Are you planning to move to NYC? Do you have a limited budget? If you have no idea where to start, then this article may help answer some of your questions. Through seven years of renting and living in NYC, I have learned many tips and tricks that can help you save money and avoid common mistakes.
1. Time
When do you need to start searching for an apartment or a single room in NYC? The answer is somewhere around one month ahead of your moving day. If you start looking for a room too early, even if the place looks perfect, the landlord may not be able to wait that long. Once a good room or apartment becomes available, it usually goes off the market within a month. However, planning one month in advance will give you enough time to visit the home, prepare your documents, and allow the landlord to put together the lease agreement.
2. Rental Information
Where can you find useful rental information? There are multiple helpful sources, like Facebook groups and real estate websites. Below are some common Facebook groups, but you can search for others as well.
- New York City, NYC - Housing, Apartments, Roommates, Sublets, Rooms, Rent https://www.facebook.com/groups/2107417829303337/
- New York City, NYC - Housing, Apartments, Rooms, Sublets, Roommates https://www.facebook.com/groups/240907403289465/
- New Jersey Housing, Rooms, Apartments, Sublets https://www.facebook.com/groups/NJ4stay/
There is a lot of affordable and useful rental information out there in Facebook groups, but you should also be careful about scammers. Don’t trust every ad from Facebook. Research the broker company and check if the lease you are signing has any red flags, like if their website link is not working or you can’t find much information online about the company.
Apart from Facebook groups, there are also some other real estate websites, like Zillow.com, StreetEasy.com, or Apartments.com, where you can find many affordable apartments or studios.
If you are Chinese and prefer to live in the Chinese community, there are also several Chinese-language websites, like the following, where you can find affordable rental information.
https://www.niuyuezufang.com/https://www.nychinaren.com/
https://www.cssanyu.org/bbs2/
3. Location
Where is the best place to stay in and around NYC? It depends on where you need to commute to daily. For example, if your school or company is located in midtown Manhattan, then you can live in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan, or even Jersey City. My suggestion for you is to always check the commute time on Google Maps.
4. Documents to Prepare
The documents you need to prepare when you start searching for a place to live in NYC are your photo ID, your two most recent pay stubs, the past two months’ bank statements, your credit report, and sometimes your tax returns and references from your previous landlord. These documents are needed as most landlords need to assess your financial history so that they can ensure you are a reliable tenant. There may be some credit and background check fees you need to pay.
5. Other Things to Consider
Other things to consider when you look for a place to live in NYC are if pets are allowed, if there is parking, if the utility and internet fees are included, and who your roommates will be.
These are common things you will face when you look for an apartment in NYC. However, it’s always good to Google and do a lot of research about the place you will be living in beforehand.