How much should I expect to drop on an apartment if I have furniture etc.?

I had to pay around $6k to get into my apartment, and that did not include broker fees. The standard is: 1 month deposit, 1 month rent, plus the appropriate fraction of whatever month you're in at the moment. If you use a broker, that'll be 15% of your first year's rent, or another $4k to $5k.

Furniture was an additional $3k. I highly recommend roommates. Rich ones.

it's good use of the signing bonus...don't go buying plasma tv's now, ya hear?

Broker fee for 90W? Most apts downtown are no-fee.

I live right by ground zero and when we moved in we were required to pay 1st months rent along with a security deposit.

Last week I signed a lease on a new place (in Jersey City, moving in June 1st), requirement was 1st months rent + 1000 security deposit.

To all those re-locating, a word of advice from someone who has lived in NYC for the past 4 years: START YOUR SEARCH EARLY! If you wait til the last second (along with all the others) prices will be at their peak. Also, IT IS POSSIBLE TO AVOID THE BROKER FEE. It requires a bit more time, and perhaps some patience, but in the end it will save you the 10-15% on the annual rent.

I completely agree. I didn't pay a broker fee, and I think most analysts who are just moving to the city shouldn't plan to either, unless they're wanting to get into a very special building for some reason.

Just so you all know, broker fees are a zero sum game. I was a RE agent in another large city. If we dont collect the fee from the renter, we collect it from the landlord. Which means hes charging you 10-15% MORE on the apartment per month so that he can pay that sleazy real estate agent his fee.

In reality, RE agents will push the "no fee" apartments harder because they look "cheaper" to people on the outside. The only time you can REALLY get a savings is by finding an apartment in an off-peak time. Like coogikat said, START EARLY or start really late.

Is early May early enough? Because that's the earliest I could go to NYC, right after my finals

I started in mid-May. It was all right.

So why can't a landlord or property owner just list their apartments on craigslist or some other classified, just like every other place in the US?

They do.

Of course, I think most of us are referring more to luxury high-rises than to walk-ups. The market for landlord-style apartments is very different.

However, all segments of the market for apartments are brutal. You can have good luck or you can have bad... but you still want to start as early as possible.

Only true way to arb out the broker fee is to know someone that is already leaving a good apartment and that person is able to get you into the building at 5-7% above his/her rent.

Finding a reasonably priced apartment anywhere in the City without a broker fee is pertty damn hard. Barring luck, your opportunity cost of time searching for a reasonable place will add up as well.

so whats about average a month if you get a roommate? i know you can find ones on craigslist for like 1300 a person, is this about normal?

Most analysts pay 1200-1500 a month in rent for themselves. I'm at the upper end of that, but I live with my fiance who doesn't really make analyst money.

MisInd: rents have risen considerably over the last year....convertible 1s in Murray Hill and Financial District are pricing north of 3000..meaning >1500 a person....

Fuckin' A, I already told like half of my graduating class that I couldn't live with them because I want to stay alone....Godamn you guys are talking about a lot of benjamins here..

Jj, that's why I live with my fiance in a studio... and why many analysts I know live in less convenient or fashionable districts, occasionally even sharing rooms.

lol, mis ind, its not like we are making PR & publishing salaries in banking...we can afford 1500-1700 a month in rent

Sure... but bear in mind that you will not be able to pay for 1700 with a single paycheck. Your rent will then be greater than 50% of your bring-home salary. It can be done, of course. But some analysts prefer to save an extra couple hundred dollars on rent and spend it on fun, or clothes, or whatever.

Or, like me, on paying off debt.

1700 should be exactly one paycheck after tax and insurance on 60,000 a year...

My paycheck isn't 1700. Your mileage may vary.

I'm starting to get the feeling that my grand plan of a $1,700 Studio/1Bedroom in a nice area is not going to happen...

adjust that 2700 studio/1bedrooom in a "decent" area...

