Need help finding an apartment in NYC

[Prince2klbAzn]

Hey ATOT!

I've been a fairly fathful reader of ATOT for several years and just wanted to say thanks for all the laughs. I've always been a little too lazy to post anything but I actually need a little help this time and I know that someone in ATOT always will have the answer/solution! =D

Ok sooo yeah... here's the background. I work in Midtown Manhattan and living in lower Murry Hill. I love the apartment I'm in (Sharing a 2 bed 2 bath with a college buddy) but I really can't afford it anymore. Add in the fact that my company is cutting costs (people) left and right... well I think I may have to move.

I don't mind commuting as long as I'm saving a bit of money so I was looking for places outside of Manhattan. I've heard that there are some nice places in Queen and Brooklyn that are right near subway entraces... Does anyone here know from experience or have any suggestions? I'm paying 2200 of the 4200 a month in rent (Roomate had a slightly smaller room) and was hoping to cut that cost down to 1000-1300. I know that may be asking a lot, but hopefully someone's a broker or knows/lives in the area and can provide me with some suggestions. =D

 

[bonkers325]

park slope, brooklyn heights

fresh meadows, forest hills

edit: you might also want to think about jersey

 

[Gibson486]

whoa....4200 for a 2 bedroom.....geesh....I thought my 1525 for a 1 bdrm was bad.....

Move to NJ?

 

[Prince2klbAzn]

I hate to ask but uh... are those areas 'safe'? I'm living right next to the UN building right now and there's always 12317203981029873 cops doing drills right around my building. Being my first time/year/experience in NYC... I chose the place because it seemed pretty secure. (Plus it's got AC and fast elevators =D)

 

[Prince2klbAzn]

Originally posted by: Gibson486
whoa....4200 for a 2 bedroom.....geesh....I thought my 1525 for a 1 bdrm was bad.....

Move to NJ?

I'm not sure where in NJ would work. I already work pretty crazy hours and having to spend more than an hour traveling to work would drive me crazy. I've heard of some people living in Jersey City or Secausus tho...

 

[hiromizu]

Originally posted by: bonkers325
park slope, brooklyn heights

edit: you might also want to think about jersey

Those areas are already as expensive as Manhattan.

Brooklyn is quite expensive and you will not find something nice unless you like the artsy lofts - not something most professionals want to live in. If safety is such a major concern, consider Queens instead. Queens has nicer housing and prices are not as inflated - you can try Astoria, Sunnyside and further east. I moved to a Sunnyside Coop last year and work in midtown east. Takes me less than an hour door to door via the 7. I'm paying $1300 for a 700' studio down from $3000

 

[bonkers325]

Originally posted by: hiromizu

Originally posted by: bonkers325
park slope, brooklyn heights

edit: you might also want to think about jersey

Those areas are already as expensive as Manhattan.

Brooklyn is quite expensive and you will not find something nice unless you like the artsy lofts - not something most professionals want to live in. If safety is such a major concern, consider Queens instead. Queens has nicer housing and prices are not as inflated - you can try Astoria, Sunnyside and further east. I moved to a Sunnyside Coop last year and work in midtown east. Takes me less than an hour door to door via the 7. I'm paying $1300 for a 700' studio down from $3000

a decent apt in park slope will be around 2.5k/mo (according to a friend who rents an apt in park slope)

 

[amdhunter]

You can get a place somewhere in Pelham Bay area of the Bronx, along the 6 train line. It's really nice over there and a lot of the places are rent controlled.

If you are a minority, be prepared to be refused though. I've looked for a ton of places there, and I met the income requirements, and my credit is incredible, but I have never been able to secure a place.

It's probably why the area is so nice though...lol

 

[Legendary]

General rule of thumb:

Cheap
Sane roommates
Good location

Choose two.

You'll miss living in Manhattan - try looking north to Washington Heights

 

[Prince2klbAzn]

Originally posted by: hiromizu

Originally posted by: bonkers325
park slope, brooklyn heights

edit: you might also want to think about jersey

Those areas are already as expensive as Manhattan.

