Apartment hunting in NYC...a fate worse than death.

[darkeyesredshoes]

Okay, I know I seem only to pop in from time to time, but I want to assure you that I spend far more time on Pricescope than my fiance thinks is healthy. And, since I''ve got nobody to vent to in person right now, I figured I''d turn to my favorite online sages.

We started looking for apartments in New York in July, as those with elephantine memories might recall from my proposal saga. Now it''s September, and we still have NO APARTMENT. Shady realtors, landlords who jack up the montly rent by 20%, bad timing, you name it and it has happened to us. When we finally found the place we loved, we jumped immediately and filled out a sixty page application.

Sixty pages, for a sublease. I needed more letters of recommendation for it than I needed for the scholarship application to Columbia. My poor parents were scanning and sending us our W2s, tax returns, IRA statements and more for a sublet. I was pretty impressed by how quickly we handed in the application and then tweaked the final details. The owner LOVED us and decided to stop showing the apartment to other prospective tenants until we got a response. Which, the management company said, would be in one to two weeks.

I handed in the final application (plus $1000 in application fees) on August 22. Now it''s September 12 and I''ve heard not one peep, other than the fact that "technically the board has 30 days to review it." That means we''ve spent three weeks (not even counting the two weeks prior) sleeping on friends'' couches and living out of suitcases. I jump whenever my phone rings. I check my email incessantly. I''ve resorted to trying to predict the board meeting schedule based on references to prior meeting minutes. I''m getting to the end of my rather frayed rope.

Don''t get me wrong, we''re so lucky to have friends who are willing to take us in and put up with us (on a rotating schedule) for over a month now. I don''t know what would have happened to us without them, and I can never thank them enough. Still, though, I''m tired of wearing the same four t-shirts, and I can''t buy any more clothes because my sad little suitcase doesn''t have any more room. I really wanted to be settled into a new apartment before grad school started, but I''m on my second week of classes now. We can''t afford to look for other apartments in the meantime, because we have so much money and effort tied up in this one.

Anyway, if you got this far, thanks for reading. I just needed to get it all out of my head, and I can''t complain to DF because he''s in the same boat. I just don''t know how I can keep doing this for very much longer.

 

[Sha]

Wow, that sounds really stressful.

Where were you liviing before? Or did you just move to New York? I really hope this apartment comes through, for you and your Fi''s sake. It can''t be nice living out of a box, with no home, and no idea when you''ll find one. I can relate as I''ve been house-hunting in my country as well, and it''s tough. New York I know is a very hard market as well. Do you have any other options if this doesn''t work out?

 

[darkeyesredshoes]

We were living in Boston, and we moved without officially having a place when DF got a job in NYC (yay!) and needed to start in August. We figured we''d be able to find something before school started in September, but you know how that worked out. I can only imagine how much harder it is for you to be house hunting!

We thought that subletting would be lower-stress than normal renting, but I guess the Co-Op board complicates things. If this falls through, we''re back to step one again. We''ll probably look in Harlem or in other neighborhoods with easier rental expectations.

 

[door knob solitaire]

Well sweetie, here is your problem...

You have this great resource of PS...and you haven''t utilized it. We have something called Dust...some call it diamond dust...some use fairy dust...and many actually refer to it as prayers. If enough of us pray...there is strength in numbers, in agreement-we get results. So you must send out a request to be *dusted*.

This board is always available...don''t need to wait until next months meetin. 24/7/365. So I will begin the power by telling you my dust is a prayer. Lets see what else gets added. You definately need it! Be strong.

DKS

 

[darkeyesredshoes]

DKS, you are too kind! I guess I''ve been too shy about lurking on the fringes to put in an official request for dusting. I am absolutely open to any and all offers of dust from this point onward!

You''re the best!

 

[Fly Girl]

Sending PS fairy dust your way, that you will soon have a home. Being homeless is noooooo fun.

 

[darkeyesredshoes]

Thank you, Fly Girl! You can say that again.

 

[Kaleigh]

Consider yourself officially dusted!!!! Best of luck!!!

 

[darkeyesredshoes]

Thanks, Kaleigh! I''ll keep the dusting team posted about what I hear, when I finally hear something.

 

[wolftress]

There''s nothing worse than feeling homeless! Lots of fairy dust coming your way, and keep us updated on the situation

 

[KimberlyH]

Sending dust and positive thoughts your way.

 

[darkeyesredshoes]

Thankyouthankyouthankyou, Wolftress and KimberlyH! I''m betting all this dusting will result in some positive momentum, finally. Fiance''s brother is staying at his girlfriend''s apartment tonight, so we put our sheets on his bed. Better than the folding cot!

 

[Haven]

I just came in here to tell you how much I love the title of your post.

Armloads of fairy dust coming your way!

 

[darkeyesredshoes]

Ha! Thanks, and thanks!

 

[Allisonfaye]

Wow, I don''t blame you a bit for being frustrated. 60 pages? Heck, we didn''t need that much paper to get our mortgage our house.
Well, wishing you some apartment fairy dust!!

