Housing in NYC: agent or craig's list

Either go Craigs list, or just go to Manhattan, walk around, and check out the buildings that are known for leasing on your own. Seems like popular places for young professionals include River Place, Herald Towers, and those buildings around Broad, Gold, or Rector St...just ask your friends, alums, me, this board, etc.

Point is, just be proactive and either go craigslist (better if you want a roommate) or just walk around on your own. Not that hard to find places in Manhattan. If you go with a broker, they will bring you to the same places that you can go by foot all on your own...and charge you 1-2 months' rent on top of it. Don't go to a broker unless you like to give away money...for free

Well, if you don't live in/have easy access to the city, a broker is worth it, otherwise have fun living in Hoboken. But seriously, my roommate and I used a broker and it really saved us a lot of legwork. However, be wary of Craigslist, a lot of those postings are made by brokers, so don't think that looking there is a way to avoid the broker's fee.

popular buildings with leasing agents (dont need a broker, so no fees--just walk in)

windsor court the biltmore the murray hill murry hill manor rivergate murray park

Thanks, batman. That's really helpful

There is lots of good advice on this entire thread, but I've hotlinked to a particularly good post about (mostly non-obvious) things you need to have ready when you are looking for an apartment:

http://ask.metafilter.com/61835/Stepbystep-apartment-hunting-in-NYC#930…

Really suggest you get a roommate(s)...

Agree w/ ideating - You're going to be hardpressed to find a studio for under $2000 a month and you won't be able to afford it. Not to mention - you'll be working all the time, going out when you're not working, and really won't be around enough to justify the expense.

Thanks for the replies so far. Do you guys try to live near the office? With the shit hours we have to put in, I thought I should minimize commute time as much as possible. If I could, I just want to live next door from my office ;)

Some people have this whole thing about living in a different place, psychologically leaving the office as well as physically or some shit. I personally don't buy it- figure out for yourself if you can handle living right next to the office.

If you're going to get called into the office, you're going to get called in. It's foolish to think that a VP, D or MD will factor in your distance to the office before he emails you on your Blackberry.

How does everyone feel about living in Brooklyn since the rent on average is less than Manhattan.

First, Nybits and Urbansherpa. They are what I have used for apts this past year and are awesome. Second, there is a lot of debate on the issue, personally I prefer to be as close as possible to the office. For your first year this is a must, in later years you may be able to get away with being further away.

To cyclone, I wouldn't recommend living in Brooklyn till you have a family. Simplest reason (aside from it being Brooklyn) is trying to get a cab to take you home on the one night you were able to go out drinking.

I feel like to live as close as possible, but there aren't many residences near Rockefeller center. I heard about someone who takes a cab to work every morning, $5 in 3 min. Are cabs so cheap in nyc?

you can always take the subway to work in the morning. there are plenty of lines that go to the rockefeller center area.

There's a book called 'Gabriel's Apartment Rental Guide' that I'd highly recommend. It comes out once a year (I have one from a couple of years ago so I am assuming it is still in print). You should be able to get it at any bookstore in NY. Not sure if you can get it from Amazon or elsewhere online. It lists all of the no-fee apartment buildings in Manhattan and then you can either call them or visit their rental offices. Also worth getting is the Sunday real estate section of the NY Times (or you can get listings online). For Analysts, I'd strongly recommened living close to work. It will make your life that much more palatable.

To fishsail: there are actually a fair number of rental buildings within walking distance of Rock Center. Not necessarily cheap though unless you are willing to go a little bit further west.

ex-banker, thank you for the info. I am living in California now, been to NYC only once, starting in July. Do you suggest hiring a broker for my situation? I can also fly there early June and stay in a hostel for 1-2 weeks and search by walking around. Can I find a studio this way?

fishsail, hopefully i'm not offending anyone here but 99/100 real estate brokers in NY really suck (pls. excuse my language). the 1/100 that is good would be definitely worth hiring but the odds of finding that broker is obviously pretty small. my best advice is to do exactly what said. come to NY with a really comfortable pair of shoes and spend the first day or two learning the city and walking around the different neighborhoods. that will help narrow it down. between the NY Times, the book I mentioned in my last post, craigslist and just visiting buildings, you should have no problem finding something within 1-2 weeks. if you are really getting desperate when it gets close to the end of your stay, then you can try the broker route. i would however, do some research online now (e.g. on nytimes.com) so you get an idea of how much studios will cost you depending on what type of apartment you are looking for (e.g. doorman or no doorman, walkup or elevator and other amenities that you may or may not want). lastly, whatever you do, don't take something without seeing it first in person.

hope this helps a bit.

Check out CitiHabitat.com: From my understanding, the buildings pay the brokers for finding tenants, so you pay nothing out of pocket. They've been highly recommended by some of my colleagues.

Thanks ex-banker! seems like walking around is a must. I will try it out first thing in June.

nystateofmind: I heard CitiHabitats brokers charge 10-15%(negotiable) commission...But given the scale and reputation, it may be a lesser evil.

Has anyone ever used the site streeteasy to look up rentals? are these legitimate places?

I like streeteasy's map function that you can see where all the listings are, if accurate address were provided. But I think they're mostly posted by brokers (no?)