Anybody have an apt in the city?

DH and I are looking into a move into NYC. I have a few questions for those who have lived or currently live in the city:

1. How did you find your apartment?
2. What can you expect to pay up front?
3. How much are your utilities per month? Do you pay all of them?
4. Did a board need to approve you first?
5. How long did you look for your place before you moved in? (We need to give a 60-day notice and are debating if we should give it now without having a place to move to yet.)

4. Any suggestions for places on the UES or Midtown East?

Any other info would greatly help! TIA!

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

are you looking to buy or rent?

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

Rent

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

If you're renting and have the time to look, I would recommend using Craigslist. If you are in a hurry, use a real estate agent, but be prepared to pay them approx one month's rent. To rent you usually need first and last month's rent and a security deposit (a month's rent). It is unusual to go through board approval, but I rented from a from a co-op and did have to do this (I do not know anyone else who has had to do that - lucky me). Utilities depend on the place but expect to pay phone, internet and cable. Sometimes heat and electricity are included. I'm in brooklyn and my apartment does not include electricity.

There are MANY apartments on the UES and in Murray Hill - you will definitely find something.

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

1. How did you find your apartment?- I walked around the area I liked and spoke to the doorman- then went thru the management company- NO FEE!

2. What can you expect to pay up front? We paid 2 months rent and a few to run our credit

3. How much are your utilities per month? Do you pay all of them?
yes- we paid all of them- cable-phone, electric- electric was about $50- 120 depending on the season and cable and phone about $200 total (we had every channel plus internet)

4. Did a board need to approve you first? no - it was a rental - so no board- just credit and employment check- I had just started working so my Dad had to co-sign- you need to make a certain amount- depending how high the rent is

5. How long did you look for your place before you moved in? (We need to give a 60-day notice and are debating if we should give it now without having a place to move to yet.)
about 6 weeks from starting to look to moving in

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

1. How did you find your apartment? We walked around the areas we liked and spoke to the doorman to see if there was any availability. We also used Craigslist.

2. What can you expect to pay up front?
1st and last months rent, security deposit, and application or credit fees.

3. How much are your utilities per month? Do you pay all of them?
My heat and electricity are included, so I only pay for cable and internet. I used to pay for electricity which was about $60/mo.

4. Did a board need to approve you first?
I used to sub-let in a co-op, so yes. I had to fill out an application, but I did not need to interview. I currently rent from a management co., so no board approval is required.

5. How long did you look for your place before you moved in? (We need to give a 60-day notice and are debating if we should give it now without having a place to move to yet.)
You normally need about 4-6 weeks to find an apt. Most listings do not become available until 30-45 days prior.


4. Any suggestions for places on the UES or Midtown East?
I live in PCVST which is the entire area between 14th and 23rd and 1st and Ave C. I love it, although the rents are getting a little high. You can visit the leasing office and take a tour of a model apt.

My co-worker lives in Kips Bay Towers on 28th and 3rd, which is also run by a management co.

Message edited 3/26/2007 10:34:00 AM.

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

I have not rented in a while but when I did live in Manhattan I loved it.

1. How did you find your apartment?

Walk around areas I liked and tried to stay close to the school I was attending.

2. What can you expect to pay up front?

I paid $1.00 (no joke) but it's normally a percentage of the year's rent like posted above.

3. How much are your utilities per month? Do you pay all of them?

I paid for my phone, cable and electric but I cannot recall how much they ran.

4. Did a board need to approve you first?

I was renting so no board approval.

5. How long did you look for your place before you moved in?

I looked for only a couple of days in June or so and moved in at the end of August.

4. Any suggestions for places on the UES or Midtown East?

I lived at on 14th St. & 5th Ave - The Wedgewood. It's a great building and close to everything. It's near the Union Sq. train station 4/5/6/L etc. There is a building around the corner, the Victoria, where a lot of my friends lived and they liked that building too. Check with the doormen to see if there are any people renting/subleting

Message edited 3/26/2007 7:44:55 PM.

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

1. How did you find your apartment?
Looking at management company websites. I found a list of no-fee management companies on Columbia's website that was really helpful: No Fee We then contacted a management company that had several buildings on the east side (easier access to work for us) and went with one of their agents to a bunch of their buildings.

2. What can you expect to pay up front?
Since we had no-fee, we paid 2 months rent and I think 1 months' security. Real estate agents typically charge 10-12% of the yearly rent.

3. How much are your utilities per month? Do you pay all of them?
We pay for cable, phone and electric but heat and A/C is included in our rent. I'm not sure how much the bills are though.

4. Did a board need to approve you first?
No, just the management company.

5. How long did you look for your place before you moved in? (We need to give a 60-day notice and are debating if we should give it now without having a place to move to yet.)
We started looking right after our honeymoon (beginning of Aug.) and we didn't need to move til Oct. 1. That was REALLY early to be looking in Manhattan since most places we were looking at were available for 9/1. Luckily, the apartment we fell in love with was being renovated and actually wasn't available until 9/30. I would give the 60 day notice and start looking about 6 weeks before you need to move.

4. Any suggestions for places on the UES or Midtown East?

We live on the UES, very far east. We have great views of the water and it has a very nice neighborhood-y feel. It's a bit far from the subway (Lex) but the M31 bus runs down York and crosstown on 57th, so it's not too bad. I have a lot of friends who live in the 40s in midtown east and complain that it doesn't feel like a neighborhood. I love the 30s and 3rd Ave and there are also a lot of great buildings in the 50s between Lex and 2nd.

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

ETA: if you have kids, the UES is a great place to live. There are tons of kids, parks nearby, and from what I hear really good public schools.

Message edited 3/26/2007 7:13:13 PM.

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

1. How did you find your apartment?
No fee broker
2. What can you expect to pay up front?
Just security and first month's rent for us
3. How much are your utilities per month? Do you pay all of them?
We pay $112 level pay for ConEd & $190 for cable, phone & internet.
4. Did a board need to approve you first?
No
5. How long did you look for your place before you moved in? (We need to give a 60-day notice and are debating if we should give it now without having a place to move to yet.)
You can try to look now. I think we found our place a month and a half before move in.

4. Any suggestions for places on the UES or Midtown East?
We're in a Glenwood bldg on the UES and love it. They have a bunch of bldgs so try www.glenwoodnyc.com

Message edited 3/26/2007 8:33:08 PM.

Message edited 6/8/2009 3:53:24 PM.

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

Re: Anybody have an apt in the city?

1. How did you find your apartment? Rent-Direct.com, you pay a one time fee and have access to a ton of listings for 3 months.

2. What can you expect to pay up front? First and last month at least, plus application fees. Some buildings want two months secutiry.

3. How much are your utilities per month? Do you pay all of them?
We paid electric, cable, phone, about $200/month, more in the summer for a/c.

4. Did a board need to approve you first? No

5. How long did you look for your place before you moved in? (We need to give a 60-day notice and are debating if we should give it now without having a place to move to yet.) About a month. Generally, if a building has an empty unit, they want it filled fast...don't be surprised if you find a place say today, and they want you to sign a lease beginning April 1.


4. Any suggestions for places on the UES or Midtown East? We loved our building, the Chesapeake, 94th and 1st. Our apt was pricey, but it was huge and had two full baths. There's a gym, sun deck, and huge laundry room. All the people who worked there were very nice and helpful. You can check out the website apartmentratings.com for feedback from tenants in a ton of buildings in NYC.

Any other info would greatly help! TIA!