Questions about Lot # (apartment, income, live in)

[Madmadbadmad]

Hi! If I’m number 550. Are there actually 549 people ahead of me? Or are the numbers randomly given out?

[CityWorker4]

Originally Posted by Madmadbadmad

Hi! If I’m number 550. Are there actually 549 people ahead of me? Or are the numbers randomly given out?

Yes, there are 549 people/households ahead of you, but remember that not all of them are going for the same size apartment, nor are all batches within those 549 called at the same time due to preference categories (if that particular lottery indeed considers preferences). So if you're going for a 1BR for example, only a certain percentage of those 549 will be competing with you who are also going for a 1BR -- studios, 2BRs, etc. are not competing with you. And if you have a preference, you will be considered prior to log #549, for instance, if he or she does not have a preference... This is how I understand the process, at least! Anyone can feel free to correct me

[brittanyv616]

Originally Posted by CityWorker4

Yes, there are 549 people/households ahead of you, but remember that not all of them are going for the same size apartment, nor are all batches within those 549 called at the same time due to preference categories (if that particular lottery indeed considers preferences). So if you're going for a 1BR for example, only a certain percentage of those 549 will be competing with you who are also going for a 1BR -- studios, 2BRs, etc. are not competing with you. And if you have a preference, you will be considered prior to log #549, for instance, if he or she does not have a preference... This is how I understand the process, at least! Anyone can feel free to correct me

I have the answer for you. So yes, "technically" there are 549 people ahead of you. But really, most people who apply to the lotteries are not qualified to begin with. Yet they all receive log numbers. So while you're #549...depending on how popular the lottery is (how many people upload their documents in a timely fashion) you'll likely be only the 50th person on our list.

Does that make sense?

[WildAboutHarry]

Yes, what the posts above me said.

First bit of good news, just because there are #549 applicants ahead of you does not mean any of them are qualified. The initial application process does not filter out unviable applications very robustly. But, they might all qualify and be seeking the same unit size and AMI bracket as you. It’s hard to get complete info, and nobody every said we are entitled to get more info. Sorry. I wish it were easier to estimate.

Here is a fictional example of how there are not 549 people ahead of your log #550. Your application only qualifies for a two bedroom unit. The luck of the draw is that ALL of the 549 applicants ahead of you only qualify for a studio or one bedroom. In this fictional example your log# 550 puts you first in line for a 2 bedroom because all lower numbers don’t qualify for a two bedroom.

Preferences also distort the purity of the lottery math. Let’s pretend a lottery has a Community Board preference that you DO NOT qualify for because you live in a different CB. Half the units go to CB residents, so until all those units are filled higher log#s go ahead of you. But, if an applicant with CB preference gets called and there is not an unfilled unit they qualify for then that application does not get a unit.

AMI income brackets also apply in a similar way. Often, units with hight AMI such as 130% and more are hard to fill fast. As a result of this, these high AMI units often are filled by log#s that are very high.

[Madmadbadmad]

So helpful!!!