Renting an apartment in New York is an emotionally and financially draining experience that we’re in the midst of. Before Thanksgiving, we spent a week in New York and came out without a lease—though we have a place to stay in January. But we have learned so much, and as part of my personal reflection on the week, I wanted to write up some tips for securing an apartment in New York, even though we haven’t succeeded yet.
I remember, midway through the week, getting a call from an agent who was showing a 1BR in Park Slope, Brooklyn. At the time, we were looking at another place nearby, and when we called him back later he said it was already gone. “A woman walked in earlier,” he said, “she saw the place and paid the whole year’s rent up front in cash.” Lesson one: In the heat of battle, always answer the phone, even if you think it’s rude to talk to one agent while being shown a place by another. Feel free to walk away in the middle of a showing if you think something better has come up and won’t last. And if you’re using brokers, go to as many agencies as you can, meet some brokers you like, get their card, and call them every morning to see what’s happening.
Of course, someone with a year’s rent up front in cash is hard to compete with. But since so many apartments are constantly turning over, a patient, dedicated person who can commit full-time hours to the task will eventually get what they want.
And at some point along the way, you will most definitely encounter many agents. In New York, there are three kinds of rental agents, each obligated by law to act on someone’s behalf: the landlord, the tenant, or both (the Judge Judy of agents). The vast majority of agents are landlord’s agents—gatekeepers between potential tenants and the landlord. Here’s the kicker. If you are renting through a landlord’s agent, you will pay them upwards of 15% of your annual rent so that they can represent the landlord’s best interests. This is like going to court and paying for the other side’s lawyer when you win the case. We’re not talking about small change here, either — on a $1,500 one bedroom, 15% of the rent is $2,700. They may be great people—we met some wonderful landlord’s agents in Brooklyn—but when it comes to the real business of drawing up and signing a lease, their undivided loyalty is to the landlord. You can pay a tenant’s agent to find a place for you and be loyal to you, though, and I’m still not sure whether that means you could pay a fee twice, or whether the two agents would then agree to split a fee. (Does anyone know?)
Here’s my reconstruction of a conversation with a dual agent after seeing a place we liked.
Us: “We really like the place — what’s the rent again?”
Manager: “$1,600/month”
Us: “And what do we have to do to hold it?”
Manager: “Well, you can fill out an application. Here’s one.”
Us: “Oh, who owns the building? Your office owns it, right?”
Manager: “Yeah, but the landlord is out on vacation for the next two weeks.”
Us: “Oh, one more thing. We saw one of the tenants outside the building, and we talked to them for a second. They told us they pay $1,500 a month for their 1BR, so why is this place listed at $1,600?”
Manager: “Because $1,600 is the price of this unit.”
Us: “But why?”
Manager: *scowls* “Because the landlord wants $1,600 per month.”
Us: “Why does the landlord want $1,600 per month when others are paying $1,500?”
Manager: “OK listen, first of all, you’re not getting the apartment. Second, let me show you something.”
Manager hacks away at his computer for a second.
Manager: “Here’s someone in that building who is paying $1,825 a month for their 1 bedroom. For the unit you’re looking at, the landlord requires me to collect six applications from qualified people for this apartment, and then they will choose someone from those. You are the first two people to see it. But I can tell you right now that you’re not getting the place.”
Us: “Why not?!?”
Manager: “Because you’re being difficult with me.”
Us: “We’re not being difficult. Look, our interest is in fairness, that’s why we’re asking these questions.”
Manager: “You’re going out and talking to other tenants about what they pay. Look, why don’t you guys just move along, OK?”
Us: “Really? But we are great tenants, we have great credit, we have references, and we love the place. Can’t we just fill out an application?”
Manager: “OK, listen, I’m a dual agent, OK? Do you know what a dual agent is? It means I am bound by law to act in the best interest of both the landlord and the tenant. So I have to be impartial. I’ll let you fill out an application. We require first and last month’s rent, a security deposit, and 10% of the annual rent as a realtor fee up front (this totals $6720). There’s also a $50 credit check fee for each of you, if we decide to do credit checks.”
Us: “But we have our own credit reports that we’ve printed out.”
Manager: “Well, I’ll look at what you have…”
We fill out the rest of the application in silence.
Us: “We have to go pick up all our documentation. We’ll bring it back later.”
Manager: “OK, well, if you have to…”
We leave, knowing we’re not getting the place, but having learned a lot. It was a great conversation, because it reinforced a few more apartment-hunting lessons:
- Talk to the owner or property manager, go into their office. Is this a good person? This is the person we’ll be asking to fix our hot water heater later. Will they use the “you’re being difficult” line then? One management office had, for reasons I still don’t understand, a huge road sign just inside their front door that said, “GO AWAY.” You don’t have to ask me twice.
- Know the market well, so you can walk in and know that a place is overpriced. “What? $1,600 for this utility closet?”
- Be careful about when you bring up the price. In the future, we might be better off talking price after we’ve submitted an application but before we sign a lease. However, my guess is that since he’s taking six applications, his plan is to play them off each other and get as much as possible for the place. For every tenant who is diligent about getting fair market value, there will be one who’s willing to pay something way beyond the listed price. Thus the $1,850 tenant. That’s their perfect tenant. So while you’re at it,
- Forget about the places that need to take six applications. You want a place where they’re ready to move as soon as someone good comes through the door and hands them a few hundred bucks.
- Don’t fall in love with it until the deal is done. I guess this is true of any deal, but this is really hard for apartments, because when you see a place you like, you start picturing where your fern will go and thinking about how you will get coffee at that cute cafe around the corner on Sunday mornings.
- $100 for credit checks?! I can check my credit for free, so I’d rather give them a copy of my credit report. Cursory googling found credit check websites for landlords that cost around $10 per person, probably more like $5 if you subscribe to a regular credit check service.
- Bring all your documentation with you, all the time, everywhere. You must be ready to make a deal. You will want to bring identification, a copy of a recent credit report, a reference letter from a past landlord, a copy of pay stubs and W-2s and anything else that shows you make a stable income, $500 or so in cash for a deposit, your checkbook, a pen, a knife, and a fifty rock of cocaine. If you’re a freelancer, musician, poet, dancer, or barista, you really have to go the distance here: resume, past invoices, work references, etc. If you’re in school or have poor credit, you’ll probably need a guarantor—have them ready to sign at the blink of a FAX. If you have an unmarried partner, a copy of a past lease showing that you’ve lived together for a while could be helpful.
- My ideal is to rent directly from an owner, preferably someone who lives right on the premises. This can work well if you’re an owner, too, because you get to meet potential tenants, establish rapport, and show them that you’re around and that you care about the place—making them less likely to install their 3-story beer funnel next to the downspout.
But Portland, ME will remain the lobster roll mecca
