Our youngest S will start his job as a new grad in August. We plan to start looking at the rental market. To start, we will go to NYC in a couple of weeks to get oriented with the different areas. We also will work with a broker to help navigate the search.
The attached NYT article gave me more food for fodder because we were planning to be guarantors to S. The broker recommended that we consider acting as guarantors because he doesn’t have a work history beside his past internships. He does have a job offer letter with the compensations outlined. Given that he starts in August and we thought getting an apartment lease that starts in July to get things organized.
We are aware about the general 40x rent rule so he set a budget that will align with it. He plans to live alone esp since the job is hybrid and he needs a “home” office. He’s starting salary is more than decent for a new grad to live in an expensive city like NYC. Though I am sure he will also get priced out or elbowed out by people with bigger salaries, longer work histories, and parents who don’t have conservative advisors. )I mentioned to our financial advisor about us as guarantors and she is definitely not on board. She understands that NYC’s rental market is very competitive, but she’s more concerned about liability, etc. and is strongly suggesting we consider other options.)
S’s firm has scheduled a meeting next week for the new incoming class of employees to discuss things like finding housing in the NYC. I will suggest to S to ask how to navigate the process as a brand new worker bee with a tight rental market and how to handle the requirement of producing documents to show he’s financially stable to landlords.
So my questions are:
how tight is the market exactly? He doesn’t want to live too far out of Manhattan. The office is in Soho but areas close by may be out of his budget.
any advice on how to navigate the parental guarantor role - is it possible to find a place without one? The broker said it will be harder without it. I do see that it will make her job easier if we are guarantors.
Moving is hard enough in any big city but especially in NYC. We, as parents, are hoping to make this process slightly easier if we can. We are not looking to set him up in a luxury apartment. He’s a responsible and mature young man. His wishes include: enough space to have a desk large enough for 2 monitors for working, a working kitchen, a/c (he can’t handle heat), easy access to public transportation, groceries, and a decent climbing gym.
I hope this is not considered “helicoptering.” lol.
I think we had to do both kids first apartments. My son moved every 6 months for two years (program) and I was always a guarantor but I think not anymore (Irvine) and I’m a guarantor on my daughter’s apartment in Denver and I am for the renewal as well.
That’s part of life - unfortunately - these kids don’t have credit so no one is going to rent to them on the “hope” they do have a job and they do keep a job.
As for how tight the market is, you can likely look on line. Many live in Brooklyn, etc. My nephew moved from a $3500 one bedroom next to a gym (not sure about bouldering) to a $5500 2 BR. The first was in the upper East side. The 2nd is further south and maybe west - well, right by Katz deli.
Good luck to your student - but as for the guarantor, that’s not a NY thing - that’s an everywhere thing. Why would a landlord lease to someone with no regular income and work history? You may think your kid is mature and good for the $$ but they don’t know your kid!! And even good and mature kids get laid off months after starting.
Not helicoptering at all by asking questions or even helping because that’s what parents need to do to teach kids - but you are a safety device for sure.
As potential liability may be a concern, ask the realtor if a bank CD in your son’s name equal to 6 months rent will suffice. Essentially, this shows adequate assets in the case of job loss/interruption. (Assuming that such funds are available and that the primary concern is potential liability.)
Regarding rental insurance: There may be gaps in the rental insurance policy coverage or a claim might exceed policy limits.
It’s highly unlikely you will get out of being a guarantor in NYC for his first apartment. They will do a financial biopsy starting with two years of parent tax returns.
My D graduated three years ago and has been in NYC since then. She has a relatively high paying job, and with that said she did not want to live alone and pay the extra dollars. It will be difficult to find a one bedroom or studio for less than $4k in manhattan or Brooklyn, the market is competitive and good apartments in good areas go fast. He could find cheaper rents in other boroughs or NJ.
Is it possible for him to get a roommate if he wants manhattan? Of course I defer to your broker on pricing and availability, and totally recommend you work with one. Hopefully his employer is subsidizing that cost.
My D and all her roommates had to have a private work from home space too, so a must for them was to have a bedroom big enough for a desk.
One can try this, but I doubt it will work in the NYC market. We offered to pay full rent for the entire year upfront rather than guarantee the lease and they laughed at us, said nice try.
I have a niece in Lenox hill, she has 2 roommates to make it more affordable, her room is big enough for a desk, she works from home a couple of days a week. My daughter’s best friends live in FiDi and in Brooklyn with roommates. My kids also have friends living in Hoboken and Jersey city, cheaper than NYC and an easy commute. My oldest is the only one I know who has no roommates, but she only pays $2500 in ocean grove NJ. Rent isn’t the only thing expensive in manhattan, everything is very expensive.
Your réponses is what I expected. I think our advisor is super cautious and is trying to protect our assets. His budget will be about $4.5k per month. Obviously he would like to pay less than that, but he’s not keen on roommates at the moment. He doesn’t want to live with others who may not want to keep up with clean shared spaces, especially the kitchen. He also doesn’t want the pressure to be “friends” with potential roommates. One graduating classmates asked if S wants to share an apartment but S said the guy just talks too much all the time. S wants a comfortable personal space. All of this may change after our initial search, esp if rentals will be more costly.
I expect he can find something for $4.5K in Manhattan. Having a broker will help with full access to listings which change by the hour. Did the broker advise looking about four weeks prior to move-in?
I do think having roommates will be nice for many reasons. S has not had good experience because so many did not keep the kitchen clean - he’s major pet peeve is finding a full sink of dirty dishes on a daily basis. His close friends are not moving to NYC unfortunately. Any suggestions on how to navigate finding roommates?
Older siblings’s rental experiences have been very different.
My S graduated in December and just had this issue in Boston. He didn’t want to live with people he didn’t know, so he has a studio in a desirable area of the city.
You might ask your broker how to potentially connect with roommates. You might also check if there are roommate finder Facebook pages associated with the many NYC colleges.
That’s good to know. Yes, the broker discussed the timeline and most likely we will have to discuss and see places via zoom walk through. S is traveling abroad for 3 weeks in late May through mid June. The upcoming NYC trip is for us to target areas and for the broker to get a sense what he is seeking.
Way less - but it will depend where. My nephew had a very nice one bedroom in the upper east side - $3500 and was able to renew (he declined) for $100 more.
I know it was nice because i stayed there 5 nights - next to a gym and lots of restaurants.
I suppose where in manhattan matters - but this was a nice area (except for the constant horns on the streets - everyone honks all day and night) - and a nice place - 1 BR, not studio (although all the rooms were small).
I know S will not go on FB. I’ll talk to the broker.
There are a good number of kids, mostly female, from our suburb who are in NYC. I think they all live in East Village because it’s trendy. I know he’ll never get in touch with them.
Yes, I think upper east side is very nice and slightly more affordable. Given that he’s just 22 years old, it would be nice to live in an area where more younger people may be around. It doesn’t have to be East Village trendy.
Access to Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and HMart like stores will make life easier for S. His college town does not have the first two and it’s one of his complaints. His firm does not offer onsite meals. That’s one of the perks he wishes it offered. He’ll live, lol.