Renting an Apartment

[diablo272 10]

Guys, I need your help. I've never rented an apartment before, and I've been looking into it recently, and I have a question. For example, I was looking at places in NYC, and on several of the realty sites, they mention that you need to show proof of guaranteed annual income that is 40-50x the monthly rent of the place you're looking at, among other things. Now it seems to me that there must be some way around this, since I would think that there are plenty of people in NYC who don't have guaranteed incomes (i.e. they're traders, they rely on bonuses as a big part of their income, they do freelance work, etc.) The only thing I've read about is that you MIGHT be able to get around this rule if you pay several months (I haven't read any specific amount) of rent up front. This just seems like an odd rule to me as a trader, because if I'm absolutely required to show proof of guaranteed income, then I wouldn't be able to rent an apartment at all.

 

Basically what I'm asking is: are there any other strange rules like this that I need to know about, and is there anything unexpected that you have to deal with as a trader when you're renting an apartment? I am planning on contacting a real estate agent, but I still don't know where exactly I'd want to live, so I haven't called anyone yet.

 

Other than that, any tips in general on this topic? Thanks a lot.

Edited November 8, 2009 by diablo272

[Soultrader 12]

This probably wont apply for you, but the real estate regulations in Japan are the following:

 

Proof of income is required. If your rent exceeds over around 30% of your annual income, you will most likely get rejected. In order to move in first months rent is required. In addition they have whats called "shiki kin" and "rei kin" which is the biggest bs system in the world. "Shiki kin" and "rei kin" usually take up another 4 months rent. So moving anywhere requires a 5 - 6 month deposit which is non refundable. I shed almost $20k a few months ago just to move into my new apartment.

 

What interested me when I was in London though was that you could rent on a weekly basis. Since my last name is "Lee" (non Japanese) I had to get insured by a insurance company just to rent. Talk about discrimination despite being Japanese.

[thalestrader 14]

Guys, I need your help. I've never rented an apartment before, and I've been looking into it recently, and I have a question. For example, I was looking at places in NYC, and on several of the realty sites, they mention that you need to show proof of guaranteed annual income that is 40-50x the monthly rent of the place you're looking at, among other things.

 

You can usually offer to show two years tax returns, and most landlords in NYC will be satisfied if your two year average meets the requirements. You could also see about getting a co-signer for the first year, but make sure that the Landlord agrees to renew the lease without a co-signer after 12 months of on-time payments.

 

I would hope that you meant "4 to 5 times" the monthly rent and not "40-50 times the monthly rent." I was in NYC yesterday, and I happened to see an ad in the Daily News for a two bedroom apartments in the Bronx starting at $1300/month. There are not too many folks, even in NYC, who are pulling down 52k-65k/month unless they are getting bailout bonus bucks as a GS, JPM, or C employee.

 

Fifteen years ago when we were first married, my wife and I paid $695/month for a large two bedroom apartment between Fordham University and Little Italy in the Bronx. Now how's that for Inflation!

 

Many of our friends in NYC say that rents have been dropping, Funny thing though, in order to take advantage of the falling rents, you often have to move. That is, your current landlord will not lower your rent, so you will need to move to a building with a comparable apartment for less rent.

 

Good Luck!

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

[MightyMouse 12]

Guys, I need your help. I've never rented an apartment before, and I've been looking into it recently, and I have a question. For example, I was looking at places in NYC, and on several of the realty sites, they mention that you need to show proof of guaranteed annual income that is 40-50x the monthly rent of the place you're looking at, among other things. Now it seems to me that there must be some way around this, since I would think that there are plenty of people in NYC who don't have guaranteed incomes (i.e. they're traders, they rely on bonuses as a big part of their income, they do freelance work, etc.) The only thing I've read about is that you MIGHT be able to get around this rule if you pay several months (I haven't read any specific amount) of rent up front. This just seems like an odd rule to me as a trader, because if I'm absolutely required to show proof of guaranteed income, then I wouldn't be able to rent an apartment at all.

 

Basically what I'm asking is: are there any other strange rules like this that I need to know about, and is there anything unexpected that you have to deal with as a trader when you're renting an apartment? I am planning on contacting a real estate agent, but I still don't know where exactly I'd want to live, so I haven't called anyone yet.

 

Other than that, any tips in general on this topic? Thanks a lot.

 

Don't go through a broker. Get a NYC newspaper classified section. There are plenty of rentals that will only require x months of security deposit. Brokers get hired to screen.

 

You can find reasonable rents up on the upper west side. I lved there for a spell. It's great when you master the subway system.

[diablo272 10]

I was looking through the General Discussion forum and realized I never actually came into this thread to say thanks, so THANKS! for the help. My apartment search is moving along, and this information was very useful.

[bathrobe 10]

You can usually offer to show two years tax returns, and most landlords in NYC will be satisfied if your two year average meets the requirements. You could also see about getting a co-signer for the first year, but make sure that the Landlord agrees to renew the lease without a co-signer after 12 months of on-time payments.

 

I would hope that you meant "4 to 5 times" the monthly rent and not "40-50 times the monthly rent." I was in NYC yesterday, and I happened to see an ad in the Daily News for a two bedroom apartments in the Bronx starting at $1300/month. There are not too many folks, even in NYC, who are pulling down 52k-65k/month unless they are getting bailout bonus bucks as a GS, JPM, or C employee.

 

Fifteen years ago when we were first married, my wife and I paid $695/month for a large two bedroom apartment between Fordham University and Little Italy in the Bronx. Now how's that for Inflation!

 

Many of our friends in NYC say that rents have been dropping, Funny thing though, in order to take advantage of the falling rents, you often have to move. That is, your current landlord will not lower your rent, so you will need to move to a building with a comparable apartment for less rent.

 

Good Luck!

 

Best Wishes,

 

Thales

 

I was looking at a place in SOHO in 2004, I used Corcoran for a broker and they actually said I had to prove that I made 40 times the rent, and no that is not a misprint, 40%. My broker was also extremely condescending when telling me about this.

Edited December 19, 2009 by bathrobe

[diablo272 10]

What I want to know is, how do so many people live in NYC with those kind of income requirements?

[Tams 20]

What I want to know is, how do so many people live in NYC with those kind of income requirements?

 

 

.......... is the rent control still in place?