To live in a safe area of Manhattan, you may need to be a guarantor. I have nephews living in Manhattan as new college grads and I am sure their parents were guarantors. I don’t think your FA realizes rentals in Manhattan is a different kind of animal.
My son lived in Manhattan for more than 12 years before moving to the suburbs. He never needed a car, if he did, he rented one.
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Both my kids have been renters in NYC post-grad and moved multiple times. Guarantor is unavoidable for the first few years unless the landlord accepts one of the rent guaranty options. Any pitfalls as a guarantor are pretty manageable if your son is living alone as you don’t have to worry about some roommate bailing on you. While some apartments may be listed more than a month-out from move-on, most stock appears within 4-6 weeks of move-in so one cannot really plan ahead unless it is a newer building with lots of turnover. Edited to add: August and September have the most turnover but also are the craziest times when all the new grads move to the City so being able to start a July lease means perhaps slightly less stock but also slightly less craziness.
Use Streeteasy to identify neighborhoods with housing stock meeting your priorities. You can filter it by subway lines so you know the commute works. Prices are typically lower in Murray Hill (a mecca for new grads), Upper East Side and Lower East Side (not East Village). In Brooklyn, Williamsburg is not noticeably cheaper than Manhattan though there is more newer housing stock. Brooklyn Heights can be more affordable as it is not in demand among young people. Dumbo has some newer buildings but you have to be able to tolerate the crowds of tourists on the weekends.
edited to add – he, and you, may be more comfortable if he’s in a larger building with amenities – social gathering space, a staffed front desk etc. Living alone in a walk-up or small elevator building could be a very lonely existence.
Maybe that ship has sailed, but it’s uncommon to use a tenant agent. Everyone uses Streeteasy. It used to be that the landlord’s broke fee was paid by the tenant so tacked on 15% of the year’s rent to the tenant’s costs payable on signing. Recent legislation changed that and now landlords cannot charge the tenant the broker’s fee. Rents have drifted up, at least anecdotally, now that landlords can’t recoup it directly from tenants.
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Just curious - what do kids without a parent wealthy enough to be a guarantor do? I guess find a roommate with parents who are? I lived in NYC a good part of my life, but I’ve been gone 20 years - I never heard of anyone needing a guarantor but I guess it’s a different world now. My D22 will need roommates regardless, so I guess adding to compatibility, etc., at least one must have parents able to be the guarantor 
And in addition to Brooklyn Heights, the areas around the Barclay Center (Prospect Heights, what some are calling “Pro-Cro”- the edge of Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, Gowanus) have some new housing stock which seems designed for young people. Small apartments but lots of amenities- great mass transit options since almost everything stops at or near the Barclay Center. Park Slope is pricey but these neighborhood abut Park Slope and seem to have more affordable rentals. And Prospect Park, Brooklyn Museum, Botanical Gardens- tons of leisure options in these neighborhoods!
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I don’t see the Guarantor as in a I’m in NYC thing.
It’s an everywhere thing.
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But again, very few families can afford to be guarantors for a $4000 a month apartment. That’s $48,000 a year after taxes! Even when I was working full time I could not have guaranteed that or anywhere close to that. Even at $2000 a month. So if this is widespread how does anyone who doesn’t have wealthy parents afford to rent an apartment? Anyway, sorry, this is off-topic to the original poster who can afford to guarantee even if they’d prefer not to, but with a D22 who hopes to move to a city at some point next fall I’m finding this a bit horrifying! (The high rents and many roommates we were prepared for.).
IME all roommates’ parents must be guarantors for the full price of the lease (in NYC.)
We also just had to guarantee our son’s first post grad rental in Boston. I know in Chicago some apartments do not require parent guarantors, especially if the kid has rental history from college.
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In my niece’s college apartment, all the roommate’s parents needed to be guarantors (Chicagoland area).
My D didn’t need a guarantor but it was only because she had co-op-ed while in school and had 2 years of salary history and a sizable bank account otherwise we would have need to sign on for her.
PS. We had to be guarantors for D’s first college apartment her junior year in the middle of IN so it’s not just in high cost of living areas.
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All good info you shared, thank you!
Because he’ll be traveling abroad during that 4 to 6 week sweet spot, trying to find a place will make it even more challenging I think. (This trip was not my idea. H and I said back in January, is that a good idea when you may have to find a new place or a job may want you to start right after graduation?).
