Hello all– I am new to this forum and seeking advice on renting out an apartment. We have been in Brooklyn since 2008, and our tenant (who came with the house) recently left to accept a job in another part of the country. She was paying what we believe was under market rate, but we’re not sure, so I’d like to ask your advice on what the going rents are in our neck of the woods. We have completely renovated the apartment since our tenant left, and it is on the top floor of an owner-occupied two-family. New kitchen, new bath, fresh paint, new floors, etc. We kept all of the old detail as well, so it definitely has some of the brownstone “charm” that people love about these old places. The only thing we haven’t replaced are the windows, which are in good condition. The apartment is a full floor of a brownstone, about 900 square feet and is very sunny and bright. It’s 1.5 bedrooms – one huge bedroom and one kid-sized bedroom, with living room, kitchen, bath. The kitchen has all new appliances, including a dishwasher, but no washer/dryer. We’re located in the historic district of Bed Stuy/Stuyvesant Heights, close to the Utica Avenue stop. I have been checking out Craig’s List for comparable apartments and how much landlords are asking, but it’s been difficult to make direct comparisons since nothing matches up directly in terms of location/renovation/size. Nevertheless, we are thinking of charging between $1400-1500 for the place. Is this overpriced? Underpriced? We’d just like to rent it at a fair price, so I’m hoping you might be able to give us an idea if we’re out of line. Thanks.


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. As a renter and former landlord I think this is pretty high given that floor through character filled one bedrooms I have seen in the hood go for about $1200 to $1300. Mind you I was looking at places in summer 2010 and thats the range I saw. Also I saw a lot of people clearly trying to pay their mortgage who had strangely renovated 1.5 bedrooms or 1 bedrooms that were awkward and had realtor fees to boot. Yes you have a half bedroom and a dishwasher and thats a plus. Just not sure how much people will pay for those- $100 is not unreasonable. In addition factor in that a tenant will likely pay for hotwater because of the dishwasher and this will effect their bottom line.

    Think of your audience for this space (single person, adult with child, couple, shares). I love BedStuy and Stuyvesant Heights but a lot of your target audience for this apartment can get just as nice an apartment with shorter train ride into Manhattan and in neighborhood that has more bars/amenities/parks like parts of Crown Heights. So this might be another way to check what your competition is.

    I am sure you can find someone for your price $1400-1500- cause afterall you only need to find one qualified tenant. But how long will they stay? Price competitively so that you arent raising the rent every year and your tenant isnt tempted to go where the pastures are cheaper. Do you really want to get top dollar? Or do you value a stable longterm tenant more? Balance those two needs with your pricing.

    But my experience tells me a better long term strategy is to be on the low end of the market rate or even undermarket so that you keep a good tenant in your apartment for a longer period.I would say $1200-1400. That way you avoid periods when the apartment isnt generating rent and avoid the updating (refinishing floors, painting etc) you need to secure a new tenant.

  2. Personally, I would not start low hoping to go high, it’s easier to drop a price than to raise it. I also would not get involved in the cable tv/internet situation, if the tenant runs foul of Cablevision, it ends up on you. Make sure your lease specifies that it’s a market rate apartment (in a two family that absolutely certain but there are some out there who think otherwise) and make sure that you adjust the rent to market every time you renew the lease. No matter how nice your tenants are, this is a business arrangement, so check their credit and their references. If you can have all their utilities (including heat and hot water) separately metered all the better, but factor that into the rent, if the tenant pays for heat and hot water they pay less rent than someone whose rent includes heat and hot water.

  3. Re: cable installation. Cablevision are pretty sharp when it comes to knowing 2 family set ups. But it was a very nice cable guy who told me just to call up and on automated system just press the “Add on services” prompt. Be sure apartment is non-inhabitable. You will just end up paying for the extra box – $10 or so. Also, note that there are two types of cable boxes, one for regular TV and one for High Def. Of course I got the regular box and my tenants bought a High Def when they got here. They could change it to get even better pic but they haven’t bothered to do so. I am leaving well enough alone since I don’t want Cablevision back in the place.
    Re: Router. I have one on parlor floor which sends signal to ground, parlor and top floor.

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