Renting an apartment in NYC! HELP!

[traumerei]

I've been scouring the internet but I can't find many useful articles about international students renting in NYC. My roommate is an international grad student and I'm a citizen. Questions:

 

1. Is it easier to rent a place if one of us is a citizen?

 

2. Is it better if we have a year's rent paid up front?

 

3. How did you obtain a guarantor? 

 

4. Were there any unforeseen challenges in this process?

 

This whole thing is stressing me out! I feel as though I'm going to spend a lot more than I thought I would...

[phalanges]

I've been scouring the internet but I can't find many useful articles about international students renting in NYC. My roommate is an international grad student and I'm a citizen. Questions:

 

1. Is it easier to rent a place if one of us is a citizen?

 

2. Is it better if we have a year's rent paid up front?

 

3. How did you obtain a guarantor? 

 

4. Were there any unforeseen challenges in this process?

 

This whole thing is stressing me out! I feel as though I'm going to spend a lot more than I thought I would...

 

Hey,

 

I worked in NYC between undergrad and my masters, and moved there from Toronto. Hopefully I can answer your questions.

 

1. I found my place on craigslist, and I guess I was searching for a room with roommates, but no one seemed to mind that I wasn't an American... though, I had lived in the US before so I did have a credit history (usually the real hitch). If you are a US citizen, perhaps that'll be enough?

 

2. I wrote month by month cheques as they were due (and just rented a place in Rochester, NY with the same policy). Instead you usually have to sign a year long lease.

 

3. I was never asked for a guarantor (same is true for my current situation). Are you looking for places through a broker or something? 

 

4. I found it difficult that in NYC people only need to give 30 days notice; since I was away at a conference a month before I needed to move this was particularly troubling. I also found a lot of places to be very expensive AND very terrible. Though, the place I found in the end was nice, and most of my friends lived in nice places (though, I don't think I met anyone other than profs / people with awesome paying jobs who found places that were roach / mouse free...). That was definitely a shock.

 

Finding a place in NYC is rough. Finding a reasonably priced place in the city is possible, people have done it; it just may not be easy. Also, you might want to check this out: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/crime-safety-report/

[Francophile1]

For anyone still interested in this, I am a NYC resident and it is possible to find an apartment without a guarantor, stick to smaller companies or private owners (very limited in Manhattan). But you will most probably have to pay at least 1 months rent for a broker's fee..unless you are not looking for a whole apartment.

Good luck! 

[biisis]

Alternatively, a good entry point might be to join someone else's existing lease. Look for roommate openings, thereby avoiding broker's fees and weird citizenship scrutiny in the process. Then, if you're determined to live on your own, you can hunt locally and with a bit less desperation. 

 

I've also found the Listings Project to be an interesting source for leads for no-fee apartments/roommates, with an emphasis on students and the creative industries. It's free to subscribe to and always has some gems. (http://www.listingsproject.com/)