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The Great Apartment Search

galenbladegalenblade Registered User regular
edited April 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
So, I've gotten a job, making a half-decent living after a long period of schooling and unemployment.Now I need to move the hell out of my parents' house. The commute's killing me.

However, I'm at a loss as to where to begin. I've been doing the internet thing, trying to find a decent place to park my ass, to no avail.

I've been looking at "apartment" websites, but the vast majority require me to pay up front to access listings I'm not even sure are relevant (wrong neighborhood/wrong price range). Craigslist is little better. I've seen listings, but they're often not what I'm looking for or immediately snatched up by other seekers.

It also doesn't help that I'm unfamiliar with the many, many, many neighborhoods of the place I'm looking at. (NYC Metro).

So, the question I'd like to ask: Do you guys know any good online resources for checking out apartments? Both (free) listings and information about renting? I have yet to find something as comprehensive as, say Monster.com or the like, but I'm sure there's something out there someone's had a good experience with.

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galenblade on

Posts

  • jclastjclast Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    NYC may be different, but this worked for me in central Illinois and the Bay Area in California. Go to the supermarket. Most have a rack full of free publications, and there's almost always an apartment guide available there.

    Also, ask your coworkers. Somebody may know of a decent complex near work or somebody could be looking for a roommate.

    jclast on
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  • geckahngeckahn Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    For NYC, craigslist and NYT real estate are the best options I know of.

    Or you could get a broker. Those fees fucking suck though.

    http://www.nytimes.com/pages/realestate/index.html

    geckahn on
  • Recoil42Recoil42 Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    jclast is right, for now, the best option is really the traditional paper mags found on any urban street corner or supermarket.

    edit: found this for you, operated by one of the companies that does the paper stuff: http://www.forrent.com/

    Recoil42 on
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  • nexuscrawlernexuscrawler Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    craigslist is much better for finding by owner apts can't hurt to look there.

    NYC is a very competitive housing market. good places will get snatched up almsot instanlty no matter what resources you use. For more affordable living still close to the city look in Jersey City and Hoboken too.

    nexuscrawler on
  • DioltasDioltas Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    http://www.housingmaps.com is the sweet sweet lovechild of googlemaps and craigslist. It should help you figure out what neighborhoods will be most convenient to your job and also about how much you should expect to pay there.

    Dioltas on
  • A-RodA-Rod Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    Well technically if you got a real estate agent you wouldnt be paying them. The seller is the one that has to pay the commission,.

    So you can always look into working with a Realtor.

    A-Rod on
  • GrimmyTOAGrimmyTOA Registered User regular
    edited April 2007
    A-Rod wrote: »
    Well technically if you got a real estate agent you wouldnt be paying them. The seller is the one that has to pay the commission,.

    So you can always look into working with a Realtor.

    True in most places, but not, unfortunately, in New York City. In NYC, if you work with a broker, you can expect to pay at least 10-15% of your year's rent -- up front -- to get an apartment. Sometime a bit lower -- sometimes a lot higher.

    As mentioned above, if you're looking in the 'good' areas (anywhere on the island of Manhattan, bits and pieces of Queens & Brooklyn, etc etc) you can expect apartments to go fast. Really fast.

    There's so much competition for places that the landlords can afford to be picky. There's always another potential tenant about to walk around the corner, after all. You should try to have your finances in order (proof of employment including salary etc) and be prepared to write a fairly substantial cheque on the spot.

    Definitely try Craigslist and newspaper listings, but be aware that anything more than a day or two old is likely to be either a) off the market or b) severely flawed or c) both. Speed is of the essence.

    When I moved to New York I ended up getting a broker after a couple of days of fruitless searching. Although the amount of money I had to give him was nearly criminal, I feel like it was worth it simply in terms of aggravation avoided.

    If you decide to go with a broker, keep in mind that there are many of them, of varying levels of trustworthiness and expertise. My advice: Find a neighborhood that suits your needs, and a broker that knows that neighborhood. Don't expect a Queens-based broker to do much for you on the Upper West Side, and vice-versa.

    Good luck. It's quite a city to live in.

    GrimmyTOA on
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