How did u get an NYC apartment?

[JSC437]

So usually I rent my own apartment in NYC, pay the realtor fee and all that....

But my lease is up next month and i want to ditch my (studio) apartment, because I want to save some money by getting a roomate or moving in with someone.

How do you find a roomate to live with in NYC? Do you look on Craigslist or something? I tried finding a roomate at school, but didnt have any success.

 

[Minkous]

I luckily knew my roomates before i moved to nyc but i found my apartment on craigslist. I've heard of alot of people finding both an apartment and roomate on craigslist. But if you want you can have my apartment and my roomates lol. I wana get outta nyc and my lease lol haha

 

[feynmix]

Originally Posted by JSC4President

So usually I rent my own apartment in NYC, pay the realtor fee and all that....

But my lease is up next month and i want to ditch my (studio) apartment, because I want to save some money by getting a roomate or moving in with someone.

How do you find a roomate to live with in NYC? Do you look on Craigslist or something? I tried finding a roomate at school, but didnt have any success.

In a similar process right now, and I am relying on craigslist to find a roomate. Although there might a roomate specific site with profiles and such, I have no idea how reliable those can be.

 

[cchen]

Friends
Friends of friends
Craigslist (I'd be very wary)

 

[fcuknu]

I went through CL. I recently got a bigger studio with a back yard for 300 less than I am paying at my current apartment. I got it by owner, so no broker fee.

 

[feynmix]

Originally Posted by fcuknu

I went through CL. I recently got a bigger studio with a back yard for 300 less than I am paying at my current apartment. I got it by owner, so no broker fee.

neighborhood? Price? If you dont mind me asking

 

[fcuknu]

1489 in midtown east... my backyard is bigger than my apartment

 

[ZackyBoy]

Originally Posted by fcuknu

1489 in midtown east... my backyard is bigger than my apartment

How does an apartment have a backyard?

 

[fcuknu]

not all buildings touch....

 

[bullethead]

a long, long time ago I used the Village Voice and NYPress. I checked the shares section, which i believe at the time were the only two viable options for those who didn't have a pool of acquaintances.

 

[gdl203]

#1 broker
#2 took over a friend's lease
#3 broker
#4 broker (bought)

For each and every round, I used VV, then craigslitst ads and that was a monumental waste of time - days and days of hoping from subway to subway and ending up staring at shitholes the size of a closet. With brokers, I told them what we were looking for and that I will NOT go see any apartment they have not seen themselves to make sure it fits my criteria and is nice enough (I'm not giving out a month rent just for someone to forward database ads to me). That resulted in seeing maybe 2 or 3 places only with them before we took the place. #3 for example was the first and only place the broker sent us to and it was match right there.

 

[gomestar]

I used a broker, she was great. Worth paying the fee, most apartment have the fee built in to the rent anyways, you'd be amazed how the prices change when you inquire about paying a fee.


I got a 1-bedroom (separate kitchen, dining area, bedroom, and living room) for $50 LESS than my current studio in a location that's just down the street but much closer to the express train. I move in about 2 weeks and I'm thrilled.

 

[untilted]

post an ad on craigslist

for example:

"LOOKING FOR X-BEDROOM APARTMENT IN SOHO/TriBeCa"

exactly where u r looking for, how many bedrooms, and how much u are willing to pay.

my roommates did that. holy **** we got so many calls and leads to visit. broker from citi habitat showed us like 8 units in a day free of charge. eventually we went for something listed on nybits.com

 

[JSC437]

Thanks everyone. I agree with what some of you said about small shithole apartments.... last night i went to look a couple of apartments on Ludlow and Orchard Street, respectively. The apartments/bedrooms were the size of a closet. Also, the area is a bit too "hipster" for me. Then I noticed there are ton of apartments available in the Financial District.... but I used to work down there and I could not see living there (nothing to do, no social life).

I am in a pretty tough price point. Right now I pay $2000 a month, but I want to drop down to about $1500. $1500 is a tough price point, because it puts you right in the middle of crappy apartments and something pretty good.

Ideally, I can have a roomate and spend $1500 on rent to live in a good sized 2 bedroom ($3000 rent in total). I am pretty sick of living in a studio. My apartment is so small.

By this time next year I hope that my pay will increase substantially.... too bad the Financial Services sector is a mess. : (

 

[JSC437]

Originally Posted by fcuknu

1489 in midtown east... my backyard is bigger than my apartment

There are a few ads for studio apartments posted where I work... all of them are in the area of 46th street and 2nd avenue, Tudor City and that type of thing. I notice the price points to be around $1450 or so. But then you have pay some type of 1 time co-op fee or something like that.

It seems like the price of studio apartments have gone down since I moved into my place. Also, I notice the apartments in my neighborhood to have gone down maybe $300 on a comparable lease.