Just a rant--housing for grad student in NYC

Parent Cafe
21

Thanks for everyone’s input and empathy. I’ve passed along your ideas. To answer some of the comments:

The consensus seems to be that she may have to up her budget. That would mean working more hours, and I hope she could manage that.

College’s listings: D’s university’s housing registry has slim pickings.

International House: D actually lived there for a while, and I agree it’s a good option, especially for Columbia students (she is not one), but she is tired of dorm life and wants a real apartment. For that reason, having a living area, even if very small, so she doesn’t have to entertain in her bedroom, is important to her. Of course she may have to change her criteria. I do have to wonder how legal some of these re-configured spaces are. Lots of hanky panky in NYC housing. In any case, I-House is always filled by this time of year, with a lengthy waitlist.

Locations: She is searching any and all parts of Brooklyn, trendy or not, as well as other areas. No place is off limits, so long as it’s safe and the commute is reasonable.

Local contacts: We live in a suburb. There is no “network of friends” that ended up in NYC, since D attended undergrad out of state and her friends from that school and even high school are scattered all over the country (if not still living with their parents). One good friend does live in Manhattan, and even though she has a decent job, her parents subsidize her $2800/mo. rent (!) so she can have a room and private bath in a share in a Upper East Side doorman building they deem appropriately safe (they are rather paranoid)… We are in no position to do that, and wouldn’t even if we could.

I’ll let you folks know how this works out. Thanks for the opportunity to blow off steam.

Oh, and I’d love it if anyone could enlighten me about those obviously fake ads, with stock photos, that are rampant on Craigslist. Are they brokers trying to collect contact info? If you’re an individual genuinely looking for a room, not an apartment, how could a broker get any benefit from you? I don’t have a devious enough mind to understand this stuff, I guess.

22

Why was this “obvious?” Was there a sign? It would seem that the only consequence of being suddenly evicted would be that your daughter might have to move back home for a while, which is where she is now. Is eviction that quick a process in New York? Why would the landlord care?

23

$2,600+ is for a decent Manhattan studio. $2,100+ for a decent Brooklynn 1 br apartment. Utilities not included.
My son used a broker to find studio.
My D went to an apartment website.

Gross income must be 40 times monthly rent. Otherwise cosign is required.

24

I do not think it is a very difficult task to find a room for under $1,200 in the outer boroughs. For example:
Safe family oriented neighborhood with subway, great restaurants but not cool:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/roo/5690283559.html

25

All I can say is that I live in a “junior 4” apartment (one regular bedroom and one small one, with a large living room) in an elevator building in Washington Heights, a few minutes from the A train, for less than $2600/month. So it seems to me that $2600+ for a studio apartment in Manhattan isn’t necessarily accurate for everywhere in Manhattan. And yes, if income is less than 40x monthly rent, a cosigner will be required. Or at least one year’s rent in advance!

26

My daughter lives in Brooklyn. She currently lives in a two bedroom apartment with her fiancé in Lefferts Gardens (which is next to Prospect Park) and can take the Q train into Manhattan which is a pretty quick ride. The second bedroom is her music studio. They also have a living/dining room. I know that about a year ago, their entire rent was $1700/month (not sure if it still is or has gone up) without utilities. It is a 4th floor walk up. My daughter has lived in Brooklyn for 8 years, sharing apartments with others (always her own bedroom), and has lived in the sections of Williamsburg, Prospect Heights, and Lefferts Gardens. She has paid under $1000 for her share (without utilities) in all apartments.

27

A friend is going through this for her daughter. They ar using a real estate agent. Not doing it herself.

28

It’s hard to use an agent when you need roommates / housemates for financial reasons and you don’t have any potential roommates identified. Agents can’t really help the folks who are looking to sublet a room (unless something has really changed in recent years).

29

Just got an apartment for my D who is starting grad school in NYC in the fall. She did not get on-campus housing as we apparently live too close to campus (within 30 miles) so she was considered the lowest priority for a dorm. But she was lucky in that (1)she had two undergrad friends who are going to the same grad school (different programs) and they agreed to live together and (2) her grad school is not in the most expensive part of NYC (a relative term to be sure). Anyway after much looking (so much of what we saw was truly awful so I feel your D’s pain – 6th floor of a walk-up, elevated subway sounded like it ran right through one apartment, another had bedrooms separated by curtains, there were neighborhoods i said no to immediately etc.) we eventually found a place through Streeteasy without a broker fee. The block was fine and mostly filled with students but it is not ideal – bedrooms are TEENY-TINY (can fit twin bed, small dresser, small desk and that’s it) but all bedrooms have actual doors so that is a plus, kitchen is new, bathroom is very small but functional, no laundry in building. We went about $100/month over our budget but after the truly awful stuff we saw it seemed worth it especially since there was no broker fee. SO…bottom line is I’d recommend looking at Streeteasy. Also if there is a facebook page for people entering her program I would try asking on that too if she hasn’t already.

As an aside, the last time I spoke to the broker, he said there is one 3BR still available in my D’s building but it is on the top (fourth?) floor of a walk-up and she would need to find roommates (if your D wants to be in Morningside Heights and is interested, PM me and I can send you the link). Now we’re trying to furnish it cheaply – the fun never ends…

Good luck…NYC is just so frustrating in terms of apartment hunting…

30

As a point of comparison, younger d and roommate live in a third floor railroad flat in Greenpoint, pretty much where Greenpoint and Williamsburg meet and after living there for several years her rent is now $1900 but lease comes up in the fall, hoping for minimal increase as in the past. Older d and her boyfriend live in one bedroom fourth floor walk up in the borderline of Crown Heights/Prospect Heights and are also now after 3 years up to just under $2000. They live in an older building with renovated kitchen and bath. Both apartments have window unit air conditioners and so you do have to bear in mind the utility costs especially when there is a lot of hot, hazy and humid weather.

