NYC mags ---> help my friend find a place to live

Hey NYC mags - a friend of mine needs a place to live for a couple years in New York City. Any and all help is appreciated!! Below is her email to me. Please PM me for any inside information you may have on rentals and I'll forward all information to her. Thanks!!

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I need a place to live, and prefer to live by myself (a room of one's own, ya' dig?)... If I find the right place, I'll be a model tenant for at least 2 years.

I can move in as early as August 1. I would like to pay $1000 or less. I would like to live within a 30-45 minute commute to NYU/Greenwich Village in Manhattan (one way, via public transportation).

If you know anyone who can help me make this happen, I will be eternally grateful.

if this person is willing to commute over 30 minutes to get to NYU that should be doable, particularly in a studio in Brooklyn somewhere. I think $1000 in Manhattan would mean something way uptown, though.
I hear of apartments every now and then, but can't think of anything right now. Check all the listings, and make sure she has a look at places and is ready to sign for something (will need proof of ginormous income for some places).

check out craigslist NY
I'm imagining it might have a hard time finding a studio/1bd for that price in the city but Brooklyn/Bronx/Queens might be an option

elevens

I haven't ever looked for a studio apt, but she might be pushing the commute time to find a decent place in her price range. Looks like there might be a bunch of places in Bay Ridge. Google/Yahoo maps and craigslist will be her best friends. Have her PM me with any questions on areas.

Some places ask for ridiculous broker and credit check fees, so she should be wary of that.

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Originally Posted by elevens

check out craigslist NY
I'm imagining it might have a hard time finding a studio/1bd for that price in the city but Brooklyn/Bronx/Queens might be an option

elevens

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Please explain why people would pay that for a studio?!

My sister rents places in NYC, but are probably out of your friends range by way too much...

http://www.anchornyc.com/page.cfm?pa...profile&id=109

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Originally Posted by P_McPoser

Please explain why people would pay that for a studio?!

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Ha - you'll see. There aren't many apts in decent neighborhoods under 2000. While you're in NY look around and think about that. Rent control laws changed a few years ago and everything went up 50-75%.
And Phish - a non naked picture of your attractive sister. So glad you bucked the new trend.

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Originally Posted by bklyntrayc

Ha - you'll see. There aren't many apts in decent neighborhoods under 2000. While you're in NY look around and think about that. Rent control laws changed a few years ago and everything went up 50-75%.
And Phish - a non naked picture of your attractive sister. So glad you bucked the new trend.

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Egads. I wouldn't even want a 2000 dollar mortgage let alone rent!!! Guess I'm bound to be a country boy with a moderate house and yard with a 700 dollar mortgage payment. :biggrin:

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Originally Posted by bklyntrayc

And Phish - a non naked picture of your attractive sister. So glad you bucked the new trend.

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We clearly need a link to her myspace account.

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Originally Posted by P_McPoser

Please explain why people would pay that for a studio?!

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Because it's New York Fucking City

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Originally Posted by divegirl

Hey NYC mags - a friend of mine needs a place to live for a couple years in New York City.

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Is your friend coming into the city to apartment hunt, or is she hoping to do this via e-mail?

Finding an apartment you like in NY for very little money normally requires an inspection. To be as close to NYU as she wants to be (which might not be so doable in her price range - watch out for brokers and their fees) probably means something rather small or in a sketchy neighborhood/building. You need to visit the place to see how you feel about the space and neighborhood.

If you want to settle for something small, overpriced, and in not a great neighborhood that's easy. If you want a good deal on a nice apartment here's what's worked for me (takes 3-5 days):
- open browser to cragislist - nyc
- search the neighborhoods you're interested in
- Hit refresh every 5 minutes
- The minute something comes up that you want call (or if no # then e-mail) the contact person. Set up the soonest appointment possible.
- See the place. If you want it, say so - loudly. If you need "a few days to think about it," tough shit - if it's a good apartment someone else will snag it while you're "thinking."

Neighborhoods she might be interested in:
- Carrol Gardens (and Carrol Gardens West - other side of the BQE = cheaper)
- Prospect Heights
- Greenpoint (might be a walk from the subway)
- Gowanus (it's like carrol gardens, but industrial)
- Long Island City (I never thought it had any soul)
- Uptown Manhattan (Harlem, University Heights, Washington heights - the A train will be your friend)
- Williamsburg (priced out by hipsters)
- Park Slope (priced out by yuppies)
- Redhook (see Gowanus)

edit - What elevens said. If cities are your thing, this is one of the greatest in the world.

Nice 1 bdr in large Victorian in Montclair NJ- 35 min train to Penn available if interested 1250.

Not sure what the rents are now but I had a Studio in Jersey city at Dixon Mills - 3 blocks from Grove street Path station - about 10 minutes to WTC when I worked there - paid $850...but that was 5 years ago. decent neighborhood, easy commute...shouldn't be too much higher now. (Just googled it - studio $925-1295, 1br 1095-1795)

I would suggest the Columbia/UWS/Harlem area. It's a close commute on the D train, and there are still some good deals in the 100-125 st range.

