OK so I have worked in Manhattan most of my adult life. I rented here back in the '80s when my $17k salary got me a sublet for $700 in an apartment with mice. Fast forward to now. DD (with a good paying job that’s almost 6 figures) can’t get her own decent apartment in Manhattan without a guarantor. I (because I’m self-employed) don’t show enough income to be said guarantor. Realtor (an aggressive, almost feral type) keeps insisting that apartments in her price range will disappear tomorrow and keeps pushing me to get another better qualified guarantor. I have offered extra security deposit money in lieu of income; Feral Realtor rejects this. I’m wondering if I’m hearing her version of reality (i.e., for this landlord who will pay her commission, extra security deposits don’t matter).
Anyone else have any tips or advice to help DD qualify?
There used to be a formula of X times so many months salary in order to avoid a guarantor. That was several years ago. It’s absolutely true that places will disappear quickly if you’re not ready to commit.
I assume they are asking for income equivalent to 40-60x the rent in order to avoid a guarantor. Renting in NYC can be a pain in the behind. A few years ago we almost had to guarantee for my S and three roommates because the other parents did not live in NY. He chose another apartment ;)…one that did not require a guarantor.
I didn’t think it mattered where the guarantor lives. We have signed for two of DD’s apartments and we don’t live in NY.
I just about lost my mind dealing with her first landlord. He would never respond to the girls when they asked for paperwork. Then, while we were on vacation, he decided he had to have the paperwork that day or the girls were going to lose the apartment. From the golf course my husband had to call in favors at work to have them send proof of his salary immediately and I spent an afternoon in the hotel offices trying to get signatures overnighted to him. There was absolutely no reason for landlord to be so difficult but he knew he had us over a barrel.
It can be really tricky because there are so many people who want the same apartment and they do have incomes that qualify. Is it the 40x rule? On a 100k salary, that can still likely get you a $2500 apartment, many of which are extremely nice. Renting in NYC is the worst thing ever. I’m going to be looking for a 1-bedroom around July and want to crawl up and die just thinking about it.
I also think it is 40X. So for a 1 bedroom that might rent for $3000 you would have to show $120,000 in income. But that also includes bonus or other forms of income.
For young people starting out in Manhattan it makes sense to get a 2 bedroom with 1 or 2 other people. You can easily get a 2 bedroom in a doorman building for $4200-$4500 and with 2 or 3 people it makes it easier to meet the income requirements. Most young adults that work for major banks or law firms and are 2 to 3 years out of school are still living with roommates or significant others, That is just the way it is in Manhattan.
From what I can tell the most reasonable rents in the city right now are in the financial district-- right around Water St. Every young real estate broker I have encountered is living there.
Prices clearly went down. I hope they stay at this level until the summer when my daughter will be apartment hunting in Manhattan. My son just move out from FiDi to Buschwick, Brooklyn. He said that he grew up in a suburban bubble, FiDi was a bubble but now he lives with real people.
When DD needed a guarantor for grad school apt in Manhattan in 2012, the rule of thumb was that our income had to be 80 times the full monthly rental, not just her half. (She was sharing a two bedroom.) The paperwork required of us was highly intrusive with additional requirements by the day, despite no problems. I was wishing it was possible to just put the full year’s rent in a secure account and not need to share more info than what is required to buy a house. She might want to try another realtor or a room in an established apartment. The realtors doing the rentals were challenging for DD and her room-mate, too.
When DD was looking, income of 40x a month’s rent was required of the individual who did not require a guarantor…
No real tips, but lots of sympathy. The search took lots of pavement pounding as they were renting for August first. When she looked again (after grad school with job offer in hand), she had no trouble securing an apartment on her own in November. It was much less crazy that time of year.
Some realtors will allow a full year’s rent in escrow to guarantee an apartment. The New York paperwork was highly intrusive with requests for tax returns and other highly sensitive data so this was the option our friend suggested to her realtor for the same reasons as the OP. Find a new realtor. Once you’ve rented for a while in NYC, it’s not that bad when you change apartments. At least for my daughter’s friends who are in their late 20s.
Most of my daughter’s friends in this situation just choose to live in Brooklyn or Queens. For the rent difference, you can take a lot of late night ubers or taxis when it become uncomfortable to use the subway.
Update (sorry to be MIA for so long – lots of apartment stress plus I got a bad sinus infection). The multiple (according to her realtor) is 40x. She is really close but not there, and she also has basically zero savings in her name. I asked my brother to guarantee the loan; he makes in excess of the 80x multiple, but most of his assets are in his wife’s name. I have assets, but not enough income, and according to realtor, you can’t mix and match a guarantor from two people.
She finally got approved with my brother as guarantor and him showing what little $ he had in day to day checking. I had to put down 2 months security deposit (and first month’s rent).
Interestingly enough (for those of you with kids who need a guarantor) there is now a company that will act as guarantor for a fee: https://www.insurent.com/renters/
I’m sure a lot of this is supply and demand, and in less desirable areas she might have had an easier time. But she works long hours and being close to work is really important to her right now.
^^^ Is it true? How long does she/he have to have a rental history?
My D and her boyfriend have been renting in Boston area since last September. They are trying to move this coming September and found a good apartment. I’m going through the same (no, this one is more invasive) guarantor paperwork process again now.
Maybe rental history of less than one year is not enough…