Sure, you can do that. $3400 will get you a really nice senior-banker-level studio or a decent 1br in a nice building.

Or did you mean just for yourself? Come on... I know a solid future banker like you has done your research.

Cheer up, though. You can live on your own for 1700.

http://www.nycdwellers.com/apartments/detale.php?ap_id=368632&n=12&rec_…

http://www.nycdwellers.com/apartments/detale.php?ap_id=123540&n=102&rec…

http://www.nycdwellers.com/apartments/detale.php?ap_id=964414&n=154&rec…

Inwood, Washington Heights......Thanks for the help Ind, I really appreciate it, maybe I could bunk with you and your fiance.

Sorry, man. You can stay with us for a thousand a month, though. Bring your own air mattress.

I start working on July 5th, and I want to travel some. Are we talking mid may? Or is the first week of June ok?

How does this work for analysts in regional offices (Houston) during training?

I know that they supply you with corporate housing, but is it furnished? Otherwise wouldn't it would be a tremendous hassle and expensive to move everything to NYC for 6 weeks and then have to move everything back to Houston and you don't even get days off to do the moving.

For those of you in regional offices, any tips on making the move efficient?

I forget -- do they put you up in hotels or corporate housing during training? Anyone remember? I'm pretty sure they don't rent you an unfurnished apartment. That would be uncharacteristically lame of them.

corporate housing near wherever you are working/training - fully furnished, etc.

Yeah thats a dumb question

oh and how in the world do you guys net 1700k after taxes on 1 paycheck - are not going to pay for a healthplan or contribute to a 401k??

Yeah, IBanalyst, I don't know. I contribute to a 401(k) and have a good health plan. Perhaps they work for a bank with a cheaper health plan and don't put any pre-tax money away?

if you don't contribute to a 401k you can net 1700 after tax and top health plan...

good bang for the buck .. I pay $1,500 for a 475sq square foot 1 br.

JMZ to downtown - 5 mins BFV to midtown - 20 mins 5-10 min walk to soho

A lot of hipster fegs, but clinton st has great restraunts and ludlow/rivington/stanton/ all are lively in the summer.

True, but that's the Lower East Side for you.

Also: walkup or high-rise? What year was it constructed? How large are the windows; how much light? How insulated are the walls? These things make a difference to your quality of life.

How successful was craigslist in helping find apartments? Any other online places to look?

Craigslist was not helpful to me.... I wanted a nice high-rise, recently constructed or rebuilt, professionally run, with good amenities. You don't see too many of those who have exclusive Craigslist ads.

In fact, online apartment hunting was significantly less helpful than I had hoped, partly due to the fact that it's actually bad business sense for anyone to pay for a website to promote free access to data about New York apartments. You can make a little money off ads, but nothing compares to actually being able to charge fees.

1700 take home, thats just one check, so analysts can assume 3400 take home for a month? Oh and I wouldn't consider Battery Park/Financial District fashionable, there's nothing to do. I know FiDi is trying to make a comeback, but its not there yet.

Heh... I find PLENTY to do in the FiDi and Battery Park. You just have to enjoy slumming, I suppose. For me it isn't even really slumming; it's far nicer than some of the shitholes I used to frequent in my old town. And if you get really bored, you can go to Ulysses and observe the mating habits of the young and overpaid.

I personally enjoy living down there. Sure, there are no Michelin-starred restaurants in the area, but on the rare occasion when I go to one, I don't mind the six-minute cab ride up the West Side Highway.

i think that neighborhood preferences will vary depending on whether or not you are engaged, or single....

True. We have no need of a singles pickup scene and, in fact, like things to be quiet and peaceful on the weekends. If you're single, don't live in the FiDi. You will either slit your wrists or start hooking up with hairy goblin girls at Ulysses, after which you will slit your wrists.

Well, no. But you get my drift. It's easier to hook up if you're further north.

