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fast forward to after the sale, when I have the proceeds in the bank and can present that bank statement to a landlord. How likely is it that I will STILL be rejected for lack of a paycheck? And are landlords in north/northwest/central NJ more likely to accept cash assets as qualification for a lease than landlords in the five boroughs?
yorky, I'm going to make some comments and ask that you read between the lines, so to speak. The laws in the five boroughs are very tenant-friendly. I repeat: Very tenant-friendly. Some here say the laws are so pro-tenant that they should go into some sort of Hall of Shame and Bassackwardness. IDK much about the L/T laws in New Jersey, but I can only imagine that if a NJ LL went to court to evict a long-term tenant (regardless of how they paid (e.g.: monthly, huge initial truckload of moolah, etc.)), it would be reasonably easy to do so. This, morally speaking, should also be the way things are in good ole New York, however, as many members here can tell you, the laws in the five boroughs are notoriously tenant-friendly, even in cases where eviction is the LL's goal. Do you see where I'm going with this? You have to sort of read between the lines.
How is it actually higher risk than someone who works but makes barely more than enough to get by, and doesn't have substantial - ie. 6 figures - savings? I mean if I lost my main job and didn't have any savings I wouldn't be able to pay the rent next month, meanwhile someone with $100K saved up could live the way I am now for a good 5+ years even they couldn't find a job... and a lease doesn't last 5 years.
Landlords don't usually accept tenants who are making "barely more than enough to get by". This is why most enforce the 40x income requirement before offering a tenant a lease. Either way you NEED a history of income in order to make landlords comfortable offering a lease. The op doesn't have this. Whether you lose your job or not after you sign the lease is irrelevant- what matters is your income DURING the time you sign the lease.
You're being kinda slippery here, Alkonost, no offense. Three landlords rejected your client? Why didn't you mention that the first two times? Then in your last message, you go back to the question in my opening post in order to portray me as clueless, it seems, instead of sticking to follow-up question #2, which was aimed at finding out whether I should give up on New York City, *period,* even after closing the sale, until/unless I find employment.
I'll try one more time for you and anyone else who might want to comment, combining my two follow-up questions.
Forget about trying to rent something on the premise that I will be getting a bunch of cash within a month or two. Let's say Henna was correct in advising that I will have to look for a sublet or other funky short-term arrangement for purposes of vacating my co-op. Instead, fast forward to after the sale, when I have the proceeds in the bank and can present that bank statement to a landlord. How likely is it that I will STILL be rejected for lack of a paycheck? And are landlords in north/northwest/central NJ more likely to accept cash assets as qualification for a lease than landlords in the five boroughs?
Actually I said was that several landlords in three boroughs rejected him.
You asked the same question twice- I simply offered more info the second time around since you seemed to be in denial of any similarities between yourself and the client I mentioned. You're both in the same boat: no job and a decent chunk of cash (once you close on your property)- something most landlords aren't very understanding of. That's the way it tends to be- landlords prefer that their tenants have income or an ESTABLISHED history of income from investments. Expecting any landlord -no matter what the location- to take you word for it that you're good for the money when you currently have none and just got laid off is highly unlikely. My client had an advantage over you: he had the cash assets and offered 6 months up front. The fact that no landlord would touch him should tell you what youmight be in for.
That was not done to make you look clueless- I would strongly suggest you cease taking this personally as it is not meant as such- but it looked like you were asking the same question twice hoping to get a different answer. I don't sugar-coat my answers
If you know anyone who is a landlord or is related to a landlord, you may have better luck convincing someone with whom you have a sort of personal connection. If you're willing to prepay, they may be more likely to take the risk that they won't want/need to evict you 6 months into your 12 month prepaid lease.
Thanks for your comments. All make sense. In particular, the above is more or less what I've already said to a family member who expressed a desire to help with my general situation. I told them the most important thing they could do was work their local contacts to help me find a rental when the time is right. They're not related to any commercial landlords, but I'm still hoping some one of their friends or relatives will clue them in to something that's available and be able to exert some positive influence on my behalf. Once I have a contract for the apartment sale I will reach out to a couple of friends in the area and ask if they can help similarly. But I'm not banking on any of them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by grimace8
yorky, I'm going to make some comments and ask that you read between the lines, so to speak. The laws in the five boroughs are very tenant-friendly. I repeat: Very tenant-friendly. Some here say the laws are so pro-tenant that they should go into some sort of Hall of Shame and Bassackwardness. IDK much about the L/T laws in New Jersey, but I can only imagine that if a NJ LL went to court to evict a long-term tenant (regardless of how they paid (e.g.: monthly, huge initial truckload of moolah, etc.)), it would be reasonably easy to do so. This, morally speaking, should also be the way things are in good ole New York, however, as many members here can tell you, the laws in the five boroughs are notoriously tenant-friendly, even in cases where eviction is the LL's goal. Do you see where I'm going with this? You have to sort of read between the lines.
