Over on the Real Estate Q&A section of the New York Times, director of www.HowToRentInNYC.com, Alicia Schwartz, is taking questions for the next three days about how to rent an apartment in New York City. Already folks have posted inquiries about the mysteries of rent stabilization, who’s responsible for heat and hot water and where else to look for decent housing besides Craiglist. Probably not on the docket: how to find a really nice, cheap apartment in a good neighborhood. Meanwhile, in the Real Estate section proper, a story called What You Need to Know Before You Rent aims to give you all the real estate rental statistics you’ve ever wanted to know as well as to help you sift through the 15,000-odd Manhattan rentals available to find the right one (seems such a small number for a city of 8.2 million). Apparently our city-wide Manhattan’s vacancy rate is 3.6 percent, and the average rent for Brooklyn buildings with five or more units is $2,400 (only $300 more in Manhattan citywide). The forever-coveted rent stabilized apartments make up half of all rentals, though their numbers have shrunk considerably and continue to do so. Sigh. Read the whole piece for how to snag one of the few left.
What You Need to Know Before You Rent [NY Times]
Ask an Expert: Renting in New York [NY Times]
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