NYU Students -- where do you live? Forum

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dk5151

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by dk5151 » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:23 pm

+1 for Brooklyn. Park Slope is awesome, I've lived there the past 2.5 years. Quiet and safe, lots of young families, awesome restaurants and bars. 20-25 minute ride on the F train to West 4th, which is where the law school is located. Sure, you're not living in the city, but in my opinion, that is a positive.

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Sobriquet

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by Sobriquet » Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:42 pm

I was looking at the NYU Off-Campus Housing Guide and found this info regarding Credit:

http://www.law.nyu.edu/housing/offcampu ... /index.htm

I've rented in Chicago for the past 2 years, and I've never had to have CPA certification or a guarantor. A simple $75 credit check was pretty much all it took. I was hoping to just hop a plane to NY and stay with friends for a week and spend that time looking for apartments, but it's starting to sound like I might need to do some prep work? Can anyone elaborate on these items?

red_sox

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by red_sox » Mon Jan 12, 2009 2:45 pm

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Last edited by red_sox on Fri Jan 30, 2009 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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gannak

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by gannak » Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:49 pm

Sobriquet wrote: Can anyone elaborate on these items?
make sure you have your w-2 and tax returns from last year, at least six months worth of paystubs, a copy of your acceptance letter, bank statements, and if you need a guarantor (which you probably will as a student), all of these things for your guarantor, including a letter from their employer stating where they work and what their salary is.

if you plan to use a broker, be prepared to pay a 15-18% fee, and that's off of first year's total rent. you can't often just "apply" and go through a credit check. you sometimes have to wait and see if the landlord picks your application. it's easier to rent in brooklyn than manhattan, though it may be easier in manhattan now thanks to the recession. you may find a deal.

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gannak

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by gannak » Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:00 pm

here are some popular manhattan brokers:

http://www.citi-habitats.com/
http://www.brownharrisstevens.com/nyc.aspx
http://corcoran.com/
http://www.prudentialelliman.com/
http://www.markdavidny.com/
http://www.manhattanapts.com/
http://www.cbhk.com/
http://www.halstead.com/

they all have pretty significant fees. my friend had a really bad experience with manhattan apartments, but they have offices all over the city, so it could have just been one bad realtor. i think citi-habitats is pretty sleazy too. unfortunately these two companies usually have the most affordable apartments.

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amyLAchemist

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by amyLAchemist » Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:06 pm

gannak wrote:if you need a guarantor (which you probably will as a student), all of these things for your guarantor, including a letter from their employer stating where they work and what their salary is.
Can a "guarantor" be a significant other, or does it have to be a parent?

Also, thanks for all the info. :)

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gannak

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by gannak » Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:27 pm

i think so, it depends. if you aren't married or engaged they might not. you'd probably have to put them on the lease.

the places i listed are mostly for manhattan...if you are living north of the city you can find more places that rent by owner or through the management company, and more affordable brokers.


edit: also, outside of manhattan (ie. queens, areas of brooklyn, north bronx, etc) people are a lot more relaxed! manhattan landlords need a lot of info and are really specific about their requirements.

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by amyLAchemist » Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:04 pm

Thanks again gannak :) I'd be living with my SO anyways, so he'd naturally be on the lease. But I imagine I will be the one finding an apartment for us.

What are some good ways to find places that are rented by the owner? In LA, we have westsiderentals.com (you pay 60 bucks and you can view the listings and contact the owners yourself). Is Craigslist totally terrible for places outside Manhattan?

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gannak

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by gannak » Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:16 pm

craigslist is really good, getting better and better. the owners know about it and pretty much all list there.

there are a lot of websites like that in new york, pay a fee and see by-owner listings...but they are all a FRAUD. don't fall for it!

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red_sox

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by red_sox » Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:24 pm

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Last edited by red_sox on Fri Jan 30, 2009 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Sobriquet

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by Sobriquet » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:03 pm

Yeah, thanks so much gannak!

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gannak

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by gannak » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:33 pm

no prob! finding an apartment in nyc is a terrifying endeavor.

curbed is a really good resource too:
http://curbed.com/archives/2006/01/01/n ... rvices.php

and the ny times:
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/realestate/

http://www.kandrrealty.com/
i rent from this realty company and they are excellent, probably better for columbia students than nyu though. most of their properties are in harlem. but no fee!

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by red_sox » Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:36 pm

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Sobriquet

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by Sobriquet » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:49 am

http://www.ardorny.com/guidesandreports ... proved.asp

This kind of confirms what the NYU website says...since we obviously can't prove that we earn 40x the monthly rent, we will probably need our parents to guarantee our apartments. What exactly do we need to ask our parents to provide? Can they just sign stuff via fax if they don't live near NYC?

amyLAchemist

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by amyLAchemist » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:13 am

This is all good to know. I am going to hop on a plane and find an apartment, too. I guess I'll bring mine and my SO's W2/1040s, his job offer stuff, my admitance letter. I don't have parents to sign with me, but actually could his parents??

