Thread: Apartment Hunting in NYC

Hi all,

Really looking for some advice from fellow Brits who have made the move to NYC and who have some idea of how the rental market works (seems to be so tough compared to the UK).

I'm joining my American fiance in the city in early January to network, job hunt, and find a studio or one bedroom apartment to start setting up our life together there. The problem with this plan is we're in our mid-twenties, and have spent most of our 'working years' in further education (both have BAs and MAs in the arts from good universities) and then travelling the world together. Doing these things allowed us to be in the same countries as each other and make sure we were ready for the big marriage step - which we're taking in the summer if all goes well with my currently-processing fiancee visa. However, our nomadic lifestyle apparently hasn't left us in the best position for renting in New York.

When I look at websites and see the following paperwork requirements listed for potential tenants in NYC, our position seems pretty hopeless:

"When you’ve found the right apartment, you don’t have time to lose. Have the following in hand: the first two pages of your tax returns from the previous two years; a completed financial statement detailing your assets, liabilities, and income; references from previous landlords and possibly your employer; and certified checks in increments of $500. In New York City's nutty real estate market, dream apartments have been snatched away before!"

Apparently the landlords also like to do a credit check - but neither of us have ever had credit cards...

We're in the fortunate position of having a good cushion of money we earnt in Australia (could afford to pay rent and bills in NYC for a year together without working). We're also presentable, pleasant people! Is it entirely naive to hope that a landlord would waive some of these paperwork requirements if we can show bank statements with the money we have at our disposal, and come across as decent, conscientious people who will look after their apartment? Has anyone rented in NYC? Any advice is much-appreciated!

Kate

It may be worth chatting to them and explaining the situation, I know in Australia they usually ask for the 100 point ID Check, however they don't care for new arrivals as long as they can show they have the funds to pay.

Until your visa comes through you can rule out yourself, I am assuming you will just be coming for a holiday in January not to live, if you do think you are coming to live you will seriously be putting your visa application in jeopardy. and risk a ban from the country.

If you Fiance is a USC then he will have a credit history, even if he hasn't had a credit card, it just might not have much to it. Without him having a job, you may find you have to pay everything up front, full rental period etc. New York City is probably one of the harder places for renting (I can vouch for that personally!), the best thing you can do is get a realtor on board, explain your situation, prove that you have the cash to pay everything up front etc. We found it really hard to find a decent place within a 'reasonable' budget, for a studio appt in a not so bad area (as my husband put it - somewhere you are not likely to be mugged or killed on a daily basis) you will be looking at around $2k+ a month. There are loads of scams out there when it comes to rentals so make sure you know it's for real before handing any money over, we found Craig's List a waste of time and full of scammers.

Good luck :)