Give me tips for my housing hunt

1) always try to negotiate down

2) do you really want to be locked into a 2 year lease? what if rents go down after year 1 and you're stuck overpaying? what if something unexpected happens with your job, your health, etc and you have to break your lease early (6 months in and you would owe $54k vs $18k on a 1 year lease). what exactly is there to "deal with" with a renewal? I would get a 1 year lease, especially if you're new to the city.

3) check out areas of interest at night (11-12pm or later)

1) Patience.
2) Fortitude.
3) 2-year leases are quite normal if you ask for them.
4) Follow UWS mom's advice.

In regard to what you said (and numbered):

1) Always negotiate. If they reject your offer... raise it. They won't (shouldn't) get angered by negotiation.

2) You can arrange a two year lease, but I wouldn't do that. You should ask for a one year lease with an option year at a predetermined percentage. The option is YOUR option, so essentially, you are locking yourself in for one year and then if you want, you can exercise your option for the second year at the agreed upon price (typically 2-5% more than the previous year, but I've heard people get it for the same as year one).

My tips:

1) Have all your paper work in order: 2 years of financial statements, a letter from your job stating how long you have been there and how much you make. Know your landlord's account number. Have a check on hand if you need to put down a deposit/credit check. (Speed is the name of the game, if you like something, something else will too.)

2) Know how big your key pieces of furniture are and measure them out in the places you look at to make sure your stuff will fit comfortably, or at least sort of comfortably.

3) Get floorplans, other docs, etc for each apartment and keep a list of the order you viewed them. After you see 5+ apartments everything will start to fade together. Make notes for the apartments you like the most and write the cons down for the ones that you didn't like so you can weigh everything out later.

4) Convey your offer for the apartment (when you find one you like) via email FIRST. State the following:

- Price you are willing to pay.
- Date you can/will move in.
- What your yearly income is.
- What you do, in brief.
- Any other conditions that were mentioned (electricity is included, free month, etc)
- Any other things you want (bathroom cleaned prior to move-in, etc).

After you write the email, then you can follow up with a phone call to let them know you conveyed an offer. Professionalism is the name of the game as well.

Best of luck!

(Matthew Russell - Brown Harris Stevens)

EDIT: I meant "landlord's phone number" not account number.

Much appreciated, thanks everyone.

There's a website, http://www.nybits.com/ where managers of rental buildings advertise no-fee apartments.

I have a basic question about the financials. If I am a recent law school graduate, what specific documentation do they need? I have a letter from my firm stating my salary. I've read that copies of my past three bank statements should also be included. Is this accurate? Anything else?

As a recent law school graduate without enough savings to avoid a broker fee, are you sure you want to be spending $3k/month on an apartment? $160k/year sounds like a lot of money, but once you account for taxes, insurance, retirement, etc., you probably won't be taking home much more than $7k/month. $3k is a pretty big chunk of that to be spending each month on rent. Why not live somewhere smaller and/or less expensive and save smoe more money (and/or focus on paying off student loans, if you have them).

People have mentioned getting a 1-year lease with an option to renew at a set % increase. Interestingly, my landlord (large/well-known landlord) was offering the same rent for either a 1 or 2 year lease. So, I negotiated the rent as low as they would go and then negotiated it to be a 2-year lease with an option to CANCEL in 1 year.

Regarding 3K/month rent. That sounds about right. If you can find something cheaper, that's great. But, as a first year law associate, you will probably be working very long hours. So, it is important that you pay up for an apartment you will be comfortable in and that is convenient to your job. Remember that you do not get much space in NYC and that 1-bedrooms vary greatly in size. If you want to be efficient in your search, I recommend you request a copy of the floorplan BEFORE you decide to see each apartment. I love the size of my 1-bedroom apartment, but when I was looking, I was shocked at what some people called a 1-bedroom (some are really studios with a fake wall). If the owner/landlord claims they don't have a floorplan, then ask the square footage. You want to get some feel before you waste your limited time going to see it.....

Good Luck!

daylength I have a 1BR in a luxury dm building in your price range - email me miscusenyapple@yahoo.com

I own the apt and am not a broker.