Brooklyn is quite expensive and you will not find something nice unless you like the artsy lofts - not something most professionals want to live in. If safety is such a major concern, consider Queens instead. Queens has nicer housing and prices are not as inflated - you can try Astoria, Sunnyside and further east. I moved to a Sunnyside Coop last year and work in midtown east. Takes me less than an hour door to door via the 7. I'm paying $1300 for a 700' studio down from $3000

That sounds pretty nice. I'll head out there this weekend and take a look. Is that area mostly smaller 3-4 story apartments or are there a lot of high-rise apartment complexes? I actually work in Midtown east too so that commute sounds awesome. I'm just tired of handing over such a large check to the management co.

My place now looks accross the water at that huge Citi building. I was kinda hoping that one of the towers around it would have cheap apartments for rent =P

 

[Prince2klbAzn]

Originally posted by: amdhunter
You can get a place somewhere in Pelham Bay area of the Bronx, along the 6 train line. It's really nice over there and a lot of the places are rent controlled.

If you are a minority, be prepared to be refused though. I've looked for a ton of places there, and I met the income requirements, and my credit is incredible, but I have never been able to secure a place.

It's probably why the area is so nice though...lol

Minority as in African American/Hispanic? Last time I checked, Asian-American was no longer under the 'Minority' bullet for most things =( I'm guessing you mean non-White though.

 

[hiromizu]

Originally posted by: Prince2klbAzn

Originally posted by: hiromizu

Originally posted by: bonkers325
park slope, brooklyn heights

edit: you might also want to think about jersey

Those areas are already as expensive as Manhattan.

Brooklyn is quite expensive and you will not find something nice unless you like the artsy lofts - not something most professionals want to live in. If safety is such a major concern, consider Queens instead. Queens has nicer housing and prices are not as inflated - you can try Astoria, Sunnyside and further east. I moved to a Sunnyside Coop last year and work in midtown east. Takes me less than an hour door to door via the 7. I'm paying $1300 for a 700' studio down from $3000

That sounds pretty nice. I'll head out there this weekend and take a look. Is that area mostly smaller 3-4 story apartments or are there a lot of high-rise apartment complexes? I actually work in Midtown east too so that commute sounds awesome. I'm just tired of handing over such a large check to the management co.

My place now looks accross the water at that huge Citi building. I was kinda hoping that one of the towers around it would have cheap apartments for rent =P

If you can "see" it and like it, it's going to be expensive LOL.

Any high rise building is going to cost you at least 2x more than you want to pay - or it's for sale only. I've already been through this.

 

[Vonkhan]

I live in Park Slope & I pay $1475 for a 2 bedroom apt. The larger bedroom is about 18'x15' and the smaller one is about 12'x9'

Apts in the Park Slope area get cheaper from 15th street onwards and you should be able to find a pretty nice place within $2000 between 10th-20th St / 5th-7th Ave

Steer clear of Rapid Realty, they're worse than scum. Avoid brokers if you can but sometimes they're a necessity. Expect to pay a month's rent as brokers' fee, but don't pay anything more than that - negotiate and tell them a month's if the most you're willing to pay & 99% of the time they'll agree to it.

The N, R and F trains that go to the area are pretty safe. I work in midtown (44th) and the commute is 45 mins max door to door

Sunset Park also has some nice areas but Park Slope is bigger, better.

Queens is cheap but Brooklyn is way more fun & cooler!

Avoid Bushwick / East Williamsburg!

 

[cw42]

Originally posted by: Prince2klbAzn

Originally posted by: Gibson486
whoa....4200 for a 2 bedroom.....geesh....I thought my 1525 for a 1 bdrm was bad.....

Move to NJ?

I'm not sure where in NJ would work. I already work pretty crazy hours and having to spend more than an hour traveling to work would drive me crazy. I've heard of some people living in Jersey City or Secausus tho...

Hoboken, Newport, downtown Jersey City will all get you to Midtown in less than 20min. There's plenty of luxury condos for you around here in relatively safe areas.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Holy crap, $4200 in rent for an apartment? I don't know why you guys like living there...my mortgage + taxes + insurance is under $1100 a month.

 

[hiromizu]

Originally posted by: Vonkhan
I live in Park Slope & I pay $1475 for a 2 bedroom apt. The larger bedroom is about 18'x15' and the smaller one is about 12'x9'

Apts in the Park Slope area get cheaper from 15th street onwards and you should be able to find a pretty nice place within $2000 between 10th-20th St / 5th-7th Ave

Steer clear of Rapid Realty, they're worse than scum. Avoid brokers if you can but sometimes they're a necessity. Expect to pay a month's rent as brokers' fee, but don't pay anything more than that - negotiate and tell them a month's if the most you're willing to pay & 99% of the time they'll agree to it.

The N, R and F trains that go to the area are pretty safe.

Sunset Park also has some nice areas but Park Slope is bigger, better.

Queens is cheap but Brooklyn is way more fun & cooler!

Avoid Bushwick / East Williamsburg!

How long have you been in your area? The best price I've found in Park Slope as of last summer was $1500 for a cleanish studio and it took me about an hour and a half to get to my office so I decided against it. Lesser commute areas would cost even more but I totally agree with your assessment that Brooklyn is cooler, there's no doubt about that. Queens is clean and safe but almost depressing.

 

[Prince2klbAzn]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Holy crap, $4200 in rent for an apartment? I don't know why you guys like living there...my mortgage + taxes + insurance is under $1100 a month.

=/ Not much choice. We both work in midtown and have to be in the office before 7:30 and out by 8pm if we're lucky. Coming home that late... we needed somewhere close and safe. (Roomate is from Cali, I'm from AZ so it's our first time living in nyc)

 

[amdhunter]

Originally posted by: Prince2klbAzn

Originally posted by: amdhunter
You can get a place somewhere in Pelham Bay area of the Bronx, along the 6 train line. It's really nice over there and a lot of the places are rent controlled.

If you are a minority, be prepared to be refused though. I've looked for a ton of places there, and I met the income requirements, and my credit is incredible, but I have never been able to secure a place.

It's probably why the area is so nice though...lol

Minority as in African American/Hispanic? Last time I checked, Asian-American was no longer under the 'Minority' bullet for most things =( I'm guessing you mean non-White though.

I am Indian... I thought that I'd get away with it myself, lol. Pelham Bay is mostly Jewish + Russian or plain Caucasian. Parking is horrible there anyway. Asian's might get away with it.

 

[Prince2klbAzn]

Originally posted by: amdhunter

Originally posted by: Prince2klbAzn

Originally posted by: amdhunter
You can get a place somewhere in Pelham Bay area of the Bronx, along the 6 train line. It's really nice over there and a lot of the places are rent controlled.

If you are a minority, be prepared to be refused though. I've looked for a ton of places there, and I met the income requirements, and my credit is incredible, but I have never been able to secure a place.

It's probably why the area is so nice though...lol

Minority as in African American/Hispanic? Last time I checked, Asian-American was no longer under the 'Minority' bullet for most things =( I'm guessing you mean non-White though.

I am Indian... I thought that I'd get away with it myself, lol. Pelham Bay is mostly Jewish + Russian or plain Caucasian. Parking is horrible there anyway. Asian's might get away with it.

No car... waaayyyy too expensive to have a car in the city. $400 a month for parking is redic.

 

[hiromizu]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Holy crap, $4200 in rent for an apartment? I don't know why you guys like living there...my mortgage + taxes + insurance is under $1100 a month.

And it's going to keep going up quickly due to demand. I had a huge (1000' ft) 2 bedroom brownstone townhouse unit in Gramercy for $3000 which was a killer deal until someone bought the building at 30% higher than market price ($10mil) hence me moving.

 

[bigrash]

Astoria and Long Island city has some nice places for a lot less than the city, but since everyone wants to move there now, the price keeps going up. Couple of years ago, my friend got a nice place after a lot of searching for around 1k a month. Now I was searching with one of my coworkers and it's hard to find a nice sized place for less than 1200 or 1300. You're commute might be 15 more than the city, but Astoria is worth living if you want to stay close to Manhattan.

I'm used to long commutes so I live in Flushing and commute every day. My coworkers think I'm crazy, but I'd rather commute and own, instead of being nearby and renting.

 

[Vonkhan]

Originally posted by: hiromizu

Originally posted by: Vonkhan
I live in Park Slope & I pay $1475 for a 2 bedroom apt. The larger bedroom is about 18'x15' and the smaller one is about 12'x9'

Apts in the Park Slope area get cheaper from 15th street onwards and you should be able to find a pretty nice place within $2000 between 10th-20th St / 5th-7th Ave

Steer clear of Rapid Realty, they're worse than scum. Avoid brokers if you can but sometimes they're a necessity. Expect to pay a month's rent as brokers' fee, but don't pay anything more than that - negotiate and tell them a month's if the most you're willing to pay & 99% of the time they'll agree to it.

