NYC Rent & WFH

After living at home for way too long I'm moving back into the city but expect to WFH for a quite a while still.. I'm looking for advice on apartment size/price. Currently at 125k base with target bonus of 100-150% and debating whether to pay up for a nicer place since I'll probably be at home working most of the time. Any thoughts/advice on the current rental market is appreciated

20 Comments
 

Just for another datapoint, I make right around the same base bonus and pay $3.1k per month for a one bedroom in a doorman building. Would obviously be nice to pay less but even paying that much and maxing out 401k I never really need to think about spending money on anything within reason (plenty of delivery on the weekends, shopping, etc) and manage to save a bit on top of the 401k and almost all of the bonus.

 

You can find some solid deals right now (2-3 months free of signing a 14-15 month lease), especially in some of the bigger buildings. 

If I were you I would try to find a 1 bedroom so you can have a separate living area (outside of the bedroom). It’ll make working from home a lot more comfortable. 

Outside of that, I would prioritize the location, as the city opens up I’m sure you’ll want to be able to walk to a restaurant/bar/etc. Normally I heavily prioritize area over “niceness” of apt, but probably makes sense to balance those a bit more right now with COVID. 

 
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When I was at that base comp level I spent around $3.2k (although had a smaller bonus) and found that to be totally fine (especially if you have savings). I don’t know your other expenses but as long as you are debt free, and don’t go to expensive restaurants every week (or run up $200 bar tabs or worse) you should be fine. Also depends on your risk tolerance and your outlook of your firm. 

In your shoes I’d take a longer lease with bigger concessions. One thing to keep in mind is that the concessions slow down (even get worse) in many building after about 15 months. In general landlords want to be able to hike the rent once nyc starts opening up. 

You will probably get a better deal renting from a smaller building or private owner if looking for a long lease (and usually more “residential” feel, but fewer amenities, etc). They are more willing to give higher discounts on longer leases as they have a mortgage to pay and rather have the same tenant for a long period of time (turnover costs for them are high). 

 

Not sure why you'd consider moving into Manhattan now, as there ain't anything to do...

If anything, give it a few more months and analyze the situation then. Paying $3k+ in rent now - just to look at your 4 walls, seems idiotic to me. 

There is no big lie, there is no system, the universe is indifferent 
 

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There is no big lie, there is no system, the universe is indifferent 

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