This year, my puppy Drizzy and I moved back to the east coast: New York City, to be specific. Having owned my home for the past couple years, finding an apartment was a different experience. Instead of working with a realtor, I navigated the process solo. Instead of searching in the suburbs of Washington State, I was browsing through New York City's neighborhoods to find somewhere at the heart of, instead of far from, the action. So that you don't have to go it alone, these are the tools and tricks I found useful in my search.
Tools to Find a NYC Apartment
Streeteasy - Best overall apartment hunting app/site, allowing refinement by a number of factors
Apartment List - Essentially Tinder for apartments; you swipe left or right depending on whether you like a place
Touring Apartments
Virtual and in-person tours are the two main ways to tour apartments and their buildings. Sometimes, a leasing agent will not allow you to apply for a unit until you have toured it, which is a reasonable rule, given that nothing compares to actually being in the space and experiencing it in person.
In order to tour an apartment, you will want to contact the leasing office through the building's website, most likely by phone, as this allows a faster response time. If you can't get through, many buildings also allow drop-in tours; you'll want to tell the doorman that you are there to tour available apartments, and you'll either be directed to the leasing office in the building or an agent will be called to show you around. Some buildings also do self-guided tours with a sheet about which units are available at what prices.
When touring the apartments themselves, keep track of which unit you're touring by starting any photo-taking or filming in the unit with a photo of the unit number/description/price. This will allow you to keep the units straight in your mind later.
Good questions to ask the leasing agent include:
Are there any concessions?
A concession is usually a number of months free on the lease, bringing your net price (the amount you pay monthly) down from the original (gross) rent.
Can the net price be paid each month instead of foregoing paying a few months before owing the gross rent?
What are the amenities fees? Are they required?
Amenities fees are sometimes applied if there are common spaces, like a gym or rooftop, that the building has to maintain for residents.
How much is due up front?
This will usually be an amount equal to two months' gross rent, with the security deposit being equal to one month's gross rent.
What utilities are/are not covered in the rent price?
Typically, electric and wifi/cable are not included, but it is good to know this in advance.
What is your pet policy?
This doesn't apply for everyone, but it was a question of the utmost importance for me.
What is the policy on painting the walls and hanging photos?
Most buildings allow this as long as the unit is returned to its original condition upon move-out.
A lesson I learned from my realtor when I bought my condo is to not tour too many buildings in one day. I toured eight buildings in two days, doing four on each day. My recommendation would be to do closer to three per day, as you will be seeing multiple units in each building.
Choosing an Apartment
Certain requirements will be related to a bump in rent cost, like needing more square footage, a higher floor, or a magnificent view. There is nothing wrong with paying more, assuming it's within your means, as long as you're doing something with that perk. For example, if you shell out $1K more for a great view but never spend time simply sitting and appreciating the skyline, that money could be better spent elsewhere.
Everyone has their own list of criteria for what makes the ideal apartment. Mine were price, proximity to transit that could get me to Central Park and work, and being in the heart of the city.
Using the sites listed above, I narrowed down my search to the Financial District and Hudson Yards based on price.
Proximity to Central Park narrowed the search further. As for the final decision, I simply had an intuitive sense when I walked into my apartment that it was the one for me. If intuition isn't how you make decisions, a pro/con list is immensely useful, as is cutting off the number of apartments you consider. Jam theory, also called Paradox of Choice, says that you will be more likely to make a decision, and be happier with that decision, if you don't consider too many options.
What I Wish I'd Known
Your "deliver on" date with your movers may have a +x days in the fine print.
My lease started April 9th, which was also the delivery date I requested from my movers of my shipped Washington belongings. What I didn't know was that they can deliver up to 21 business days after the specified date. This is worth sorting out ahead of time so that you can make proper arrangements, whether that be a temporary hotel/Airbnb stay, furniture rental through a service like Feather, etc.
Taxes vary between locations.
This is something that seems relatively obvious in theory, but having lived in a state without income taxes for a couple years, the higher New York State and New York City taxes caught me a bit by surprise. This tax calculator is a useful start to get a better idea of what to expect.
Best of luck and happy apartment hunting!