I have lived in five different cities, and it was always cake finding a place, no hassle at all usually, but here it's ridiculous.

One, I hate (yes hate) brokers, it's like they're doing you some frickin' wonderful service by opening a door so you can look at an apartment and give them paper work, and you get to give them money for that?! I mean what the heck do they do?! nothing, literally open a door so you can see the place, thats it.

Two, since when did discrimination become so rampant, I know I know, poor white guy is getting discriminated against, but seriously, it's happened at least four times in the past two weeks, one lady, as soon as she looked at my buddy and I had already made a decision as to whether she'd rent to us or not, and we are professional, well dressed people, she didn't even look at any paper work.

One lady flat out said, I'm looking for a female renter, WTF?!

So I call on one place and the guy, before I can say anything, grills me on my income, work, schedule, lifestyle, all this stuff, and I finally say yeah man, I'm not giving all this personal info before I know anything about this place, because if it's not what I'm looking for, it's going to be a waste of my time.

AND THEN, they want to do a Credit Check (totally normal) and I say well heres my credit report, every time some checks it, it puts a ding on my credit and I don't want that, he says, that he's going to run a check and it's 25 fee, I say I'm not paying that, one it's free to check it and two, here is my report, oh he also wants an application fee of 50 bucks, which is just bu*4sh*it, you're charging me a fee for a little extra cash.

okay I'm done, had to get that off my chest, it's just so frustrating.

Unfortunately, the vacancy rate (in Manhattan, at least) hovers at around 1% so, yeah, tenants are at a real disadvantage.

You can, however, find places without a broker -- it just takes a little more work on your part.

Hang in there!

Yeah, they're definitely full of it with their "application fee" and "credit report fee". I wonder what they would say if you turned to them and said "I require a $75 fee to do a background check on you with the courts & housing department to see how if there are any complaints against you and if and maintain your building".

As for brokers? Useless! Some of them charge 15% of one years' rent as their fee. Others charge flat fees. The only good thing about them is that they sometimes find out about apartments that aren't listed with the general public (sort of like the breakdowns).

Many landlords will only want to rent to female tenants thinking it will be less trouble, less partying, etc. Once they get that in their head, there's nothing you can do to change it.

Have you just called the management companies for different buildings? That would be better than going through a broker.

Look at apartments on Craigs List and choose "all no-fee apartments" and see what you can come up with. Be careful, though! You know there are a lot of scammers on Craigs List.

You can also decide what neighborhood you want and go there and pick up those local neighborhood papers and look in there.

Good luck!

quote:

I wonder what they would say if you turned to them and said "I require a $75 fee to do a background check on you with the courts & housing department to see how if there are any complaints against you and if and maintain your building".

LOL LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been a long time since I moved. I had no idea how tough it was out there.

Discrimination definitely happens. When I used to temp, I would see it all the time. If you're a woman and a 20 something, you get all the assignments. A man? The opportunities are cut in half. A man in his 30s, 40s? Opportunities cut in thirds.

Not that I care, I don't temp anymore.

Imagine you and a Black buddy showing up looking to rent.
Imagine you and a Muslim dyke showing up looking to rent.

Discrimination happens across the board.

Brokers: Ban them. Burn them. Bomb them.

after the absolute HELL we have been through with our current landlord/owner (we are now 11 months into a lawsuit with them), i have to agree with diane.

"I charge a fee to do a check on you with the DHCR, DOB, BBB, etc to make sure you are a good owner."

of course, they would laugh you out of the building. but seriously...

I have been thinking about writing and publishing a book written for tenants on how to protect yourself against landlords. I have learned a LOT this past year, to the point of almost being an expert, especially on little laws and rules you may not even know about. if anyone has any questions about NYC housing only, definitely feel free to ask, either here, by PM, or email.

if you guys don't know about it, go to NYC.gov and do a search on the DOB with the building you want to move into. it's not exhaustive information, but if there was a serious problem that wasnt fixed immediately, it will be there.

i learned in my search that the brokers wont give you an address but an intersection to meet at. tell the broker you won't look at any apartment without getting the exact address in advance (so that you can DOB it first).

also, in case you missed it, there was a really interestin article this week, along with an application to get your rental history report, which is similar to your credit report. we are filing for our free report now.

if you know you intend to move within 6 months, you should apply for your free annual report now so you can clean up anything incorrect or see what's there that could be used against you when applying for a new apartment.

http://realestate.msn.com/Rentals/Article_bankrate.aspx?cp-documentid=5353032

and finally, be weary of "listings" on craigslist. i asked to see over 50 apartments. of the 20 or so that called:

