker necessary? (Brooklyn apartment advice) (New York, Ridge: sale, cheap apartments, renters)

[skud9]

I'm scoping out 1br apartments in Brooklyn in the ~$1650 range. I've been using Craigslist and Padmapper mainly, but the listings seem to be dominated by brokers and spam. So over the weekend I drove to Park Slope, spent some hours walking around and saw not a single "For Rent" sign... only diapers. Someone told me a broker is necessary in these parts. Is this true if I'd like to find an apartment within the next month or two?

While I'm posting, I'll also take any advice I can get from current residents. For reference, I am looking at places with a sub 30 min commute to Downtown Brooklyn. I'm planning on visiting places on the weekends to feel things out myself, but here are some area-specific questions in the mean time:

* Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Gowanus, Prospect Heights
- I know this is very broad, but what's an average deal for a leafy 1br brownstone apt? I know 2 people that pay ~$1400 in South Slope. I assume these are rare finds, but I'm not sure.

* Williamsburg, Greenpoint
- Any areas to avoid here?

* Bay Ridge
- MTA Trip Planner says it's an hour trip to Downtown BK from here. This surprised me. Can anyone confirm?

* Fort Greene, Clinton Hill
- Is it a bad move to consider places near the projects? I felt comfortable walking around near Pratt but I didn't see the place at night.

(Apologies for the mixed bag of questions in this post.)

Thanks

[jcoltrane]

Surprised no one commented.

Anyway, you need to understand that Park Slope, and the other neighbornoods in that group are upscale and the most trendy areas of Brooklyn.

At $1650, you are generally priced out of 1bdrms. Just the facts. Your friends in so-called "south slope". Probably don't live in Park Slope, south or otherwise. They only THINK they do! What are the cross streets?

Average for a 1 bedrm in a brownstone, $2000 and up. More like $2500!

Why do you think looking for for rent signs is the way to go? You won't find any in good neighborhoods for the most part, and none will be for 'nice' apartments.

You need to understand where you are! Nice, comfortable, convenient costs money in NYC!!! What you 'want' may not be what you can afford.

Bay Ridge? Why does that surprise you? You don't know anything. How are you surprised by what you don't know?

In any event, Bay Ridge is precisely the sort of area for your budget. You'll just have to deal with the commute like all the rest. Bay Ridge is the LAST stop on the R train. Check the times for the local and the EXPRESS.

Fort Greene belongs in the first grouping and is generally above you budget. Clinton Hill can be a little cheaper, BUT most in your range isn't in Clinton Hill, but is often claimed to be. The safer the spot, the higher the rent. The cheaper the rent the less safe the spot. The cheapest will be at or over the border in Bed-Stuy actual.

Williamsburg, Greenpoint are the trendy areas and in great demand by the young and hipsterish. Again, for the greater part above your budget.

In Brooklyn, if you choose to live w/o roommate, then you need to look at less trendy areas, Bensonhurst, Midwood, Bay Ridge, which are safe and white, but have longer commutes. Again, note the Express trains on the lines servicing the area.

The best place for your budget that is safe and with a relatively short commute is Astoria in Queens. In fact, Queens in general is where you should concentrate, neighborhoods along the N, R, and 7 lines.

Though, getting to downtown Brooklyn, might be too much of a commute. Its not easy to go from Borough to Borough on Public transport.

Welcome to New York City. Prepare to temper your dreams, as its difficult to do NYC on the cheap. You ain't in Kansas anymore, Dorothy!

Lastly, the best apartments, even the best cheap apartments, are most often had through brokers. Though they will first try to sell you on crap apartments because you are naive and unknowing. So be aware.

[makossa]

Originally Posted by jcoltrane

In any event, Bay Ridge is precisely the sort of area for your budget. You'll just have to deal with the commute like all the rest. Bay Ridge is the LAST stop on the R train.

Actually there are four stops on the R train here in Bay Ridge:
Bay ridge Avenue (aka 69th Street, as it's know around here.)
77th Street
86th Street
95th Street (Last Stop)

From 95th Street to downtown usually takes a little under an hour.

[joyceluckclub]

Renting an apartment in NYC is still pretty brutal so I can't help you there, guess you still need a broker these days as there is tons of spam. Apparently rental brokers are allowed to "repost" listings made by landlords or other people, so what ends up happening is there are probably hundreds of variations of the same listing. Poor renters never know what's real or what's not - sounds terribly deceptive and frustrating.

Have been fortunate to live with my folks until I was able to own a place so never really dealt with that. I will say though the buying process in NYC is much more civil. There are only "exclusives" allowed for the sale of a property - so that means one listing by one listing agent. Much less confusing. You can also get a buyer agent commission rebate in NYC these days (recently legal in NY and ~40 other states). That's approximately 1 to 1.5% off your purchase price. Well worth it to do some of the open houses by yourself. For recommendations I suggest checking out Hauseit to get assigned to someone who's already agreed to this.

[Shoshanarose]

You can definitely find an apartment under $1600 in neighborhoods like Windsor Terrace and Kensington, which are 1 and 2 neighborhoods away from Park Slope (respectively), and maybe a 15-20 minute subway ride from downtown Brooklyn (depending on where).

Don't listen to the panickers.
Yes, NYC is expensive, but once you start going south in Brooklyn from Park Slope, it gets cheaper.