Rental Buildings in Manhattan

nybits.com

Your best bet is to put on a comfortable pair of shoes and start walking. The best deals are found "on the street." Most supers are out in the morning cleaning the sidewalks and taking out the trash. Look for any building that has phone number outside, go to urbanedgeny, tregny (which publishes the address of every listing )Don't respond to any ad that does not have an actual address, renthop. Tackle one neighborhood at a time.Full disclosure I am the renatal manager at TREGNY-the have an excelent guide on "How to find an apartment on your own" I have included teh link. Good Luck!
http://www.tregny.com/renters_guide

nybits is good, streeteasy lists lots of no fees, craiglist is fine as long as you ONLY look at "apt by owner", not just "no fee."

But the kid who works for me is trying the same and you probably won't get a ONE br for that price, even a walk up. A studio for sure, but check

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/home/home.shtml

to make sure it does not have vermin, leaks, etc. If you want "much cheaper" sorry to say you HAVE to consider Harlem. Even east 97th street is 20% cheaper than east 95th street, its odd. You can however get a DOORMAN brand new ONE bedroom in harlem below 125th for the price range you want.

You can check www.werentny.com also

Hi, I will have a large NO FEE studio in Chelsea for just 1850 in the 1st week of August. This unit easy fits a queen size bed, full size couch, coffee table, entertainment system and a small dining table.

This is in an elevator, live-in super w laundry bldg.

I will start advising once the current tenant allows me access.

Call me asap as once I post this unit, there will be people lining up to view it.

Jamie 917.370.7806