Very true and I wasn't shooting an insult in your direction by any means MissInd. If it were up to me I would be living in the FiDi. I think right now it is hard to be the value downtown. Every apartment is nice as hell, i mean AWESOME, but i have a roommate that I have to compromise with.

The value is nice.

Actually, I have a question for you guys. My building is looking to raise my rent to $2800 for the studio I'm in. I wouldn't mind moving to the upper edge of the FiDi/BPC, or even Tribeca/Chelsea/SoHo if it would be cheaper. Am I going to find a sunny luxury high-rise studio for $2500-$2600 in those areas? Anyone have any leads?

My only requirements are that I need dry-cleaning and laundry in-building, a gym, and a doorman who can take packages.

1500sq ft --> Less than 2 miles from work --> My own parking spot --> Newly gutted place with brand new appliances (including washer + dryer) --> Living by myself

$1500 / month

PS: New York sucks!

Oh yeah Ind, there are all sorts of new developments in Chelsea. You shouldn't have a problem at all. Check out the verdesian, new green building.

But two miles from Lower Manhattan is halfway to Newark, which requires the use of PATH, which is lengthy, uncomfortable, and unreliable on weekends. Plus there's no slick Zagat-reviewed bar or restaurant downstairs or around the corner to hang out in, plus all the views I've seen in NJ (aside from Jersey City) are kind of bad. Ick. I'll take the higher rent. No need to maintain a car, either.

Thank you, Gommi! Any other buildings you think are nice?

Looks like I may have to hit up my Parents for a loan. So what's the best area for singles ? I don't want to feel like I'm living in a fuckin' old age home obviously. The Lower east side sounds like it's full of fags and other assorted hippies so that's out of the question.

Everyone seems to love the village, Seanc. You might like it. But there will be gay people wherever you go. It is New York, after all.

Is it a good area to pick up broads ? What about Murray hill ?

Chelsea and Meatpacking, I believe, is the time-honored venue for picking up broads. Beware, though. Gay people like it there too, and they will be lurking in corners, waiting to feel you up when you least expect it. They are all quite evil, you know, and delight in preying upon unsuspecting young straight men.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Of course, forearming sounds like it comes after fisting, so what do I know?

doesnt have real fags ala west village/chelsea .. a lot hipster fags who wear jeans tighter than Lance's spandex shorts.

Shoot for Nolita or Grammercy .. the latter would be lower in rent.

I am living with 3 other people. 2 of us are working in Tribeca and the other two are in Midtown East.

Where can we live and accommodate everyone? Im thinking Hells Kitchen and maybe Chelsea? Any thoughts guys?

Don't worry about me babe, I'll beat them till they're straight if they even look at me strange.

I don't want to live in an area full of lower class peons and hipsters so lower eastside doesn't sound too appealing.

What about Murray hill or midtown ?

Ive heard murray hill or upper east

http://www.nybits.com/apartments/high_rise.html

Are ibankers living in NYC paid more than ibankers working in a less expensive city like Chicago? Are the signing/relocation bonuses the same? If people are earning the same amount regardless of the city they work in, do people work in NYC just because there are more jobs there and that's where alot of the action is?

Best places to live if you are working around Midtown East (Suisse, JPM, UBS, etc)?

• Slams

If you like the "fratty scene" and drink with people your age, then Murray Hill/Grammercy is reasonable with a roommate and close to work places mentioned above.

scotttwibell, possible to find area there 2br for

Coming from way out of town to New York, how long should I give myself to look for an apartment?

I will not be working until the beginning of August. I heard that looking any earlier than 4 weeks in advance would be fruitless since you cannot lock in an apartment any earlier than that.

My roommate and I slpit 3000 in rent for a 2 bedroom in the heart of the village, new apt with 1 bathroom. That should give you an idea.

@ tijuanatornado...thats a pretty good deal....

that's a VERY good deal...did you happen to share it with this guy? http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/sub/301680996.html