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Hi all, my wife and I are looking to move to Downtown Jersey City or Hoboken from Virginia very soon. We have a budget of $1700 and don't mind staying in a small studio, as long as we don't have roommates. We will be going to look at apartments next weekend and are trying to move in either the end of this month/beginning of July.
A couple of questions:
1. Is our goal realistic? I think $1700 or less for a small studio near a PATH in Downtown Jersey City or Hoboken seems like it should be doable.
2. How far ahead of time should I start contacting brokers/rentors if we want to try and see as many places as possible this coming weekend? I don't want to waste their time contacting them early if the place will be gone by this weekend, but I don't want to contact them last minute either.
3. Any other tips for finding an apartment quickly and with limited time to look?
I live in Downtown right by Grove Path area. Set your expectations in following areas.
- 1700 is no where near enough to get a studio in luxury rental buildings. 2k+ is starting.
- 1700 will be pretty difficult to find a place near Path because that's what everyone is looking for. Your best luck will be from private owners. At 1700, what you can find will likely not be ideal but you get what you pay for
- At 1700, you should look in Journal Square which is more gritty but more affordable
- For broker, if you are moving in Beg of July...you should start immediately. Most people start 1 month before.
- For finding apartment, if you have any pets. Mention that upfront, many places do not allow pets.
- Car. parking spots are hard to find because constructions have closed many streets. If you need to rent a spot, that'll basically run you 200 to 300/mo.
- If you need to expedite apartment hunting, agents are one way to go but don't limit yourself and be up front with broker. Tell him since you need to find a place quick, you are using all the free sources and relying on the agent. Agents will have access to rentals from private owners that you may not get to. For most part though, you can find the same anyway on craigslist, trulia, etc.
Overall. I just want to emphasize that while 1700 is a lot of money in other places. It isn't for our area for rent and you may be shocked to find what you can get. Unless you are from Arlington VA area right by wholefoods where they have nice places. I love that area. Anyway. Have low expectations and broaden your search because 1700 in downtown is tough. Check JSQ and Hamilton Park as well.
Another good tip is use google streetview to surf to check the area out. Most of pics will be out of date because development in JC is quite aggressive. There are at least 11+ hi-rises being built right now in JC and many started within last 6 months.
Awesome, thanks for the info babo111. We definitely weren't expecting to get a luxury place, just a small studio somewhere is enough for us. I've been looking everywhere online and there seems to be some places that meet our needs, but it's hard to know how legit they are or if they're even still available at this point.
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