1)4 said that within the day the apartment was gone, but others were available
2)many were the same two companies who recycle photos in listings and don't actually have THAT apartment to show you
3)the rest told us to meet them and showed us multiple apartments, none of which were the apartment in the photos.
4)i forgot, i we did see 3 that were the apartment in the photos. in one case, the photo was easily from 15-20 years ago from the last renovation. one case the apartment wasn't done. and one it was the actual apartment, and we didn't like it (too small)

there was an article in AMNY this past year about the bait and switch and fake ads on craigslist and similar. which is true.

a good way to apartment hunt is to ask friends about their buildings! chances are that you've seen their apartment, they know their owner and landlord, they likely know about any problems with the owner or super, etc.

we have two buildings we are looking for with our move. we've seen our friends apartments. the locations are great. they both love their supers. the price is right. and you have an instant recommendation!

what does "DOB" mean?

sorry...

DHCR: dept of housing and community renewal. they are the ones who regulate your rent, keep your rental history, approve or disapprove rent hikes, approve or disapprove MCI and ICI (MCI- basically rent increases that your landlord can charge all of the tenants in a building for legal work on the building, such as replacing front doors to the building or a new intercom system, or for an ICI/IAI- which is work on just your individual apartment). they approve the 1/40th rent increase in your rent if you move into a newly renovated apartment or a partially renovated apartment (the 1/40th is also considered an MCI even though it's just one apartment not the whole building, you should see a rider for any of this in your lease- MAKE SURE ITS THERE or not!)

DOB: department of buildings. they have to approve any construction work to your apartment of building. you'll notice their notices on buildings that are being worked on, along with the permit number. they are also the ones who issue violations on rodents, bugs, illegal construction, no hot water or gas, etc... basically anything that has to do with your building and things wrong with it.

when you call 311 and complain about something in your apartment or building, the DOB inspector is the one that comes. and they always come unannounced. once you call 311 and get your complaint number, call your DOB inspection office ASAP (immediately) and make an appointment, otherwise the dude will show up a week later in the middle of the day when normal people are at work. then you have to wait for them to come back, which could be 1-3 weeks later.

well, it's not letting me edit my msg. i just wanted to clarify.

i'm not sure where the line is drawn between the DHRC when they change rent, and where the Department of Rent Admin steps in.

the DRA is the one who stores your complete rental history (which you should get a copy of; you can see who lived there for how long and what they paid- you can use this information to make sure you are getting a fair deal on your rent) and they have the power to change your apartment status from rent controlled to other...

if you have moved into a fully or partially renovated apartment, or if your landlord does try to increase your rent for work done, make sure you FOIL (freedom of information act) the bills, especially if you think you have a dishonest landlord. they can only charge you so much for that work.

and that point has been what has made our legal issues last so long. after asking in NOVEMBER for the bills for our "$30,000" renovation, we want the Bill of Particulars. our lawyer received it last week.

nice.

...

I work for a brokerage company.

Don't kill me. I'm just a receptionist and I've never felt that people should pay the fee. It just pays the bills--with that being said:

People who use brokers often times don't want to look for themselves, so they don't mind dropping the cash for someone else to do the work. I just moved and I didn't use a broker but there are all kinds of websites that they use which are accessible to EVERYONE...you just have to know how to find them...

If you need any help, Shay, let me know!

wow, jactressk, this is valuable info! you should write a book.

not to veer off topic from this great subject too much but i'm currently going through a LOT with my next door neighbor.

i live in what's considered a luxury co-op, with a gym and a pool, views of manhattan.

well my next door neighbor is a DRUG DEALER. that apartment is a drug den with people in and out of there. the parties begin at 3, BEGIN at 3 a.m. i've documented everything.

the police? HA! What a joke. They can't do ANYTHING because they have no right to go into an apartment.

the building's management? HA! They keep telling me to "call the police."

I keep complaining about the doormen letting these violent people up (drug supplier beat the shit out of him recently and he was taken out in an ambulance). the management's answer? they HAVE to let people up if the owner okays it. ?????

the noise, the 16 hour parties that begin at 3 in the morning. the girls getting fuked and screaming like they're on a mechanical bull, "YEEHAW!" at 5 a.m. groups of people chanting "Go! Go! Go!" at 2 a.m.

for ten years i never heard a PEEP while living here. now druggie loser all day all night.

i have a meeting with our management company and the board of directors of the co-op this afternoon.

either he goes or i go. this is WAR.

now back to our regularly scheduled programming:

"Brokers Blow" on the WPN.

Oh I have been going through owners, and thats where the most discrimination comes in.

and I'm also talking to brokers, I usually just go into a brokers office and rarely use any out of craigslist, because of all the scams

the only broker that ever really helped me was when I first moved to manhattan, and he said, look, if you go through me I'll guarantee you'll be in this apartment, and the next day said, it's yours.

Now I think he did some fudging on my numbers and my paper work though.

