How to find an Apartment in NYC.

Apartment Hunting 101

I'm one week into my hunt for a room and no further to finding one. It seems counter intuitive that it would be so hard to find a good apartment when there are so many offers available on so many different websites. Finding one that is within my price range and reasonably close to work is tough.

Where I am looking:

Manhattan: The Island. Expect to pay for the convenience of living on the Island, with rooms starting at about $800 if you lucky and averaging at more than a grand unless you find a roommate who can split room costs, it is just impractical for students who are just settling in. There are better offers further between Harlem and the Bronx that have easy access to the Subway systems and are worth checking out. Also don't expect reasonably priced rooms to be furnished. A good resource to finding properties in Manhattan can be found at www.corcoran.com

Queens. To the west of Manhattan this Burrough is a great place to start. Fully serviced by subway it is within good travel times for Midtown. Astoria is about half an hour from Midtown by subway and seems to be the starting point for many immigrants I have met so far. I have heard quite a few people say Astoria is the new "up and comer" in the city and is very reasonably priced. Traditionally a Greek neighborhood the influx of students makes finding a room that is furnished easier than other places. Unfortunately most places I've looked at are snatched up before I even get a showing. This is still my first choice destination.

Jersey City. Twenty minutes from Times Square by bus with rooms going for as little as $500 this is also an area of great interest for me. I'm a bit scared of travelling to Jersey because I'm not exactly sure about the bus routes yet but I will find out in good time. Being out of New York also means the cost of living is less and if you can get a room close to the river you can get an awesome view of the city.

Staten Island: I'm not really sure what convinced me that this would be a good idea but against the warnings of everybody in the office I decided to see for myself. The prices are good starting at about $500, you can snatch a whole apartment for just less than a grand. The problem is the commute. The ferry leaves every half hour during peak times and takes half an hour to get across the channel. Add that service ends at 11:30PM and you won't be able to stay any later than that in Manhattan if you want to get home. Also imagining the ferry in New York winter seems insane but I take my hat off to all those that make the trip every day.

Brooklyn: I cant exactly tell you why but I tend to gloss over the ads for Brooklyn, it is probably totally uncalled for but I get a sense of weariness. I will have to start looking here and plan on spending my next weekend exploring Brooklyn so I can get over whatever this nonsense I have in my head behind me.

Resources 

Craigslist:

1. Make sure you have a working American number as many people do not respond to just emails.
2. Use the posting ID as the subject in your reply emails because when you get a reply you have no way of telling which advert the respond is referring too. Which becomes a problem when you have sent out 25-30 emails in one sitting.
3. I'm not sure but it seems that people don't remove their ads when they have filled the position so expect a lot of null and voids.

Padmapper.com

1. I really enjoy using this site and their slogan is "Making apartment hunting suck less." so at least they understand it sucks. This website is great because it pins all the adverts from craigslist, gumtree etc onto a Google map of your search area so you can see exactly where and how far the rooms are. They don't have a filter for holiday/short term rooms so expect to do some digging to find what you looking for.

Easyroommate.com

1. Another great resource with lots of ads, it allows you to email the advertiser without upgrading. It also notifies you if your email has been read so you know if you don't get a response to remove the room from your list which makes things more convenient. 

Nyhabitat.com

1. This is the only professional agency I am using and I am keeping them in my pocket as a last resort. Professional and quick they are just too pricey for me. They charge the first month's rent as the commission but a colleague of mine used their service and was very happy. 

General tips

1. Beware of sliding scale rent structures. The first 3 months rent will be $750 and then it will jump to say $1100 and if you signed a contract without realizing this you could be in some serious trouble. 
2. Try get a room with utilities included, this generally covers your water, heat, WiFi and cable. If utilities are shared you might find yourself paying utilities for the whole apartment if 3 roommates decide to move out at the same time. 
3. I only learnt this tip today from one of the hot kitchen chefs at the Waldorf. If using an agency ask if there are any "Fee Paid Apartments". This means the commission is paid by the landlord. I will try this tomorrow and let you know how it works out.
4. The NYC Affordable Housing Center has some great tips.