Not that the public transportation is unsafe, but if I was a female spending a half hour by myself on the subway at 3am I may feel more than a bit uncomfortable.

Chances are she will be ringing up some pretty expensive cab rides on a weekly basis if she is living too far from school, it would probably be worth it to spend an extra couple of hundred bucks a month on somewhere much closer.

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Originally Posted by CUBUCK

Not that the public transportation is unsafe, but if I was a female spending a half hour by myself on the subway at 3am I may feel more than a bit uncomfortable.

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And if she's going to Jersey, the PATH sucks beyond belief at that time of night. It'll take a lot longer than 30-45 minutes.

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Originally Posted by Will

Is your friend coming into the city to apartment hunt, or is she hoping to do this via e-mail?

Finding an apartment you like in NY for very little money normally requires an inspection. To be as close to NYU as she wants to be (which might not be so doable in her price range - watch out for brokers and their fees) probably means something rather small or in a sketchy neighborhood/building. You need to visit the place to see how you feel about the space and neighborhood.

If you want to settle for something small, overpriced, and in not a great neighborhood that's easy. If you want a good deal on a nice apartment here's what's worked for me (takes 3-5 days):
- open browser to cragislist - nyc
- search the neighborhoods you're interested in
- Hit refresh every 5 minutes
- The minute something comes up that you want call (or if no # then e-mail) the contact person. Set up the soonest appointment possible.
- See the place. If you want it, say so - loudly. If you need "a few days to think about it," tough shit - if it's a good apartment someone else will snag it while you're "thinking."

Neighborhoods she might be interested in:
- Carrol Gardens (and Carrol Gardens West - other side of the BQE = cheaper)
- Prospect Heights
- Greenpoint (might be a walk from the subway)
- Gowanus (it's like carrol gardens, but industrial)
- Long Island City (I never thought it had any soul)
- Uptown Manhattan (Harlem, University Heights, Washington heights - the A train will be your friend)
- Williamsburg (priced out by hipsters)
- Park Slope (priced out by yuppies)
- Redhook (see Gowanus)

edit - What elevens said. If cities are your thing, this is one of the greatest in the world.

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Agree about the craigslist strategy, but she has to be here already in order to fully take advantage of that.

Greenpoint, anywhere under or too close to the BQE, Gowanus, & the hook are still sketch places to live for a college student and not always convenient to public transport or are in what we used to call "two fare" zones before the metrocard.

Maybe your friend should increase her budget or reconsider the roommate option. Prospect Heights & Ft Greene are also getting sky high with rent.

I could live safely anywhere in this city, but that's not the case for everyone.

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Originally Posted by bklyntrayc

I could live safely anywhere in this city, but that's not the case for everyone.

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sure, but someone who has never lived there and only wants to spend a grand thats pretty tough....


divegirl, can she afford more and dosent want to? or is she really strapped?


cause it would be worth it to spend a little more for that extra 15-20 minutes of being closer......

she needs to explore having roomates.
NYC roomates are different than other places.
they cohabitate with out really hanging out.

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Originally Posted by Woodsy

she needs to explore having roomates.
NYC roomates are different than other places.
they cohabitate with out really hanging out.

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yeah.....in reality if she is young she wont really be spending time at her apartment....just going to work, and going around town, etc....


she should look into getting some roomies for sure....could save her alot of loot...

roo-mies! roo-mies! roo-mies!! Gooooooooooo roomies! seriously.

yeah, even as a professional in New York, I couldnt have afforded tolive in Manhattan if I had not moved in with my GF.

I had exactly the place she wants. A studio on 13th, between 5th & University, on top of the NYH&RC. They wanted $995, and I bargained them down to $975.

In 1990.

If she's thinking about roommate situations, one of my stepsisters (recent Barnard grad) is up in a gentrifying neighborhood in the 140s and loves it; I think she might have space for a roommate. The other is going to be a sophomore at NYU, but I think she's in student housing, although I can check.

But yeah, Craigslist, and the Village Voice classifieds.

There's also the trick I learned about but never had the chance to use, but reportedly worked quite well in the rent control days, when outrageous brokers' fees were the norm (perhaps they still are?). Because rent control/stabilization limited the rent increase, landlords could always get their maximum increase, and most good deals were rented before they hit the public eye. The methodology was to choose a block or so on which you really wanted to live, do up a flyer saying exactly your parameters, offering a decent finder's fee (a month's rent or a little less), and handing it to every super on the block, because they know about every opening before it's public.

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Originally Posted by bklyntrayc

Greenpoint, anywhere under or too close to the BQE, Gowanus, & the hook are still sketch places to live for a college student and not always convenient to public transport or are in what we used to call "two fare" zones before the metrocard.