JohnDoe, having experienced the big law firm salary, take-home is definitely more in the $10k a month range. $3k monthly isn't excessive to pay in rent unless you have serious student loans, in which case you should definitely pay those down as fast as possible.

Not the first year (or second or third), evnyc. But, feel free to check my calculations using the paycheck calculator at paycheckcity.com. Assuming single and living in NYC, the calculator shows a take home of just under $8k/month on a salary of $160k. Now add in deductions for health care and retirment and you're creeping significantly closer to $7k.... Of course, more important than our conjecturing would be for daylength to figure out for him/herself what take-home will be, consider it in light of other expenses and decide whether it's worth it to pay $3k/month in rent.

I agree with JohnDoe. Although affordable, i thought $3k/month was a little high for a 1st year.

I would definitely prefer that the rent be lower, but we have a family of three and I'm willing to trade the higher rent for better amenities like a playroom and for a shorter commute. I also simply don't have the money to pay a broker's fee, but once I begin working I've worked out a budget on paycheckcity and we will be ok. I'm not a go out on the town type person, we live relatively frugally and I think we should make it with that budget.

I certainly appreciate the concern, and it likely will be tight, but we're happy with that price point.

Forgive me if this advice is too obvious, but unless you're already very familiar with NYC, you might want to use Streeteasy's "commute time" feature (or the MTA website or hopstop.com) to get a sense of which neighborhoods offer the best commute for you. Note that getting from north to south is easy (especially with express trains), but getting crosstown (from east to west) is generally a pain. Best of all would be living close enough to walk - you'll see your kid a lot more. You'll also want to be close to playgrounds and parks; Central Park, Riverside Park, and the Battery Park Esplanade are all very kid-friendly.

daylength - if you have a little one, i might stretch for a larger 1 br and/or nicer amenities as well.

another consideration with your lease - eventually, you may want to go month to month or get a lease that ends around Jan b/c if you decide to leave your law firm (very few stick it out until the end) it would be nice to do so after your end of year bonus (Dec, i think).

also - i'm not sure i would pay extra just for a playroom in the building. there are so many places to take kids in the neighborhood (parks, playgrounds, museums, indoor playspaces). just something else to consider.

sorry, i meant to elaborate a bit on my last post but the kids were itchin' to get outside. so yeah, a playroom - assume the price difference between a building w/ a playroom and one w/o is just $100/month ($1200/yr). that's a lot to spend on a room in your building where your kid never sees the light of day. consider:
Children's Museum of Manhattan family membership - $210/year ($125 is tax deductible)
American Museum of Natural History family membership - $115.00/year (100% tax deductible)
Indoor playspace passes to places like Kidville or NY Kids Club - approx $15/visit, but some offer discounts when you buy in bulk - 20 at 20% off = $240

so, for less than half the cost of a playroom (again, assuming the price diff. is only $100) you get unlimited use of 2 museums + use of a great indoor playspace. trust me, the child and caregiver/spouse will want to get outside even in the dead of winter.

If you can position yourself somewhere between mid/high 70's and mid/low 80's you'll be within easy walking distance from all of these. the public library, which has a lovely children's section on the first floor, is also in the low 80's.

good luck daylength - i don't know much but i do know what it's like to raise little ones in this neighborhood while my spouse slaves away at a law firm job. the money never stretches as far as you'd like, the hours and stress are enough to ruin even the strongest marriage (we're going into our 7th year), but hey, we're living in a great city! it's not an easy path. may the force be with you!

Buy now or be priced out forever!

Gettin' a bit stale, Uncle Steve.

Topper, are you my niece?

uwsmom, is it really practical to use a museum as a playground facility? Letting a kid run amok in your private playroom seems much easier than chaperoning them at a public museum and library. It seems like apples to oranges, but what do I know?

yes - i take my children to the museum and library to run amok. that's what i do.

The Children's Museum is the best! captive914 clearly have no idea what that place is like.
Btw, employees and their family of many large companies get in for free if their company is a corporate sponsor.