How likely am I to get an apt without guarantors? (will be graduating college in May) (Carroll: apartments)

[EmilyNYC]

Hi all,

This is my first post on this website. I hope you all can help me answer some of the questions I have.

I’ve lived in NYC my whole life. I lived (and still currently live) with my family in the Bronx. I live very far away, and attend a college in NYC as well. I’m a college senior and I will be graduating in May 2018. I’m looking to move out sometime in late June/early July, with an ideal move-in date of July 1st, 2018. I’m worried about how likely I’m going to get approved for an apt.

My financial background: I secured a full-time job already back in August 2017 and I signed the contract in October 2017, and I will be starting this job in mid-July 2018 (which is why I’m looking for July 1st move-in date). The salary is $57,000 with a signing bonus of $3,000, making the total compensation $60,000. By the end of June, I should have about $13,000-$15,000 in my bank account (my total liquid assets). I have a good credit score (above a 770), and have been building my credit since I was 18 years old (when I began college). I attend school full-time while working part-time (a paid internship) that I’ve been doing for a year now. I will continue doing this internship for the 8 weeks between graduation and the start of my full-time job (so the 8 weeks between May – July 2018), but I’ll be doing it full-time (40 hours/wk) for those 8 weeks so I don’t consume my savings. The internship pays me $15/hr, so I’d earn a total of $4,800 before taxes for those 8 weeks, and after taxes I’d be left with about $3,600.

My family is low-income and will not be able to be my guarantors. Essentially, everything I’ve listed above is all I have for when I’ll submit apartment applications.

I’ll be on the lookout for apartments in June, and I’m primarily targeting 3 bedroom apartments to share with 2 other roommates in Park Slope/South Park Slope, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, Bushwick, and South Williamsburg (by the JMZ lines). I’m hoping to spend no more than 20% of my salary on rent, which would cap me at $950 a month for my own private room in a 3BR apt. Based on the research I’ve done on apartments in the neighborhoods listed above, my target monthly rent seems pretty reasonable. I probably won’t have the prettiest apartment, but it’ll do.

All my friends in college who currently have an apt/live off-campus had guarantors as part of their application. I’m assuming this is the case for the majority of young people around my age (20-25 years old) who submit applications for apartments in NYC, regardless of whether or not they already make their own income and don’t have to rely on their parents for rent (for the case of college students), and because I won’t have any guarantors, I’m worried that my chances of getting an apt will be slim. A young professional who makes their own income but also has the backing of guarantors will be a stronger applicant than a young professional who doesn’t.

So my questions are:
1. How likely am I to get an apartment based on my financial background with potential rent of $850-$950/month (for my own room)?

2. Would the contract I signed back in October count as proof of employment, even though I’d be starting the job about 2 weeks after signing for a July 1st move-in date? Would that hurt my chances of securing an apt?

3. How much does it help or hurt me that I will be working full-time between graduation and starting the full-time job? I’m assuming that I’ll need to give recent paystubs during the application process, and it would show I’m earning $15/hr working 40 hours/wk ($600/wk before taxes). I’m concerned that the landlord will think that my earnings are too low for my rent of $950/month even though I will be earning a lot more once I start my actual full-time job in mid-July.