So, you've found the apartment you want. Excellent! After all the exhaustive searching, dealing with different brokers, etc., you've found a great apartment! So what happens next?
The first step to renting this apartment is putting down an application. What's an application? An application is a form filled out by the potential tenant, making your personal financial information available to the management company and/or landlord so they can make a decision as to whether or not you are financially viable to rent their apartment. You will usually be asked for your yearly salary, what your current occupation is, and how your credit is. They may even ask to view your bank statements if you are not currently employed, or if you are a foreign national. An application can cost anywhere from 50 dollars to 300 dollars.
Once you have put down an application and it has been accepted by the management company and/or landlord, there will be a small waiting period, usually around a week, sometimes less, and the apartment you are interested in will be held until your application is approved or denied. If it is approved, you can decide whether or not to go through with the lease signing, or decide to look elsewhere. You are not bound to the rental until you sign your lease!
How much time do I have to decide whether or not to put down an application on the apartment I really liked? It depends. But to be truthful, not long at all. I cannot tell you how many times I have had a client who absolutely loved an apartment, but waited to long to act. In New York City, great apartments go fast. Low budget, high budget, whatever your budget may be, great apartments go fast! If you find something you really like, act now. Forget about the cost of the application, and chalk it up to the cost of doing business, because all that hard work that went into finding that apartment, could be wasted very soon. I have taken clients out to see apartments they really like, and are ready to put down an application on, and while we were viewing the apartment, discussing whether or not the apartment is good or not, an application was being put down by someone else in the rental office. You don't have weeks to decide, or days for that matter. You have hours, or even minutes. Now this does not mean you should run around town, wasting money, putting down applications on everything you see; however, if you do find that one apartment, that as soon as you walk into a big smile comes across your face, and it just feels "right," act on that feeling. Don't sleep on it, that apartment will probably be gone by tomorrow.
Last, but not least, do not jeopardize losing the apartment that you like so much because your L-shaped couch won't fit in the living room. If you like the apartment, put down an application, and sell the couch. You are severely handicapping yourself by making it a requirement that all of your current furniture fits in your new apartment. It is difficult enough trying to find something you like, so don't add more struggle to your search by adding a living room that has to be big enough to accommodate ridiculously over-sized furniture to your criteria.
As I have stated before, Manhattan is a market of compromise. This is not Springfield, (add state here). Whether you believe it or not, Manhattan is the center of the real estate Universe. Everybody in the world wants to live here. It is on the list of the top 3 cities to live in, in the world. The point I am trying to make is that, there is always someone that is going to be hungrier, more excited, and more willing to take that great apartment for a reasonable price, than you are. The question is, are you ready to act sooner than them? Real Estate professionals have a saying in this city: "Apartments always sell." What this phrase means is that clients may come and go, but no matter what, an available apartment in New York will always rent or sell. So the next time you decide to sleep on it, instead of putting down that application immediately, take a step back, and ask yourself if you really want this apartment, because while your sleeping, someone else is acting.
More to come... Next Chapter... Renting on a budget...
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