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This is probably true. But there are exceptions, which is why (if she has the chance to see the apartments in person and walk around the neighborhoods), they shouldn't be entirely crossed off the list.
Well.... maybe red-hook should. Getting there is a long walk through an empty neighborhood no matter what train you take.

Roomates are good. I've paid about 900 to live in Carrol Gardens and about 800 to live on Eastern Parkway (1.5 blocks from subway, doorman building, dishwasher, and washer/dryer in basement). Friends have paid less than 600/person living in upper manhattan (160s) when they split the apartment between 4 people. You can't get prices like that living alone.

....and finally, [NY snob] she isn't coming to NYC to live in jersey.[/NY snob]

I would also suggest the roommate option for the first year. Get a feel for the city, explore the different neighborhoods, see what you like, and then set off on your own for year 2. Additionally, New York can be a bit overwhelming, and its nice to have someone around to complain to every once in a while.

Here is a link to the NYC subway. You friend should look at neighborhoods which are on subway lines.

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/submap.htm

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Originally Posted by MOHSHSIHd

divegirl, can she afford more and dosent want to? or is she really strapped?

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Thanks to all of your for all this awesome information - I've already emailed her the link to this thread, so she'll be fully clued in.

She'll be attending NYU in the fall. So I would imagine, the best financial deal she can get (weighing all her options) would be ideal. Although I don't know for sure.

bklyntrayc - I'll let her know she can contact you, thanks!

NYU housing might be the cheapest and best option, actually.

Also, she should get one of those lists of non-fee apartments, i forget how to get one, though.

Sorry it took me so long to respond, have been in London for work.

Her best option is going to be the NYU housing bulletin lists. When I first moved to NYC, I found a $975 studio at 57th/8th through the Columbia b-school list.... Granted, it was 150sq. feet, had tons of roaches, and could not fit a full-sized bed in it, but it was a place of my own, and close to the park! :rolleyes2 Also found my current 1br from school list sites as well.

The best part is that students are always going away, leaving for a semester, failing out (!!!), so she might get lucky and find someone breaking their lease and not have to pay a broker's fee that way... same goes for a long-term sublet.

Also, I know a couple good brokers who do rentals. already referred one mag and he apparently helped him find a nice place, so if you want his info, let me know.

Will had some good advice- real estate in NYC is a blood sport. She has to be decisive and have liquid $$ on hand for a huge fee up front... 1st mo, last mo, security, and if she gets hit with a fee, can be up to 7k up front...

here's a great article from curbed about finding a no-fee rental in NYC:
http://www.curbed.com/archives/2006/...nofee_game.php (edit- the best info is in the comments)

Basically, if she has the time and motivation, she can luck into a good deal. It's going to be a lot of work and "pounding pavement," but it can be done.

MIGHT, MAYBE have a line on a place right at NYU (Sheridan Sq. area) with a roommate for around $1000, but the roommate is a known quantity and might be gone most of the winter. PM me and I'll let you know when I know.

If this friend needs a roommate let me know.

I'm apartment hunting myself, and would entertain a 2-BR in a heartbeat.

If the below sounds like it's up anyone's alley, PM me. A good friend is headed up to Boston to do a masters at Harvard, and needs to sublet her place. Sweet place, too.

Share a spacious, two-plus-bedroom duplex apartment in brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with one other professional woman. Available space includes a large bedroom with huge walk-in closet (with built-in shelves and drawers) plus second room ideal for office/study. House features backyard, original details, and tastefully furnished common areas (including living room and formal dining room). Close to all major subway lines. Female housemate preferred; pets welcome on case-by-case basis (they’d need to be able to co-exist with the current pooch of the house, a male border collie mix). Available August 1, 2006, through May 31, 2007 (with some flexibility on dates). Rent is $1100/mth (plus share of utilities – but you don't pay heat); one-month security deposit. References preferred.

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Originally Posted by MOHSHSIHd

My sister rents places in NYC, but are probably out of your friends range by way too much...

http://www.anchornyc.com/page.cfm?pa...profile&id=109

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No way i actually applied to work at Ardor last month.......think i'm going to do the commercial side of real estate though....small world


Just to add to all the other insightful mags, i too am apt searching in NYC and yeah roomates are the way to go - i have two friends who got a place in the low 80s east side for under a grand spliting the costs.......i'm looking to snatch a walkup penthouse with private roof deck for around $1,300 each (3 of us)......definately some deals out there for people willing to split.....

Oh and what bklyntrayc mentioned, be careful of crazy agents with 15% fees on craiglist.....if you go straight to the management companies you can save the fees and hassle.....but be prepared to snatch something fast cause the market is crazy here right now....1% vacancy rate i'm hearing.....

for example..... www.skymanagement.com

Good luck to your friend, let me know if i can be of anymore help...