How to Find a Good Apartment in a Bad Housing Market, According to Reddit
The rental market is out of control. Viral tweets are going around showing promising tenants lining up outside vacant NYC apartments, and you probably know someone who has posted calls for affordable open rooms and subletting. If you’re the type who’s desperately looking for a rental right now, here are some tips for your hunt taken from Reddit.
Know your rights against housing discrimination
This piece of advice comes up often and is important: Check out the laws and regulations in your area, whether you already live there or are trying—God help you—to move to a new city right now. Here is a handy list of landlord and tenant laws by state . As a general rule, you cannot be denied housing for discriminatory reasons. Good luck proving, of course, not to mention litigating if you’re knee-deep in a hurry to find a new location, but knowing these rights will help you navigate potential denials or other situations. In New York City, for example, it may be helpful to know that the maximum legal security deposit is the equivalent of one month’s rent; receipts for this deposit are not required; lease agreements are required for leases of more than 12 months; and shorter leases do not require a written agreement at all.
Be mindful of the time
You may not be able to perfectly time your movement. New jobs, opportunities or obstacles come up and you may need to pack up and find a new job as soon as possible. However, if you can , check out websites like StreetEasy or RentHop and see what months apartments similar to what you’re looking for tend to rent. Give yourself as many weeks – or months – as you can to find a good spot, and if that means you have to snatch it before your old lease expires and pay double the rent for a month or two, see if you can budget. for this. This may be your best bet.
Don’t pay until you see the device
Desperation is in the air, but don’t hand over money unless you’ve seen the apartment in person, checked its faucets and outlets, and taken a real look around. You will most likely be on this lease for a year, and agreeing to something unseen could make this a miserable year. Landlords know that people may want to pay for a place before the first of the month. Do everything in your power to see him first.
Contact your broker or potential landlord
When you go to a website like StreetEasy, give the tenant or broker as much detail as possible. Your best chance of even being considered is to be direct, thorough, and anything but vague. Indicate your income, credit score and availability for display, and even a possible move-in date.
Better yet, call a broker . Their number may not be listed on the site you use, but a quick Google search of their firm may give you what you need. They get a lot of messages, but if you manage to get in touch with them on the phone, you’ll have a direct line for your questions and answers, and hopefully you can schedule a viewing.