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Finding an apartment in New York City

K

KnickNut3

Platinum Member
Hi,

Next week a couple friends and I will be looking for an apartment in New York to move in in early July. We will work (at different companies) in the Midtown East area around Park Avenue (one person who joins us may be downtown, which may change things), so we're probably looking in Long Island City (my top, albeit ignorant choice), Murray Hill, etc. so we're close to work.

We're all right out of college and have never really found or rented an apartment before, especially in the most aggressive, expensive housing market in the country. We'd rather not go through a broker because the idea of paying thousands of dollars to someone for something we can do on our own is not appealing. Most of us live in NJ so we can travel in a couple days to look. We're probably looking for something in the 1500-2000/person range, anywhere from 2 to 4 of bedrooms (I think there's 3 of us, but if a fourth joins we might split 2/2).

I'd appreciate any suggestions you all have, general or specific about finding an apartment. Where would you suggest we live? Questions to ask while viewing an apartment? Best way to make appointments to see an apartment? Things to look for? Groups to go through? Ways to get/find the best deals?

Thanks!
 
actually i'd say LIC would be a good location. couple of subways to get into mid-town in 15 min or so...

don't rule out the bedford area. nice and trendy as hell.... you'll have lots of fun in restaurants/bars around there.

but rent isn't THAT expensive. expect to pay around $2000 or less for a 2/3 bedroom in those locations.

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Why would you want to move to NYC?
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because he works there.

besides you can find everything in NYC.
 
Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Originally posted by: sniperruff

because he works there.

besides you can find everything in NYC.
Click to expand...

Can you find the Space Needle in NYC? That's something.
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well can you find the empire state building, the statue of liberty, one of the world's largest public transportation system, 2 MLB teams, 5 major museums (just from the top of my head), and a public park that spans 50 blocks in your city? that's something too.

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
Originally posted by: sniperruff


but rent isn't THAT expensive. expect to pay around $2000
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bwahaha!
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i said that only because he's expecting to pay $1500-2000 per head. it's not THAT much. not saying $2k for a 3 br apt (in a regular house... maybe 1500 sq ft or so) isn't expensive.

but considering a 15-min subway ride will get you to the heart of one of the biggest cities in the world, and when you split that $2k between 3-4 people... it isn't all that bad.
 
Originally posted by: sniperruff

well can you find the empire state building, the statue of liberty, one of the world's largest public transportation system, 2 MLB teams, 5 major museums (just from the top of my head), and a public park that spans 50 blocks in your city?
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Yes I can. But then again I live only an hour an a half away from NYC.
 
Originally posted by: sniperruff
but considering a 15-min subway ride will get you to the heart of one of the biggest cities in the world, and when you split that $2k between 3-4 people... it isn't all that bad.
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Umm... I'm talking $2k/person. These 3brs are $4k-6k a month for anything decent. Go to Craig's List and look for any decent 2-3br on the island or just across the river. If you can find a 3BR on Manhattan or within 15 minutes in the $2000 total/month range that isn't the size of a cruise room and infested with roaches, let me know.

And can we please leave "why would you want to live in NYC" out of it? We're all in finance--it's where the industry is.

 
NY Times Real Estate is a good place to start searching for rentals. Also check classified sections of other newspapers, and of course, craigslist.

By not going through a broker though, a lot of units simply won't be available to you. A number of owners simply don't want to go through the hassle of showing out their apartments and prefer to use brokers (since it costs them nothing). Since you say all of you are in finance, check to see if your companies offer any sort of relocation. Many will have some sort of standard package that cover broker fees.

I've alway said this to people looking for apartments: Check the toilet. Make sure it has enough flushing power. Would suck to have a toilet too weak to flush your turd.
 
Originally posted by: puffff
NY Times Real Estate is a good place to start searching for rentals. Also check classified sections of other newspapers, and of course, craigslist.

By not going through a broker though, a lot of units simply won't be available to you. A number of owners simply don't want to go through the hassle of showing out their apartments and prefer to use brokers (since it costs them nothing). Since you say all of you are in finance, check to see if your companies offer any sort of relocation. Many will have some sort of standard package that cover broker fees.

I've alway said this to people looking for apartments: Check the toilet. Make sure it has enough flushing power. Would suck to have a toilet too weak to flush your turd.
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Thanks, I'll check that site. My employer offers a deal through a broker but they offer only like 15% off broker fees, which is hardly worth it.

Most of the offers I see for good places are management companies or real estate salesmen. I don't like just submitting "what I want and someone will get back to you"... seems too shady.

Good point about the toilets.
 
Live across the water in Jersey City or similar enivrons.

You'll save big on fiscal year NYC/burrough residence taxes (~9%?).

