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Old 03-13-2013, 12:10 PM
 
10 posts, read 15,593 times
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Hi all,

So I'll spare you my whole story, but I have an interview next month for a job in NYC. (Currently living in flyover country/WheatField, USA, but used to live out east and really miss it/hate it here.)

Major downturn in housing market (our home is 30% underwater) and major job change/income loss have resulted in horrible credit for me (actually thinking of filing bankruptcy). Spouse and I also have 3 small-ish dogs (a frenchie and 2 30lb mixes). We'll not get rid of our animals (2 of them--the nonFrenchies--are old and probably don't have more than a couple years left, anyway).

I've started to wonder if I should even go on this interview. I know I'm jumping the gun at worrying when I don't even have a job offer yet, but am wondering if we'd be able to find ANYPLACE to live.

We aren't overly picky. Just want someplace decent (not fancy), as we have a young child, and would be open to any of the boroughs. Ideally in the $1800-2300 range. If I get the job my salary would be about 100k, great job security, and I _would_ be able put down/pay 3-6 months rent in advance (in addition to standard first/last). But, as I say, my credit is crap and getting a guarantor isn't an option. Spouse's credit is decent (he would be left out of the BK if I file), but he may or may not have a job upon arriving in the city.

Should I even bother with this interview? Honestly, if there'd be no hope of finding a place to live it's not worth going (unfortunately).

Thanks in advance for any insight.

ECW
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Old 03-13-2013, 12:16 PM
 
2,848 posts, read 7,558,860 times
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If you are able to put down up to 6 months rent at $2,300 a month moving here, which is almost $14k (and you said in addition to first and last month, which is more like $18k), why such bad credit and near to filing bankruptcy? Something doesn't make sense here.

Finding a place long-distance is do-able but can be difficult, especially before you have the job secured. Interview doesn't mean you'll get the job after all. Three dogs also makes it difficult because many apartments have limits to animals, even if they're "small-ish".
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Old 03-13-2013, 12:19 PM
 
10 posts, read 15,593 times
Reputation: 10
Thanks for your comment.

I should have probably explained that I plan to cash in some of my 401k to be able to do the downpayment (not a smart move, I know, but figure it would be necessary). Not able to do that until I'm gone from my current job, so wouldn't be able to do it now to pay off old debt. If I leave current job and have access to the money, if I use it to pay off the old debt then I wouldn't have it for an apartment (and, although it would look good that the debt is paid, I would still have the horrible credit for 7 years). Situation stinks either way.

One small good thing, I suppose, is that IF I were to get the job I'd have a signed contract soon but the position wouldn't officially start for a few months so I'd have some time (not have to find something immediately).
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Old 03-13-2013, 05:49 PM
 
Location: NY,NY
2,896 posts, read 9,786,492 times
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Jfyi, i think you need to look into the specifics re your 401K. Sounds as if you have things a bit mixed up!

*cashing* out will invlove paying taxes at your present rate, which means at least one third will be deducted for taxes!!

Generally, the way to avoid the tax hit is to *borrow+ the money from your account, which requires you to pay it back on a monthly basis. If you do not you will be taxed.

You should see a professional to discuss your financial circumstance.

*****

How old is your child? If school age, have you considered, first the culture shock he will experience upon moving to NYC; and second, that overall schools SUCK! Those with school kids, and who give a damn, have to allow locating a good school to dictate where to live, and how much rent. Most people cannot afford good schools, as the areas are expensive.

Anyway, you probably will do better overall in a suburban location. Bad credit, 3 dogs and a kid, is not a good combo within most of NYC. Dogs are are problem, let alone 3 of them, and being new to and unused to apartment living, you will definitely be a noise issue tenant!! Virtually a guarantee! No one will want 3 yapping does running around on top of there heads!

Renting a house in the suburbs is likely the best option. Long Island, New Jersey, possibly Queens. Depending on where you work, Staten Island can be an affordable option.

I suggest you seek advice in the suburban forums, they will know more about renting in the burbs. A non professional landlord renting his house may be more forgiving of your credit circumstance, and may be impressed by your upfront money.

I also suggest, you and your family take a deep look, to determine if this, NYC, is what you want to do. The culture shock is extreme!!

Also, from appearances, it does not seem as if you are 'all in'; and, a half effort won't do it!!! Your circumstance will require more effort and determination, than I am sensing from you.

Finding an apartment in NYC, under the best circumstances is a MAJOR effort!!!
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Old 03-13-2013, 08:38 PM
 
10 posts, read 15,593 times
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jcoltrane, thanks much for your detailed response.

