WA resident to NYU; apartments + moving

[Motherlovebone]

Any washington residents moving to the Big Apple? If so, what tactics are you considering for finding an apartment? Beyond the comforts of Mannhattan, I actually hear there are a few pleasant neighboorhoods/boroughs in Brooklyn and Queens that are less expensive. Pretty much my tactics are just looking at the apartment section on the NYU homepage, reading the village voice, and hopefully not resorting to a broker... Although supposedly many New york residents resort to brokers. Input would be great

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[sumluck]

BUMP...Is there anybody with any suggestions for not just necessarily WA residents, but for anyone moving from out of state to attend NYU and deal with leaving in NYC...how are other people going about finding places to live who are coming from out of state?

 

[hotrod0917]

I'm guessing Mother's moving out of the state? Were you accepted at anywhere else by any chance??

 

[Cymbidium]

Try craigslist. But honestly, you usually have to go through a broker- I moved 4 times while I lived in NYC and everytime I moved, no matter how hard I tried not to go through a broker, I always ended up going through them. They have better listings.

The other thing you could try is if you know anyone who is currently renting in NYC you could ask them for the name of thier building manager/ super.

I would fly to NYC for a week (yes, it will take you at least this long to find a place) and start looking. And be ready to say yes to a place on the spot and have at least $3K for deposit, broker fee and first month's rent. If you wait to think about it, it will be definintely be gone 2 hrs later.

Go the last week of July for optimal results - leases usually open up at the end of a month.

Finding housing in NYC is damn near impossible.

I'm going to have to go through the same thing. Can't wait.

 

[Motherlovebone]

I'm leaving Monday July 23rd and making arrangements to stay in a short term appartments. I'm really hoping to not necessarily live on the island itself, however, to live in some neighbors close to Mannhattan (i.e. Roosevelt Island, Brooklyn Heights, or Astoria). To reinterate what you said cymbidium, a Broker is the way to go, but to expect atleast a 12% fee of what your yearly rent is right? What I have seen in terms of cost, security deposits were equal to a month's rent, however, I'm confused are you including first and last month's rent? Also what do you think about other borough neighbors excluding the bronx? Yes, hotrod0917 NYU was it... After 5 interviews, two of which I declined, 5 withdrawls because I got in DEC 1, and now 5 denies. Call it a godsend, or a finnancial curse but regardless if I waited out a year It would cost me a hell of a lot more .

 

[Motherlovebone]

Sumluck is right, I'm going to post a new thread based on this same disscussion.

 

[LoF27]

Also something else to note: if you can't prove that you're currently making at least 40 times the monthly rent, you will almost certainly need a co-signer on the lease to act as a guarantor, and the guarantor usually has to prove income at 70x the monthly rent. Nope, having incoming student loan money will not cut it. I know it is ridiculous, but trust me, I went through this myself when I moved to Manhattan. They actually usually require pay stubs from the past few months as well as possibly tax returns or a letter from your employer. My friend and fellow New Yorker put it best when she said "The thought of finding housing in NYC is enough to make me want to curl up into the fetal position on the floor." It is that bad (well at least Manhattan is; you may have better luck in Queens). Honestly, if you don't have a guarantor or aren't currently employed, I would seriously recommend living in student housing for the first year. That will give you a chance to meet people and find a room in an apartment where someone else already jumped through all the hoops, paid all the broker's fees, proved the 40x rent income, etc. Good luck, you will need it. Moving to Manhattan was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE NEW YORK. BUT IT IS NOT AN EASY CITY. NOTHING IS EASY HERE, BE PREPARED.

Oh, and please be wary of paying money to places like RentDirect.com that offer to give you listings where there is no fee for the "relatively small fee of $200". They are a bunch of crooks in my opinion and experience.

 

[Yellow Snow]

I have a small family and have been looking closely into moving to Astoria. The area around Prospect Park in Brooklyn seems much more hip but the rent is a couple hundred more per month. I would love to hear opinions on Astoria from someone who is familiar with the area.

When I think of Queens the first image that comes to mind is Eddie Murphey in *Coming to America* but others swear to me that now it is a quiet, decent place to live.

 

[Motherlovebone]

LoF27,

Well obviously no student usually will have an income of 40X rent, and/or 60,000 on a 1500 a month pad. Do the guarantors need to be from NY state or not? And you stated that, they needed almost 70x that of monthly rent and/or ~100,000. Well my parents will cosign, but their combined incomes are just barely less than 100,000? Does these apartment facility actually look at peoples assets as well for them to be guarantors insofar as thats the case I would be fine. Likewise, I'm doing the HPSP Army scholarship, do they consider that as an income since their is a stipend of 1,400/ month. I guess what I am saying is there some gray area when you get an aparment in Mannhattan if you are close to their requirements. Also do the neighboring boroughs require this insane amount of income to rent. I wish I could do student housing at this point, however, my wife is also a student and NYU doesn't have student housing. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Cymbidium]

I have a small family and have been looking closely into moving to Astoria. The area around Prospect Park in Brooklyn seems much more hip but the rent is a couple hundred more per month. I would love to hear opinions on Astoria from someone who is familiar with the area.

When I think of Queens the first image that comes to mind is Eddie Murphey in *Coming to America* but others swear to me that now it is a quiet, decent place to live.

Astoria is nice. It's nothing fancy, but it's nice and safe. I Think it's a good option if you have a family.