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Thank you. It looks though that it will take nearly 1 hour to commute on the M train. How is the walking to Fresh Pond Rd station?
I live by the forest ave train station. To go to that location in midtown you'd either take the M train all the way or take the L train to union square and transfer to the 4/5. Both the Forest ave and Fresh Pond stations are safe. Seneca not so much. An hour sounds about right on the M. The L could be a little faster, but never timed it.
Door to door will get you absolutely nowhere. Landlords never deal with prospective tenants, they delegate to management companies and brokers
Without a credit history, you will need a guarantor to sign with you
Not true for 4 of my apartments I went door to door, walked the neighborhood and talked to people. This however requires lot's of free time. It's something that can't be done in one afternoon. This is something I suggest to people to do several months before their lease ends to get to know the new neighborhood they are moving to and to and get an idea about whats out there. Then a month before go again several days at different times and see what is now available for you when you need to move.
Thank you all for great information. I have several more questions if you don't mind.
1) What would you recommend as a good strategy for apartment hunting? Is walking door-to-door the best way to go?
2) As I understand, costs associated with a lease and lease terms include the following:
* broker fee = 1 month rent (if done through a broker)
* Application fee (what is a common amount for an application fee?)
* Credit check fee (common amount?)
* Security deposit (amount?)
* 2 months prepay?
* Possibly last month?
3) I recently moved to the US so I do not have work history here yet (i.e. paystubs, last year's w2's). I can probably get a letter from the employer stating the terms of my employment. Will this letter be sufficient? I am not sure what my credit rating will be now, but it used to be over 700 when I was in the US 4 years ago studying in a university. My wife currently works, but her income level will not qualify for an apt in NYC. What options do we have here?
4) Are 3- or 6-month leases readily available to provide easy-out? Perhaps, for higher monthly rate?
thank you
Op I would talk to a broker regarding your situation. Typically for NY apartments you need to make 40 times the monthly rent and have proof. Now that isn't always the case. I never had made 40 times the monthly rent and have gotten many apartments but I had years of work history, a credit score of 800, and good rental history. Your situation is a bit more difficult coming from another country. I'm assuming you make the correct amount but not sure as you have not talked about your income. I would defiantly work on getting that letter from your employer stating your wage, as well as be prepared to offer to pay several months rent upon moving in. Also wouldn't hurt for you to use one of those free sites to run your credit so you know what it actually is. Cause if it's lower than 700 that also may make it difficult to get a place.
Op I would talk to a broker regarding your situation. Typically for NY apartments you need to make 40 times the monthly rent and have proof. Now that isn't always the case. I never had made 40 times the monthly rent and have gotten many apartments but I had years of work history, a credit score of 800, and good rental history. Your situation is a bit more difficult coming from another country. I'm assuming you make the correct amount but not sure as you have not talked about your income. I would defiantly work on getting that letter from your employer stating your wage, as well as be prepared to offer to pay several months rent upon moving in. Also wouldn't hurt for you to use one of those free sites to run your credit so you know what it actually is. Cause if it's lower than 700 that also may make it difficult to get a place.
Thanks for the reply. The price range that I am looking at puts me around 55 x the monthly rate.
* Does a guarantor have to be physically present to co-sign the lease?
* I am assuming that they can be from outside of NYC, correct?
* Also, will postponing the signing of a lease for ~ 1 month in order to receive 4 weeks of paystubs help the matter in any way?
thank you
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