Plus, your Jersey rent will be markedly cheaper. And the train from Jersey into NYC (C. Park = 20 minutes) is as fast as if you took it from one of the burroughs (faster than you can finish the NY Post).

This subject is often discussed among New Yorkers. One flavor of New Yorker takes the Jersey theory for affordability. The other flavor of New Yorker thinks they're missing out by not living in ground zero of the concrete jungle and paya wahetever is necessary.



......BTW, $2k for a 2-4 bedroom is unrealistic BY FAR. Expect smallish studios in the city to START at $2k in a decent place.


For listings, get a student contact/friend from one of the NYC colleges to get you access to the apartment/roommate listings database at their school. You'll find tons of stuff not listed in the papers!
 
I work in midtown, took a new job a few months back. I live in the UWS and my wife and I love it here. I know a pretty good broker if you are looking at something in manhattan.
 
Originally posted by: dr150
Live across the water in Jersey City or similar enivrons.

You'll save big on fiscal year NYC/burrough residence taxes (~9%?).

Plus, your Jersey rent will be markedly cheaper. And the train from Jersey into NYC (C. Park = 20 minutes) is as fast as if you took it from one of the burroughs (faster than you can finish the NY Post).

This subject is often discussed among New Yorkers. One flavor of New Yorker takes the Jersey theory for affordability. The other flavor of New Yorker thinks they're missing out by not living in ground zero of the concrete jungle and paya wahetever is necessary.



......BTW, $2k for a 2-4 bedroom is unrealistic BY FAR. Expect smallish studios in the city to START at $2k in a decent place.


For listings, get a student contact/friend from one of the NYC colleges to get you access to the apartment/roommate listings database at their school. You'll find tons of stuff not listed in the papers!
Click to expand...

My parents live in New Jersey so I'll probably maintain that as my primary residence regardless of where I live for tax purposes.

Hoboken or Jersey City would be nice, but we're all working on the east side so a 20 minute train into NY, then a subway across town and up town would be a much longer commute than Long Island City to Grand Central, I'd think.

A couple of my potential roommates are in the "I have to live on Manhattan or there will be nothing to do" camp. I'm certainly not.

 
Originally posted by: KnickNut3
Originally posted by: dr150
Live across the water in Jersey City or similar enivrons.

You'll save big on fiscal year NYC/burrough residence taxes (~9%?).

Plus, your Jersey rent will be markedly cheaper. And the train from Jersey into NYC (C. Park = 20 minutes) is as fast as if you took it from one of the burroughs (faster than you can finish the NY Post).

This subject is often discussed among New Yorkers. One flavor of New Yorker takes the Jersey theory for affordability. The other flavor of New Yorker thinks they're missing out by not living in ground zero of the concrete jungle and paya wahetever is necessary.



......BTW, $2k for a 2-4 bedroom is unrealistic BY FAR. Expect smallish studios in the city to START at $2k in a decent place.


For listings, get a student contact/friend from one of the NYC colleges to get you access to the apartment/roommate listings database at their school. You'll find tons of stuff not listed in the papers!
Click to expand...

My parents live in New Jersey so I'll probably maintain that as my primary residence regardless of where I live for tax purposes.

Hoboken or Jersey City would be nice, but we're all working on the east side so a 20 minute train into NY, then a subway across town and up town would be a much longer commute than Long Island City to Grand Central, I'd think.

A couple of my potential roommates are in the "I have to live on Manhattan or there will be nothing to do" camp. I'm certainly not.
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With NYC commutes, their's always convenient options to plot out from all directions (like the ones you mentioned). The city is super well connected and frequently run during morning/evening commutes, so a Jersey commute ain't bad at all MAP.

BTW, having post college roommates sucks.....especially if you date. 😉 Living in a fratish environment gets old QUICK...really quick.

On the flip side, if you plan to work HUGE hours, then living in the city makes sense since you won't have much of a life outside of work and having a pad down the street to crash in at 1AM in the morning for your 5 hour sleep is convenient.




 
Originally posted by: LegendKiller
I work in midtown, took a new job a few months back. I live in the UWS and my wife and I love it here. I know a pretty good broker if you are looking at something in manhattan.
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I also live on the UWS. I think it's just the best neighborhood in Manhattan to live in.
 
I went to NYC for 3 days as a "get away" trip. LOTS of fun- the city literally never sleeps. However, it was kind of like living in a commercial. Advertising on every inch of available space, the streets felt like Christmas at the mall every day, 1 hr + waits to eat ANYWHERE....way too busy for me.

However, you could actually live in an apartment in the city and not ever have to go more than 3 blocks away for your needs for the rest of your life as businesses are stacked on top of each other, so everything you need is just a short walk away.

