<p>D is graduating in a few weeks and will be staying in NYC. She is currently looking at apartments and we have the following questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is a “typical” brokers fee for a one bedroom apartment? </p></li>
<li><p>What can she expect to pay for utilities for one bedroom apartment?</p></li>
<li><p>H & I will have to serve a garentours (sp?), we are not located in the NY/NJ/CT area. Is this a huge problem?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I think the typical fee in manhattan is advertised at 15 percent but you can sometimes negotiate it down to one months rent. In Brooklyn, there are definitely no fee apartmentsand I would guess this is the case in queens as well. The exception is on expensive apts (more than 5K) where the owner may pay the fee or onapts that are managed by a management company that post their vacancies. </p>
<p>Not sure about typical utilities, I can ask ds if someone else doesn’t chime in within answer. Heat is usually included so you are talking about electric and cable.</p>
<p>She must prove 40X rent in salary. As guarantor you must prove 80X. Again, this most definitely the case in manhattan and maybe the case in the other boroughs. Being close won’t do it either, you must be over the threshold. Also, this isn’t a combined amount in a roommate situation, one person must be over the min. In the more fringe neighborhoods, a small landlord may just do a credit check.</p>
<p>Other suggestions…padmapper is a great tool for finding an apt… Also, apts are not put up unless they are available. You must be able to move in within a couple of weeks. Good apts, priced right go immediately so you must be able to deposit immediately.
Use Craigslist or Facebook for roommate situations and you will avoid any fees.</p>
<p>Warning, you will be shocked by the prices!</p>
<p>I expect flyaround knows way more than I do. But I do have a friend who has successfully found no-fee apartments. Having said that, those were in what would probably be considered “fringe” areas (Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, Washington Heights in Manhattan). I’ve visited her at least once a year for the last few years, and I can say that these locations have not made it difficult to experience other, more glamorous parts of the metro area. A younger person might find a less trendy area to be less desirable (no knock on young people, but they seem to like to be right where the action is). But if your daughter is willing to compromise a bit she might be able to find something more affordable in a part of the city that she might not otherwise consider.</p>
<p>It is usually 1 month rent as fee. A studio runs around 2000, can be as cheap as 1500 if the location is not so desirable (away from the subway). A full one bedroom will be closer to 3000 in Manhattan, many new grads share a one bedroom to cut down on the cost. Electric is around $50, water and gas (heater) are included most of the time. A lot of people do not have cable. It’ll run 50-100 for internet, TV, closer to 50 for internet.</p>
<p>D1 is living in NYC by herself and we recently just moved into the city.</p>
<p>This is a good site to find rentals: streeteasy . com</p>
<p>Rent is VERY neighborhood sensitive. If an apartment has been on the market for more than a few weeks, then it is probably priced too high and and be negotiated down by around $25-50.</p>
<p>This a a permanent (at least for a few years) move, not a temporary rental. She has been looking in Manhattan and Brooklyn and has found something nice on the UES. Having gone to school in the city she is pretty aware of neighborhoods and where she feels safe. Her BF will be sharing the apartment with her which cuts her rent/utilities in half.</p>
<p>FG - this is not a moral issue, but having a BF share an apartment can have added problem if the relationship doesn’t work out. D1 is sharing her apartment with a friend. She vetted her roommate out before making her decision. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Oldfort- I’m not offended at all:) A potential breakup has crossed my mind (although they have been dating since HS and are “serious”). For that reason , H is insisting that only her name be put on the lease and that we are the guarantors. Gives her/us the upper hand if it doesn’t work.</p>
<p>But this means that you have to be guarantors for a larger amount of money. If your income is high enough, that’s not a problem. But it would be a problem for some people.</p>
<p>In NYC , I believe it is typical that if one room-mate leaves the apt., the remaining room-mate (or guarantor) is responsible for the full rent. Many room-mates put in writing in a separate agreement from the lease that if either leaves, they are responsible for their portion of the rent until a suitable (by the remaining room-mate’s standard) replacement can be found. </p>
<p>We did this guarantor situation with our grad student this year and I would encourage you to be prepared as far as financial documentation goes. I have bought properties with less hassle and far less personal info. shared. If it would have been workable with the room-mate to put the full year’s rent in escrow to buy a bit of privacy, I would have done it. They had a few near misses and involved more than one broker under a strict, close deadline and it was a lot of juggling of requests for letters certifying employment, tax forms in various incarnations, “canceled most recent paycheck”-doesn’t exist in this day of auto-deposit, bank account info, etc. As you don’t want account numbers and Social Security numbers revealed, getting those docs in working order is time consuming. There is a great website that reviews the ins and outs of NYC rental and it is very helpful. We found it by googling for info. </p>
<p>Good luck. Our student wound up lucking out in a beautiful, newly renovated apt. in a neighborhood we would like to move to, but it was quite the process.</p>
<p>If your child is renting a one bed for $3000 per month than a parent must show paystubs for income of $240k, unless the renter can prove income of $120k. My experience is that there is no wiggle room and agree with travel nut about the amount of required documentation. This has been my experience in manhattan only, not Brooklyn.
Our experience has been that finding roommates is very easy and young people move in and out suprisingly often.</p>
<p>FallGirl - congrats to your D on getting the apartment. My D has lots of friends on the UWS near 2nd as this is close to her school.</p>
<p>I have done the guarantor thing on two apartments for my D in NYC. She is currently living on the UWS in a tiny one bedroom. Internet is $45 per month and I think electricity is around $75. She doesn’t have cable, but is in a building with an elevator, laundry and a gym.</p>
<p>Have not been to NYC for a while, not knowing the salary requirements for a pad has gone so far as 20x or 40x for a guarantor. In my days, 40 years ago, as a student, I was able to secure an apartment in Hoboken myself.</p>
<p>Anyway, when did a 2nd Ave. location became UWS? 2nd Ave is on the East Side. Yes, because it is a bit far from the subway, the price might be lower.</p>
<p>My god！ 80x of the rent？You must be a Superhero to live in Manhattan。 ^^I looked at an apartment on C street in Lower East Side next to a police station for $150/mo, in 1975, the landlady was happy to rent it to me without any deposit. I thought it was too steep and went to Hoboken for a much larger apartment with much lower rent.^^</p>
<p>Believe me or not, now a days, there are still ppl paying $60/mo rent for a 4 room 1000sf apt on 56th street and 7th in Manhattan !!! He had the apartment for over 50 years.</p>