Renting An Apartment in NYC? Here are 3 Things to Know About An Apartment Before You Tour It.

Intro: Time Wasted While Searching For an Apartment

No one likes to waste their time, but anyone who’s tried to rent an apartment in NYC knows just how difficult and time consuming it can be. Apartments fly off the market, and there’s so much false information online that renters don’t know what or what to trust. Because brokers work for the landlord, renters who want unbiased information about an apartment are left to do due diligence themselves, which can feel like a full time job. Most renters will end up wasting countless hours reaching out to listings, and trying to gauge what’s real and what’s fake before touring. And this is only the beginning.

On top of all this research, the most time consuming aspect of the search is actually going out to tour the apartment. This part of the search also comes with its fair share of hurdles. Imagine going up to see an apartment and the broker just doesn’t show up. Imagine taking a full day to go into the city and tour a listing or two, only for them to look NOTHING like the photos online. Imagine touring an apartment and seeing a family of cockroaches! This stuff happens all the time, and this is what we’re here to help you avoid.

At ApartmentsTogether, our goal is to educate and empower NYC renters so they can move efficiently and confidently. The NYC market moves fast, so let us do the due diligence for you! By first verifying listings are legit, we help you avoid falling for the bait and switch. By providing a full background check into any listing you find, we’ll let you know about any building complaints, pests, etc. Then, by helping you fully understand each option, and its trade offs BEFORE you tour, we aim to help you avoid the BS, saving you time and stress. To navigate NYC rentals confidently, information is everything! With that in mind, here are 5 things to know about an apartment before you take the time to tour it.

Is The Location Doable? Know the Block and Know Your “Spots”

Location, location, location! Before you take the time to tour an apartment, make sure the location is doable for your current lifestyle. In NYC, certain neighborhoods are more expensive than others, but even within neighborhoods, proximity to public transportation or other hot spots will affect an apartment’s value. Know what you need to be close to (keeping public transportation in mind), know what you can compromise on, and make sure to keep a checklist of your Key “Spots”!

Know the Block

NYC is truly one of a kind, and each block truly has its own unique energy. Before you go tour an apartment you should try to have at least a decent idea of the block that the building is on. Knowing the cross st is the first step. Then you should know how busy the block is (Avenues are busier than streets) and what’s nearby. For example, is noise a dealbreaker for you? If so, is the building above a bar or restaurant? Is there construction nearby? Is the building located at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel? Is the building along a bus/truck route? To save time, you can use Google Maps to see the Street View of the building and the block (keeping in mind it may be a little outdated). This should give you at least a decent idea of the area. Lastly, you can check the New York State Department of Buildings for active construction sites, or let us do all of this for you!

Know Your Spots

“Spots” are places you visit frequently. When you’re in the early stages of your search, make sure to identify these “spots” and assign them rankings. Examples would be:

Where You Work
The Nearest Subway Stop, and Subway Options
Your Favorite Grocery Store
Your Favorite Gym or Park
Your Friends’ Apartments
Your Significant Other’s Apartment
Dog Park
And Many More!

If an apartment is close to your top “Spots” it will play a big part in your decision, so before you tour an apartment, use Google Maps to check the distances to these locations. Location is HUGE people! Before you take the time to reach out to a broker and tour an apartment, make sure that it’s in a neighborhood you like, in an area you like, and close enough to the places that matter most to you (or at least easily accessible via public transportation). If you sign up for ApartmentsTogether, we will do all of this research for you. We’ll even attend tours for you, to investigate the area, and block so that you don’t have to.

Know The Building & Landlord’s Reputation

Because touring apartments is so time consuming, it’s important that you are able to focus on listings that actually meet you criteria.Your apartment is literally where you’ll live, so if there are significant red flags about a building, a broker or a landlord, you’d like to know about them before you waste time touring. In NYC, some landlords have great reputations and others don’t. To even further complicate things, different buildings may be operated and maintained differently by the same landlord. Knowing how a specific landlord operates a building can affect your living experience, so knowing the landlords and building’s reputation should play a key factor in your decision.

While Google and Yelp may have some reviews on them, this important information is really only acquired through experience, which is another reason we’re here. At ApartmentsTogether, we have over a decade of experience in NYC’s rental market, so on top of dealing with many of these brokerages/landlords before, we have also compiled a database of DOB building complaints and violations, as well as former tenant reviews for specific buildings. If you use our service, we can provide you with information regarding any apartment listing you find online, including:

Broker Reputation
Landlord Reputation (Including whether or not you can skip the broker’s fee)
Former Tenant Reviews
Noise Complaints
Pest Complaints
Building Violations
And Much More!

Using this information can help you cut out less desirable listings before you go tour them, saving you time and stress. It also helps you avoid nightmare experiences once you’re moved in.

Know Key Apartment Features

Now that you’ve confirmed that the listing is real, the neighborhood/block is ideal, and that the building/landlord reputation is good, it’s time to confirm that the apartment has your top features. You can filter most apartment criteria online, so that isn’t really an issue, but there are some other things you can’t see online that you can consider before taking the time to tour a spot. Obviously your priorities are yours, but some examples of things to consider are

Which direction does the apartment face?

For light
For noise
For views

What floor is the apartment on? (More important for walk ups)
Where do I throw away my garbage?

Too far from the apartment is annoying. Too close to the apartment and it may smell.

If there’s no laundry in the building, then where is the closest laundry?
How is the building heated and cooled? Will You Have to Install Your Own AC? What’s included in your rent?
Is there a floorplan?

Most people don’t think about these things before it’s too late. And having to carry garbage up and down 6 flights is NOT fun. Every apartment will have trade offs but before you can analyze them to weigh pros and cons, you have to learn what the tradeoffs are!

Conclusion

A common theme across many of our blogs is that the current process of renting an apartment in NYC sucks, but also that it doesn’t have to! I once heard a podcast where the NYC rental market was referred to as “it’s own little ring of hell”. I thought that was a tiny bit dramatic but basically, the NYC market is so competitive that if you try to “wing it”, you will not get your top apartment option. You’ll probably end up wasting a ton of time trying to do your due diligence, and you’ll probably lose out on several apartments before finally settling or overpaying.

So what do renters do? In the past, renters either had to use a broker which can cost a TON, OR they had to try to take on the market themselves which can be incredibly time consuming and filled with uncertainty. This is why we’re here. ApartmentsTogether aims to provide an alternative for people looking to rent an apartment, except our model is the only one in NYC focused on educating and empowering renters. Head to our website to learn more!