Strong Financial Position in Lieu of Income Verification?

I'm currently a working professional and will be going back to school full-time at Columbia in the fall. I currently rent a 1BR condo in Midtown (just need to give 60 day notice to LL to move), but would like to move closer to Columbia (Manhattan Valley, Morningside, West Harlem, etc.) and find a less expensive place while I'm in school. I'd like to quit my job in late spring, take the summer off,... [more]

I'm currently a working professional and will be going back to school full-time at Columbia in the fall. I currently rent a 1BR condo in Midtown (just need to give 60 day notice to LL to move), but would like to move closer to Columbia (Manhattan Valley, Morningside, West Harlem, etc.) and find a less expensive place while I'm in school. I'd like to quit my job in late spring, take the summer off, and find a new place to live before the end of August. My problem is that once I quit my job I will no longer have an income to verify. I do, however, have $250k in cash & other liquid assets in addition to other illiquid assets and have an excellent credit rating and rental history in NYC. (Yes, I should probably buy a place, but I don't know if I'm staying in NYC after Columbia, and I'm not too bullish on Manhattan RE right now) In my past rentals in NYC I've found my apartments on craigslist, rent-direct, etc., and haven't had anyone even verify my income, but am thinking about breaking down and using a broker this time or going to a major apartment building. My question is essentially whether people think I will have a hard time finding an apartment after I quit my job, or given my strong financial situation this shouldn't be an issue? I'm not really opposed to pre-paying 3-6 months of rent if thats a solution, given the current interest rates. If its too big of hassle I'll find the apartment first and then quit, but certainly from a personal standpoint it would be much easier to quit and then have time to look and move while not working. [less]