Is nyc apartment hunting cooked

I’m an incoming full time analyst moving to nyc this summer and was speaking with a real estate agency I was considering using to find an apartment (they offered a broker fee of a month of rent which I was willing to pay) but to my horror they told me I needed a guarantor because although I have good credit, employment letter, tax return, etc I just don’t have pay stubs which is obvious as I wouldn’t have started work yet. My parents don’t make enough to be my guarantor (expecting people to make 80x the monthly rent is fucking ridiculous) so I would have to use a third party guarantor which would be another month of rent which would be around 5k in these fees alone assuming my rent is $2.5k.

My question is do all landlords in manhattan now require a guarantor or do some accept proof of employment? I doubt that everyone moving to nyc is willing to shell out that much, and on top of that a broker fee (I know I can also use streeteasy but have heard apartment hunting is getting worse and worse so I was interested in using the broker). Starting to wonder why I am moving here

7 Comments
 

NYC is uniquely complicated, but no matter where you move you’re going to need a good credit score, a huge upfront deposit, and/or a guarantor. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

I'm just waiting for the inevitable "starting on Goldman ECM desk this June, how quickly can I secure my Section 8 voucher and start looking for apartments?" posts

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

Similique facere accusantium velit. Mollitia quia ratione quas quia.

Aliquid quis similique nesciunt neque voluptatem repellat. Aperiam aliquid qui assumenda vitae.

Dolorem et voluptatem occaecati quis. Quam et qui amet dolor laboriosam. Laudantium neque incidunt sequi voluptas. Excepturi tempore quo illo explicabo sunt et ipsa delectus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”