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Old 12-27-2014, 04:27 AM
 
21 posts, read 90,341 times
Reputation: 13

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Does anyone have experience with searching for and renting apartments while out of state?

I have heard of people having success renting sight unseen. I am curious to know what the experience was like for those of you who have done this. Any tips?
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Old 12-27-2014, 07:57 AM
 
Location: Financial District
298 posts, read 703,644 times
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Don't do this.
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Old 12-27-2014, 03:29 PM
 
15,444 posts, read 15,425,363 times
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Search all you like, but NEVER rent while you're out of state.

People will warn you about all the scams, but that's not even it. There are scare stories about scams with non-existent apartments, but those are few and far between. But you have to keep in mind that
-landlords/brokers will give you an unwarrantedly rosy description
-there are different kinds of rentals (stabilized, non-stabilized, coop sublets, etc.) and leases can be complicated and not something to be hurriedly done by mail
-you need to check the apartment for small things, like whether there are enough outlets or what the view is
-you need to look at the block it's on
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Old 12-27-2014, 04:57 PM
 
12,340 posts, read 26,009,751 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TinaFey View Post
Does anyone have experience with searching for and renting apartments while out of state?

I have heard of people having success renting sight unseen. I am curious to know what the experience was like for those of you who have done this. Any tips?
I have never done this and would never recommend that anyone else do this.

You can always stay in a hotel, hostel or short term apartment for one week while you look. Do not rent a place sight unseen. Not a good idea.

Maybe this works in other areas of the country where large apartment complexes are more common, the occupancy rates are lower, and you can read apartment complex reviews online. It just doesn't work that way in NY.
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Old 12-27-2014, 09:36 PM
 
21 posts, read 90,341 times
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Interesting. I was thinking of only renting through established firms vs independent landlords. So that helps with avoiding scams. I suppose I can BNB a week before the job begins.

How long would you say it would take to find an apt in NY? In Chicago it can take at least a month or two. That is why I am worried about having to move to NYC first to find a place
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Old 12-27-2014, 09:39 PM
 
21 posts, read 90,341 times
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A broker or agent is another option I've seen tossed around....

I may compare the cost of moving early with hiring a broker.
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Old 12-27-2014, 09:56 PM
 
Location: NYC
802 posts, read 1,353,115 times
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finding an apartment wont take long if your budget is strong enough
however if you want to combine price/location/conditon it will take some time
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Old 12-28-2014, 12:04 PM
 
6,680 posts, read 8,178,926 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TinaFey View Post
A broker or agent is another option I've seen tossed around....

I may compare the cost of moving early with hiring a broker.
Just because you use a broker doesn't mean you will get an apt you are expecting. Also you should really know the neighborhood and walk around it to see how you like and feel there. Neighborhoods differ block by block so you could choose an apt in a so called area you like but pick a certain block you may hate and feel uncomfortable on.
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Old 12-30-2014, 11:20 AM
 
Location: Sunnyside
2,008 posts, read 4,703,265 times
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I did this. I was in NYC for a weekend for job interview + apartment hunting to start the job a week later. I used a broker to show me apartments because I was on a limited time budget. After putting in my application for an apartment, we got denied due to being the second applicant for the apartment. Now back in Michigan, I had to have an apartment so we had a roof over our head when we moved out there. I had the broker check out apartments for us and take pictures and send videos of walk throughs of the apartments. I found our apartment that way. So it was sight unseen in person, but I saw the actual apartment before we moved through video. I told the broker where we would look for an apartment, and what our price range was, and told she came through for the most part and actually earned the broker fee.

Things that I didn't get to know about that I likely wouldn't have because I was new to the moving out to my own place thing was that our super is terrible. Our basement is filthy and we have some gross tenants in the building.

At least I know now what to look for when searching for our next apartment.
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Old 12-31-2014, 12:21 AM
 
21 posts, read 90,341 times
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Thanks Skinnayy. That was extremely helpful!
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