Best places to live in NYC (Ridge: real estate, apartment, lease)

[emily_g]

My two friends and I are looking to move into our own apartment this year. We currently live in the upper east side and are looking for probably a two bedroom apartment. We are looking in practically all areas in NYC, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Long Island...really anywhere that won't be too expensive and safe where we can commute to manhattan everyday for school/work/internships. We're young professionals not really looking to party and get drunk every night. Any ideas? Also, we've heard its almost impossible to get an apartment without a real estate broker, does anyone know how much that would cost? Thanks in advanced everyone

[emily_g]

We've heard Astoria is nice, so we are definitely looking there while also keeping options open!

[on the avenue]

Originally Posted by emily_g

My two friends and I are looking to move into our own apartment this year. We currently live in the upper east side and are looking for probably a two bedroom apartment. We are looking in practically all areas in NYC, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Long Island...really anywhere that won't be too expensive and safe where we can commute to manhattan everyday for school/work/internships. We're young professionals not really looking to party and get drunk every night. Any ideas? Also, we've heard its almost impossible to get an apartment without a real estate broker, does anyone know how much that would cost? Thanks in advanced everyone

What exactly would be "too expensive"? A price range would help immensely.

[emily_g]

Less than 3000 month. We can probably do 1000 each a month, but that's pushing

[Henna]

Astoria is a good choice. You could also look into Sunnyside and Ridgewood.

I believe real estate brokers often charge 15% of the rent, so $5400 fee for a $3000 apartment. I'm not an expert on this -- seems like something you could Google if you don't get an answer here. Also you will probably need to prove you collectively make 40x the monthly rent. Google that too -- 40x rent rule.

If there are three of you, you could look into a 2 bedroom and having someone use the living room as a bedroom to make it cheaper or to get into a more desirable neighborhood.

[zhubaba]

If you work in midtown, Jackson Heights, Forest Hills, and Kew Gardens are also safe areas with good transit options and lower rents than Astoria.

[DoomDan515]

Astoria, Sunnyside, Ridgewood, and Rego Park.

[BrightRabbit]

Originally Posted by Henna

I believe real estate brokers often charge 15% of the rent, so $5400 fee for a $3000 apartment. I'm not an expert on this -- seems like something you could Google if you don't get an answer here. Also you will probably need to prove you collectively make 40x the monthly rent. Google that too -- 40x rent rule.

On this helpful paragraph, I'm just adding comment to the phrase "collectively make 40x the monthly rent."

Sometimes, one person in the group has weaker financial qualifications. If only 2 of the 3 could meet the 40x guarantee together -- and meet monthly rent without the third party's salary considered -- try asking the broker if you can make a lease with the two stronger applicants as Tenants, and the weaker one as Occupant.

Should the Occupant leave mid-lease, the two Tenants together remain responsible for the entire sum of the lease. At that point, the tenants get busy replacing their Occupant.. or just hang onto the place as a 2-person. Understand that it's a serious situation, because those 2 tenants must keep coming up with the entire month's rent, even for weeks or months when there's no Occupant to contribute, through the end of the lease.

From the owner's perspective, it strengthens a group application where one of the parties is a weak link, because full monthly rent is assured, no matter what the Occupant does. The broker should draw up a separate contract between Occupant and Tenants, without involving the Landlord ("owner"), and have it refer to the big lease between Tenants and Owner.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

Originally Posted by emily_g

We've heard Astoria is nice, so we are definitely looking there while also keeping options open!

Yes, Astoria is nice esp. if you're commuting downtown/financial district but don't want to pay NE Brooklyn prices.

[emily_g]

Originally Posted by zhubaba

If you work in midtown, Jackson Heights, Forest Hills, and Kew Gardens are also safe areas with good transit options and lower rents than Astoria.

Thank you so much! I will definitely look into those areas.