Not that I am looking for a new place, but because I feel like I have weathered the horrendous experience that is Manhattan apartment hunting, I feel that I should share what I have learned. My sister is currently undergoing the "searching for a sublet" issue in San Francisco, which I assume has a similarly overpriced, outdated, and scarce apartment situation driving complete strangers to make living arrangements together simply to have a roof over their heads.
I constructed her this list of tips based on my own experience. 2013 will be a year of contributing useful information to the web hopefully, and not just spewing my awkward drama around.
Here we go:
For starters- this is the kind of ad I look for:
$800 Large room with lots of light in cozy Prospect Heights apartment (Brooklyn) (map)
Date: 2012-04-19, 3:39PM EDT
Reply to:
fqbqz-2967619928@hous.craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
We have a room open for May 1 in our three-bedroom Prospect Heights apartment!
The room is large and has big windows and a wood floor. Rent is $800,
and utilities usually run about $50/month. The apartment is located on
Vanderbilt Avenue between Bergen St. and St. Marks. It is close to the
2,3 and B,Q and C trains. There is a lovely living room, a large
kitchen, very big for New York bathroom, and lots of light.
We are two women in our mid-twenties, not home much but like to keep the house a warm and inviting space for when we're there.
Our lease is up September 1 so we'd like someone to stay at least until
then. There is an option to renew the lease if we want to at that point.
Vanderbilt Ave at St. Marks
(google map)
(yahoo map)
- Location: Brooklyn
- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
1. Lead with things about yourself and your living preferences. You
should
definitely mention if you work from home, meaning you will be around a lot.
(This
could be a dealbreaker, as most people like having a roommate with a
life. However, I would also mention if you travel extensively and what you do. Be realistic about this. If you are an "aspiring actor," don't put that down. Put down what pays your bills, and tell them acting is your ambition). Express your views on pets, smoking, 420 friendliness, and if you are a social, heavy, or non-drinker. Say if you are
tidy or
whatever and your level of tolerance for other people's messiness (I
like to
use the term "tidy, but laid back." No one wants to live with the
most anal retentive person ever, but no one wants a slob either.)
*Tip on using vague terms like "social drinker" and "420 friendly": You may want to define what you mean. My level of comfort with weed, for example, is occasionally you can do it at parties- twice a month max, and not in the house. I don't like a house the smells like weed and I don't like trying to approach people who are high about anything I want them to remember. My previous roommate had a daily habit that he considered "occasional use." The best bet it to be more conservative. You can always give more liberty than you can take away.
2. Price and location that work for me. Because I live in NY, I look to see if there are trains nearby and I can
see how many transfers/ length of time to go to work, which is important to me.
For you, you may want to ask
- Is there street parking readily available? Do
you have a garage? Is there an additional cost associated with parking?
- Also, because I live in NY, things are often not what they appear to be. Stock photos shown by brokers are often NOT the apartment you are looking to sublet. Be skeptical. If it looks too good to be true, there's a catch somewhere.
3. Evaluate the roommates.
- How old are they?
- Do they have steady incomes? (Phrase this
better- say something like "what hours do you work?")
- Know a couple of their interests. (Don't have to
be the same as yours, but ideally not someone who is an extremist in religious
activities or political activism unless they also mention that they don't force
their beliefs on others. You want to live with people who would be the LEAST
likely to end up on reality televison, in my experience.)
- Find out if they have a squatting significant
other and if they have issues with guests. (If you mainly have out of town visitors,
figure out if they have any request about how long people stay. You don't want
to step on toes.)
3. How long have they lived there? Have they had any issues with the
apartment or supervisor?
4. Are utilities covered? If so, which ones? If not, how much do they cost
additional on average?
5. Is this a furnished apartment/ room? How "furnished" is
"furnished"? (This would be the time to mention if you have a fully
furnished apartment, an inventory of your larger items, and whether or not you
are willing to part with anything and if so, what. They may want a new TV for
the living room or extra dishes. You never know.)
6. Lease terms and conditions. I always like to know how long the lease is,
if there is an option to renew, if they expect me to be on the lease, or if I
can just sublet. Also, know what date you can move in. So far I've been lucky
with subletting and staying month to month. When moving in with complete strangers, I prefer to stay month to month or sign a short lease (1-3 months) just in case we turn out to be incompatible. You don't want to end up in a place that is uncomfortable for you for an entire year.
And most importantly- just go with what feels right. Start by checking only
apartments with PEOPLE who explain a bit about themselves and their apartment
and seem community minded and respectful. Then email them back and forth a bit
to feel them out. Bring a friend to come see it if you want to, but if you’ve
had a phone conversation or skype session to check out the apartment, you may
not need a buddy. If it’s just texts, I’d bring someone. You never know who is
typing at the other end.
On a personal note: I found the best roommate I've ever had on Craigslist and live with her currently. We've been together for 6 months, and we are both very respectful of each others' space and down to earth. Sometimes Craigslist strangers can turn into great friends!
I work in a diamond dealer’s office, which is probably one
of the sketchiest places a person can work. Apart from the constant keeping of
paperwork to prove that you are not a money laundering agency, there’s cameras
in every office, plenty of insurance fraud throughout the industry, and pretty
much every other dirty underhanded trick in the book. Most of the industry is
made up of religious Jewish people- many from Israel or Long Island. Almost
everyone is in the industry because they grew up in it and their family runs
the business. This only contributes to the sketchiness in most cases.