apartment hunting in manhattan
 

Hi ,
anyone have advice on finding accommodation in lower manhattan. I've just spent a depressing few days getting hounded by brokers who dont seem to be offering any value for their 15% fee...

Ive been using craigslist, but that seems to also be overrun with brokers...

can finding a place really be this difficult?

any ideas?

ta

Paul

Re: apartment hunting in manhattan
 

welcome to the forums :)

as for finding a place, bit general, but a few threads have asked in the past, might get lucking in finding links in them, either searching in the US life style or trailer park...well it's start :)

Re: apartment hunting in manhattan
 

Not easy in Manhattan, upper or lower, east or west, to do on your own from another country. Either use a real estate agent or check out the real estate section in the New York Times. You might have to register to do that. Sunday's paper is the one you want to look at first. If you are being transferred by a company, ask them for referrals to an agent.

Re: apartment hunting in manhattan
 

Hey there thanks for the response.. will check the sunday papers..

I'm actually in NYC for the next couple of weeks to try and sort somewhere out before returning in November permanently. Unfortunately Im a freeelance consultant, and the guys I have been working for havent been able / willing to help out :(

Re: apartment hunting in manhattan
 

Paul, when we moved to NYC about 5 years ago, we managed to find an English guy on Craigs list who was willing to sublet his apartment to us for the first 10 months...he wanted to move out to Jersey...with his girlfriend...

The short story is that without credit history and a lot of luck, you may be barking up the wrong tree...I'd suggest looking out in Hoboken or Weehawken first, build up some time and credit and then move into the city...besides anything else, you'll pay less and you're still on the Path line into the city.

Good Luck

Chris

Re: apartment hunting in manhattan
 

Chris beat me to it......I would also strongly suggest that you check out Hoboken in NJ (directly across the Hudson river from NYC - a few people who post on here live in Hoboken and I would say that most people living there are young professionals in their 20s and 30s) and most commute into Manhatten every day. The 'W' hotel chain is building in Hoboken as the river views across to Manhatten are fantastic.

Neighbouring Jersey City is a lot cheaper than Hoboken as it's not as 'trendy'. Jersey City and Newport has lots of new apartments being built near the river, a bit like in London's Docklands (a lot of companies in the financial sector have large offices here, eg. Goldman Sachs (the large tower) and Chase etc. but further away from the river are older established properties, apartment blocks and houses converted into flats.

Journal Square - a district - on the PATH line is also inexpensive and very multicultural.

My friend rents out an apartment in Jersey city (it actually has a private garden out the back deeded to her) and she advertised it on Craigslist - she was advised to do this by the other tenants in the block to avoid paying the high realtor's fees. There is a New Jersey section for Craigslist.

Also check out rentals here:

http://www.delfornorealestate.com (they specialise in JC)

http://www.hobokeni.com/classifieds....s%20for%20Rent

http://www.hobokeni.com

For the PATH trains (underground trains) to NYC look here:

http://www.panynj.com/CommutingTravel/path/html/

Classified Ads from NJ newspapers (see real estate listings)

http://www.nj.com/realestate/


You can also take the commuter ferries to lower Manhatten (NY Waterways goes from Hoboken train station and other local points):

http://www.panynj.com/CommutingTravel/ferry/html/ (scroll down past the map for the various ferry company info).

Re: apartment hunting in manhattan
 

And you beat me!

I live in Hoboken and I love it here. Lots of bars, restaurants and cafes. Also, alot of Brits live here! It has a small town feel, but it's so close to NYC. About 15 mins by PATH train or bus.

The rent is going up, but you can find some great apartments. There are a few estate agents here that have 'no fee' apartments, where the landlord pays the fee. Hobokeni.com is wonderful, there's new listings on it every day, that's where we found ours.

If you want to see the place you should come across on the PATH and walk around! You could even pop in to a few estate agents and see what they have!

Good luck!!

Re: apartment hunting in manhattan
 

...and where have you been young madam? :D

About time we met up for a drink (or more!)...... :beer:

Re: apartment hunting in manhattan
 

Oh, you know....busy, busy! ;)

Oh, and I got engaged!! The future in-laws are coming this week. But yes, we should definitely meet up for a few drinks again soon!

Re: apartment hunting in manhattan
 

congrats :)

Re: apartment hunting in manhattan
 

And about a million times more dangerous :eek:

I spent one night in the sleeper of my cab in Jersey city 3 years ago ..... NEVER AGAIN :scared: