The Ultimate Guide to Renting a New York City Apartment

The DL: How to find an apartment in NYC – things to know from a first time, out of towner, looking for an apartment in Manhattan and on top of that during peak time in competitive neighborhoods.

Updated Spring 2021

Tips from an out of town first timer: 

What everyone says is true…it’s a rollercoaster, and it happens quick. After about 63 apartment tours, showings, and open houses, we finally landed on an apartment. I would say part of the high volume was due to our own preferences in being picky. We were trying to figure out the area we actually wanted to be in, so we didnt have to move again next year. Plus, adjusting to the fact that we were looking at 500 square feet apartments compared to our 3-bedroom home we had just sold was an adjustment. In addition to the madness, we lost out on a lot that went too quickly.  

We moved to Manhattan in the summer of 2019 from Birmingham, Alabama. We decided to rent a furnished place with a company called Sonder. It was a month to month rental and allowed us to have more time to figure out where we wanted to live, what our work commutes would be like etc. They are an awesome company and have a month to month or even day by day options.

When first preparing for our move, there didn’t seem to be a lot of information about this crazy process. I can say buying a home was way easier and less stressful than our apartment hunt! We were also looking in two highly competitive and sought out areas, the West Village and Upper West at prime time, summer! We ended up with a walk-up in West village in the heart of it all. It shockingly came with all the “amenities” that don’t normally come with a walk up and it’s rent-stabilized, a win-win-win. So here I am, sharing the details from a now locals view on how to get the apartment you want!

Basic Criteria to get an Apartment: 

1. You must make 40 – 50 times the rent. So, if you are looking at an apartment for $3,000 a month, you + whoever else living there needs to make and prove at least $120,000. If you cannot prove this, you might be able to use a guarantor if allowed (a family member or website like insurent, we did not do this but have heard that they require A LOT of information from your family member, so know that going in and before you ask someone).

2. As far as other requirements go, each landlord or management company will have different ones but for the most part the standard includes:  

• 2 most recent pay stubs
• Letter of employment on letterhead or offer letter. If you are working remote you most likely still need your original offer letter from that company
• Last 2 Tax returns
• Copy of ID
• Bank statements- last two months of full bank statements
• Landlord reference letter (we provided our closing documents from the home we owned, since we did not have this) 
• Credit Check – usually pay for that with your application
• If you are moving internationally, there might be more requirements needed 

3. Applications are usually first come first serve, so have your stuff together and be ready on the spot.

Tip: Keep all your information in one place and up to date. For example, we started this process in June but didn’t end up renting until the end of August, so we had to keep updating our bank systems to be the most recent.  

4. Each application costs a non-refundable fee, so whether you get the unit or not, just know that money is gone. It ranges from $20 – $80 per person usually and after losing out on a couple of apartments that can be frustrating.

The Process:

1. Find and view the apartment. We used a realtor and I also checked daily or hourly on all the apartment/realtor sites for new updates. You can find a realtor by narrowing down to your top two companies and then filling out a contact form. The company should reach out to you and match you with someone that you fit with. You might be able to get away without using a realtor, but for west village we had to.

Tip: Set up notifications on whatever website you use to get the most up to date listings sent right to your inbox

2. You found the one, yay! Send in your application ASAP– whether it is electronic or paper (yes they still do paper applications) and pay the fee (if working with a Realtor they should handle this).

Tip: If you are going to an open house or showing, bring all your documents with you so you can apply on the spot.

3. Some may ask for a good faith deposit to take it off the market (around half of the first months rent) – this would be in the form of a cashiers check so make sure you have a bank account set up in NYC.

4. Wait to hear if you are approved can take 1-3 days, ours took a few hours!

5. Once approved you will get the appropriate cashiers checks (usually first month, deposit, realator fees if using one) and sign the lease (which is as much paperwork as a home). 

6.  After you sign the lease, next steps will be on your move-in day/first day of your lease you will likely meet with the super, management company, doorman etc. to get the keys.

7.  If you made it to this point, congrats! You have conquered the most difficult part of living in NYC, just getting a place to live!  

Where to live, Find your Neighborhood

1. Proximity to the subway.

If you are going to be using public transit which 70% of the city does, being close to a subway is essential. Especially when the weather is terrible. We looked at an amazing high rise apartment, with floor to ceiling windows and I thought this is it. Well, we made the walk to the subway which ended up being an uphill .6 mile walk, through a rough area, which we quickly realized wouldnt work when we plan to use it a couple times a day.

