Apartment Hunting in New York

Apartment hunting in New York is really only fun if you have lots of money to spend. Otherwise, you end up living in a dump. Well, unless you room with half a dozen other people in a high rise loft or something along those lines. So you can guess that Philip and I have had a rough time finding an apartment.

Some NYC real estate offices have
cool waiting areas!

Our sublease is up on July 30, so for the past month, month and a half, Philip and I have made apartment hunting a full-time job. Unless we’re eating or sleeping, we’re on Craigslist, real estate websites, or makeshift apartment search websites or we’re visiting places from everywhere in Riverdale in the Bronx (WAY up north in NYC) to Astoria in Queens.

What makes it even tougher than our financial situation in general is that NYC has super strict renting policies. Basically, if you’ve ever missed a rent payment, if you’ve ever been to court with a landlord (regardless of circumstances), if you don’t make 40x monthly rent, etc. it’s virtually impossible to rent an apartment. 

Office desk, office chair, and visitor chair

Then there’s the broker’s fee. Arizona real estate agents, read carefully: If you want to provide shoddy services to your clients (not that I suggest it) while making bank, move to NYC! The real estate agents we’ve worked with here are the worst we’ve ever worked with, and many of them make 15-18% of the yearly rent for each rental transaction (as opposed to the 6% you make!). It’s a crazy market here in the City.

Anyway, our search is over. We now have a place to stay for the month of August. I’m sorry, did I write “place”? I meant “places.” Yes, we’re playing the New York game of live-where-you-can-until-you-find-the-perfect-place-for-you! As soon as our lease is up, we’re moving into a shared apartment for a week and a half before finishing out the month in a beautiful shared apartment on Roosevelt Island. Wanna know how beautiful? Check out these views from the apartment:

Pics above and below: East River and Manhattan Skyline

Okay, so I know my earlier pics of the office furniture didn't really have to do with our apartment search, but it kind of did. We talked to and visited so many real estate agents and offices that when I saw that particular office, I had to take pictures and share. It was, by far, the trendiest office space I have ever seen in person (as opposed to magazine pictures, TV shows, movies, etc.).

By the way, remember that I said Philip and I found a place to stay for the month of August. Wish us luck on our next search!