We are also in the midwest so finding an apartment on our own feels challenging. Given that it’s his first place, I think using a broker will be helpful even if it’s not in vogue. For his next move, he can navigate on his own via Streeteasy, word of mouth, etc.
Timing you outlined is helpful. Given the job starts that first Monday in August, H and I want him to get a lease that starts in July. Less crazy is what we’ll hoping for…
I agree with considering larger building amenities, especially front desk for receiving packages. Yes, finding ways to meet people is important. I don’t know if the firm is all work and offers no opportunities to meet people.
DS needed a guarantor in Boston in 2005-2007. He needed one in Winston-Salem from 2007-2009. But then did not need a guarantor in Phoenix starting in 2010.
DD did NOT need a guarantor in Santa Clara from 2008-2010. Oddly. But then she did need one in Sewanee GA even though she had had a job and had money in the bank. For that one, I think we were actually the co-lease holders (and insurance holders).
My suggestion…take your money with you when you go looking for apartments. I’m not sure how it is now, but in the recent past, folks have lost out on apartments they liked by waiting even an hour…because someone else swooped in.
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Exactly…he won’t need a broker the second time!
The more amenities, the higher the rent prices. I know that seems obvious, but it’s shocking how much more a rental with a front desk and/or doorman costs than a rental without.
The first year my D rented (no doorman/front desk), one of her packages was stolen, so she got a UPS box and had everything shipped there to the store. For her second apt, also no front desk, she started having things shipped to work. She is moving again in a few months, and this is the first time she will have a doorman.
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I may be mis-remembering, but I seem to recall that tenant requirement was 20x rent vs the parent guarantor one of 40x, but I don’t know how that works with a first job. And for many people that will obviously mean they need roommates rather than take on the cost of a whole apartment themselves.
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And to add to this fine and accurate post- in some neighborhoods, the local bodega or fruit store functions as an informal package drop off for the local residents. The locksmith across the street from one of my kids was a “tip me at Xmas” package person. Needing packages delivered is not enough of a reason to pay for a doorman! And EVERYONE gets Amazon delivered to their office btw…. skis, shoes, toiletries…. some offices have “cold rooms” for the food delivery since no refrigerator is ever big enough for grocery orders.
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I agree with you that it’s insane. My intent of posting was not to make others uncomfortable. Since we got a bit of a pushback from our advisor, I wanted to feel out what others have encountered since CC is a good resources for so many things. I have read enough that there is a tight rental market in NYC, esp due to fewer inventories and more renters. Maybe it’s hype and this is scarcity mindset about everything, but I want to be prepared to what’s to come.
To clarify, S will pay his rent fully on his own, in addition to 1 month deposit. We will help with the broker’s fee. S, like his siblings, never ask us to help financially with anything. S paid for his trip on his own (his internship earnings from last summer). They and we live modest lives. Moving to NYC is going to be a harder transition for so many reasons.
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I agree with you and @blossom . The only reason it’s slightly more important for him is because he receives specialty meds that has to be refrigerated ASAP. Trust me, we all will be happy if he didn’t have to have these meds, but it’s essential for his health. In recent pasts, some stand alone pharmacies would receive the shipment from the specialty pharmacies, but that has been very unreliable. Trust me if I say that specialty pharmacies like Accredo are just not very reliable on what they say and will ultimately do.
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Gotcha. Just be aware that not all doorman buildings will have a refrigeration room/area for meds and perishables….. brand new buildings will (anything built since Covid) but older buildings typically retrofit part of the lobby and just build shelves for tenant deliveries….
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No I’m sorry to barge in on your thread! It was just new to me that s grown adult with a job, albeit a young one with a first job, would need a guarantor. I think of that as something a college student needs, not an adult! But better to find out now. Good thing we didn’t need that back in the day - my roommates were both waitressing and I had s clerical job when we got our first apartment after college
I don’t know what this means
Refrigeration room is not needed bc it comes packaged with refrigeration. They are very expensive meds and having a chance that it can be taken is not a chance we can take. Specialty pharmacies will only dispense an exact quantity and will not budge for any reason. Trying to explain anything out of ordinary to the pharmacy agent is like banging your head on a concrete wall over and over again.
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My daughter needed to show that she had 40x her monthly rent to not need a guarantor. She had to supply bank statements.
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