Posts tagged apartments for rent nyc

Rental Market Update, Summer 2010

The vacancy rate appears to be very low again! The major landlords seem to have much less vacancy on their lists. I haven’t seen it this low since… I don’t know… 2007! People who are calling need to move. It’s the summer, which is the busiest time for Manhattan rentals and it seems that it’s becoming more of a landlord’s market again. People who hesitate to apply are losing apartments in a matter of minutes!   Here’s some advice for you….

Scott’s Advice

1. When to start looking - many apartments that you will be seeing will be vacant apartments. The landlords and management company’s primary concern is filling the apartments as soon as possible. Now, if you want let’s say June 1st and it’s only May 1st, in most cases you won’t get the landlord to leave an apartment vacant for an entire month and you may have to take May 15th as a move in date. If you are looking on May 15th for a June 1st move in, you are more likely to get it. But you don’t want to start only 2 weeks before, do you? My advice… Start looking, ONE MONTH PRIOR to the date you NEED to move by. The best selection will be at the beginning of the month and the people who refuse to take an apartment too early will not pull the trigger and you will have first choice. Who cares if you have to eat 2 weeks worth of rent and take a mid-month move in? This is where you live and will live for at least a year, if not 2 or 3! I think it’s much better to have your choice of apartments and take one early than have to scramble at the end and take whatever you can get! But that’s just my advice.
2. Find an amazing broker! Hahahahaha…. Sorry, I made myself laugh, because there are so few great agents out there to work with. Luckily, if you’re reading this, you found at least one! A really good broker gets all of the listings right when they come out, or sometimes before so. We have relationships with supers, on-site leasing agents, management companies, and private owners. Even if there is a building that you could apply at directly, by the time you find the apartment, there are already 1,000′s of agents who know about it and have already shown it. By the time you call them up to inquire about what to do to apply for the apartment, an agent is calling up the person who approves the deals saying “Hi Linda, it’s Scott from Mark David & Company. How was your birthday last week? Great, I have a complete application to send you with all of the paperwork and the client left a deposit with us. He’s more than qualified and we just ran his credit and it’s 784. I’ll bring you the application fee in 10 minutes.” You’re most likely going to end up using a broker anyway. You may as well find a great one and have the agent on your side, doing all the work for you. Keep in mind that even “no fee”  apartments are usually brokers advertising, but the owner has agreed to pay the fee. And watch out for Craigslist Apartments by Owner. 9 times out of 10, it’s a shady broker! You do NOT want to work with a shady broker… do you?
   
3. Paperwork!!! Get your paperwork together before you start looking at apartments. Apartments are renting SO FAST it’s ridiculous and you need to be prepared. Speak to an experienced agent, such as myself, who can discuss your situation with you and make sure that we are showing you the right apartments. If you are an international student, if you have questionable credit, if you don’t have a qualified guarantor, we need to figure out which landlords we can take you to. Conversely, if you are an ideal applicant, you may overestimate how easy it will be and not prepare enough. Some will say “Oh, that’ll be fine. I’m a great tenant and make lots of money and a landlord would be foolish to reject me.” Great, so you should have no problem putting together the paperwork they require. Guarantors, who are typically parents who are co-signing for you should be prepared as well, since they will be applying as an applicant as well. If you are working with me, I’d love to speak with your guarantor beforehand, so that everyone is on the same page. Many landlords will take you on a first come first serve basis, but there are many who want a complete application and do not want to wait while you are finding your tax returns and getting an employment letter from your company. Here’s the typical list of documents required:

1. Letter of employment stating salary, position, and length of employment. (if self employed, a letter from your certified public accountant.)
2. Last two year’s tax returns (first two pages only)
3. Most recent bank statement
4. Two most recent consecutive pay stubs
5. Verification of any additional income (i.e. trust fund, portfolio statement)
6. Clear copy of Photo ID

That said… If you do want to work with me, give me a call. This is the way I like to work with my clients:

1. Have a phone conversation (not email) about your situation, move in date, why you are moving, if you have pets, if you will need a guarantor, what you are looking for in an apartment, etc..  and set an appointment.
2. I then research based on my market knowledge and massive database (we work with most landlords, management companies, and brokers in Manhattan.) And I’ll choose everything that I think that will work for you and weed out the ones that definitely will not.
3. You will meet me in my office and we will go over the process, choose the best apartments to start with, grab whatever keys we need, and go out.
4. We will work progressively to narrow down the apartments based on your feedback and my market expertise and find you the best possible apartment in the least amount of time.
5. You will apply for the apartment you like the best and I will work with my management team to get you approved and sign leases.
6. You will move in, be happy, and refer me to your friends and family and I will be your broker for life

Feel free to give me a call if you have any questions or would like to work with an experienced real estate agent!

Scott Rubin
Vice President / Associate Broker
MARKDAVID SOHO
560 Broadway, Loft 201
New York, NY 10012
o 212.775.6127 | c 646.637.6377
f 212.334.5444    markdavidny.com/scottr