Finding NYC apartments can be a real hassle in such a high paced market and fast moving city, that’s where companies like ourselves, Array Property Group, come in handy. Companies like us are often referred to as no fee brokers or no fee real estate agencies, which means we work with clients without a fee payment, so you won't ever have to cover broker expenses with no fee brokers. How do no fee brokers get paid? The buildings you end up moving into will cover the expenses of the brokers!

You’re probably used to searching through hundreds of listings of nyc apartments only to find a few handful of good listings that may or may not end up being good enough for your preferences. We understand the lengthy moving process and apartment finder process and that’s why we’ve come up with amazing time-saving techniques to save you the trouble and hassle that goes with apartment searching in nyc!

In this article, we’ll walk through a couple of tips to keep in mind when apartment searching as well as some pointers we’d recommend you think about! We’re always on the look out to help people move seamlessly and effortlessly all in good timing and positivity.

Although we specialize in luxury rentals in nyc and luxury apartments, our tips are still applicable to the overall real estate market in nyc and we hope that you utilize them to the fullest!

THE APARTMENT SEARCH

Getting used to the differences in rent when compared to the rest of the United States and sometimes, arguably, the world, it is important to pre-plan your finances and to know how much you can afford when looking for apartments in nyc. As mentioned in several of other posts and pages you’re usually asked to make a minimum of 40 times the monthly rent of the apartment you’re looking to move into.

It is also often the case that there are additional fees associated with the move in process, such as amenity fees, pet fees and of course moving fees (whether you rent a u-haul or use an external company). With all of this in mind, it’s important to focus on whether or not you’re looking at the appropriate apartments within your price range. Don’t forget that we focus on no fee apartments in nyc so we’re happy to help you find any apartment in new york city within your price range, all without you having to worry about paying a broker fee!

We know that the apartment search in nyc can be tricky as you navigate through the many neighborhoods NYC has to offer as well as the differing price range that comes with changing neighborhoods. That’s why we’ve tried to simplify all those complications by putting average price per studio, 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom on our neighborhood guides page. A quick tip: Williamsburg, NoMad and Long Island City tend to be a great choice if you’re looking for an affordable approach to luxury rentals.

Need a quick reminder of how much you should spend on your rent? Check below for some quick pointers on the recommended monthly rent you should be paying based on how much you earn. (These are calculated by dividing your annual income by 30 – a conventional way to ensure you have plenty of left over moneys for other things).

If you make $90,000 a year you should be paying $3,000 monthly rent. For $125,000 a year, you should aim for $4,166 monthly rent. For $150,000 annual income your preferred monthly rent would be $5,000.

NO FEE APARTMENTS NYC

The next step in your apartment search and navigation around nyc is getting to know what neighborhoods are best for what you’re looking for. Lucky for you, we’ve made brief insights of each borough of new york city with added information regarding the best luxury buildings and the best locations.

Lower Manhattan:

Infamous for its nightlife and the abundance of restaurants and pop up events, the vibrance of lower manhattan is unrivaled. It’s important to keep in mind that with these great perks come the instantaneous change in price for studios, 1 bedrooms and 2 bedrooms (though you can still find a great deal on luxury apartments!). Below are some of our favorite buildings where you’ll find a perfect balance between monthly rent and luxury.

Our Top Picks: 19 Dutch Street, 2 Gold Street, Tribeca House, Liberty View.

Midtown Manhattan:

Home to the United Nations, the Chrysler Building and the beloved Empire State Building, it’s hard to find reasons to not want to live in Midtown Manhattan. Luckily for you there are many luxury rental apartments and buildings in the neighborhood that not only range from incredible amenities to unbeatable views of new york, but the price range is also adequate considering what most of these buildings offer!

Our Favorite Buildings: The American Copper Building, Gotham West, MiMa, Sky Building.

Uptown Manhattan:

The renown Uptown Neighborhoods of Manhattan, so often featured in films, is one of New York City’s true gems. Are you an art enthusiast? Then you’ve got countless museums at your disposal. Love shopping? You’ll lose count at how many stores uptown manhattan has to offer! Coffee connoisseur? You’ll be delighted to know there are some truly special cafe spots in uptown manhattan!

