<p>S just graduated and is very fortunate to have a good job starting next month in Manhattan. Unfortunately, his housing situation has fallen apart, so he’s scrambling to find something quickly. Would like to be somewhere close to midtown as he’ll be working very long hours. Would prefer to share an apartment with a roommate. He’s been searching craig’s list and has been out to see some apartments, but no luck so far. We’re not in that area, so not sure how to best advise him. I see a number of real estate broker websites on line that help you find an apartment to share, for a fee, of course. Would it be a good idea to contact one of those? Any other thoughts about how he might best search for a place? Thanks!</p>
<p>My d had to use a broker. Other option is college kids liv g off campus. Maybe he needs to look further out to get something on such short notice. What’s his budget</p>
<p>Does his career office offer any info on NYC rentals? Or his alumni network? He can try CitiHabitats for rentals. And/or see if there’s anything in Tudor City.</p>
<p>Networking or brokers are the only ways to go. NYC is a constantly churning market, and people seem to make decisions very quickly, very shortly before they move in. I.e., people are probably committing to June 15 start dates now. And if you snooze, you loose.</p>
<p>A few observations, based on my kid’s experience:</p>
<p>My impression is that if you can’t find a place in a week or so, you are maybe being too picky or too indecisive.</p>
<p>Everything is too small, too run down, and too expensive.</p>
<p>Manhattan in general, at least south of Harlem, is out of reach for most 20-somethings not working for big financial firms or consultants. Maybe some exception for what used to be called Alphabet City but is now just more East Village. So it’s probably hard to find appropriate apartment shares in midtown, even if your son can afford that area. He would probably have a much easier time finding shares in Astoria or Williamsburg, both of which are perfectly compatible with working in midtown from a transportation standpoint. And when he was home, he would meet more girls.</p>
<p>Don’t discount New Jersey…Hoboken and Jersey City are very easy commutes…and depending on where your son is working, might be an easier ride than from places in NYC.</p>
<p>My daughter has lived in Newport (a mixed use community in Jersey City)…4 stops on the PATH from her job…for two years. Her alternates were Hoboken (more trendy but more expensive) and Astoria (she really liked the area but too many stairs for the elevated subway…she has knee issues.)</p>
<p>Thanks everyone - I appreciate hearing about your experiences. Is the fee pretty consistent across different brokers/agencies? Do you have any recommendations for ones that might be good? I’ll encourage him to contact Citihabitats, Class of 2015 - thank you!</p>
<p>padmappers is a good site for finding a room in an already rented apartment. It pulls from
craigslist and others and puts it onto a map.</p>
<p>DD lived in Manhattan for a year and will undoubtedly go back. </p>
<p>She did not find Brooklyn that much cheaper than Manhattan. She did find the apartment space bigger.</p>
<p>It all depends on what the kid wants from an apartment.</p>
<p>As a young woman, my D really wanted an apartment safe enough to come home to alone late at night. She found a very large bedroom in another young woman’s apartment, and essentially, that bedroom was her apartment. She was allowed to use the kitchen and bathroom (of course), but the other woman had the living room as her apartment. It worked for them. And it was 87th Street between Central Park West and Columbus. Not too shabby. The block was gorgeous, and I never had to worry about her getting out of a cab or even taking the subway in her neighborhood. (We had an agreement – after 1 am cabs.)</p>
<p>Her friends in Brooklyn paid only $150 a month (may be significant to you) more in rent but did spend more in transportation costs. </p>
<p>She just used Craig’s list and pounded the pavements. No broker.</p>
<p>Tudor city is great but expensive.</p>
<p>Washington Heights is a good place to look in Manhattan. </p>
<p>Midtown sounds impossible, but it might not be if he lucks into the kind of situation my D did. One bedroom apartments can be split.</p>
<p>The Upper East Side is sometimes doable. It’s kind of boring over at First Avenue, and there are some slightly larger quarters there for a little less than some other neighborhoods even though it’s supposed to be posh. DD found a great apartment with a ground floor bedroom (other women were on the floor above) that even had a bit of outdoor space that was quite reasonable, but the women were in their late thirties and she didn’t love the neighborhood. Rent was reasonable.</p>
<p>She may also want to look at sublet.com, which has many room mate situations as well as sublets for a temporary location. That way he would have someplace to settle while he learns the ropes, develops a network and looks in a less time pressured situation. I would not mind paying a broker fee if I knew the area, the worth and was sure it was where I wanted to locate. I would NOT want to pay it when i was uncertain.
I also agree that Brooklyn is a great location for young adults as long as the apt is within as comfortable walk to the subway.</p>
<p>How many apartments has your son looked at? If he, or you, spends several hours everyday filtering the Craigslist ads for rooms in shared apartments, he could see 4 or 5 places a day. The “roommate interviews” are usually scheduled in the evenings, renters are working in the day. He may need seven days of heavily scheduled interview/visits to find a place. Can he stay with friends in Manhattan while doing this? </p>
<p>There are also brokers who put groups together to rent apartments, especially in the nicer apartments in mid-town and the Financial District.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! He just called and committed to a place this morning after I posted (moms always worry too much!). </p>
<p>“There are also brokers who put groups together to rent apartments, especially in the nicer apartments in mid-town and the Financial District.” </p>
<p>That is what happened. He contacted a broker this morning who handles a new building he was interested in, was told to come right over, was the first of 7 groups scheduled to see an apartment that’s available there, and he another guy in that group committed to it on the spot. Alls well that ends well! Thanks for all your help -</p>
<p>Can someone please post or PM me the brokers that put groups together?
thank you from the bottom of my heart…</p>
<p>I think I’m gonna need to “throw” the kid with the job out at some point very soon…lol</p>
<p>Lucky kid – what a great place to spend your early 20’s!!! He must know other kids from his school who live in NYC, no?</p>
<p>That’s so great – very glad it worked out.</p>
<p>re: worrying – if you didn’t worry, he’d still be looking. Murphy’s Mom’s Law.</p>