Frequently asked questions //
- How should I prepare to rent an apartment?
- What are typical qualifications to rent an apartment in NYC?
- I need a guarantor. What are the guarantor’s qualifications?
- Other real estate companies don’t ask me so many questions. Should I go somewhere else where they just show me apartments right away?
- How soon should I start to look for an apartment? When do new apartments get listed?
- If I apply for an apartment does that mean I am committed to paying rent and a broker’s fee?
- How soon after I apply should I expect to sign the lease?
- Why are no-fee apartments so difficult to find?
- “I want laundry in my building.”
- “I have a dog.”
- “I only want to sign a six-month lease.”
- “I want to sign a two-year lease to start.”
- How can I guarantee the rent won’t increase too much when I go to renew my lease?
- What is the first step to buying in NYC?
- What is the first step to selling my apartment in NYC?
- Why can’t owners seem to sell apartments on their own?
- What qualities should a good real-estate agent have if they’re to sell my apartment?
- So I want to buy and I found a great DSA agent to work with. What next?
- What is the difference between a condo and a co-op?
- What is a flip tax?
- How much cash should I be prepared to put down?
Paperwork
When you are ready to start looking for an apartment you must have all your paperwork with you (tax return, pay stubs, letter of employment, bank statement). Why? Because when you find your apartment you must act fast. In New York City, apartments can be listed and rented in a matter of minutes. Waiting 24 hours for your HR department to prepare a required letter of employment can cause you to lose the apartment to someone who already had his or her paperwork in hand. By having all this paperwork prepared and with you, you can assure yourself the best chance of beating out your competition.
Be ready to commit now
You mean I can’t take a day to “think about it?” Usually, the answer is no, especially if it’s the summer, when you’re competing with hundreds of other renters looking for the same apartment. You can take a day to think about it, but odds are the apartment will be rented by then. When you see the apartment you want, be prepared to fill out the applications, hand in all your paperwork and put down a deposit right away. If you need your roommate’s or spouse’s approval, then we implore you to come together. The vacancy rate in Manhattan is less than 1%, sometimes much lower. If you lose an apartment due to “wavering” you may not find something as good to replace it.
Know your credit score
Why? The rental agent will be running my credit when I apply for an apartment. Why should I know my credit score before then? If you apply for an apartment and then find out you have poor credit, you will have wasted your time searching for apartments you won’t qualify for. Even if you have great credit, you may be shocked at some of the extraordinarily high standards some landlords have. This doesn’t mean you can’t get the apartment you want; you may still be able to qualify if a guarantor is available or if you are willing to put up extra security. You must be prepared for these situations before you view the apartment to assure you can strike fast when you find the apartment you want. In New York City, credit is the single most important factor landlords use to determine whether to accept or reject an application. Landlords will almost always take an unemployed grad student with perfect credit as opposed to a high-earning financial wiz with terrible credit. Knowing your credit ahead of time will save you time and headaches and your apartment search will be much more efficient!
Know your full budget up front
Well, I could pay up to $2,500 for a one-bedroom, but I’m going to tell my rental agent my budget is $2,200 because that’s what I would ideally like to pay. Huge mistake. Disclose your full budget limits upfront! Here is why: If you spend the first two weeks of the month looking for a one-bedroom only up to $2,200 and then realize that to get the place you want you need to spend your maximum $2,500, by that time all the good $2,500 one-bedrooms for that month have rented! The best apartments rent in the first ten (10) days of each month. Don’t spend those ten days fooling around with a reduced budget. Look at your entire range from the start. Trust us and be smart!
Paying double rent
This is a very common issue. Apartments become vacant on the first of the month, which is typically when they can start to be viewed by potential tenants. Most landlords will want the new lease to start immediately, meaning perhaps the fifth day of that month. They certainly aren’t going to push the lease start date to the beginning of the next month. They would lose an entire month’s rent! But how can you, the renter, move out of your old apartment in the middle of a month? Now you see the problem. Well, then I’ll just wait to look until the end of the month and start the lease a few days later just when my old lease ends. The problem with that is the majority of quality apartments available in the beginning of the month will be gone by the end of the month, and it is very difficult to find a good apartment at the end of the month. You can see why this is such major issue. Unfortunately it’s a fact of Manhattan life. By refusing to pay double rent you will be limiting your options. Don’t pass on a great apartment because of the lease start date. You’ll be living there several years. In the long run a better apartment is worth more than saving a little money due to a lease start discrepancy. After all, this is your home we’re talking about!
There are several rules of thumb. First and foremost, you must have good credit (high 600’s at the minimum). Second, the landlord wants to see that you make—or that you and your roommate(s) combine to make—40 times the monthly rent in annual salary. For example, to rent a $2,500 one-bedroom, you should be earning $100,000. If you don’t meet these standards you may need a guarantor, which is essentially a co-signer. Your buddy Chuck, the part-time caterer, is not what a landlord is looking for here.
Generally a guarantor should make 80 times the monthly rent in annual salary. For example, on a $2,500 one-bedroom, the guarantor should be earning $200,000 in annual salary. A guarantor must typically submit the first 2 pages of his most recent Federal 1040 tax return and must also undergo a credit check. Guarantors often don’t enjoy being subject to the same type of financial scrutiny they usually experience when applying for a mortgage. So make sure your guarantor is as willing and fully prepared as you are. If your guarantor’s financial privacy is an issue let us know right away so we can direct you to a landlord whose documentation requirements aren’t as invasive as others.
What if my guarantor owns a lot of real estate?
No good. You can’t sell a house in five days to cover missed rent payments.
My Dad has $400,000 in his IRA. What if I just submit his retirement statement?
No again. Landlords can’t go after retirement money to pay rent, only income and liquid assets.
My Dad refuses to give out his Social Security number.
Better find a sublet then! Still think renting an apartment in NYC is easy? Think again. Remember when you researched and applied to colleges? Think of us as your guidance counselor!
My Aunt is retired. Can she still be my guarantor?
If she has enough cash assets in the bank, then possibly. But normally a guarantor must show sufficient income. Be prepared: landlords differ in their views and judge applicants on a case-by-case basis. A landlord may reject a guarantor in the beginning of the month but may accept that very same guarantor if the apartment hasn’t rented towards the end of the month.
My guarantor is from California. Is this OK?
Many times, the answer is no. In order to sue a guarantor, the landlord must physically go to the state of the guarantor’s residence. A building owner cannot subpœna a guarantor to come to NY. This is why many landlords insist upon tri-state guarantors (NY, NJ or CT). Ask your agent though! He or she will know which landlords will accept such a guarantor.
I have a roommate. Can my mother only guarantee my portion of the rent?
No can do. A guarantor guarantees a lease, not a person. In a roommate situation be sure your guarantor is aware of this. No other way around it!
Company note! You may think you have a guarantor but make sure your guarantor understands all the information above before you assume they are willing to submit personal information, undergo a credit check and also guarantee your roommate, whom they may have never met.
You’re kidding, right? You want to pay a higher, 15% broker fee to a company that doesn’t prepare you? These other companies rely on volume and close a very small percentage of potential deals because they don’t fully disclose. They leave apartment hunters disappointed because they didn’t properly prepare them, and it’s those companies that give our business a bad reputation. If a broker doesn’t properly prepare you for apartment-hunting success then turn them away! DSA Realty acts in a professional and reputable manner with all our clients. The last thing we want to do is leave you with a bad experience. We want you to refer us to your friends; we don’t want to sully our impeccable reputation.
Start your search 30 – 45 days before you need to start a lease. Some landlords start showing units during the last month of a prior tenant’s occupancy, and by missing those you are lowering your options. Most apartments get listed in the very beginning of the month, shortly after they have been vacated.
No! You are never committed to paying rent or a broker’s fee until you sign the actual lease. If you change your mind before signing the lease, you only lose any deposit you placed on the apartment.
24 – 48 hours, so get that cash in the bank now and ready to turn into certified checks! The landlord will want the deal closed immediately since he has likely stopped showing the apartment to other prospective tenants. You can’t wait a week unless you put down a huge deposit or pay all the money up front.
Don’t forget that brokers services don’t cost the landlord a penny. Picture yourself in the landlord’s shoes. Would you want potential tenants to deal with you directly, or let a broker rent the apartment for you? For every tenant that rents an apartment, there can be close to 20 potential renters who don’t rent it. That means 20 separate appointments to show the apartments, 20 separate applications to collect and process, and 19 disappointed renters. Be careful of no-fee apartments from other brokerages or from Craigslist. Why? Quite simply, because they are usually more expensive than broker fee apartments. How can this be?
Because owners who decide to pay brokerage fees sometimes do this to trick renters into paying substantially higher-than-value rents in order to have a “no-fee” apartment. Paying a one-time broker fee will save you much more money than living in an apartment that is $200 over-priced for the five years you live there. If you pay a 12% broker fee ($2,300 on a $1,600 studio) as opposed to getting a “no-fee” studio for $1,800 (that a broker could have gotten you for $1,600) and you live there five years, you pay 5 years x $200/month x 12 months = $12,000 more than paying the one-time $2,300 broker fee—almost a $10,000 additional cost to you! Still want a no-fee? DSA Realty will never list landlords that do this. We only deal with reputable landlords. If we do have a no-fee, then you can bet it’s a good no-fee listing! We are committed to honesty and integrity, which is why we have such an outstanding reputation!