I do know about paying taxes on my retirement $ (have done it when leaving a prior job years ago). Twenty % was the penalty and was taken out prior to me ever receiving a check. My current plan may be a bit different, but is pretty much the same, meaning that a loan would only be possible for things such as home purchase, etc. Still, yes, good idea to double check as I would much prefer a loan than a cash out!

Our child is not yet 3, so moving now would be better than later. I've been reading a lot about schools in the city. I also have 3 friends in the city (2 with kids) and plan to use them as major info sources (the 2 with kids are educators, so I trust them).

Of the 3 dogs only one (the frenchie) is a barker; we handle that here in the 'burbs by having her wear a bark collar so she doesn't bark at all of the neighbors' dogs. It works well. Still, I *totally* get why a landlord may not believe me/take my word at that. Nor would it be any good for anyone for us to end up someplace where a neighbor complained about a dog and we had to leave. So, I really appreciate your suggestion about looking at houses in the burbs. I'm not opposed to that, and living in the burbs there would be different than living in the burbs where I am now, and in a good way (trust me on this!). Are there houses for rent in the areas your mention versus just apartments in houses? I'll do a search on that.

I also appreciate your advice to be certain about a potential move to NYC. We're pretty committed. My spouse is from CT and used to do quite a bit of work in NYC (knows the city quite well). We talked for months about this before job seeking (he's looking as well) and this was the only job I applied for as it was a perfect fit--sort of surprised with those odds (just one application) that I actually got an interview, so some of this is coming from just being in shock at this point.

Again, thanks for your response!
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Old 03-13-2013, 09:06 PM
 
912 posts, read 2,092,451 times
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Check out the historic district of Jackson Heights
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Old 03-14-2013, 09:45 AM
 
Location: NY,NY
2,896 posts, read 9,786,492 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EastCoastWannabe View Post
jcoltrane, thanks much for your detailed response.

I do know about paying taxes on my retirement $ (have done it when leaving a prior job years ago). Twenty % was the penalty and was taken out prior to me ever receiving a check. My current plan may be a bit different, but is pretty much the same, meaning that a loan would only be possible for things such as home purchase, etc. Still, yes, good idea to double check as I would much prefer a loan than a cash out!
Listen, seriouusly, consult a professional! Screwing around with your 401K requires a good understanding of what you are doing! Btw, I neglected to add that you pay the loan back with INTEREST! So, it is very much like taking out a real loan.

Wonder why you cashed out your old 401K, you c/h simply rolled into your new firms plan.

Anyway, jfyi, 401K accounts don't change from job to job, they are governed by Federal Law! You can only do what the law allows. Borrowing on your 401K for a down payment on a home is the most common purpose, but the loand c/b used for most anything. The issue is that you MUST be capable of affording the monthly payback plus interest!!!

I am seriously not confident that you truly comprehend re the workings and ramification of using your 401K. It appears, as if you view the account as a quick fix, when in reality you may be burning your future!

Quote:
Our child is not yet 3, so moving now would be better than later. I've been reading a lot about schools in the city. I also have 3 friends in the city (2 with kids) and plan to use them as major info sources (the 2 with kids are educators, so I trust them).
Ok, so you only have to deal with your own culture shock!

What are your plans for childcare? Have you investigated the cost of childcare in this area? You may be in for a shock!

Quote:
Of the 3 dogs only one (the frenchie) is a barker; we handle that here in the 'burbs by having her wear a bark collar so she doesn't bark at all of the neighbors' dogs. It works well. Still, I *totally* get why a landlord may not believe me/take my word at that. Nor would it be any good for anyone for us to end up someplace where a neighbor complained about a dog and we had to leave.
Noise is a major issue in the city, from dogs, to women walking with high heels on hardwood floors, etc. Most LLs have strict rules with regard to dogs. Most refuse to accept them, some have a weight limit. Three will likely be rejected, because of the excessive wear and tear. There will be little if any discussion on the matter.

There is always the odd LL who will be most accommodating, but such is not the standard. Finding such a LL will require more effort and flexibility than normal.

Quote:
...Are there houses for rent in the areas your mention versus just apartments in houses? I'll do a search on that.
The suburbs of Long Island and New Jersey, are atypical suburbs with virtually, if not literally exclusively single family homes. Multi unit apartment buildings and/or complexes can be found, but are not the focus. There will be single family homes for rent. Queens and Staten Island are boroughs of NYC, in each you can find single family homes for rent.

Quote:
I also appreciate your advice to be certain about a potential move to NYC. We're pretty committed. My spouse is from CT and used to do quite a bit of work in NYC (knows the city quite well). We talked for months about this before job seeking (he's looking as well) and this was the only job I applied for as it was a perfect fit--sort of surprised with those odds (just one application) that I actually got an interview, so some of this is coming from just being in shock at this point.
CT may also be a possibility. Lots of corporations and financial firms are located in and around Sttamford and Hartford.

