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When I decide that relocating was what I wanted to do, I narrowed down my choices of cities to places where I had a support system aka family or very close friends in that area I could count on.

It’s easier that way.

When I say that “I could count on,” I mean people who take you apartment hunting, drive/walk around with you, pop open a map and show you where things are, people who will sit down with you and educate you about your new city as a local etc.

Apartment hunting equated a new bane of my being.

No lie.

Ugh.

KNOW where you want to live.

Also, don’t forget to read Heather Huhman’s e-book Relocating for an Entry-Level Job.

Believe me when I say I saw 22 apartments in three days and found my apartment by day 4.

Some apartments were advertised as great and had pictures to prove it, but when I got there, they were rat holes. I have no other way to describe it. They were frightening and it’s beyond me how New York City allows them to still operate.

Other places seemed like a gimmick, almost too good to be true. But I called the phone number anyway and spoke to the broker — in fact, it wasn’t too good to be true, it was too good and it was true. This turned out to be my apartment.

Unlike a lot of other cities, NYC is different — so be careful and be exceedingly aware.

Give things a chance, but be smart about them. (NEVER go to any apartment viewing by yourself!)

• Craig’st List —> I found my broker, roommate and place all-in-one listing on Craig’s List in a “no fee” listing from Blackstone. I also almost went with a listing I got through Platinum Properties. I dealt with two great brokers, one from each. ** Also, I read this article, after the fact, that talks about how “shady” brokers are … especially from the company I used, incidentally. My advice, you need to be care anyway, be aware and don’t get screwed over. My broker did his job very well, I got a great place at a good price. Period. **
  
• Urban Living —> very helpful folks, really nice, flexible and they consistently follow-up with you
• Citi-Habitats —>decent, but not my favourite, I dealt with one pushy broker and one really nice one. It’s give or take here IMO.
• Anchor NYC —> really helpful, but typically deal with higher-end clients, so it depends on you and your budget
• New York Habitat —> eh, I’m not a fan because there is a fee to everything, including an undisclosed fee for leases of a year or more. NOT COOL.
• Facebook’s Marketplace —> be careful, found one really great thing here
• Best Apartments NYC —> helpful group of folks, stayed within my budget and were flexible
• Sublets.com —> be careful, I had a lot of landlord’s e-mail with crazy offers and also suggesting places HIGHER than my budget as well as in areas I said I DID NOT want to live (all of your preferences are listed in a profile, so the landlord’s know better)
  
• Roommates.com —> if you want to ‘see’ your messages from potential roommates/landlords you MUST pay for it. I registered, but I never ended up using this resource and paying the fee. However, I know someone who had used this website at one point, paid for the ‘messages’ feature and she got an excellent roommate out of it.
  

Dwell 95 promo image

My top 3 choices were:-

1. Craig’s List
2. Urban Living
3. Best Apartments NYC

***Craig’s List Warning***

I feel like I need to throw one of these in here.

BE CAREFUL. There are some great deals to be had on Craig’s List and some really bad ones.

Beware of scams, con-artists etc.

• Don’t wire money EVER.
• MEET the people in person…ALWAYS.
• SEE the place/apartment in person…ALWAYS.
• If you get emailed back and the ‘story’ seems extreme (i.e. husband in hospital in another state with third degree burns & they need to rent apartment ASAP), put their email in your SPAM box.
• Are they in a foreign country? FORGET ABOUT THEM.
• NEVER go to any apartment viewing by yourself!!!

When I got here, you better believe that my amazing cousin Matthew (aka my “support system”) and I, saw about 22 places over the course of 3 days. And my other amazing end of my “support system,” Billy, took me to sign my lease to make sure I was alright. I’m very lucky and I know that — in that sense — which is why I strongly suggest that if you are going to move, move where you too will have a “support system.”

Make a schedule & organize it based on where it’s located on a map of the city you’re in.

Broker Fees versus NO fees. Learn it.

Most apartment places in Manhattan will charge you an application fee to pull your credit and see if you can afford to live in their building. Remember that and be prepared for it. Typically, you need to be making 40x (aka –> 40 * rent = your yearly salary) your rent to qualify for a place without a guarantor.

A guarantor is someone who co-signs on your place for you and is the building’s insurance policy that the rent will get paid. Your guarantor typically needs to make 80x your rent (aka –> 80 * rent = your guarantor’s salary).

Get a roommate. I did.

Also, before you move, budget and make sure you know:-

• your max budget per month that you want to spend on rent
• double it — this will either be a security deposit or “last month’s rent”
• drop another $500.00 USD in there because this might be your security deposit

Don’t forget to get “Renter’s Insurance” for your place.

Be smart,

be calm

and think ahead!

• You may also be interested in “{Confessions of a PRetty Social Girl} The HIRED! Gen-Y” on how to job hunt, write a cover letter and relocate for a job.

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Sasha Muradali runs the ‘Little Pink Book’ . She holds a B.S. in Public Relations from the University of Florida with a minor in Dance (’07) and an M.A. in International Administration from the University of Miami (’08). She loves Twitter and all things social media, so you should find her @SashaHalima or get a copy of the ‘Little Pink Book’ delivered to your Kindle.

Copyright © 2009-2010 Sasha H. Muradali. All Rights Reserved.