Renting Apartments in NYC. Move-in Date: July 1

For 2008 analysts that are looking to rent an apartment in NYC beginning July 1: have you found anything yet? Most brokers have been telling my friends and I to begin looking in mid-May (we really would like to do it before then). We're looking for apartments in Midtown East or somewhere near there (and the green line).

For current bankers that have rented an apartment in NYC (I know this question has been asked before, but not really with a time-specific focus): How early were you able to find your apartment and what sites/services were the most helpful in your early search?

Also, I know this has been thrown around quite a bit, but what is the bottom line on no-fee apartments? What percentage of your friends found a place without a fee?

 

Earliest i found was 1.5 months before move in.

craigslist is good for no fees, as is nybits.com and urbansherpany.com and www.streeteasy.com

Brokers fees run anywhere from 10-15% and are usually negotiable. Many brokers in the city have the same listings. My favorite brokers are from Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. Citi-habitats is a crap shoot (the person I had was super nice but so damn useless and inefficient).

If you are splitting with your friends, should be doable to split the fee 3 or 4 ways. In the end, you will probably pay a little more for a no-fee apartment (rent wise).

 
JuwannaMann:
It's going to be tough to secure a July 1st move-in at this point unless you're willing to pay more. The reason being that if an apartment is on the market right now, a landlord would rather rent it out now than hold on to it until July, obviously.

are you even in nyc, or just a college student using logical reasoning?

 
Best Response
net worth or nothing:
JuwannaMann:
It's going to be tough to secure a July 1st move-in at this point unless you're willing to pay more. The reason being that if an apartment is on the market right now, a landlord would rather rent it out now than hold on to it until July, obviously.

are you even in nyc, or just a college student using logical reasoning?

I'm a student in NYC starting FT this summer, currently looking for an apartment.

While what I described is basic time value of money stuff, and therefore pretty intuitive, it's been my experience that getting a July apartment right now is pretty much impossible unless a) you know someone or b) are willing to provide some sort of incentive to a landlord to keep a place off the market for a few months until you're ready to move in. Prices will go up considerably in the next few months because of the influx of college graduates, so any sensible landlord will either try to rent the apartment out starting ASAP, or wait until he can get a higher amount.

 

Herserendipity, so is it worth it to get a broker then if I'm living with multiple roommates? How much cheaper would the rent be?

I was planning on driving up to New York and doing it without the broker. How many days do you think it would take for me to find an apartment?

 

you can do the math. Assume you are living with 2 other people and say you get a share for 4500/month which would be 1500/month each. Brokers fee would be about 8100 (say 15% of annual rent, which is on the high end but for assumption purposes, let's say that). If you divide that by 3, that's 2700/person each, upfront. in the end, divide that by 12 and you get about $225 'extra' money a month.

I always think brokers fees are a waste of money because you are just handing over a bunch of cash upfront and have no real recourse getting it back (versus have the $ spread out over 12 months). Then again, brokers do have access to a lot of places that you wouldn't be able to see otherwise.

I actually just moved and just found a place, so this process is pretty fresh in my head.

 

if you look on yelp.com for new york, there are a few citihabitats brokers that got really solid reviews. i talked to one of the reviewers and then got in touch with the agent she recommended. i'm living with roommates and we're all flying out in may to meet with three diff brokers (cithabitats, kurland realty & the real estate group NY) and hopefully find something. the one downside i've heard w/regards to no-fee apts is that they tend to be more poorly managed. if you're not looking for anything complicated it's a good idea to also call up a bunch of the building management companies on your own and just rent directly from them. there are a couple of groups that manage a bunch of buildings. nybits is a good place to start for that stuff.

also the real estate group ny puts out a comprehensive report on rental price by neighborhood every month - it's free on their website. and they also have a ton of resources on how ot rent in nyc.

CL's a TIME SINK. if you are from the east coast and have time to kill, then i'm sure you can unearth good deals via CL, but I emailed a few listings and had one of our brokers look over a few - 95% of the listings don't exists and are just people trying to get you to call them, and if they do exists, they look NOTHING like the pictures online.

 

is just pretty time consuming. I found a great sublet last summer (1000/month) for a two bedroom right next to the 1 train. Happen to be a professor's apartment at one of the NY universities and it was already subsidized by the school, so i just paid whatever they were paying. The 'by owners' link usually has some legit stuff, in my experience.

 

Anyone want to add some more comments to this thread? Particularly with respect to which neighborhoods to live in? I'm working in midtown but I've heard mixed things. One is to live close so you can walk to work/get there quickly. This obviously makes sense.

The other argument is you want to live somewhere that is isolated from where you work, so when you aren't working you aren't reminded of work constantly. Also makes a lot of sense. I think the best idea is just to live in the coolest neighborhood. Since I have never lived in NYC before and have only visited for probably a combined 3-4 days, I know next to nothing about the different neighborhoods.

I've heard LES, East/West Village, SoHo, etc. are all fun. Does anyone have any comments they want to share/first hand experiences with where to live, and where will be fun for people just starting out?

 

If anyone is still looking for an apartment to move in by July 1st and a roommate send me a PM.

I'm just trying to find someone who would be cool to room with. I'm from TX and haven't lived in NYC before so finding a roommate is tough. If anyone else is in the same situation hit me up.

Wes

 
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