Rental broker recomendations for downtown?

Tapdance, this is the kind of thing that my firm normally does very well (we are on The Real Deal's list of top boutique brokers, are based in Chelsea, and offer good coverage of downtown) but given the way you've explained your current living situation and your budget, I think it's unlikely that you're going to end up moving. At $2300, for example, you might get downtown from uptown, but you'd have a main room with just about the same amount of space you have now, and a larger kitchen maybe, but you'd be trading down from renovated to unrenovated.

AND you'd be paying a fee to do that.

You can call our office 212-633-2727 and ask our office manager Saidue if Larry or Greg are in to help you -- they're both honest and know downtown -- but I think it's unlikely you can better your current deal by enough to make moving worth it.

ali r.
DG Neary Realty

Thanks. I was so, so excited about moving, because people kept telling me it was a good market to get more for my money, but I'm starting to realize that that is more myth than reality! My apartment is dark, though, so I was hoping I could at least get a little bit more sunlight, but even bright places seem really expensive and in less nice buildings. Very disappointing!

I think you can maybe get something one jump better, but I find the trouble with moving is that inertia is strong! It's not usually worth it to pack your stuff to get something "only" one jump better -- you usually want to go one-and-half jumps better, or even two, just to deal with the hassle of moving.

ali r.

Agreed! I want to find something sunny AND more spacious than what I have right now--not just one or the other. I've been in my place for four years, and although I love the building, I really feel like it is time to move into a slightly more "adult" apartment. This one is so small that I often feel like I'm living in a dorm room! But to pay broker fees, moving costs, etc. just for one or two things on my wish list seems a tad ridiculous.

Hey if you can find a no fee apartment then it might be worth it. I used a great broker for my no fee downtown. She's from NY Living Solutions a boutique similar to Ali's brokerage.
Berna Hakimi
917-577-8549

TD, I would think of "sunnier" "downtown" and "bigger" as three separate things, and assume that without going over budget, you're only going to get two of them.

ali

I'm tied to "sunnier" and "bigger." Location is less important--my first choice was to stay on the UWS, but I'm running out of things to see up here! I'd thought of looking in some of those areas because I have friends who found alcove studios down there--both in nice buildings and double the size of my apartment--for $1650 and $1800. Perhaps they were just really lucky, but it does give me hope that better stuff is out there. I think it's just a matter of finding it.

Call Eli Gindi 917 902 6722
He works for a small firm that handles exclusives from many of the small owner/management firms. His company has been around since the early 80's.
He's a terrific guy and a good friend. Tell him Keith sent you...

Best,

Keith Burkhardt (broker)
http://theburkhardtgroup.com/agents_details.php?agent_ID=7619

I'm in agreement with front_porch on her second post.

Out of curiosity, what's your current rent and what's your budget? How old are you / how many years have you been in NYC.

One of the realities of NY is just that things are expensive and sometimes those sensibilities don't kick in until you do a few searches.

Can we get a recommendation from our "friend" Jim Hones the leasing agent?

i know that at the very least ar, w67, cc and a few others think that this op is probably a broker.

Splaken--I'm early 30s. Been in NYC for about 7 years, so long enough to know the realities of the market. This will be my fourth rental apartment, so I've also been through the whole search process a few times. Currently paying $1850 and looking to stay under $2200. Somebody recommended this site to me, and I thought it might be a good way to get some information from others who are currently going through the search process.

And Jim, I'm not a broker. I work in the entertainment industry, hence the screen name :)

Honesy, desperate and paranoid?

aboutready
4 minutes ago
ignore this person
report abuse Honesy, desperate and paranoid?

neither. i just know that you and your boyfriends will have a very hard time believing that ll's aren't just giving apartments away to anyone who has a pulse. y'know, because you have such a great handle on the market conditions

aboutready
about 7 months ago
ignore this person
report abuse actually, falco, i read something recently about children not having enough food in this country. i'll try to find it.

i have a good friend who works for one of the business publications. is at high risk of losing his job next week. did i post this elsewhere? i've been thinking about it for weeks.

i asked him why there aren't more human-interest stories in this recession. i still recall the early 80's recession and the news was much differently presented then. he asked me if i really wanted him to go hunt up the five people who were recently fired from his unit, all relatively marginally paid over the years, to see if they were currently utilizing food banks. and he meant it. he said that this time the reporters are living the recession, in previous downturns they weren't even remotely close to this degree.

take a quick look at dailyjobcuts.com. you don't need to read the articles, the headlines will give you a pretty good idea of where we're headed. and i certainly don't mean to minimize global poverty or hunger. i just think it's here more than you'd ever imagine.

still think this post has any merit housewife?

So now you've set the bar at giving apartments away?

Any thing less than that is a sign of strength?

And you're not losing it?

hyperbole douchebag. like "columbiacounty is stupid as a rock" see?

Ah ...
That explains everything you say, doesn't it?

you're going to have to work a lot harder on your banter. you are probably the only person on streeteasy to get banned for being boring.

Feels like you're foaming at the mouth.

Why?

Tapdance42, IMO your best bet is to look for for-fee apartments online with SE off of condos / coops from exclusive brokers with proper listings (has address, pictures, floorplan). Find the 10 that look the best, schedule to visit as many as you can in as short a time as you can, skip the broker on your side. If you happen to run across a rental building that looks interesting, maybe visit it yourself. However, I have found that visiting places based on a description is a big waste of time.

Thanks inonada. I'm starting to find this board a little bit more frustrating than helpful, but I think that's actually good advice. I have some time off coming up and will probably do just that.

Please accept our collective apology for spending more time yelling at each other over engaging in useful conversation. On the search, if the above doesn't yield something satisfactory, then there probably isn't something you'd rather move into.

Also, your moving date kinda sucks. If there's any possibility of extending your lease for 3 or 6 months, or if there's any willingness to move into a temporary sublet, then I'd suggest you do that if you plan on renting for more than just a couple of years.

Tapdance42, you are right about the frustration in the rental market. If renting is merely a short term situation for you, I would say that you are best off saving money for a downpayment so that in the future you can make a purchase and stop throwing money away on rent. Good luck.