Buildings we think are great: The Aire Building, The Larstrand, The Pavilion, The Fairfax Building.

Long Island City:

The up and coming neighborhood of Long Island City has been dropping the jaws of many New Yorkers… Cheaper rent than Manhattan yet incredibly unique and luxury rentals available right at the waterfront with views of the city that are breathe taking? Yes please! Not to mention a seriously cool and hip scene with plenty of pop up restaurants and authentic cuisines!

Buildings you’ll love: 4610 Center Boulevard, Alta Lic (29-22 Northern Boulevard), The Aurora Building, 1 Queens Plaza South.

Brooklyn:

The wide range of neighborhoods in Brooklyn as well as the many hidden gems and luxury buildings make this neighborhood a very popular one. What’s not to like about constant events, great restaurants, popular nightlife spots and of course, plenty of concert halls!

Buildings you should definitely checkout: 60 Water Street, The Amberly, 420 Kent Avenue, The Greenpoint.

FINDING LUXURY RENTALS AND NO FEE APARTMENTS IN NYC

New York City is infamous for it’s complicated and stressful apartment searching process. There’s no use letting stress overtake your apartment search as you now have a wide variety of tools at your disposition to easily search for listings and apartments while you’re at home or on the go! We’ve put together a brief list of the most popular websites that people tend to use when looking for apartments below:

Streeteasy

RentHop

NakedApartments

These websites can be of great use if you’re looking to familiarize yourself with the rental market in new york city or just to get a feel of the available listings. We’d personally recommend using a no fee broker company so that you can delegate the workload of apartment finding to them and simplify your moving process. At our company, Array Property Group, we specialize in finding no fee apartments in nyc for you as well as getting you complimentary luxury car service to and from appointments so you save time and enjoy your house hunt!

APARTMENT SEARCH BASICS

Now that you’ve got the majority of the basics covered, you should ask yourself whether or not you want to work with a fee broker, a no fee broker or no broker at all. In our experience, working with a no fee broker is usually the easiest and fastest way to find a great apartment without the hassle of apartment searching.

If you do decide to work with a fee broker, make sure you know that you’ll be asked to pay a broker’s fee which is usually equal to a month’s rent or a month in a half. Additionally, working with no broker at all can make the entire apartment search stressful and time consuming, as such, we personally always recommend working with brokers as they have experience with the real estate market of new york as well as the many buildings the city has to offer!

The next question you should cover is whether or not you’d like to use a guarantor. Guarantors are often used if you cannot qualify for an apartment you’d like to move into. There are many ways to get a guarantor or use an online platform as a third party guarantor to guarantee your lease (which we’ve covered in our FAQ and Approval Process pages).

Once you’ve decided whether or not to use a guarantor, you should then begin to prepare yourself for the apartment viewings. The good news is, when you get to this stage, the apartment search process is usually almost over!

Make sure to bring a W-2 form, a letter of employment, recent pay stubs and guarantor information (if you’ve decided to use one). Be sure to have all of these handy in case you visit an apartment you absolutely love and want to put down a deposit on it. Additionally, if you choose to work with brokers, it’s good to know that you can communicate with them regarding negotiations. Any good broker working on your behalf should pro-actively negotiate your lease terms, cost of amenities, pet fees and other negotiations you’d like your broker to undertake.

We also usually advise our clients to familiarize themselves with the adjacent neighborhood before they make a final decision on whether or not they like the unit, apartment or building. At Array Property Group, we’ll personally walk through the neighborhood with you so that you can really get a feel of where you’ll potentially be living! We’ll help you figure out the closest subways and transportation as well as grocery stores, supermarkets and amenities nearby.

The very final step — Enjoy yourself! The apartment searching process in NYC is often stressful but it doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be fun. Make sure you enjoy your time discovering new buildings and apartments and prepare yourself for a great moving experience!