Breaking Down The NYC Apartment Hunting Experience

One of the most exciting (and sometimes scary) parts of living in NYC is getting your first apartment. I’m now on the process of getting my second apartment, and it’s definitely a lot less scary than the first time I looked. The hunt to find the perfect apartment can be intimidating, but with these tips, you’ll be ready to start your journey!

1. Beginning Stages (Finding Roommates, Move In Date, Deciding What Your Apartment Must-Haves Are)

The beginning stages are things like deciding when you’re moving, who you’ll live with, and what your must-haves are. It’s important to remember that having more roommates can lead to cheaper rent, but less living space—it depends what your priorities are. My two roommates are both LIM students, which worked out because one of the important requirements for us was a commute that’s not too far.

With finding roommates, it’s important to keep a couple things in mind: How important is housekeeping and cleanliness to all of you? Do you want to have close relationships with your roommates? Do you mind if a roommate has guests over? Everyone will have different answers to these questions, but it’s important to find someone compatible.

Once you’ve found your roommates, it’s time to talk budget. How much are you willing to spend per month? Are you willing to go over that? Once you’ve decided on a budget, find out what neighborhoods fit well into that. For my roommates and I, the Upper West Side was the best fit.

Once you’ve settled on a budget, decide what apartment features you all need. My roommate Jenna wanted big windows; my roommate Emily wanted to be close to a subway. I really wanted laundry in the unit or building. You may not get everything you want. For example, I would prefer to have an elevator, but it’s not a set requirement. Realize what you definitely need, and what you are willing to let slide.

Finally, make sure you and your roommates are all on the same page regarding your move-in date. August 1 gave me and my roommates time to settle into the new place and enjoy summer before school starts.

2. The Hunt Begins

As I mentioned, my two roommates and I agreed we wanted to move on August 1. It’s important to know not to get attached to any apartment. The true hunt doesn’t begin until 3-4 weeks before your move in date. This may seem late, but apartments in NYC go on the market fast, and landlords want to get new tenants right away.

For looking at apartments, there’s either the option of virtual showings or in-person. Last year when I moved during the pandemic, I did all of my tours over Facetime or viewed the 3D tours on the website. This year, my roommates and I decided to go apartment hunting in person since the city is more open.

On July 1st, showings opened up for the 6th and 7th, which were the two dates we would be hunting. I booked these showings the second I could, but it’s important to remember that these apartments could be gone before we even got a chance to tour. It’s definitely important to have backups lined up, just in case one of the showings fall through. As I learned later on, definitely plan to have more than 2 days just in case something falls through. We ended up needing 3 days, although we had only planned for 2.

Also, when you’re viewing apartments, try to pack as many as you can into one trip. We had only planned to look at 8, but we ended up looking at 18! We needed these extra showings as units were moving incredibly quick.

3. Hunting Days

Apartment hunting was a lot more hectic than any of us expected. On the first day, we toured six apartments, and by the time we toured our last one, we knew what we wanted. The building we liked had four units available, and we loved them all. We decided to get lunch before heading home to lock down which unit we definitely wanted to apply for. Well … between lunch and the train ride back home, three out of four of the units had already been applied for and approved! With only one left, we decided to apply for it.

On our second day, we had high hopes for being approved for the application we put in the previous night. But, just in case, we scheduled a few backups. In the early afternoon, we checked out three units (one of which we liked) and we checked out three more later that day. As soon as we learned we weren’t accepted for the unit we saw the day before—someone had applied right before us—we decided to apply for the unit we saw that morning. However, we didn’t end up submitting that application.

We went to the FedEx right by Columbia and begun filling out the application on the steps inside campus. However, we learned that the company we were working with could potentially be a scam. We found numerous horrible reviews online, and we decided the best way was to

just scrap everything and start fresh. Lesson: It’s important to read reviews for companies so you don’t end up in a bad situation!

On the third day, we decided to look in a new neighborhood to expand our options a bit. We liked that one decently enough. We looked at four more that day and once we got to the fifth one, we knew that was our home.

We weren’t the only potential tenants touring the unit, but the agent let us know that the apartment would basically be ours, if we put our deposit down then. (Again, landlords want to close these deals quickly!) So, that’s what we did.

4. Final Steps

After we had put down that deposit, we filled out the application. Each tenant and each guarantor had their own sections to fill out. Once approved, we signed the lease!

While this process was extremely crazy, it is worth the hunt. There truly is no better city in the world to live in, so as wild as it may be to find an apartment, just keep hoping for the best!