One guy said I needed to basically be making over 150 k,....for a 1500 dollar apt, are you frickin' kidding me, ha! if I was making that much, I'd want a dishwasher at least.

I guess its simply because of the market, they can choose to be super picky, but it's silly.

Whats tough is that I can't prove I'm a quiet clean guy, thats responsible, I don't party (at least not in my home) and especially two guys, its' tough.

quote:

Originally posted by Shay Coleman:
Whats tough is that I can't prove I'm a quiet clean guy, thats responsible, I don't party (at least not in my home) and especially two guys, its' tough.

Shay, I don't think they care if you're quiet, don't party, etc. What they care about is $$$$$. Bottom line. They want to see your tax returns to see how much money you make. They want to see your credit report to see if you pay your bills on time.

I forget the exact amount, but one property manager told me that your yearly income should be "X" times the rental. I think it broke down to one weeks salary should cover your full rent. If not that, then it was something close to it. They use some calculations to see if you can actually comfortably afford the rent. Hell, one apartment I looked at in Manhattan was $3900 a month --- and NOT "luxury" by any means --- where the HELL could I possibly work to make $3900 a WEEK?!?!?

Are you looking strictly in Manhattan or would you take Queens or Bklyn?

Diane, usually it's 40x the rent. or you can have a guarunture (sp?) instead.

BP...unfortunately, there's not much you can do. calling 311 can't help either. the inspectors only work 9-5. maybe.

some tenants in my bldg believe the owner instructed the super to turn down the heat and hot water in the winter. one of the tenants in the blg used to be the super years ago, and still has the keys. when things get bad, he can go to the boiler room, and he said that they dials (or whatever) are always turned way down. they dont do that on their own.

meeting with the coop board is probably going to be the best you can do. also try to get anyone who lives on the same floor, as well as directly above and below the coop in question, to comment as well. you can't possibly be the ONLY one affected by this.

you can still call 311 to lodge a complaint. they'll mail you a complaint form (we've never seen any of ours, aparently there is a fake address attached to our building and all government mail goes there, wherever "there" is), so you'll have that as record to. but remember, they won't come since the noise is outside of business hours.

i really could type all of that our clearer. i'm multitasking here. but i am truly a wealth of information! some of it is deducing or guessing, but most i really do know.

my best piece of advice, check nyc.gov and look at the Buildings link. input your address or the new building address, and you can see what serious problems there have been.

PB, if you are an owner you must have some kind of recourse spelled out in your co-op agreement. If you rent from the owner they must have some rights they can enforce on your behalf. I think it depends on the co-op.

Also, can't you lodge other kinds of complaints-- violating noise laws or other rules of the state or city law or your co-op agreement?

Yes, Camille, good advice. I'm working on it with a real estate attorney friend. Thanks, keep ya posted!

Neighbors suck!

update: basically, drug dealers have carte blanch to do what they want.

i've been advised by my real estate attorney friend, by the management company's rep, and by his supervisor, that the letter that I wrote to the board (even though it's all accurate and can be corroborated by the police) will subject me to a LIBEL LAWSUIT.

i am shaking my head in stunned bewilderment. you can't document the TRUTH in a letter???

you can't imagine what goes on and there is NO RECOURSE???

Their rights trump the co-op's and my rights.

Memo to drug dealers: Have fun, party all night long. There's NOBODY who can stop you, apparently.

Police can't.

Co-op board can't.

Management company can't.

Have fun!

EVERYBODY is terrified of a lawsuit.

So they do NOTHING.

Meanwhile, the co-op board will continue having cantankerous meetings over TRIVIAL bullshit while ignorning the DRUG DEALING.

That is so screwed up!!!!

Maybe you should audio tape the noise, and see if you can somehow hide a video recorder. in the hallway to tape the comings and goings.

Aren't other neighbors complaining about this?!?!?

About the police.... is there some way you can get copies of any police reports on these people? It should be public record.

If I were you, I would STORM their stupid little co-op board meeting and demand that something be done. Everyone in that building is in danger because the board approved a drug dealing thug to live there. (I wonder what "proof of income" he had to produce to the board? I wonder if he showed tax returns?)

The a-hole management company is probably terrified of accusing someone of drug dealing if they can't prove it, but why can't they address the issue of this scumbag blasting music all night, having people coming and going, and all the other crap that goes on???

PB, audiotape it and play it at their co-op board meeting. Get a ghetto-blaster and play it FULL VOLUME so they'll get the idea of what's gonig on in that apartment on a regular basis.

I hear ya, Diane!

I will private message you with details.

i second the superloud bass speakers Idea. You should wait until their party is over and they are all trying to pass out from their drugs, and then turn your music on with your speakers against the wall full blast. Fight fire with fire.