The last thing I noticed was the traffic (actually, I noticed it first, middle, and last 🙂 ). It's an interesting economy the cabs and busses have there- the streets are so crowded that you can drive and almost need to use paid transportation...however, all of the traffic is created by the paid transportation! It's like they're forcing you to use their business! What a great model!

Anyway, it's a great place to visit, but I don't know how anyone lives there.

(Oh yeah, I dumped $300 on a steak dinner for the family and Bobby Van's. Very good steak, but I've actually had better here in NW Ohio).
 
Originally posted by: sniperruff
actually i'd say LIC would be a good location. couple of subways to get into mid-town in 15 min or so...

don't rule out the bedford area. nice and trendy as hell.... you'll have lots of fun in restaurants/bars around there.

but rent isn't THAT expensive. expect to pay around $2000 or less for a 2/3 bedroom in those locations.

Originally posted by: 91TTZ
Why would you want to move to NYC?
Click to expand...


because he works there.

besides you can find everything in NYC.
Click to expand...

:Q You know I live in a freshly build 2500ft two story house + basement and hand crafted woodwork for $1700/month (with taxes and insurance), and I'm 15 minutes from anything "trendy" I want to do 😉
 
Originally posted by: Fritzo
I went to NYC for 3 days as a "get away" trip. LOTS of fun- the city literally never sleeps. However, it was kind of like living in a commercial. Advertising on every inch of available space, the streets felt like Christmas at the mall every day, 1 hr + waits to eat ANYWHERE....way too busy for me.

However, you could actually live in an apartment in the city and not ever have to go more than 3 blocks away for your needs for the rest of your life as businesses are stacked on top of each other, so everything you need is just a short walk away.

The last thing I noticed was the traffic (actually, I noticed it first, middle, and last 🙂 ). It's an interesting economy the cabs and busses have there- the streets are so crowded that you can drive and almost need to use paid transportation...however, all of the traffic is created by the paid transportation! It's like they're forcing you to use their business! What a great model!

Anyway, it's a great place to visit, but I don't know how anyone lives there.

(Oh yeah, I dumped $300 on a steak dinner for the family and Bobby Van's. Very good steak, but I've actually had better here in NW Ohio).
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Yeah, it's a busy city, but nothing compared to some Asian cities. It might take some time to adjust to it depending on where one originally comes from.

The traffic is not that bad... the subway runs 24h and after some time you understand how the bus lines work, and for small distances they work pretty well. Cabs are also very cheap compared to Europe and at night they move around very fast.

One thing I am sure about is I wouldn't be able to live in any other American city but New York.
 
Check Craigslist if you want to try and find one without a broker. Keep in mind that sometimes landlords will pay part of your broker's fee when you sign the lease. When my wife and I moved to Manhattan a little less than 3 years ago, we used a broker because we were coming in from out-of-state.

Umm... I'm talking $2k/person. These 3brs are $4k-6k a month for anything decent.
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That's nuts. You don't need to spend that much for "anything decent". If you and your roommates can swing $2000 a head, feel free. Check out the Upper East Side, which is a short commute from Midtown. Anything south of the mid-90s is decent. Here are some examples of what you can find for under $4000:

http://newyork.craigslist.org/search/aa...axAsk=4000&bedrooms=3&neighborhood=139
 
Having lived in new york for about 6 years I would suggest that you live in manhattan and not LIC. I know a lot of people that lived outside of manhattan (roosevel island, hoboken, brooklyn) in their first years and they regretted traveling to get to the city. Especially those late nights when you are out partying and you would rather be close to home.

Murray hill is a good bet because it is close to some subways and is fairly quiet as long as you don;t live near the midtown tunnel. I would try to live near the 4,5 or th 2,3 trains so your friend can get downtown fast.

I really do miss the city... As for finding a place you should try craigslist, but in the end I had to use my friends hookups or a broker.. Good luck and have a blast living in the best city on earth.

 
Originally posted by: Aznbruin
Having lived in new york for about 6 years I would suggest that you live in manhattan and not LIC. I know a lot of people that lived outside of manhattan (roosevel island, hoboken, brooklyn) in their first years and they regretted traveling to get to the city. Especially those late nights when you are out partying and you would rather be close to home.

Murray hill is a good bet because it is close to some subways and is fairly quiet as long as you don;t live near the midtown tunnel. I would try to live near the 4,5 or th 2,3 trains so your friend can get downtown fast.

I really do miss the city... As for finding a place you should try craigslist, but in the end I had to use my friends hookups or a broker.. Good luck and have a blast living in the best city on earth.
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Agreed on living in Manhattan. Everybody I know who used to live outside regretted it big time.
 
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