Finding your very first apartment, what an exciting and utterly horrible experience..
It's a big move, and probably one of the first real "adult" things you're doing on your own. So let me help you through this.
Step 1: Setting your budget
The first step in moving into your new dream apartment is determine how much money you have available to spend on it. There are a lot of conventionisms out there that you can read about, but what always worked for me was the 50/30/20 rule. This rule says you can spend 50% of your net after tax income on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% should be sent away to savings. It hasn't let me down so far (although I'll admit my shopping addiction usually makes me break it..)
But this is a good starting point. So 50% should be going toward everything you need for survival... groceries, car payments, insurance, health care, and of course, rent. Some other things can be included in this section, but be honest with yourself, your $250 color, cut and blowout probably isn't a "need". So determine your true needs and work the rent into the budget.
Now that you have spent all of this time understanding exactly what you can afford to spend on your dream apartment... modify your expectations, heavily. Because I can guarantee your budget is too low for the apartment you're picturing. Welcome to the 2022 housing market...
Step 2: Finding the Apartment
Once you have level set with yourself (and stopped crying because you can't live in a penthouse in the West Village), it's time to buckle down and search for a spot. You can go about this 2 ways.
Spend your time scouring the adds on various apartment listing sites. Some of the most popular are here:
Or you can take the lazy man's way out and hire a broker. (Admittantly, this is what I did) Using a broker, though, you can expect to pay up to 12% or 1.5 month's rent for them to help you.
Here are the pro's and con's of each
DIY:
Pros
If you find a broker-free apartment it will save you on fees
Cons
You need to put in the grunt work of finding the apartment
No one is hand-holding you through the process
Brokers sometimes know of apartments not listed online
Brokers can help you negotiate lower rental agreements or other variations in the contract
If you find a broker-fee apartment, you may end up paying a fee anyways, even if a broker didn't help you find it
Broker
Pros
Like I mentioned above, they know the market and the listings. If you tell them what you're looking for, they can quickly show you all the options
They know the landlords and can come in handy with scoring you deals on the rental agreements
Cons
The fee really does suck if you end up in an apartment you could have easily found and negotiated on your own
Step 3: The Application
So you've now found an apartment you love, and you're dying to move in. Well... you're also told 5 more people are coming to look at the apartment this very afternoon and if you don't get your application submitted in the next 30 min, you're going to lose the apartment... Awesome.
Now What?
Here is what is going to be expected from you so that you don't miss your chance:
The application (filled out and signed)
An application fee (typically $100-$250 per application - yes, you and your roomie need to pay separately)
A credit check - they will so a "soft" run of your credit score
Proof of income - an employment letter with salary, pay stubs, or tax documents
In big cities like NYC landlords require that you and your roommate have a combined annual income that is 40x the rent. Yes I know this is ridiculous.. but landlords hate it when you miss rent
Something that can help you with this is adding a guarantor, or someone that signs the lease with you, basically vouching to come in and clean up your mess if you miss the rent payments.
Bank Statements - typically showing you have enough available to cover the security deposit + the first few months rent
Some stricter buildings will even ask for reference letters.. but this is less common in buildings popular for Millenials
Step 4: You're Approved!
Congratulations! Time to hop onto Pinterest and design your new bedroom.
First though, you need to sign the paperwork and send the dreaded security deposit + first month's rent. Security deposits are money you put down upfront to pay for any extraordinary damage you cause to the apartment. It can be 1-4 months worth of rent all due at once upon lease signing... I know this is intimidating.
The good news is, this money is supposed to be placed in an interest baring account and returned to you by the landlord when you move out without having burnt the place down. Most people I know get their full deposit back.. but if you're still in the habit of throwing college style parties in your 100 square foot studio.. you may not be able to count on it.
Either way, once the security deposit safely hits the account, the papers are inked, and you pay that first month's rent, you can finally call your new shoebox home...yay.
Hopefully you have secured a place with an elevator, and I can tell you from experience it is ALWAYS worth the fee to hire movers... always.
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