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I am finishing a masters degree in Pittsburgh and will be looking for work in NYC in the next few months. The only way that I have found apartments in recent years has been thourgh craigslist but I am wondering if this is the best option for NYC. Are there a lot of apartment scams on-line and if so are there any identifiers that typically give them away?
I was looking at Knightsbridge and Riverside (maybe it is called Kingsbridge, sorry if I get it wrong) in the Bronx area and possibly Flushing or Astoria in Queens for possible living options. I also really like Brooklyn (Park Slope area) but that may be a bit out of my price range. Any suggestions? What sort of advertised price might be "too good" for a 1 bedroom apartment in these areas?
Anything less than $1100 for a 1 bedroom apartment (not an illegal basement conversion) is a Nigerian scam.
You can spot those scams a mile away but it might not be too easy for new comers.
They must get some takers now and then because they're really persistent. I once strung one along for about four days until I got bored and told him I knew he was full of $hite from the beginning. I wish I would have saved our e mail conversations, really comical stuff. I did everything I could to let this guy know in a sarcastic way that I was stringing him along but he hung on until I called him out. They must think there's a bunch of idiots over here.
I was thinking somewhere between 1100-1500 for a 1 bedroom was probably the norm in the outer bouroughs. What sort of clues are the "Nigerian" scams? I know the one about the prince trying to get his money but what else should I look out for? I assume anything that is requesting personal information right away, such as credit card numbers, SSN, checking account, ect. Is there anything more subtle?
One way to determine if an apartment rent is way off of market is to search craigslist for just that neighborhood and see what comes up.
For instance, if you see a $1400 one bedroom advertised in Park Slope, use the search function to see what most of the one bedrooms in PS have in common in terms of price. If they are mostly falling between the $1800 to $2200 range, and you have some guy telling you you can get this one for $1400, it is probably a scam, a bait and switch or is not even in Park Slope.
A favorite trick of realtors is to post something in a neighborhood that is the next (nicer) neighborhood over. An apartment in Bed Stuy gets listed as Williamsburg, one in Flatbush is listed as Prospect Heights, etc.
For other apartment listing sites, try nybits and streeteasy.
An apartment located right in front of the projects lowers the rent by $100 - $200. Those are really the only ones you can expect to have lower prices compared to the rest in the neighborhood.
The trick Henna mentioned above does occur with respect to Kingsbridge and Riverdale, where some try to get Riverdale rents for Kingsbridge. Kingsbridge is fine, but you want to stay west of Broadway, and above 231st for the better areas of the neighborhood that are quieter, and removed from commercial areas, and the majority of the school congestion. Also, be aware that east of the Deegan lies Kingsbridge Heights, which is a completely different neighborhood, sometimes billed as Kingsbridge, losing the Heights designator. Always plot the address to see in which neighborhood it lies, as that can give a good indication as to the veracity of the listing.
The other trick on CL, and other areas, is the use of edited photos or special photographic techniques to make an apartment seem much larger than it is. Always try to find out the square footage before you have to go to an appointment to ascertain whether or not it's worth your time visiting the apartment.
There are different rents for different types of apartments in the areas you're considering. Some are in two- or three-family houses, others are in "family" apartments with limited amenities and on-site staff, and others are in full-service, luxury buildings with full amenities and staff. The rents are generally lower when dealing with a multi-family house as most have no amenities, and increase to the f/s buildings at the higher end of the range.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
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but what else should I look out for? I assume anything that is requesting personal information right away, such as credit card numbers, SSN, checking account, ect. Is there anything more subtle?
