Congratulations on your new job -- you'll learn a lot about NY in looking for an apartment.
I just successfully concluded a search for my new home, and this is what I learned:
You need to know what the most important things are for you in an apartment -- what you will/won't compromise on.
You've identified:
a. budget
b. commute
c. studio or 1 bedroom
Important to be clear about what you will/won't consider, so that you can focus your search. You will have to compromise on some or all of this, it's wise to know what are your make/break issues.
Do you care about
:
a. safety? How late will you be coming home? Look up the address at
NYC Maps | City of New York and check out the crime map. Also, go to the location at the latest time you'd be coming home on a weekend/weeknight.
b. size of the apartment -- if you can lie in bed and touch all four walls, is that too small? Measure your current apartment so you know how much square footage you're used to living in -- if you're new to NY, you will be amazed at the size and configuration of apartments you'll see (bathtubs in the kitchen, entry directly into the kitchen, entry into a bedroom, etc., etc.)
c. distance from supermarkets/dry cleaners/stores?
d. distance from subway?
e. being too far from the subway to walk -- having to take a bus to the subway?
f. stairs -- fourth floor walkup? Fifth floor walk up?
g. maintenance? If the apartment clearly has repairs needed when you view it, take it as a sign that the repairs will be an issue when you live there. Cracks in the walls, broken windows, poor paint, etc.
h. What era the kitchen and bathroom date from? 1960s? 1950s? 1940s?
i. Is there laundry in the building? Or are you going to be marching your dirty clothes to the laundromat? If yes, how far away is that?
j. Parks, trees, nearness of green spaces?
k. Is it in a flood zone? Check that at
NYC Maps | City of New York and check out the evacuation zones
l. Rats? Check out whether the building was cited for rats at
Welcome to NYC.gov | City of New York
m. Is there a super on-site? Or who does the repairs if not?
n. Mice? Cockroaches? Look in the refrigerator, corners and closets If you see obvious rodent signs (mouse poop, dead cockroaches) is that a problem?
o. parking? Garage at the building? commercial garage in the neighborhood? street parking only?
p. Condition of the building itself -- is the front door locked? Do the bells/buzzer work? Is the elevator broken? Is there water on the floor of the lobby or other obvious signs of poor maintenance? Where is the garbage room? Laundry room? I always tried to get the realtor to show me those as well as the apartment if I was seriously interested.
q. Heat or maintenance complaints against the landlord or that building with the city. If the landlord doesn't provide heat now, chances are good that won't chance when you move into the building.
r. Bars/Clubs/Drug Dealers: How close are these to your apartment? If you like to club/drink having them close might be a positive. If you use drugs, having an active drug dealer close could be a plus. If not, that might be a problem.
Once I had a good idea of what were crucial variables for me, I started researching neighborhoods, and looking on websites that had listings in my preferred neighborhoods.
I was searching five websites four times a day:
Zillow: Real Estate, Apartments, Mortgages & Home Values
Trulia: Real Estate Listings, Homes For Sale, Housing Data
New York City Real Estate | StreetEasy
www.zumper.com
Apartments for Rent in New York City, Including No Fee Rentals | Naked Apartments
occasionally craigslist, but usually the best things were on the others (at least for what was important to me in an apartment)
When I saw something that fit my criteria, immediately responded AS INSTRUCTED by the person who placed the listing. Some realtors only want texts, others only want emails, some (few) will only take phone calls.
Things that realtors want to know about you in your first contact:
a. You are employed and make at least 40x the rent, and can prove it with paystubs (some will accept a letter of employment, others not).
b. How long you've been employed (longer is better than shorter) Since you're moving to NYC, good to discuss your past employment/school history so that if something should happen to this job, you've got skills and can quickly get hired elsewhere. Landlords don't care about your emotional needs -- they want the rent promptly and in full.
c. Your credit score (the higher the better) If your credit score needs work, have a believable explanation of what you are doing to change that situation. Some landlords won't consider you below their magic number, no matter what you say.
d. Why you are looking now, where you are living now, and how long you've been there.
e. Any legal issues in housing court -- have you been evicted in the past, had legal disputes with landlords in the past?
f. Do you smoke? (most prefer non-smokers)
g. Do you have pets? (most prefer non-pet owners)
h. Who, if anyone, will be living in the apartment with you? (landlords want quiet people who will stay employed, be clean, quiet and not cause any hassles with other tenants or the police)
After you talk your way into seeing the apartment, keep in mind that you're usually going up against several other people for the same space. As we get further into the summer, the number of people you will be competing with for any given apartment goes up.
Put together your "package" and take it with you so that if you see the apartment of your dreams, you can immediately give hard copy to the realtor to secure your chances of getting the apartment.
What should be in your package:
a. The most recent 2-3 Federal tax returns;
b. Your most recent 3-6 month's pay stubs;
c. Most recent 2-3 month's bank statements, showing balances that you can pay three month's rent up front to secure apartment (realtor's fee, first month's rent, one month security deposit). Some landlords want two or more month's deposit.
d. Name and contact information for your current landlord
e. Name and contact information for your current employer
f. Some want an employment letter on letterhead from your current employer, with your salary and years of employment in that position
g. Name and contact for 2-3 character references
h. If you are going to be using guarantors to back up your ability to pay the rent, someone else will have to speak to what should be here, as I don't know about what landlords want to see from guarantors.
What you should take with you to see the apartment:
a. The listing (read it over several times to check and see how much of what is there is true, and how much they "forgot" to mention).
b. If the size of the apartment is important to you, get an industrial tape measure at a hardware store and learn how to figure square footage. Realtors don't measure it, and often the square footage is misrepresented in the listing.
c. small flashlight (for looking in closets, bathrooms, etc. if the apartment has limited light or the bulbs are "missing").
d. Notebook and pen so that you can write down anything at the spot that you see. You think you'll remember everything, but if you are looking at several apartments a day for weeks, they will all blend together.
I kept a log of every listing I contacted, including the name/contact info for realtors, price of apt, location of apt, size of apt and any of the other variables that were important to me.
Be ready for realtors not to answer your texts/emails/calls -- be persistent, sometimes I had to call six or seven times to get through. Be ready for realtors to completely not show up. Be ready for the apartment to totally not match the description. Be ready with plan B if you can't get an apartment you'd consider before you need to start work.
This is your search -- there are flaky realtors, and sometimes they are the ones with the listing for the apartment of your dreams. Be ready to double-double check and back up all their work. Keep your patience, your temper and be persistent. You don't have to be the BFF of the realtor -- keep your eye on the prize.
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