The N, R and F trains that go to the area are pretty safe.

Sunset Park also has some nice areas but Park Slope is bigger, better.

Queens is cheap but Brooklyn is way more fun & cooler!

Avoid Bushwick / East Williamsburg!

How long have you been in your area? The best price I've found in Park Slope as of last summer was $1500 for a cleanish studio and it took me about an hour and a half to get to my office so I decided against it. Lesser commute areas would cost even more but I totally agree with your assessment that Brooklyn is cooler, there's no doubt about that. Queens is clean and safe but almost depressing.

I got the place last July. Admittedly, I was very lucky. I was about to settle for a studio apt for $1600 on 3rd Ave (yuck) when the post popped up on Craigslist. I was at the apt within a few mins and told the landlord that I'd take it. He asked me to come back the next day since he was in a rush and had to leave.

The next day I was there 30 mins early and there was some other dude also waiting! When the landlord showed up, I was given dibs since I had already told him that I'd take the place. The other dude had cash in hand and all

Hardwood floors and a backyard all to myself, can't complain!

 

[hiromizu]

Originally posted by: Vonkhan

Originally posted by: hiromizu

Originally posted by: Vonkhan
I live in Park Slope & I pay $1475 for a 2 bedroom apt. The larger bedroom is about 18'x15' and the smaller one is about 12'x9'

Apts in the Park Slope area get cheaper from 15th street onwards and you should be able to find a pretty nice place within $2000 between 10th-20th St / 5th-7th Ave

Steer clear of Rapid Realty, they're worse than scum. Avoid brokers if you can but sometimes they're a necessity. Expect to pay a month's rent as brokers' fee, but don't pay anything more than that - negotiate and tell them a month's if the most you're willing to pay & 99% of the time they'll agree to it.

The N, R and F trains that go to the area are pretty safe.

Sunset Park also has some nice areas but Park Slope is bigger, better.

Queens is cheap but Brooklyn is way more fun & cooler!

Avoid Bushwick / East Williamsburg!

How long have you been in your area? The best price I've found in Park Slope as of last summer was $1500 for a cleanish studio and it took me about an hour and a half to get to my office so I decided against it. Lesser commute areas would cost even more but I totally agree with your assessment that Brooklyn is cooler, there's no doubt about that. Queens is clean and safe but almost depressing.

I got the place last July. Admittedly, I was very lucky. I was about to settle for a studio apt for $1600 on 3rd Ave (yuck) when the post popped up on Craigslist. I was at the apt within a few mins and told the landlord that I'd take it. He asked me to come back the next day since he was in a rush and had to leave.

The next day I was there 30 mins early and there was some other dude also waiting! When the landlord showed up, I was given dibs since I had already told him that I'd take the place. The other dude had cash in hand and all

Hardwood floors and a backyard all to myself, can't complain!

Needle in a haystack bro. Good job!

 

[aceO07]

WTF!? Over 4k for 2br? I suppose the 2bath is nice to have, but that's a load of cash per month. I assume you make enough that it shouldn't be over 50% of your monthly income.

Check out the Jackson Height area. 74th is safe and rent isn't too bad if you look. A friend has a 2br for $1400 (total, and got it recently) and a couple blocks from F/R/V/7/etc trains. ~25minutes to Manhattan.

 

[Prince2klbAzn]

Originally posted by: aceO07
WTF!? Over 4k for 2br? I suppose the 2bath is nice to have, but that's a load of cash per month. I assume you make enough that it shouldn't be over 50% of your monthly income.

Check out the Jackson Height area. 74th is safe and rent isn't too bad if you look. A friend has a 2br for $1400 (total, and got it recently) and a couple blocks from F/R/V/7/etc trains. ~25minutes to Manhattan.

=/ My half of the rent is just under 50% of monthly income BEFORE taxes. After 401k and taxes it's like 75% I know I know... stupid of me. I have 4 days to find a place before work started though. It was kind of a last minute thing.