It’s looking like my D will be moving to Brooklyn this summer to begin med school. She/we are completely unfamiliar with the process of renting in NYC - how to find llistings, “finder’s fees”, preferred neighborhoods, etc. Any advice on where and when to begin? She would be looking to begin a lease in July.
You may want to search for previous threads on renting apartments in NYC. It is a process. My D went to college in NYC and we were guarantors on her apartments which required tax returns, bank statements, notorized leases, etc, as well as income requirements. My D found her apartments through Craigslist and also a broker. Most brokers will charge 15% of a 1 year lease.
DD recently did this but in Manhattan. She found a “no fee” rental through StreetEasy. But I also used StreetEasy – the price of the broker’s fee is baked into the rent (i.e., a no fee 1 BR rental was $2900/month; one with a fee was $2700/month). You’ve got to compare apples to apples. If she’s ok living in a larger building, she can go directly to the managing agent. Big ones are Glenwood and Milford Management. I just checked both for you – didn’t see any Brooklyn buildings. Where is her med school? IMO, best location is downtown Brooklyn (simply because there are so many subway lines that go there). Williamsburg is still cool (as in “hot” ha ha) but a pain to get to.
Start your Google search now. It’s a whole different world with it’s own terminology, etc. There are many good introductory websites to get you started. Also, starting a lease in July often increases the rent substantially, as that is when everyone moves. If the med school is in Brooklyn , have your daughter contact the school for how she can be put in touch with current students. They will be the best resource for where to live and someone may know of an open room. If you’re not from the area and haven’t rented in NYC before, be prepared for the $$$$. As already mentioned, you will probably need to be the guarantor and that involves your income verification, pay stubs, bank account and brokerage statements , W-2 etc.
Agree - it is a process.
Thanks for the tips! I have looked at Street Easy but wasn’t sure how “legitimate” a website it is. I am glad to hear that it is and that the listings I am seeing there are the real deal. The med school is SUNY Downstate, have heard Park Slope is good (but pricey). Main concern is a safe location and convenient access to public transport.
My d is in Carroll Gardens across the canal from Park Slope- and is very happy there. Patience is the key. Nothing much will be available to the month before. My d found her place and moved in 2 weeks later. Stressful. But thats the way it seems to go. If you search the other thread I posted how she found her apartment.
As has been said, it’s tough to find a place too far in advance. The best advice, once you start actually physically looking, is to be ready to jump at a place you like immediately. Chances are if you’re not ready, if you don’t have everything required available (as mentioned above, tax returns, bank account info, ready to be a guarantor), the apartment will be gone.
Your daughter should also ALERT ALL HER SOCIAL MEDIA FRIENDS that she’ll be looking. My daughter moved twice to NY, once to Manhattan and the other time to Brooklyn – and both times found her place through online friends-of-friends.
And be aware that rentals of co-ops ( of which there are many out there) often require an approval procedure that can take weeks. Is she looking to live alone? Perhaps the med school has a class FB group or other mechanism through which students can find roommates. I know when my D went to Chicago for law school such things were helpful. She just rented an apartment in Brooklyn, but found the process a pain. Suggest a reconnaissance mission to decide where she wants to live and what she’s willing to put up with (4th floor walk-up, doorman, etc.) and be wiling go back when she’s ready to sign a lease immediately.
You have all been incredibly helpful! The suggested websites here and the other threads are a good resource to get an idea of what’s out there at what price. Any suggestions for brokers to work with would be much appreciated by PM – I did notice mention and some of the other threads of parents who had worked with brokers.