Yes, of course I get the general concept you're relaying. Sounds like you figure NJ is a better bet because they're not all socialists over there. I read on some other thread the suggestion that it might be more effective to offer to double or triple the deposit because that offers the landlord some protection without posing the entrenchment problem that advance rent does?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alkonost
You asked the same question twice- I simply offered more info the second time around since you seemed to be in denial of any similarities between yourself and the client I mentioned.
I absolutely did NOT ask the same question twice, I'm not in denial and I hear what you're saying. Thanks for your comments.
I read on some other thread the suggestion that it might be more effective to offer to double or triple the deposit because that offers the landlord some protection without posing the entrenchment problem that advance rent does?
IDK.
Quote:
Originally Posted by newyorky
Yes, of course I get the general concept you're relaying. Sounds like you figure NJ is a better bet because they're not all socialists over there.
Mm, not exactly. Politics are something I'm trying to get away from in my life. It's more like this: What I guess is: Due to different laws in New Jersey, NJ LL's don't have a dark cloud hanging over them of possibly ending up "stuck with" some shady, completely irresponsible guy/gal/family they hate. Tons of New York City LL's can't say the same. They just say "Well, that's just the way things are in NYC." But, as a result, NYC landlords can reach a point of becoming ultra-discerning and less open-minded to situations/vibes that fall outside of the norms they regard as safe and not a nightmare waiting to happen. (For clarification: "norms" as defined by each individual LL, while still being aware of (and part of) the general sentiment/groupthink of NYC LL's)
And who knows, maybe there are weird laws in NJ, too. IDK.
Quote:
Originally Posted by newyorky
I'm still hoping some one of their friends or relatives will clue them in to something that's available and be able to exert some positive influence on my behalf. Once I have a contract for the apartment sale I will reach out to a couple of friends in the area and ask if they can help similarly.
Good luck to you and don't be too cautious or too proud to follow-up with the people in your network. For some reason, my gut says in your case you kinda need to do this.
('Reading between the lines' was hinting at how people around the world overstate the notion that in NYC, "only money talks." True, money does talk in NYC, but even so, anomalies and ironies do exist here, even when it comes to money. I hope nobody here is offended by this and I hope I'm not missing any key points in this thread. It's not my intention to offend anyone.)
@grimace8: Thanks for the clarification and good wishes, even if your last sentence *was* a little creepy. I will definitely do some serious "networking" once I can reliably pinpoint a date when I'll be in the position to sign a lease. I have to keep the "double rent" phase of my life to an absolute minimum because I just cleared out my last investment account and if the person who has been lending me money against the proceeds throws me overboard, which seems an imminent possibility, I probably have only enough money to live for about 4-5 months unless I dump my health insurance… and you probably know what a bad idea THAT is. Trust me, with my medical history, VERY bad idea.
I do hope I don't end up having to beg someone for a bedroom. I'm an only child who's been living alone for 38 years. So sharing won't be pretty.
The saddest part, in a way, is the risk of collateral damage: I do have a companion under this roof—a 17-year-old with four legs and whiskers. As if I weren't an unattractive enough prospect to a landlord. The poor innocent critter has no options but to stay with me or be "sent to the Bridge"—he has too many old-man problems for anyone else to put up with him even short-term. If I can't find somewhere to live that will also accept him, it will likely deliver an overdose of grief and guilt on top of the other losses I am trying to cope with.
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I read on some other thread the suggestion that it might be more effective to offer to double or triple the deposit because that offers the landlord some protection without posing the entrenchment problem that advance rent does?
I will definitely do some serious "networking" once I can reliably pinpoint a date when I'll be in the position to sign a lease. I have to keep the "double rent" phase of my life to an absolute minimum because I just cleared out my last investment account and if the person who has been lending me money against the proceeds throws me overboard, which seems an imminent possibility, I probably have only enough money to live for about 4-5 months unless I dump my health insurance… and you probably know what a bad idea THAT is. Trust me, with my medical history, VERY bad idea. 
