Archive for April, 2008
If you really, really want it…. you gotta come with your boots strapped on!
April 25th, 2008
Apartment hunting in today’s economic climate (and with vacancy rates seemingly forever married to single digits!) can be frustrating at best. Rising prices, desensitized landlords, and extreme competition can steal your “dream apartment” right out from under your feet. The easiest way to improve your odds is to follow a few simple rules…have realistic expectations, pick your window, and come prepared.
Realistic… as in “Possible” or “Existent”
So let us dissect that “dream apartment” of yours. You know… the 1,200 SF one-bedroom, newly renovated beauty you can get for $1,800 a month because it’s in Brooklyn and not Manhattan. They’re everywhere, right!? Wrong. Super wrong. Just because you cross some water doesn’t mean dwellings are going to be half off to rent (or buy!) Most of the downtown Brooklyn neighborhoods are closer to Manhattan’s prices than one might—or would want to—believe. (To quote New York Times reporter Joyce Cohen’s observation from “The Hunt: All for the Dog,” published April 13, 2008: ”Mr. Rizzo assumed rents would be lower in Williamsburg”… but found prices to be ”as high as those in Manhattan.”)
Have reasonable expectations when searching for your new home, so that when you DO come across something that fits most of your wants, you quickly come to realize that it’s worth applying for.
Ready, Set, Apartment Hunt!
The clichés assure us that timing is everything, which turns out to be practically provable in the apartment hunting process in Brooklyn. Most apartment availabilities are revealed in 30-day cycles, as the average tenant is usually required to give only one month’s notice before moving out. It is best to start your search 4-6 weeks before your actual move date. Any earlier… and you run the risk of stumbling across a “gem” that will not be around when your time comes; and being that you’re just a human, from that point on, every apartment you see will be compared to the “one that got away,” and you’ll end up with that little itch in the back of your head about what could’ve been. Trust me: this is not good for the fragile psyche of an apartment hunter. Be patient for your window, and hit it hard when your time comes. (And fear no shards!)
Be Prepared… as in “Made Ready or Fit or Suitable Beforehand”
Most importantly, be prepared when you are on the hunt. This is truly of utmost importance: there’s nothing worse than having to tell your client they lost the apartment because it took them too long to get their paperwork together, and a well-prepared renter beat them to the punch.
So here comes your standard preparedness punchline… The list may vary slightly from landlord to landlord, but this is more or less what you should have, and hold dear throughout the apartment hunting process:
1) Copy of ID—a clear, distinguishable copy, mind you.
2) Letter of Employment
3) Copy of recent bank statement
4) Copy of last three pay stubs
5) Copy of recent tax return
6) W2
7) Money—most places will take a deposit to hold the apartment. While a few landlords may take a personal check, most will need a money order or something similar. You know, the irrevocable instrument of payment… Cash is always king!
Carry all this paperwork with you (what a great excuse to get a brand new Brooklyn-made messenger bag!); that way you can hand it right over when you find your new home—and there is no downtime between applying for the apartment, and getting an answer for the landlord.
Remember the good old “First come, first served.”
Final reminder: Brooklyn IS New York City… things move fast and the slow fish always gets eaten. Follow these basic rules, and give yourself a fighting chance to secure your new home for the next year or two.
Happy hunting!!