 

[bee*]

more dust being sent your way!

 

[darkeyesredshoes]

Thanks, Allison and bee*! Another day has gone by without any apartment news. At this point, I''m resigning myself not to hear anything until Tuesday, because I''m pretty sure the board meets on Mondays. Never have I wished that the weekend would go by so fast!

 

[monarch64]

Aw Darkeyesredshoes, glad to hear from you again but not in this capacity! I love your style of writing, btw! Do you write professionally or even on an amateur level? Because you should!!! LOL!

I really hope your residential situation begins to look up soon...thank goodness you have such accomodating friends. 4 tee-shirts? I don't know how sane I would be after going through 4 tees even once, bless your heart. Can you get Bloomies to double bag some purchases for you and carry the big brown bag in addition to your little suitcase? My heart just goes out to you, and again I wish you the best of luck in resolving this living arrangement matter. Big hugs!

ETA: totally forgot to mention that a 100 car freight train full of PS fairy dust is being blown your way, it might block out the sun for a couple days in NYC but I hope it helps, LOL!

 

[emeraldlover1]

Date: 9/12/2007 5:04:15 PM
Author:darkeyesredshoes
Okay, I know I seem only to pop in from time to time, but I want to assure you that I spend far more time on Pricescope than my fiance thinks is healthy. And, since I''ve got nobody to vent to in person right now, I figured I''d turn to my favorite online sages.

We started looking for apartments in New York in July, as those with elephantine memories might recall from my proposal saga. Now it''s September, and we still have NO APARTMENT. Shady realtors, landlords who jack up the montly rent by 20%, bad timing, you name it and it has happened to us. When we finally found the place we loved, we jumped immediately and filled out a sixty page application.

Sixty pages, for a sublease. I needed more letters of recommendation for it than I needed for the scholarship application to Columbia. My poor parents were scanning and sending us our W2s, tax returns, IRA statements and more for a sublet. I was pretty impressed by how quickly we handed in the application and then tweaked the final details. The owner LOVED us and decided to stop showing the apartment to other prospective tenants until we got a response. Which, the management company said, would be in one to two weeks.

I handed in the final application (plus $1000 in application fees) on August 22. Now it''s September 12 and I''ve heard not one peep, other than the fact that ''technically the board has 30 days to review it.'' That means we''ve spent three weeks (not even counting the two weeks prior) sleeping on friends'' couches and living out of suitcases. I jump whenever my phone rings. I check my email incessantly. I''ve resorted to trying to predict the board meeting schedule based on references to prior meeting minutes. I''m getting to the end of my rather frayed rope.

Don''t get me wrong, we''re so lucky to have friends who are willing to take us in and put up with us (on a rotating schedule) for over a month now. I don''t know what would have happened to us without them, and I can never thank them enough. Still, though, I''m tired of wearing the same four t-shirts, and I can''t buy any more clothes because my sad little suitcase doesn''t have any more room. I really wanted to be settled into a new apartment before grad school started, but I''m on my second week of classes now. We can''t afford to look for other apartments in the meantime, because we have so much money and effort tied up in this one.

Anyway, if you got this far, thanks for reading. I just needed to get it all out of my head, and I can''t complain to DF because he''s in the same boat. I just don''t know how I can keep doing this for very much longer.

I can''t even tell you how much I understand what you are going through. We just purchased our first apartment here in NYC however, it was not without significant problems (I''ll explain in a bit). First off, between my boyfriend and myself we have lived in 5 rentals before purchasing. Neither of us ever got a deal. My last apartment before buying was a little under 300sqft and was $1775 a month, and that was with a brokers fee. My boyfriend was paying $2250 for a one bedroom and he was in it for two years with brokers fee as well.

Purchasing took much more time that we thought it would. The coop package was a lot of time and work, however, we were approved right away. I''m sure in your case if you have a full package put together and the owners think it will go through you will probably be fine. Most boards don''t meet in the summer so they will probably review it soon. I''m crossing my fingers for you. The worst thing that happened to us was that we both broke our leases to move into the new place because our broker said that we would be closing on July 1st. Well, there were problems on the sellers side because the property was part of an estate. To make a long story short, we wound up moving in before we actually closed with a sub lease from the seller. If we hadn''t we would have been homless. However, we wound up having to pay an extention fee on the mortage lock which was a lot of money...like $1600 a week. Well, in the end the laywers wound up making the sellers pay the extention fee, however, we didn''t have air conditioning and couldn''t update the apartment till the beginning of august.

To make matters worse, my boyfriend just got a call from his old apartment management and they aren''t giving him his security deposit back even after he paid a $500 lease cancelation fee because the managment didn''t schedule the re-painting till the middle of July. Basically they are saying because the apartment was empty for July that they had to cover the cost with his security deptosit. To make a longer story short again we had to involve the laywers again because we have evidence that the apartment was rented for Aug 1 on their terms (not because they couldn''t rent it). Also, we have a letter from them saying he was getting it back. So, its taking longer than expected but we should get it back. However, we''ve been stressed for months.