Here are some general rules for you. Almost all doorman and elevator buildings have laundry on-site. Almost all walk-up buildings do not have laundry. Of course, doorman and elevator buildings are significantly more expensive than walk-ups. Usually only 5% of walk-ups have this amenity. Listen: laundromats are on every block in this city and they usually pick up and deliver your laundry back to your very doorstep. Don’t pass on a great apartment due to this minor detail!
Unfortunately, Rover has just cost you roughly 80% of your possible marketplace. Another general rule is that only 20% of buildings allow dogs, and even fewer allow large dogs. Even if your dog is 7 pounds, he will not be allowed into one of these buildings.
All leases, except on furnished apartments (typically in luxury buildings and very expensive), are one year to start.
Many landlords don’t offer this. They don’t want to get locked in to a tenant who may turn out to be troublesome or irresponsible. Once you’ve lived there a year on good terms, then maybe ask for a two-year extension.
Ah, now you’ve asked the question! This is the #1 issue we deal with in apartment rentals. Unfortunately, you’re not going to like the answer. The rent can rise by any amount at all for the second year of a lease (should you choose to renew) and there is no way to “lock in” a set amount for that second year. However, if you are a good tenant and pay your rent on time, landlords will give you minimal increases so that you will stay.
The reason landlords don’t agree up front to a locked-in second year increase is because no one knows the state of the rental market one year from now. If rents jump by 30% in the city, the owner, being a smart businessperson, will want the right to increase the price to the true “market” rate. As a renter, there is just no way to protect yourself. It’s a fact of life, and this does not just apply to NYC—this applies to apartments on Earth. The only way to get an apartment and guarantee yourself of steady future payments is to buy something and get locked into a mortgage. Rental payments just don’t happen like that.
This also emphasizes yet another reason to use DSA Realty to find your next home. We only deal with reputable landlords and reputable landlords are good at keeping tenants. This means they do not ask for huge rent increases on lease renewals. The good landlords only make significant rent increase (if they are warranted) for new tenants signing brand-new leases, not on old tenants renewing leases.
Although this seems highly concerning, it really is nothing to worry about at all if you get involved with the right landlord. Ask your DSA agent about the reputations of the landlords for the apartments you are seeing!
Find one good real-estate agent. This is such an important decision that you must have expertise on your side. Remember that when you’re looking to buy then real estate agents work for you for free. The owner always pays your agent their commission. It doesn’t cost you one cent!
Find one good real-estate agent. Hmm, that sounds familiar! To get your home sold for the best price possible, you must expose the listing to the entire brokerage community. Remember that 100% of serious buyers are working with real-estate agents at firms all over the city. You want 100% of those serious buyers to be aware of your apartment. The only way to do this is to list exclusively, which allows your real-estate agent to post the listing with every single brokerage. “Open listings” are 80% less effective because no real-estate agent will devote the time and advertising costs necessary to get your apartment sold if another agent can come along and sell it without his seeing a cent of commission. Finding one good exclusive agent is an absolute must; DSA Realty is the best place to find that expert.
Sometimes owners try to sell apartments on their own in NYC. Why aren’t they able to? Because 100% of serious buyers are all working with real-estate agents. Why? Because it is a free service that provides those buyers with expertise, someone to schedule appointments or get keys, and so forth. No serious buyer is going to do all the legwork by himself or herself and conduct a huge search without any expertise. A good sales broker has expertise and tools that are absolutely necessary to get the right price on the market. Sellers that attempt to sell on their own find that only “browsers” or “curious” shoppers are coming to see their apartment. Eventually they get frustrated and call a good agent, but only after they’ve wasted time and money fruitlessly trying to advertise their listing. Sellers that use a broker, even though they do pay commissions to that broker, end up actually selling their apartments. That sounds about right, doesn’t it?
Your agent must have knowledge, commitment, and good salesmanship. Agents must be punctual, reliable, and reachable every time you call them. They can’t be “pushy” or oversell your apartment, which comes off as being fake. If you meet someone who is too “salesy,” the potential buyers won’t like him and your apartment is less likely to sell for the highest price. A good, casual,"real" personality is the best key to a good salesperson in any field. DSA Realty knows this and we train our agents accordingly.
Talk to one of our reputable mortgage brokers so you know your budget and can get “pre-qualified.” That is always the first step. Call your DSA agent for a list of reputable and personable mortgage representatives.
Taxes, common charges, ownership, etc.
This is not really a “tax” so much as a fee charge when a co-op unit is sold. Sometimes the buyer pays the fee and sometimes the seller pays it. It should always be disclosed as to which party will bear the responsibility.
Condo units typically require 10% down and co-ops can be anywhere from 20% typically to 40%, or sometimes even higher. Co-ops also usually require “reserve” cash after the required downpayment. In genereal, condos require less up front but co-ops are cheaper per square foot. Find out the required downpayment amount for each unit you view.