One thing I was wondering, if I bring a letter with me of his approval of me to handle it, will they just roll with it? Like I could just fax the lease to him to sign? I am not sure if he is going to have the time to take a trip to find an apartment. If he absolutely has to, he will of course, but it would literally have to be fly in one day, leave the next.

Also, if I've planning to live north of the city....how long does it take to find a place? i.e. when is a good time to start looking/calling?

That being said, I've rented in LA on my own with pretty low income in decent neighborhoods, and I've had to do was provide a copy of my bank statement and pay for them to do a credit check....

Thanks for everyone's input...

espresso

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by espresso » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:52 am

gannak wrote:
also, don't be put off by scary stories about alphabet city, "D is for death," etc. it's hipsterville now.
While true, there are still a few blocks in that neighborhood that certainly qualify as " seriously sketchy." It's a good neighborhood, but people should obviously make sure to actually see the place before they agree to it!

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by espresso » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:00 am

red_sox wrote:Do any of you have experience of the Gramercy / Murray Hill area? Seems like it could be a good compromise between NYU and midtown, i.e. within walking distance of both.
For the most part, Gramercy is outside of the student budget. Murray Hill (basically slightly farther north of Gramercy on the eastside) is very much young professional/student friendly, though certainly not a major discount like Astoria and parts of BK, but it's certainly not normal "walking distance" to NYU - you won't be walking to class from your apartment. For instance, 30th and Park to the Law School is about 2 miles.

Also, if you're student of average law school age, I'd guess that you really won't have that much to do with Midtown. Sure, there's a lot of shopping up there, a couple of music venues and the MoMa, but it's not really much of a place to hang out very often (not much going out etc etc)

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VictoryFord

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by VictoryFord » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:47 am

Sobriquet wrote:http://www.ardorny.com/guidesandreports ... proved.asp

This kind of confirms what the NYU website says...since we obviously can't prove that we earn 40x the monthly rent, we will probably need our parents to guarantee our apartments. What exactly do we need to ask our parents to provide? Can they just sign stuff via fax if they don't live near NYC?
for a guarantor I had a W2 copy and something signed that basically said, "I will pay the rent should Victory fail to, etc."

Often times for the guarantor the income is higher than 40X, 60X if I remember correctly.

Also, my roommate just moved out. If anyone needs a place in Brooklyn until July and maybe beyond, let me know.

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by espresso » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:31 pm

Where in Brooklyn are you?

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VictoryFord

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by VictoryFord » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:38 pm

i'm in greenpoint.

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by espresso » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:40 pm

You're in Greenpoint but commute to NYU? Do you take a walk to the L?

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VictoryFord

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by VictoryFord » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:48 pm

I don't go to nyu. but i do take the L a lot. I usually take the bus, but in the summer i sometimes walk(<10minute walk). If it's cold I take the G. But, my old roommate commuted to an art school near nyu, it's pretty quick.

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gannak

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by gannak » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:05 pm

Sobriquet wrote: What exactly do we need to ask our parents to provide? Can they just sign stuff via fax if they don't live near NYC?

my dad is my guarantor and just faxed a signed copy of the lease back to the management company.

they required (from him):

w-2
tax return
letter from his employer listing his position, place of employment, salary, and length of employment
bank statements from both checking and savings accounts
pay stubs from last six months


i had to submit the same thing, except i didn't have as many pay stubs yet.


it is really difficult to find an apartment in advance here. the best thing to do is have all your paperwork together, get in touch with a broker about a month to 1.5 months before your expected move in, and tell them exactly what you want. have all your paperwork ready to go. when you find a place you want, you submit an application immediately, and will get it within a day or two if you get it. the thing is, there are a bazillion other people looking for apartments and submitting apps at the same time. july/august is an especially busy time. this is both a positive and a negative thing, lots of apartments available, but lots of competition.

i would get the cpa thing for both yourself and your parents. the more paperwork you have the better. also, don't be surprised if landlords ask for some months in advance. this happens sometimes for students moving in from out of state.

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VictoryFord

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by VictoryFord » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:11 pm

good advice.

another thing i would add, which gannak mentioned. if you want an apartment, TAKE IT! there really is no time to waste. you are almost better off looking for an apartment 3 days before you have to move in rather than 30 days.

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Sobriquet

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Re: NYU Students -- where do you live?

Post by Sobriquet » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:32 pm

This. Is. Ridiculous.

(But thanks everyone for the help...I feel bad for anyone who just flies into NY thinking they'd spend a week apartment hunting and that'd be that.)

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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