Affording NYC??- Page 2

[treyisthekiller]

Posted: 4/26/07 at 6:56pm

another question grinding at my spirit is the typical protocal for moving in. Like i said I live in Hollywood, and when i moved in, i had to have a deposit and the first months rent. which was the same as two months rent...is that how its generally done in ny?

[treyisthekiller]

Posted: 4/26/07 at 7:22pm

i need some success stories to boost my spirits! haha

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 4/26/07 at 7:41pm

Usually, your income needs to be at least 80 times your monthly rent. Otherwise, you need a guarantor. I used to rent downtown, and that's what was required of my roommate and I.

[treyisthekiller]

Posted: 4/26/07 at 8:49pm

80 times the monthly rent?

god i hope thats a typo. haha.

[shira467]

Posted: 4/26/07 at 8:54pm

Welcome to NY. Guarantor's are very necessary.

[Calvin]

Posted: 4/26/07 at 10:02pm

No, no, no. Not 80, unless it's changed radically in the last few years. Usually, 40 will be enough.

However -- if you don't make that and need a guarantor, they are often required to make 80 times your monthly rent. I didn't quite meet the 40 requirement (I was getting my name on a two-bedroom lease so I could control who my roommate was), and my father, my guarantor, was just under the 80 times mark, but they still let me rent by me putting down two months' rent for a deposit instead of one.

Also keep in mind that a lot of places won't accept guarantors from out of state, or in some cases, from out of the tri-state area.

[tazber]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 5:32am

true Cal. My dad was in VA when I got my place in NY. and they would not let him be the guarantor.
Also, the leasing company told me their standard was that your income had to be such that you could afford rent with one paycheck. (or if paid bi-weekly/semi-monthly one quarter of your monthly salary).

Trey - have you considered a roommate until you get a little more settled? There are great screening srvcs that will help you find one. And you can request non-smoking/smoking, male/female, etc.

[NewAgeDomestic]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 7:31am

hi trey, just wanted to share my experience. i first moved to nyc about 5 years ago-- i shared a place with 2 other people in queens, and my rent was about $400/month. The major downside to this place was that i had to take 2 buses and a subway in order to get to work. i hated that and was willing to pay more in rent to have more convenient transportation options, so...

then i moved to the lower east side (again with 2 other people). my rent for that place was $800/month, and my bedroom was only slightly larger than the twin bed i slept in. that's the lower east side for you-- amazing the rent they charge for living in what amounts to minimally updated tenement buildings.

after living in nyc a few years i decided to take the leap to get my own place. it's my opinion that some of the best rent deals to be had are currently on the upper east side-- say, 70's-90's east of Lexington. I currently live in the east 80's and pay $1065 a month for a studio. When I moved here, I was paying $1000 even. The key to my rent was that I went through a broker, which kind of sucks but was my best option at the time.

the particular broker i used only charged one month's rent, tho' most of them charge like 10% or more of the annual rent.

if you're moving to nyc, the best thing is if you know someone here (or move here with someone) that you can either room with, or temporarily stay with until you find your own place. another option that i have used to both positive and negative effect is craigslist.

one thing about nyc housing is that there are ALWAYS people moving out and people moving into the city. thus the turnover is high and moves quite quickly. that can be a good thing, as it means you could be in a terrible situation one day and the next day at your acting class or whatever you hear through a classmate about a terrific deal on a 2 BR share in Astoria.

And yes, if your name is on the lease, you usually have to earn at least 40x the monthly rent. That's why it could be better to sublet or share-- generally people looking for roommates don't have the same strict standards. Even so, salaries in NYC tend to be higher than other parts of the country (at least mine, as an office drone, is.).

I'm a firm believer that things work out if you take action-- so even though it can seem overwhelming right now, moving to NYC is totally do-able. After all, people do it all the time!

(I myself am currently in the process of moving from nyc to florida. and i feel overwhelmed in many ways. but experience tells me to take it one thing at a time and things will be okay.)

[JailyardGuy]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 8:15am

Marry well, silly!