Here are a couple of websites to find no fee apts.
https://www.nybits.com/search/
https://www.nakedapartments.com/nyc/no-fee-apartments-brooklyn
No specific broker recs, OP, but I’ve heard good things about Citi Habitats. https://www.citihabitats.com
Be sure to clarify the fee if using a broker - often, in addition to broker’s fees (usually a flat percentage or 1 month’s rent), there can be application fees, background check fees etc. Factoring in requirements for first and last month’s rent, or first, last, and security deposit, the initial outlay can result in sticker shock. However, Brooklyn, in particular, has been cited recently for overbuilding. Some of the newer rental buildings (not sure of proximity to Downstate) are offering incentives to move-in. These are mostly the new, big, shiny, full of amenities buildings, but we found such concessions in smaller buildings too, though not much so in the brownstones or small walk-up buildings. Make sure to identify the public transportation nearby and whether your D will have to change trains at night or after rush hour. Not all express trains make the right stops in Brooklyn during those hours and if she needs to walk further during those hours it may impact were she wants to live.
My son moved to Manhattan last July, moved into a building owned by Eberhardt Brothers. They own many buildings in NY, not sure if only in Manhattan but they are a no fee since they only deal with their own buildings.
Anything near the L line should be less expensive for a few years https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/nyregion/l-train-will-shut-down-between-manhattan-and-brooklyn-in-2019-for-18-months.html
Right. And anything near the L Line will be really difficult if you need to get into Manhattan.
Yes, but the resulting crowds to Manhattan on the G and the busses will be unbelievable. For someone who needs to be closer to Downstate and based on my understanding of the subways, the L probably isn’t the best option since the route once entering Brooklyn at Bedford heads out to Canarsie.
SUNY Downstate is in Prospect Lefferts, and a lot of my friends live there or have lived there. It’s a nice neighborhood, and is close to Prospect Park which is nice. Crown Heights is nearby, and has many more bars and restaurants, but might be slightly less affordable. Both are very safe in my opinion, but I am of the opinion that safety has more to do with the person’s comfort level than anything else.
I would definitely avoid Williamsburg or anything off the L, the JMZ, or the AC. As far as subway accessibility is concerned, North Brooklyn might as well be a different borough.
Someone usually sets up a Facebook page for incoming classes which may be a good place to start in terms of finding groups of people who want to live together. I don’t know your daughter’s financial situation but most students living in Brooklyn need a roommate (or two).
I just texted my daughter about the timetable when she rented her apartment in Boerum Hill and she responded that the NY timetable is fast for an apartment turnover. She and her friends (who live all over the place in Brooklyn) started looking six weeks in advance. D found her place four weeks before moving in but has had friends where it all happened in a two week period. Visit apartments prepared to sign on the dotted line.
D rented in Manhattan for years and used a broker for the first time for this rental. She does not regret the expense as she would not have found her current apartment otherwise. It is a solo apartment - the top floor of a brownstone with the owners living below. Her location needs were different than your daughter’s because she wanted to be in Brooklyn but her medical residency is in Manhattan. She needed to be within walking distance of dependable mass transit and hoped to be close enough to the bridge to ride her bike to work in good weather…often her only exercise during particularly demanding rotations.
Prepare yourself because prices are ridiculous compared to student apartments in other cities. It can be done but it is becoming harder to find deals. Saying that a neighborhood is safe or reasonably safe is relative. If you are coming home in the dead of night when there will be no pedestrian traffic Uber is your friend. Depending on the program the first eighteen months or two years of medical school are more college-like in terms of schedule but during clinical rotations you may come home at odder hours.
My D has lived in Sunset Park for 4 years now. She shares a large (1,000 sq ft) 3 bedroom (one bath) with 2 others, a 3rd floor unit (walk up - top floor - 3 units total) - the rent for the apartment is well under $3k a month (around $2400) - they love the neighborhood feel, lots of families, a ton of great bodegas, bagel shops and restaurants (within their price range) - I’ve been to stay with them for a week and was impressed - their location is between 5th and 6th avenues and 49th street (for mapping purposes). It’s not as trendy a location but the rent can’t be beat, and they’re right off a main artery (5th) for buses and there are 2 (3?) subways very nearby for getting into the city/around Brooklyn.