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Hi everyone - I'm new to the forum and considering a job in Long Island.
I would be renting an apartment and have no interest in staying in one of the illegal rentals I've read about in LI. It seems evident that the legit apartment options are few and far between.. (btw, if anyone knows of any great apartment complexes please let me know - I'm willing to pay for quality, but so far I haven't found any apartments that are actually "nice").
So, I may have to choose between being miserable in LI in a crappy apartment I wouldn't like or finding an apartment and neighborhood I would actually like in NYC (possibly brooklyn or even manhattan), but having a 5 hour daily commute (2.5 hour each way), 2-3 times a week. Both options seem awful. Can any of you LI experts help me think through this?
You can find nice apartment option on Long Island. Fairfield Apartments is a company that owns a lot of complexes all over the island. I've had friends that have said the quality is fairly decent, but just be sure that you are committed to the lease terms.
Just because an apartment is "illegal" does not mean it's not nice. I've lived in several "illegal" apartments to date and all of them have been very nice. Illegal simply means that the owner hasn't asked for permission from the county to use his or her property however they choose (and so the county can't extort the owner for extra taxes). A conscientious landlord will have a clean, safe apartment legal or not. Just takes some looking that's all. That's not to say that there aren't some really bad apartments out there, because there are, but it is possible to find nice "illegal" rentals. And this will greatly expand your options for places to live.
I'd stay away from newly created "illegal" apartments because you don't know how the neighbors will react. But if the apartment has been rented before don't worry about it, chances are the neighbors mind their own business and won't snitch to the town.
12-15-2010, 09:46 AM
grant516
n/a posts
If you work in Nassau you can generally live in New York City- if you work in Suffolk, that idea (unless the job is pretty well paying) should be shot down.
Hi everyone - I'm new to the forum and considering a job in Long Island.
I would be renting an apartment and have no interest in staying in one of the illegal rentals I've read about in LI. It seems evident that the legit apartment options are few and far between.. (btw, if anyone knows of any great apartment complexes please let me know - I'm willing to pay for quality, but so far I haven't found any apartments that are actually "nice").
So, I may have to choose between being miserable in LI in a crappy apartment I wouldn't like or finding an apartment and neighborhood I would actually like in NYC (possibly brooklyn or even manhattan), but having a 5 hour daily commute (2.5 hour each way), 2-3 times a week. Both options seem awful. Can any of you LI experts help me think through this?
"Avalon Communities" is another possibility if you want to live in "complexes". Sorry, the link won't work, so just google "Avalon Communities" and select New York and Long Island.
There are always "legal" rentals out there, but for those, it's usually recommended to hire a Realtor... (there are plenty of us out there )
Just because an apartment is "illegal" does not mean it's not nice. I've lived in several "illegal" apartments to date and all of them have been very nice. Illegal simply means that the owner hasn't asked for permission from the county to use his or her property however they choose (and so the county can't extort the owner for extra taxes). A conscientious landlord will have a clean, safe apartment legal or not. Just takes some looking that's all. That's not to say that there aren't some really bad apartments out there, because there are, but it is possible to find nice "illegal" rentals. And this will greatly expand your options for places to live.
I'd stay away from newly created "illegal" apartments because you don't know how the neighbors will react. But if the apartment has been rented before don't worry about it, chances are the neighbors mind their own business and won't snitch to the town.
I briefly lived in an 'illegal' apartment with my husband (we took over after his mom moved to west coast). Well the neighbors suddenly took notice (even though my MIL lived there for about 15 years) and reported it. We were forced to move out. I would not ever risk an illegal apartment again. There are reasons why they are illegal and many towns on LI are NOT zoned for multi-family homes. It is a safety issue and in many cases since it's illegal, all the necessary safety precautions have not been met (electrical etc.).
I briefly lived in an 'illegal' apartment with my husband (we took over after his mom moved to west coast). Well the neighbors suddenly took notice (even though my MIL lived there for about 15 years) and reported it. We were forced to move out. I would not ever risk an illegal apartment again. There are reasons why they are illegal and many towns on LI are NOT zoned for multi-family homes. It is a safety issue and in many cases since it's illegal, all the necessary safety precautions have not been met (electrical etc.).
Also want to add, wherever you look to rent, especially 'complexes' check with the local Fire department and police to check the crime and also the fire report history. I once rented an apartment, and the unit above mine went on fire at 3 am, lots of smoke and water damage to mine and I had to be relocated out. Just something we don't usually think about living in close qtrs. with others
As far as the whole illegal apartments issue, it depends on the situation. I currently live in an illegal basement apartment. Its a fairly large basement apartment in a legal 2 family home that was converted into a 3 family.
I'm single, live alone and although will have some friends over from time to time, I'm fairly quiet. Something like that you aren't likely to run into any problems with neighbors. If your a family moving into an illegal apartment, with a bunch of kids running around all the time, or plan on having a whole bunch of parties you may run into some problems.
Illegal apartments aren't exactly the most ideal option, but with the lack of legal apartments that exist on LI and often the higher cost that is associated with them its a necessary option for many 20 somethings on LI.
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Can any of you LI experts help me think through this?
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