How does an apartment lottery work? (low income, section 8, for sale)

[LowerEastSide01]

Hi everyone. I sent in a request for an application for an apartment waiting list lottery. The deadline was 11/11/14. I mailed my request early enough so I'm pretty sure they received it unless it got lost in the mail. They are accepting 200 applications for a 1-bedroom and only 25 for a 2-bedroom.

Do they mail an application to everyone that requested it or do they mail out just the number of applications that they said they are accepting? If they mail it to everyone that requested it and once the people start mailing the applications back, do they put people on the list in the order that the applications are received or do they go through all the applications on the deadline date that applications are supposed to be sent back and then pick out the ones that qualify?

How does it work? Thanks for any info.

[q41apartments]

I was recently awarded a middle income lottery and i can tell you my entire experience form A to Z. I am going to be up front that it was a very hard and painful process and i cried many nights. But it seems like you are applying for a building that is NOT brand new and rather been there for awhile. Chances are higher at a newer building because the number of units is more which heightens the chance. Also, if it's s section 8 housing lottery or low income, the process might differ a little, but they usually ask for the same thing or more. Now that we have the dramatics out of the way, lets get down to your questions.

For my lottery, I applied via regular mail. They still accept paper applications, but recommend online submissions more. Electronic is always better in my opinion. I have only applied to 2 apartment lotteries my entire life. Application was mailed in summer 2013 and I didn't get a letter asking me to come in till spring/summer 2014. Almost a year later. I didn't get awarded a unit till Fall 2014. So this whole process took over one year.

Log numbers are very important. I can tell you that everyone in my buildings log number was 3,000 and below. I do not know anyone who was awarded an apartment that had log numbers above 3,000.

My building is brand new and had 108 empty units to give away which is 98% of the building. 4 units on the top 2 floors are for sale but now turned rental. Anyways, you are probably asking yourself: If there is only 108 units, howcome the log numbers are not 108 and under. Here is why:
If 3,000 people come in, not all 3,000 necessarily qualify for the apartment.
This can be due to bad credit.
The applicant was employed when they applied, but are now unemployed after getting called in.
Lied on the application.
Was awarded an apartment, but decided to turn it down, so the next in line gets called in.
Some of he applicants listed phone numbers do not work anymore. Somestimes people cancel their cell service and get new numbers. So remember to keep the same number and don't change it.
Sometimes people get called in and the building leaves them a voicemail, but they never respond so they go to the next person in line.
Background check did not go through and so forth.
There are many reasons, but those are some.

So do not let high log numbers detour you from feeling you will not get awarded an apartment. If it is a low income lottery, the chances of people turning it down are pretty slim. Mine was a middle income lottery and for the price of each unit, the awarded applicants felt they were entitled to 2 bedrooms, 2 bath, and a balcony. So many people were awarded units and turned it down. This worked out because i was awarded one.*

Also, they don't conduct interviews. Maybe for section 8 housing and low income they might conduct interviews because those applicants do not have a high source of income and they have to be cautious with who they award units to because that person can end up broke and not be able to pay the cheap rent they were awarded, smoke weed, do drugs, etc. Also, there are a few lotteries in super high luxury door man buildings in Manhattan where everyone else is paying 6K in rent, and they'll award a small number of units to people who make 25K and under and for those instances, they really can't just have any nobody in that building. They need reliable lottery winners and not someone who will get awarded a place and then start jamming the studio and having 5 friends live there with them.

OP, is yours a low income lottery? Not to rain on your parade, but 5,000 doesn't seem like a good sign to me. You always want to have low lottery numbers, but stay positive regardless.

Remember, that one person's trash is anothers treasure.

Feel free to ask me more questions. I am a fountain of knowledge and would love to help anyone.

[LowerEastSide01]

Thank you for all the info. I do have another question. My cousin lives in the building that I am trying to apply for. She is the one that told me about the lottery. It is a low income building. I meet the income requirements. I haven't received the application yet.

My question is for my cousin. She lives in a 1-bedroom apartment and she is overcrowded so she put in an application for a 2-bedroom and she is on the internal transfer list. She is waiting a long time. She was thinking about something that sounds crazy and very unlikely that it would work. Has this ever been done?
She requested an application through the open waiting list lottery. She hasn't received an application yet either.

If she mails in the application with the $100 fee, will her application automatically be denied since she already lives there? She was hoping that she would be lucky enough to make the lottery and might get called for the 2-bedroom before her name ever comes up on the internal transfer list. They are only accepting 25 applications for a 2-bedroom apt. She's crazy the way she's thinking, but should she take a chance? She said that they said the $100 is refunded if their application isn't picked.

She told me that the waiting list is public information. They don't have names or anything, but you can see how many people are on the INTERNAL TRANSFER LIST or the GENERAL ADMISSIONS LIST. She lives in a building where there are 33 studios, 1121 1-bedroom, 376 2-bedroom and 59 3-bedroom apartments.

The public list consists of 1 person on the Internal list for a studio apartment. There are 18 people on the Internal list waiting for a 1-bedroom. There are 99 people on the Internal list for a 2-bedroom and 9 people on the Internal list for a 3-bedroom.

The General Admissions list consists of 20 people waiting for a studio and 23 people on the list for a 1-bedroom.

From the number of apartments and the number of people on the INTERNAL TRANSFER waiting list, do you think that my cousin should just put in an application for a 3-bedroom? From the numbers, do you think she stands a better chance of getting a 3-bedroom if she can afford it before getting a 2-bedroom?

Thanks for any info.

[q41apartments]

I am sure she will get preference since she already lives there, but you never know when it comes to city employees. They are not very bright and skip or pass her completely. She needs to stay on top of it or they will forget her.

You're welcome.