Where in the area you s/move will be dictated by where your jobs are located. So, focus on finding employment!
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Old 03-14-2013, 10:02 AM
 
10 posts, read 15,593 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Borninnycliveinnyc View Post
Check out the historic district of Jackson Heights

Borninnycliveinnyc, Thanks for that tip. Following jcoltrane's first response I was chatting with spouse about the areas he recommended and spouse had said "I'd do Queens, but the western side." And then when we went searching about JH, lo and behold, that's where it was! Thanks again.
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Old 03-14-2013, 10:32 AM
 
10 posts, read 15,593 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jcoltrane View Post
Btw, I neglected to add that you pay the loan back with INTEREST! So, it is very much like taking out a real loan.
I knew that, but appreciate that you wanted to make sure I understood that fact. ;-)

Quote:
Originally Posted by jcoltrane View Post
Wonder why you cashed out your old 401K, you c/h simply rolled into your new firms plan.
Sh*tty situation required it; sold a home when market was crashing and best offer we could get was under what we owed, so I cashed out part to pay off the house we were selling at the closing. I'd never do that again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jcoltrane View Post
It appears, as if you view the account as a quick fix, when in reality you may be burning your future!
*sigh* Yes, I do, even though I know that's not smart. Spouse and I are pretty sure we'll never retire anyway (be working until we die, sad as that sounds). Not too much in this current 401k, but if I needed to borrow or cash some out for a move, we would do it, and keep whatever we could in there (or roll it into something else). As for future, it's all about priorities. We have a bigger fear of never getting out of our current area (and raising our son here) and being stuck here for the rest of our lives. Anyway, I'm going to give someone a call about my options.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jcoltrane View Post
What are your plans for childcare? Have you investigated the cost of childcare in this area? You may be in for a shock!
Starting to do that now. Spouse's line of work is more flexible than most in terms of scheduling/working at home (so that helps a bit), and I've just joined a different online forum about childcare/kid/school issues in the area. Looking into it now, as we'll definitely need probably 2 yrs of childcare before our son would start school.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jcoltrane View Post
Most LLs have strict rules with regard to dogs. Most refuse to accept them, some have a weight limit. Three will likely be rejected, because of the excessive wear and tear. There will be little if any discussion on the matter. There is always the odd LL who will be most accommodating, but such is not the standard. Finding such a LL will require more effort and flexibility than normal.
All good points. After reading your first reply to spouse he said, "Yeah, the dogs have been my biggest worry in this whole thing." He agreed we may have to go the house/burbs route and we talked about which areas. I understand why LL would be reluctant to take dogs. Even in other places in the country we've lived it's been a challenge when we rented (and that was with only 1), so I agree we need to be realistic about this issue. We do love our animals and won't give them away (or worse--selectively euthanize!)--but when the 2 older one's have passed on I'm pretty sure we will not be adding to our brood! Even now, whoa--any idea how expensive it is to board 3 dogs for, say, a week or two while traveling? Insane. Sorry, got off topic a bit here....

Quote:
Originally Posted by jcoltrane View Post
There will be single family homes for rent. Queens and Staten Island are boroughs of NYC, in each you can find single family homes for rent. CT may also be a possibility.....Where in the area you s/move will be dictated by where your jobs are located. So, focus on finding employment!
Good info. Spouse agreed that Queens and SI areas may be our best option for all of the above mentioned reasons, while still allowing us good access to other areas. For a variety of reasons we don't want to do CT (would probably consider NJ first if anything there worked out for us). My interview is in lower Manhattan. Think we've got enough of a start now to know that we _could_ find a place, just need to be prepared to work at it, which is fine. Sort of like all worthwhile or important things in life, eh? Plane ticket for the interview is booked as of this morning, so depending on how it goes next month I may be frequenting this forum a lot more.

Again, jcoltrane, I really appreciate all the time you've taken to reply to me--a complete stranger--in an effort to help. Many thanks.
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Old 03-14-2013, 12:18 PM
 
Location: NYC
5,186 posts, read 4,639,201 times
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I recently talked to a broker/realtor about a case like yours, a single person without 3 dogs who has bad credit but enough money to pay 6-12 months of rent. You will not like the answer I got. Basically, the rental market here is so tight, this person would rather move onto the next person with good credit than deal with someone with bad credit regardless of the circumstances. He told me the only way, and this is a big if, is if you paid an entire year, provide a written statement on why you have bad credit. Also, you are not guaranteed a lease renewal. At the time of renewal, you will have to show evidence that your credit has improved or else you will have to pay for another whole year. And at this point, this realtor still indicated he is inclined to move onto the next potential renter than to deal with all this hassle.
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