Kids are looking to rent in NYC, Brooklyn or Long Island city. Is there a good month to rent meaning when rents are lower? At the moment, they are shocked at the rent.
Sorry, I can’t answer you if there is a good month to rent in those neighborhoods. The areas around NYU and Columbia have more come online with June 1 or Sept 1 dates - but there are a few brokers that have the area locked up and charging a fee of 15% of yearly rent.
I don’t think rent changes - but more choice.
I have seen Brooklyn apartments without broker fees - but still do many have this fee - it can range from 5-15% of yearly rent. It is expensive - period - and it takes a lot of luck to find a lease take over or an under market rental.
Again, sorry no great advice except to keep asking everyone you know for leads, have the funds ready to go and make sure you are approved based on income and credit score.
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Seems like June, July, Sept are the big move months with greater supply. Rents do seem to keep increasing in NYC.
As coffeeat said, using a broker can be expensive but IME does provide better access. Even then things are competitive bid. My D lived there for summers of 2021 and 22, and then moved there after graduation last year. She and her roommate used a broker, and parents had to co-sign the lease, even though she had a 790 or so credit score. She’s moving next month and they used a broker again, didn’t get the first couple of apts they bid on. No parental co-sign needed this time which is progress.
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Will add - lease take overs are possible and they can try to get on different facebook groups - watching for scams. For furniture and household items - Facebook Marketplace has so much to choose from and can really furnish an apartment nicely at a big discount.
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Check out StreetEasy - also, if there are connections to a college, can try alumni networks. My now DIL found a place through her church denomination’s network.
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My advice is to have everything ready that an application will need (PDF of driver’s license, credit report, etc. for applicant and any co-signers), so that you don’t waste time gathering this stuff and lose out. My daughter and my husband and I have both lost apartments by not getting our application in fast enough.
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May to September are the busiest months. There are more apartments available, but the rent tend to be higher. NYC rental prices are very much like stock prices and Uber congestion pricing, prices tend to go up when there is more demand.
I recently moved my mom into a one bedroom in NYC near me. I looked at 2 comparable apartments and one was 800 less. I thought there was something wrong with it because it was bigger and only a block away. Turned out, the cheaper one was rent stabilized and the other was not. The rent stabilized apartment could only go up in rent 2-3% a year(determined by nyc housing), and the market rate apartment could go up as high as market would bear. Many rent stabilized apartments are no fee.
To qualify for rental in nyc one must have annual income of 40 times of monthly rent. To be a guarantor you would need 80 times.
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I am literally in NYC with my son this week looking for apartments.
Re brokers fees, don’t automatically assume it’s more expensive to go with a broker. We found a great one today that showed apartments that were below market and not listed online. They can also often work with “no fee” apartments and get paid by them.
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Calling @oldmom4896
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I think when it comes to apartment rental in NYC, safety should be the #1 concern, especially if it is a woman.
You should ask if delivery people are allowed in the building or do they drop it off at a designated secure place. A lot of packages get stolen at the non-doorman buildings. It is also not safe to have delivery people roam around the building. Some landlords have put in “virtual doorman” security (my brother did for a building he owns).
I would avoid ground floor apartments for security reason.
Check to see how safe the street is late at night. There have been few incidents where perpetrators have followed women into the building as she is opening the door.
I have always told my girls to pay a bit more, smaller place, a bit further away, in exchange for a safer place.
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My kid used craigslist. No fees. Prices go down after 9/1 or thereabouts and by November there might even be some deals. Closeness to public transportation is important for both convenience and safety.
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My oldest graduated last year and is living and working in NYC. More availability in the summer; especially June. Lots of folks looking to sub-lease their places. My daughter had great luck putting out the word to her college peers who either lived in the city themselves, or had other friends who did. She found a place through word-of-mouth (a friend looking for someone to take over lease for another roommate who was moving) and by putting in her Instagram stories that she was looking. This has worked out great for the past year, and they just renewed their lease.
During college, she spent a summer interning in NYC and found an apartment on Craigslist- we were highly nervous about that, but she interviewed/met with the other two girls who lived there (via Zoom) multiple times and felt comfortable agreeing to it, sight unseen. Her roommates and the apartment itself ended up being totally fine, but the area was generally unsafe, and she wouldn’t use that format again.
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Thank you everyone for useful tips. I am passing them on.
@Iglooo I believe you posted before about this family member. Again I recommend Bay Ridge, at the southwest end of Brooklyn. Setting up a Streeteasy search is a great idea. For more specific advice, PM me. I know about many other Brooklyn neighborhoods as well. I’d be happy to communicate directly with the family members who are looking.
Bay Ridge - is MT Pockets still there? What a great dive bar that was.
You might try Leasebreak in addition to Streeteasy. Deals are typically better in the winter months, but it often isn’t that the prices are significantly lower. Instead there might be a rent concession (free month or partial free month) offered or a lower broker fee. There is less inventory in winter but also less competition. Summer is terrible because so many students and new grads are looking.
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