2. Work Commute.

If you don’t have a job yet, finding somewhere more central is key. For example if you got a job on the upper west and lived on the upper east, your commute could be a little more difficult. If you already have a job, being close to the lines you would use everyday is important.

3. The Vibe.

What’s the neighborhood vibe like. Are you close to parks or the water? How is the food scene? What type of night life is there? Walk around at night, ride the subway during rush hour etc. to learn more about the area.

How to find an apartment:

• Websites you can use: streeteasy, rent hop, apartment listing, brokerage websites, craigslist, naked apartments, lease break – there are a lot out there. 

• Broker – we used a broker because we wanted to live in areas that mostly were broker only access or even if we found one on our own, we were going to have to pay a brokers fee either way. The apartment we ended up getting was a brokers only listing.

• Ask friends you know that are moving or have coworkers/friends they know are moving. 

Things to look for in your apartment:

This will all depend on what area you are living in and what type of building you want; walk up vs. high rise etc.

Standard Amenities. Does it have what I would call moving from out of town, “standard amenities” (which are rare in most walk ups):

• Dishwasher
• Washer and dryer. Is it in the unit (very rare), or in the building? If not, is there a wash and fold nearby? 
• Air. Do you need to buy an AC unit or does it have central AC?
• Elevator. Most walks ups don’t have them so when it’s a 5 flight walk up, keep in mind how many steps that is every day.
• Extras. Most high rises will have a laundry facility, gym, lounge, etc., but might not be in the most convenient location for you and your lifestyle, where a walk up might be in a convenient location, but does not have any amenities. So deciding what’s more important is up to you!

General Tips:

• When to look. Start looking a couple of weeks out, most of the time you should be able to move in right away or within a few days of when you are approved. We applied for our apartment on a Monday, signed the lease Tuesday and moved in on a Thursday.  Most of the time you cant rent something months in advance, but if you could it would be more likely with a new build or high rise compared to a walk-up.

• Open houses. Many of the websites that say open houses actually have an application in hand and have that open house as a back-up, so don’t get your hopes up.

• No fee (you don’t pay a brokers fee, usually its covered by the landlord) vs. Fee (you will pay a brokers fee on the apartment either 1 month’s rent or 15% of the annual rent) most listings will note which it is, if nothing is noted most likely it is a fee rental. 

• Rent stabilized units mean your rent should not go up increasingly year after year, which is apparently a thing in NYC. So, if you are already looking at the top of your budget and the unit is not rent stabilized, just remember it could go up in rent a couple hundred dollars the next year. 

• Beware of Deals – if you got a COVID deal just know that the next year your rent can double, that has happened to many of my friends.

• Online pictures and listings are usually not what they seem for the most part, make sure to see in person before you commit. Half of the listings use staged photos that look nothing like the actual unit. We learned that there are words that actually have other meanings like; cozy might mean small, quaint might mean weird layout, and cute means odd.

• Be ready to see something ASAP, know the location and area around it, commute, etc. before touring the unit. We missed out on so many by an hour or so because we decided to walk the neighborhood before applying and someone beat us to apply. Also, my advice again would be to have (or your broker) the application ready to go (like bring your paperwork to the showing) so you can apply in the apartment or right after you walk out the door.  

• Pay attention to move in dates when you are searching, that will usually be the first question a broker will ask you, and you can lose out if you have a later date than they are offering for move in. 

• Many of the online listings have sketchy brokers that can be aggressive, so stand your ground and be aware of what they are asking for when applying ex: we had a one broker who wanted a lot of the process done in cash (red flag)!

• If you are applying by yourself with no realtor, keep a google drive or secure folder with all your important documents, so you will be ready to apply when you find the one and like I said before, keep it up to date at all times. 

• If you have a pet, make sure pets are allowed, many buildings are not pet-friendly or charge a high fee. 

• Make sure you have a bank in NYC that you can get a cashier’s check from for the lease signing.

• Also make sure you have transferred the money to the accounts with enough time for them to clear and be ready to access since you will be paying a lot you first month. See below: 

a. Application fee ($20-80 pp)

b. Security Deposit (first month’s rent)

c. First month’s rent

d. Brokers fees (1 month’s rent or 15% annual rent)

So be prepared to spend $6,000-$20,000 on your first month depending on if you use a realtor, have a roommate, and cost of your rent.

Your landlord and or broker will know more about your personal life and financials than anyone close to you, so don’t try to hide anything that could interfere with the process, it will come out! With new laws passed in 2019, landlords have gotten more strict which has made the process even harder especially for newbies. But now with these tips you should be steps ahead of others competing for your apartment. You got this, good luck!