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May 25, 2009
Best time to find a rental?
Here's another silly question from the folks moving from Denver. What part of the month is the best time to find an apartment, considering quantity available, negotiating leverage, and availability of owners/brokers? We are fying in for a week of looking, and will be doing so about a month and a half before we need to move. Also, is coming the week before or the week after July 4 a bad idea? Does everyone clear out for the holidays?
Comments
The best time to find a rental is when you are ready to move. 15 days before hand is ideal as most Landlords will not hold an apt beyond that. Holiday weedends are a double edged sword, Brokers/Owners clear out but so does your competition which means you maybe able to apply for a couple over-looked gems before everyone comes back.
Posted by: Crownlfc at May 25, 2009 5:54 PM
Wow. It would be murder to find a place only two weeks before moving. We're moving from a 2500+ sq ft house to a teeny apartment. I thought that 30 days advance would give us time to figure out what to take/store/donate after determining exactly what place we'll have. What a logistical challenge it is to move from this lifetyle to that one! :-) Thank you for your suggestions and information. Sounds like I need to try to stop hyperventilating, and learn to play the waiting game. :-)
Posted by: HoldYourHorses at May 25, 2009 6:53 PM
We found our rental six weeks ahead of time when moving from California (4 years ago) but had to sign the lease to begin in two weeks - or a month before we moved. For us, paying the extra month was worth it to reduce the stress of finding a place. Last year, moving within Brooklyn we signed a lease two weeks before we moved to hold onto an apartment we really liked. The market is different now and perhaps a broker/owner would be more willing to negotiate a start date that works for you so that you can do your six week ahead looking.
Posted by: myplace at May 25, 2009 7:24 PM
Great information. Thank you. I feel like I need to find a NYC 'moving consultant' or something to help me figure out how to do this. :-) I'm starting to realize what a logistical maze this will be: Find NYC digs. Pack minimal items into a Pod. Store life elswhere Sell car. Fly to NYC. Hope Pod shows up. Hope belongings fit in new digs. Geez. :-) Can't wait to get to Brooklyn Heights, tho! Thnx!
Posted by: HoldYourHorses at May 25, 2009 10:51 PM
HoldYourHouses--Everyone's given you great advice. It's very very unlikely you'll find a place more than a few weeks before your move-in date unless you're willing to pay for an extra month. Keep in mind, however, that a lot of buildings are offering incentives right now, like a free month's rent.
Posted by: alsawo at May 26, 2009 9:24 AM
HoldYourHouses--Everyone's given you great advice. It's very very unlikely you'll find a place more than a few weeks before your move-in date unless you're willing to pay for an extra month. Keep in mind, however, that a lot of buildings are offering incentives right now, like a free month's rent.
Posted by: alsawo at May 26, 2009 9:26 AM
HoldYourHouses--Everyone's given you great advice. It's very very unlikely you'll find a place more than a few weeks before your move-in date unless you're willing to pay for an extra month. Keep in mind, however, that a lot of buildings are offering incentives right now, like a free month's rent.
Posted by: alsawo at May 26, 2009 9:27 AM
As for your question about the 4th of July weekend, I don't think there will be anything about the week after the 4th that is more unusual than anyother summer week. I would probably plan to come that week rather than the week before, as the week before some aprtments might not be in play yet and certainly almost no one will be around on Friday July 3.
Also, if you find a great apartment that is available immediately, you should be prepared to take it asap, even if it means eating a half month's rent.
Have you narrowed ytour neighborhood search yet?
Posted by: Boerumresident at May 26, 2009 11:19 AM
Just in case you haven't been filled in on this one yet - in New York, the real estate agent you work with works for the landlord, even though you (in most cases) pay them. That means that, no matter how nice they seem, contractually they are beholden to the landlord. That about knocked me over when I moved here from Chicago.
There's good stuff on Craigslist right now. I'm a landlord and listed my property with three major real estate firms, and got bubkes in response. I listed it on Craigslist for no fee and had a tenant within 45 minutes. Seriously. So do check out Craigslist. Don't bother trying to make appointments more than a day or two in advance from a Craigslist ad though.
A month of free rent might be a real possibility in a large building, but in a smaller building I'd call it unlikely.
Posted by: UnprotectedWrecks at May 26, 2009 1:41 PM
I'm a landlord as well and I have felt a shift in the timing in the current marketplace. For as long as I can remember, as both a tenant and a landlord, the one month rule has applied... Almost no one lists and no one looks more than a month before the move-in date.
However, with an apartment to rent each month since April, I've noticed that renters are looking 6 weeks out and there's plenty of options.
At the showings for an apartment I had for June 1st rentals, most of the renters were out looking for July 1st. I also experienced that, to a lesser extent, for April 1st and May 1st apartments.
I'm not sure what's driving it; perhaps it's the combination of nervous landlords and the extra time renters need to check out the increase in available apartments right now?
Posted by: BKRed at May 27, 2009 9:36 AM
Ugh. Get the word out to any friends/contacts as soon as possible, but I've heard brokers say you should start looking 30 days before you want to move. Many apartments aren't ready before then, but you may get lucky. I would work the first two weeks of the month before you plan to move like h- and see as many properties as you can. Basic thing to say, but know what you want and what you may need to give up (roughly, it's usually space versus location). Trust your gut, but have the checkbook ready! There's always turnover, but I'd guess that a big exodus happens end of May, what with student and other turnover for the summer. But there should be plenty of stuff in July. Good luck.
Posted by: meerkatz at May 27, 2009 4:42 PM
My suggestion - which I don't know if anyone has mentioned to you before - would be to come to NYC more than once to look around at apartments before you move. I don't know how familiar you are with the city - in terms of your options in both Manhattan and the boroughs, what subways might be best for you to live near, what kind of vibe you're looking for in terms of neighborhood, what kinds of things are absolutely important to you (say, a good public school district, or a neighborhood with a certain type of bars/restaurants/businesses), and what kinds of things can you live without (a dishwasher, washer and dryer, a doorman, etc.) - but I would highly recommend getting a tour or introduction to NYC strictly from a "getting to know your options" perspective, before you have to throw it into high gear to look for a place.
Since you mentioned the half-serious concept of a "NYC 'moving consultant,'" I'm throwing it out there that if you want to take that concept seriously, you are welcome to contact me: as a NYC real estate junkie who moved here from out of state 9 years ago and has never paid a fee on four great apartments, I'm pretty savvy at this sort of thing. Either way, good luck. ):
blaukind04@earthlink.net
Posted by: Inquisigal at May 27, 2009 7:47 PM
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