Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've seen a few that said it's "easy" and "no problems"..but I'd definitely beg to differ. It's not easy by any means. I guess it just depends on your situation though. If you've lived here your whole life and just moved around the area, then that's one thing, you know the routine..or if you got bookoo (beaucoup) $$$ and you can just throw down whatever. But I came up fresh from FL not knowing a single person, and definitely not flashing $$$, so it was a bit tough for me.
First it was the fact that I came from Orlando where everything was relatively built in the past 20 years, so getting used to old WWII type buildings and checkered bathroom tiles took some adjustment. I work out of JFK, so while I've heard you can get some decent prices on upper Manhattan apt's, for work purposes I needed to be out in Queens for an easier commute, which tends to have older buildings.
Then it was getting past the constant bait & switch scams on Craigslist--as in they post an apt which you really like and when you contact them to see it they say oh yeah let's meet tomorrow, but they fail to tell u it's no longer available and show a completely diff apt--which drove me nuts. Also on Craigslist, even though they have that "no fee" section to search, 99.9% still have fees. Basically, if you work with a broker in any way, shape, or form, be prepared to pay a "broker fee"..the constant answer I received, it's inevitable in NYC & really no way of getting around it. And any #'s on the side of the building I called, that were supposedly the bldg management or whatever, ended up referring me to a broker anyways.
Then that plays into the last punch in the gut..sticker shock of what you have to produce up front. First month, last month, & broker fee (which can vary but is always at least 1 mth rent)..so for my 1/1 apt that I got through a broker agent off of craigslist, I had to dish out $4800 upfront. How someone thinks they "deserve" $1600 for taking 15 min out of their day to show me an apartment and another 15 min to draft up a lease that's a template anyways and they're just entering my name & info..is absurdity!
Plus there's the whole co-op thing, which I won't even get into because it's so confusing and just takes a lot of time for board approval.
I'm not meaning to make a rant or anything, but just explaining that for someone moving to NYC from out of town and not having any friends or relatives to help out in any way..it's by no means easy. I guess if I just wanted to get into a place & didn't care about how it looked or if was on the backside of the LIRR and pay whatever, I could've gotten into something sooner..but it took me almost 2 months all in all to find something.
I have lived on my own since 2002 and found my first two apartments with relative ease. No brokers, directly through owners, on craigslist or my local paper.
This time, I am being asked to leave my apartment (my second one that I have been in since 2005) and I am having a much harder time. I am using a realtor which I can barely afford, and it's just much harder than it used to be.
I called up real estate brokers in the areas that I wanted to live to see if they had something suitable one. One of them said they might have and to call back in a few days/a week and when I did he had my current apt. available (where someone had broken their lease as they had been relocated by their job to Florida).
I used a real estate broker. I found it a lot faster, plus tell the broker what you want and they'll find it for you. Overall it was a pleasant experience.
I called up real estate brokers in the areas that I wanted to live to see if they had something suitable one. One of them said they might have and to call back in a few days/a week and when I did he had my current apt. available (where someone had broken their lease as they had been relocated by their job to Florida).
And did you have to pay a ridiculous broker fee for that little bit of work the agent did??
I've seen a few that said it's "easy" and "no problems"..but I'd definitely beg to differ. It's not easy by any means. I guess it just depends on your situation though. If you've lived here your whole life and just moved around the area, then that's one thing, you know the routine..or if you got bookoo (beaucoup) $$$ and you can just throw down whatever. But I came up fresh from FL not knowing a single person, and definitely not flashing $$$, so it was a bit tough for me.
First it was the fact that I came from Orlando where everything was relatively built in the past 20 years, so getting used to old WWII type buildings and checkered bathroom tiles took some adjustment. I work out of JFK, so while I've heard you can get some decent prices on upper Manhattan apt's, for work purposes I needed to be out in Queens for an easier commute, which tends to have older buildings.
Then it was getting past the constant bait & switch scams on Craigslist--as in they post an apt which you really like and when you contact them to see it they say oh yeah let's meet tomorrow, but they fail to tell u it's no longer available and show a completely diff apt--which drove me nuts. Also on Craigslist, even though they have that "no fee" section to search, 99.9% still have fees. Basically, if you work with a broker in any way, shape, or form, be prepared to pay a "broker fee"..the constant answer I received, it's inevitable in NYC & really no way of getting around it. And any #'s on the side of the building I called, that were supposedly the bldg management or whatever, ended up referring me to a broker anyways.
Then that plays into the last punch in the gut..sticker shock of what you have to produce up front. First month, last month, & broker fee (which can vary but is always at least 1 mth rent)..so for my 1/1 apt that I got through a broker agent off of craigslist, I had to dish out $4800 upfront. How someone thinks they "deserve" $1600 for taking 15 min out of their day to show me an apartment and another 15 min to draft up a lease that's a template anyways and they're just entering my name & info..is absurdity!
Plus there's the whole co-op thing, which I won't even get into because it's so confusing and just takes a lot of time for board approval.
I'm not meaning to make a rant or anything, but just explaining that for someone moving to NYC from out of town and not having any friends or relatives to help out in any way..it's by no means easy. I guess if I just wanted to get into a place & didn't care about how it looked or if was on the backside of the LIRR and pay whatever, I could've gotten into something sooner..but it took me almost 2 months all in all to find something.
That broker fee is definitely outrageous for a renter to pay, I think the broker gets paid from the renters and the Realtor gets paid from the owners trying to get their place rented so the cost is going to hit someone either way.
I'm going to aim for using a Realtor and I also found that last time I was up there I went to visit friends and just from meeting people someone offered me their lease that was getting ready to end, but unfortunately I wasn't ready to move up there at that time. Hopefully that type of situation happens when I'm up there apartment searching next month.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
