Rental Q&A via the NY Times

“The Rights of Condo Renters”

“Common Charges and Tenants”

“Retirees See the Value in Rentals” via the NY Times

I love this article that appeared in last weekend’s NY Times Real Estate section. Although it covers New Jersey, the discussion of retirees chosing to rent rather than own hits many of the points I try to highlight on this blog–namely, the burdens that can sometimes accompany the responsibilities of homeownership. Home-ownership is less attractive to older adults seeking lower taxes  (which are paid by their landlords); freedom from home maintenance chores such as gardening and snow-shovelling, not to mention that all the bad publicity about mortgaes and the housing crisis has been making being a renter more appealing.

A New Kind of SRO

“Single Room Occupancy” and “Rooming House” are NY code for the down and out, the unhousable. Although it is fairly common in Europe to share kitchens and bathrooms with strangers in rental accommodations, the practice has fallen out of fashion in New York City since the second half of the twentieth century. According to this NY Times article, shared kitchens and baths are more common among the city’s young and creative than you might have thought.

Often easier than dealing with strangers as actual roommates–with all the financial pitfalls that entails, people are more than willing to share public areas with people they don’t really know in order to save several hundred dollars a month. The article is quick to point out that some of these arrangements may be operating in a gray area of the law. I was reminded of this Times article from 2006, “Out of College but Now Living in Urban Dorms” about a woman who opened an urban dormitory for post-college young professional adults in Harlem, also an interesting read.

NY Times Reports on Downturn of the Luxury Rental Market

Already being covered on NYCrentopia (here, here and here), the luxury rental market has been hit hard by the economic downturn. This may be good news for renters as you can expect lower prices for better apartments and various landlord incentives such as free rent and more landlords paying all or part of the broker’s fee. If you’re looking for an affordable luxury rental, get in touch with me and I can help you out for free now. All my contact info is on the sidebar to your right. If you want to watch the NY Times video, click HERE .

Rental Q&A via the NY Times

“When it’s permissabile to break a lease”

“The rights of roommates”

Rental Q&A via the NY Times

“A late fee imposed outside the lease.”

“A condo’s fitness room is for owners only.”

Rental Q&A Courtesy of the NY Times

“Ever higher security deposits?”

“When a tenant laves before a lease ends…”

Rental Q&A via the NY Times

“A landlord seeks a brokerage fee.”

NY Times “The Hunt” Column Features Young Renters

While 23 year old Megan Dearing was not a first-time renter, as a recent graduate of Fordham University, the Buffalo native faced several challenges in finding a livable apartment and her story is one that many recent grads will identify with. The first challenge is of course coming up with enough cash to pay the high rents Manhattan demands, but also the security deposits, broker’s fees and moving costs can quickly add up into the thousands. Of course Megan also wanted to live somewhere she felt safe and comfortable and after living with two messy roommates in her last apartment she decided to live with her cousin, Katie Dearing. So where did the two young women end up? Read the whole article here.

Rental Q&A Courtesy of the NY Times

“Who should pay for a new door lock?”

‘The Hunt’: NY Times Features Renter’s Apartment Search

In this past weekend’s “The Hunt” column, the NY Times real estate section covered the search of recently-divorced Leesa Shapiro Willett who decided to move with her children into Manhattan from the suburbs of Long Island. Obviously, this was a big change for the family and not only was it a challenge to find a rental apartment large enough to accommodate the whole gang, but the loss of suburban space was accompanied by anxiety about the loss of suburban amenities such as a washer and dryer in their living space. So where did the Willett family end up? Find out by reading the full article here!

Rental Q&A via the NYTimes

“Will the renters be out by the closing date?”

“Who is exempt from rent deregulation?

“The Hunt”: NY Times Features Renter’s Apartment Search

This past weekend’s edition of the NY Times “The Hunt” column reported on the apartment search of Adam Cunningham. Relocating from California, Adam experienced several issues that will be familiar to the many people who move to NYC: the pressure of having a limited amount of time for their search, the unfamiliarity with the NY market, and the difficulty of planning ahead by trying to look more than a month in advance of their desired move-in date. Read the full article about how Adam found his dream New York apartment with only two days to look!

What You Need to Know Before you Rent via the NY Times

This past weekend the NY Times Real Estate section once again featured the New York rental market and the process of searching for an apartment as their lead story. The article is pretty good, highlighting some of the peculiarities of our beloved city’s insane rental market. You can read the full article here, and if that’s not enough for you check out the additional info available here on my blog!

How to Get the Apartment you Want, Part 1: What Happens When I Use a Broker?

How to Get the Apartment you Want, Part 2: Questions of Timing

How to Get the Apartment you Want, Part 3: Preparing your Paperwork

“The Hunt”: NY Times Features Renter’s Apartment Search

Did you know that the NY Times “The Hunt” column also features renters? This past weekend’s column covered the apartment search of a Judson Vann, a very meticulous young man with a lot of furniture who needed to find a reasonably-sized one bedroom in Manhattan for less than $2500. As a broker, this story is very familiar to me: people want a decent amount of space for around $2000. Often, this is a tall order. In the $2000 price category it’s rare to find anything above 650 square feet in most parts of Manhattan and I often find myself getting discouraged and encouraging people to consider moving to Brooklyn or upper Manhattan.

However, just because something is difficult does not mean that it’s impossible and if you have time to keep looking then you should do so. I always say that there is no perfect apartment and you should really be searching for an apartment that is 85% perfect. A combination of persistence and a little bit of compromising is what paid off for the guy in the article: he eventually found a large railroad apartment on Ninth Avenue at a price he felt comfortable paying. I can identify where Judson’s compromising led to his success: railroad apartments can be a great value and the further west or east you go the more space you are likely to get for your money.