31

I did the same thing, helping my D with rent when she was in her first job. I wanted her to be in a safe neighborhood in DC. Many parents I know helped with rent the first few years after college. I see nothing wrong with it.

NYC is an expensive place particularly in housing. I also looked at craigsllist for my S when he found a job in NYC and I quickly learned that the apt housing site there is not to be trusted. We used a broker.
Here’s a no fee website that others have useful.
http://www.nakedapartments.com/

32

Momma J, I really don’t think it is easy to find a room for 1200 per month on the island of manhattan unless the living room becomes a BR, other than northern parts of manhattan. Nice 2 br. in Harlem go for over $3000 per month! Look at listings on streeteasy to get an idea of price. If her school is in brooklyn, a location in brooklyn or queens is probably a better shot if close to trains that are of utility. Streeteasy also has brooklyn listings. Having a commute of up to 1 hour even within the city limits seems to be tolerable to many New Yorkers (not my personal ideal but whatever), which is a bit tough for a student. There are lots of up and coming neighborhoods in Brooklyn that recent grads live in such as Bushwick, and I think some cheaper prices (compared to Manhattan) may be had but 1200 may be low even there. If she is willing to commute for a while, she might do better to wait to start school and see where others are living off campus and meet more people for leads. If she takes a reasonably priced apartment with the idea that she can share, she can rent out the other space in it. For $1200 to $1500 per person you probably will find walk ups in old small buildings up in the 100’s and above.

Umpteen decades ago, I moved to NY for my first job, so I paid a broker and took a small, old studio. I envied by former roommate from school who moved to Chicago and easily sublet a new condo studio in a good building for two thirds of the price. Such are the sacrifices for living in NYC.

33

Keep in mind that the L subway line will be closing for repairs soon. It travels West - East right between Greenpoint and Williamsburg into Manhattan.

Actually, not so soon. Sometime in 2019. Maybe the OP’s daughter will be done with grad school by then! It is a very popular route.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/mta-outlines-two-options-for-l-train-tunnel-closure-1462420742

34

NYC rent is truly crazy. D1 lives near Duke University, in a “hot neighborhood” within walking distance to restaurants, bars, Duke campus, and other attractions. Her new construction house was built to meld seamlessly with the older homes in her neighborhood. It’s 2/2, hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless appliances, 1800 sq. feet,large deck and yard, and costs $1700 a month. Of course, it’s not in NYC, which is the huge difference here. I’m glad she is in grad school there rather than NYC,though. I’d hate to think of her living in such a tight space as many of the ones which have been described here. Different strokes, obviously.

35

@EarlVanDorn, it’s easy to figure out which large developments in NYC are subsidized low-income sites. And if someone has a two-bedroom in one, it’s because they represented that they needed the second bedroom, for a child, for example. To then sublet the room is fraud, and in our family we don’t participate in frauds. The “landlord” (the city of NY) would certainly care, especially since there are very long waiting lists for these apartments. I know it’s a quick process for a tenant to be tossed out of subsidized housing if drug activity is found there. I have no clue how the process goes for an illegal sublet, but no desire to find out. Imagine being booted out of one’s home, possessions on the street, in the middle of exams!

Regarding the use of brokers, lots of good info here, but in our case D needs just a room to sublet in an existing apartment, not a situation brokers spend their time on. She could neither afford nor, as a student, satisfy the income requirements, to lease her own place, and even if she could, I can’t imagine the aggravation involved in then trying fill the bedrooms. (We rent out an apartment over our small business and know the misery of finding good tenants.) We are loathe to complicate our own credit, which is already complicated by our small business situation, by guaranteeing her rent. Most of the places she’s seen have not required a guaranty, just first and last month’s rent and security deposit (“just”!)

36

You may find you need to be a guarantor even if your daughter rents a room. It all depends on how the lease is set up.

And also, keep in mind that some places prohibit subletters.

Your daughter needs a place for the full academic year, right? What about next summer? Will she be doing something related to grad school right in NYC or not? If so…she is looking for a full year rental of some sort.

37

Her program will continue through the next two summers, so yes, a full-year rental.

38

Is she able to start paying rent August 1st? She may find some better choices coming up this week for immediate move-in. D did a lot better on the apartment hunting front in Manhattan when it was close to month-end.

The financial district /battery park/battery park city might have some less expensive apartment shares – not so many trendy restaurants and nightlife.

39

Yes @arabrab, 8/1 is okay, and has the advantage of letting her move in gradually, buy any furnishings she needs, and generally get well settled before her program starts. She is checking listings daily (it’s sooo tedious!), so should catch anything that comes on this week. She is also widening her choice of locales as time goes on, but I don’t think she’s considered the financial district/ Battery Park area, so I’ll mention it, thanks.

40

Our son just moverd to NYC and needs three months somewhere to rent until his school is finished. We thought he was looking for something temporary, but now he found one of his friends there, wants to get a place with her, but we don’t know how long for. My husband is in a panic that he won’t find a job after the 3 month school is over, and as guarantors we’ll be on the hook if he gets a year long lease.

I’m not in a panic, as we could easily afford the worst case scenario (no sublet allowed, kid stays and doesn’t get a job for awhile), but after this intensive web development course, they have a 96%placement rate, and the salaries are good. I trust him, but my husband is freaking out.