Advice on the Process of Getting Your First NYC Apartment

Hey Everyone - Just finished signing my lease for my NYC apartment (studio) and I thought I'd share some advice on the process for the newbies out there like myself since I thought it was a bit crazy and wished I had some insight beforehand.

Necessary Paperwork

So first off - when going to NYC you need to bring physical and digital copies of:

• Last 2 Bank Statements - my broker recommended having $10K in the bank if possible
• W2 / Tax Returns
• Letter of employment (ideally within the last 60 days - ie you should ask for an updated one)
• 2 recent paystubs if you have it
• Letter of reference from landlord
• Clear copy of license or passport

Email these documents to yourself and have physical copies with you. Also make sure that you have a bank that can cut you a certified check in NYC. So check for branches if you have a smaller bank.

Where to Look Online for Apartments?

I chose to use naked apartments and street easy mainly for my search so that I could use the no fee / low fee function.

I contacted a broker on the site for an apartment I wanted to see - and he agreed to show it to me but then when I ended up in the city later in the week to see it he told me it was no longer available and then showed me five others that were "roughly" in the same vein.

I also found the main broker that I used through the review functions on naked apartments.

What's the Deal with Real Estate Brokers?

While I really didn't want to pay a broker fee - I was overwhelmed by the process and figured I could use a broker's help and ran into one online that had good reviews so I emailed her asked if looking just for no fee apartments was a search criteria I could place and she said yes and we went from there.

Its also important to note that when you are looking at apartments on those websites I mentioned above - when you go to see them you will be meeting with a broker - so unless you are contacting building management yourself you will likely have to come in contact with a broker so the idea of not using a broker is largely impossible.

Once you have a broker - they can likely show you any apartment that you find on the internet sites - so ask them first before trying to set up a meeting with the broker that is assigned to that listing online. That wil save you having to interact with a bunch of different brokers.

Getting a Studio

So I wanted to live by myself and choose to get a studio apartment - but even on a first year bankers salary with a decent amount of money in the bank - I was still required to have a guarantor since this was my first job. My parents did not meet the insane criteria so I was forced to either offer 3 months sec deposit or to use Insurent. While I hated doing it - I chose to use Insurent since there is always the chance that the landlord could stiff you on security deposit. Definitely read about this service before hand if you think you might need to use it.

Search Process in NYC

For those that don't know - apartment hunting is like a whirlwind - you'll see like 5 apartments in 2 hours (and you could be running all over the city) so bring your walking shoes. I highly recommend scheduling 3 days in the city so that you can see apartments for 1.5 days and then put in an application and hopefully be able to sign a lease before you have to leave the city.

Anyways - hope this helps! Experienced monkeys - I'm sure users would love to have your advice and i'm sure I would love it for future reference!