The whole point is, moving in NYC is hell. I guess maybe if we were millionaires it may be easier, but I don''t know if that is true either in Manhattan.

I sincerely hope that you hear something soon. Waiting is torture.

 

[alexah]

do you need to live IN manhattan? there are plenty of other options nearby... from the other boroughs to jersey city/hoboken, nj.

if you take a look around, you'd be surprised how nice it is just outside the big city... and how much less expensive.

ETA: many areas are easily commutable via bus and/or train and/or ferry.

 

[Allisonfaye]

Wow, we were thinking we might be relocating to NYC for a job change. Now I am happy not to deal with that market.

On another note, does anyone know if property values in Manhattan have declined at all with the whole subprime mortgage fiasco?

 

[elle_chris]

Date: 9/14/2007 5:31:14 PM
Author: Allisonfaye
Wow, we were thinking we might be relocating to NYC for a job change. Now I am happy not to deal with that market.

On another note, does anyone know if property values in Manhattan have declined at all with the whole subprime mortgage fiasco?

In short, no. Doubt they will too.

 

[janinegirly]

housing in manhattan is tough, as you know.

why are you focusing on coops only? those are notoriously difficult. why not look into condos where you don''t need board approval.
it''ll still be a big headache, but less.
as for rents, can''t help you there..it''s been peaking for a couple of years now.

Also if you choose to sublet, not sure why it''s so difficult. That should be an easy short term situation (cpl months) with v. little or no paperwork. Craigslist is good for that as well as renting directly from owners.

 

[elle_chris]

Date: 9/15/2007 1:04:43 AM
Author: janinegirly
housing in manhattan is tough, as you know.

why are you focusing on coops only? those are notoriously difficult. why not look into condos where you don''t need board approval.
it''ll still be a big headache, but less.
as for rents, can''t help you there..it''s been peaking for a couple of years now.

Also if you choose to sublet, not sure why it''s so difficult. That should be an easy short term situation (cpl months) with v. little or no paperwork. Craigslist is good for that as well as renting directly from owners.

The reason subletting is a pain is because unless she''s renting it directly from the sponsor,(which has problems of it''s own) the owner still has to inform the coop and the approval process begins. Hence the headache. Coops rarely make it easy to sublet.
I take it from your post you''re looking to rent and not buy. The NYTimes has lots of rental listings all over the city. Many of them are directly from the management companies as well which means no broker fees. Good luck.

 

[darkeyesredshoes]

Thanks to everybody who has chimed in on this thread in the last few days. We were staying with a friend who has (gasp!) no internet, and I wasn''t able to publish the lengthy response that I painstakingly typed out on my iPhone. Which was sad, and a big waste of time.

Anyway, there''s still no news, and I don''t expect any before Tuesday. If we don''t hear something then, I''ll try calling the property manager on Wednesday, which will be the four week mark. Surprisingly, the condo isn''t even IN Manhattan, it''s in Long Island City. LIC seemed to be a good compromise between convenience and price for us, and the apartment seemed great. It''s the only coop sublease we even attempted to apply for, so it''s not like I''ve been on a condo rental bender this whole time. The place is great, the owner of the unit is really nice and loves us, and the price is better than anything else we''d found so we decided to go for it. And now we''ve been sleeping on couches, sharing a twin bed, and even scrunched together in a folding cot (insult to injury) in the meantime. We haven''t been able to apply for anything while we waited for an answer, because lots of money is tied up in this application and any other NORMAL apartment would be much quicker to say yes or no. Once the process gets to the condo owner, she''s going to say yes; we''ve just been waiting this whole time for the board of directors to meet and look at our application. The whole stupid process rests on them, and thus we wait.

The dusting you''ve been so kind to give makes me feel better about trying to be patient.

On a related note, if we''re in Astoria right now, where would you recommend shopping for an air mattress? We can get anywhere accessible by bus or train easily enough. My parents have kindly offered to foot the bill for a queen-sized air mattress, and I''m absolutely taking them up on the offer. Ain''t no way I''m getting back in that folding cot of death again...

 

[alexah]

Date: 9/16/2007 3:08:49 AM
Author: darkeyesredshoes
On a related note, if we''re in Astoria right now, where would you recommend shopping for an air mattress? We can get anywhere accessible by bus or train easily enough. My parents have kindly offered to foot the bill for a queen-sized air mattress, and I''m absolutely taking them up on the offer. Ain''t no way I''m getting back in that folding cot of death again...

if you can get to a bed bath, linens n things or target easily, they sell Aero mattresses... or you cld order it online & have it delivered?

 

[darkeyesredshoes]

alexah, we''ve found a Target on Queens Blvd, so I think that will be our Sunday adventure! I just hope we don''t find too much stuff to buy, because we''ll have to carry it all back.