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The apartment was perfect, according to the listing. A block away from Prospect Park! A doorman! A laundry room! And a gym! There were almost as many exclamation points as amenities. And there were a lot of exclamation points.
Yes make sure you do a colonoscopy for the landlord. DOB records help along with sometimes Yelp reviews.
Bottom line the building infrastructure is most important.
- Is the building too new or too old? Red flag that indicates you'll be dealing with noise, pests, temperature problems and leaks
- Density of the area and building. Higher density means more noise, bugs and dog **** on the street in front
- Length of ownership. How long has the current management company been managing the property
- Turnover. See if you can spend time in the area around moving season and observe if there's tons of people moving out of buildings in the general vicinity. If so, it could be a red flag that there are unaddressed problems in the building.
- Keep on the market passively to observe market trends. A trick that realtors have been using is they will take down properties and restart the listing to make you think it's new. I caught 3 properties doing this. If they are doing this over months and months during a normal market something is wrong
- You could ask neighbors but during COVID I'd advise against it and it could be weird in general. I don't talk to neighbors and I barely see any going about my day. That's how I like it. That's just how it is in this neighborhood. If you want to know your neighbors move further away from the city.
The article is unusually helpful and specific advice for people moving in from out of state, who may not know about ACRIS, etc. You don't normally see that in those "how to rent in NYC!" articles, so kudos to the author.
You can catch a "reborn" listing on Streeteasy by looking at the property history. If it goes off the market for a month, comes back, repeat, repeat, you know there's an issue.
Amazing.......Tenants looking into property records? as if they own the place?
Goes to show Landlords have less and less rights.
As a former multiproperty owner let me give the tenants some advice.
Word of mouth is a great way to go. Maybe your mom,dad,grandma,grandpa,uncle,aunt, knows a
life long friend who is looking for a renter. Look for a Landlord whose building is paid in full.
He may be just looking to have his taxes and maintenance covered and not an investor who
needs to pay his stock holders more and more every month,year......etc.
Be respectful of Landlord and property. You get more flies with honey than with vinegar.
In addition, if you were to work together (barter) he could drop your rent if you take out the
garbage,sweep the sidewalk,mow the lawn and shovel the snow. Treat the home as if it it were yours.
It is best we work together. Your make enough to pay rent and put some cash away for your
own place one day and the landlord collects enough rent to maintain his home.
Fair and Square................
The apartment was perfect, according to the listing. A block away from Prospect Park! A doorman! A laundry room! And a gym! There were almost as many exclamation points as amenities. And there were a lot of exclamation points.
There was just one problem: I could afford it...
If it's too good to be true, it probably is. I've suffered through apartment hunting in NYC far too many times - I was born and raised here (not in the best of neighborhhoods). Here are a few suggestions that I hope can help:
- ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS check every nook and cranny of every apartment you view. Open the cabinets, look for cracks...look for any signs of roaches, roach droppings, mice droppings, waterbugs (large flying roaches, AKA palmetto bugs in the south). And to be clear - there ARE apartments in NYC that are bug-free. You just have to do your due diligence and RESEARCH the place. Check the basement as well. The way a building maintains its basement is telling when it comes to vermin.
- Ask about trash management in the building. Again, this is very telling.
- When you're finished viewing the apartment, try to hang around the building and speak to the residents themselves. Ask them what they think and what their experience has been and whether they recommend moving there. I've done this myself and it's always proven to be one the most helpful ways to make a decision.
- Spend time in the area during the day AND at night. It's the only way to get a real feel for the neighborhood. Beware of areas where people hang out in front of buildings, on stoops, street corners, etc. I'd even go as far as to say beware of areas with "bodegas" (I'm Hispanic and grew up in a Hispanic neighborhood so I know what I'm saying).
- Last but not least, if you have options I strongly suggest moving to a completely different city. NYC has become a disaster. I left a few years ago and every time I come back, it seems worse and worse.
Yes make sure you do a colonoscopy for the landlord. DOB records help along with sometimes Yelp reviews.
Bottom line the building infrastructure is most important.
- Is the building too new or too old? Red flag that indicates you'll be dealing with noise, pests, temperature problems and leaks
- Density of the area and building. Higher density means more noise, bugs and dog **** on the street in front
- Length of ownership. How long has the current management company been managing the property
- Turnover. See if you can spend time in the area around moving season and observe if there's tons of people moving out of buildings in the general vicinity. If so, it could be a red flag that there are unaddressed problems in the building.
- Keep on the market passively to observe market trends. A trick that realtors have been using is they will take down properties and restart the listing to make you think it's new. I caught 3 properties doing this. If they are doing this over months and months during a normal market something is wrong
- You could ask neighbors but during COVID I'd advise against it and it could be weird in general. I don't talk to neighbors and I barely see any going about my day. That's how I like it. That's just how it is in this neighborhood. If you want to know your neighbors move further away from the city.
Response: Opinion
All said and good.....but.....
Landlords who own buildings always win over tenants who think they own landlords.
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