[bdwaygirl]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 8:32am

Play the lottery!

[Gothampc]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 10:05am

How do I afford it?
Rent stabilized 1 bedroom
Jacks 99 cent store

I went through a broker to find my apartment. I had to pay 15% of a year's rent, but it was worth it because I knew that I was planning to stay awhile. Also the apartment was rent stabilized, so I had time on my side if you want to look at it from a yearly prorating angle.

My advice to you is when you go look at apartments take your checkbook. With apartments, you really have to make a split second decision. If you like what you see, tell the landlord or broker you are ready to put money down. They may ask you to write a check for an application processing fee which may be anything up to $25. Also, get to know the neighborhoods so that when you see an apartment, you know you are in a neighborhood you like.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 10:13am

Turning tricks! That's the way to get what you want in NYC.

[robbiej]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 10:15am

'My advice to you is when you go look at apartments take your checkbook.'

EXCELLENT piece of advice. When apartment hunting, I also carry with me in a neat little folder copies of my bank statements, copies of recent pay stubs, an employment letter and even a copy of my credit report (though the agencies run their own reports).

A guy I was friendly with and I were once going after the same apartment in the East Village and, because I had a checkbook with me and he didn't, I got it. He decided to try to get another apartment in the same building, but got turned down because of bad credit.

Updated On: 4/27/07 at 10:15 AM

[jess20882]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 11:55am

the best pieces of advice i can offer you, after living in nyc for almost 4 years...

**start saving money NOW...
**like someone else said, bring your checkbook, and bring photocopies of your latest bank statement and pay stub...if you find a place you like and can afford, jump on it
**use a broker - yes you'll probaly have to pay a fee (which is usually between 1/2 month's rent and $15 of the yearly rent), but it'll be worth it because they know the right places to look at
**don't get discouraged...there are some really dumpy places for exorbitant amounts of money...but the right place is out there, it'll just take some time
**definitely check out the upper east side - i currently live there (on 82nd street and 3rd ave) and it's the BEST...close to all transportation, and there really are some fabulous deals

good luck!

[ashley0139]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 12:25pm

As overwhelming as it sounds, I really cannot wait to eventually make this move. And I know there will be people here to give me advice.

[Anakela]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 5:15pm

To add on to the 'bring your checkbook' folks- think about bringing cash.

Yes it's maybe iffy to put a deposit down in cash, but especially if you're just moving out here and the landlord is choosing between renting to someone with an NYC checking account or renting to someone with a checking account at a CA branch whose out of state check could take like 3 or 5 or however many days to clear, that 3 or 5 or however many days could be time the landlord's not willing to waste waiting.

I posted this in a diff thread, this is all the other advice that I have (scroll down to my post)
other thread

[lildogs]

Posted: 4/27/07 at 5:27pm

I work for a real estate company in Manhattan and they require an income of 40-45 times the rent. They accept guarantors who make 80-90 times the rent and who either reside in the tri-state area or who have holdings in New York state.

BEFORE YOU GET A BROKER!!!!!! Check buildings for yourself--I work at a building with no fees--except you wouldn't know that unless you asked. Many people come here with brokers for NO REASON and pay the fee for NO REASON.

I pay $450 a month for my room in a 3 BR apt in Bushwick. Been there for 6 years.

[Liverpool]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 4:16pm

<----pays 700 for my portion of a NICE apartment on W148th. Full Kitchen, washer/dryer. 3 blocks from the subway. you just have to look, and be lucky.

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/28/07 at 5:33pm

Personally, I would say get a broker. It can be expensive, but it's worth it, unless you want to spend every waking moment from now until you find your place refreshing Craigslist. My friend and I were looking for an apartment together earlier this year (which eventually fell through, because my friend decided to move out of NYC) and decided not to use a broker. We checked Craigslist and the apartment listings in the paper at least 5 times an hour. Whenever we would find a place that sounded good, it would be gone by the time we called to sit up an appointment.

Brokers are a great convenience. They work for you. It's worth the money.