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How to Find a Cheap Apartment in New York City: 

How to Find a Cheap A partment in New York City By Richard Smiraldi © 2012 by Richard Smiraldi All Rights Reserved

A formidable task: 

A formidable task With the price of renting an apartment in New York City reaching all time astronomical heights, finding an affordable apartment or even a "cheap" apartment has become an almost formidable task!

Rents Are High: 

Rents Are High At the writing of this article, the average one bedroom apartment in Manhattan rents for about $2,500. per month. This may often include a broker's fee which can be as much as 15% of a full year’s rent, and the landlord may require 2 month's security down.

Salary Requirements: 

Salary Requirements Most broker's require that the renter earn 50 times the monthly rent. This would mean that the average renter should earn about $250,000. per year, or if it is a double income couple the income should be about 125k per person. I do not know many people that earn this kind of money .

Do you have to be a Model?: 

Do you h ave to be a Model? Y ou'd have to be a Model , successful working Actor , President of a company, or Vice President, have inherited an enormous trust fund, or maybe have a wonderfully generous relative.

Starving Artist: 

Starving Artist As a writer and an artist, I am not in one of those groups, and so, my gift to all of you who don't believe you should have to sacrifice eating in order to pay rent, I offer you the following methods for landing that cheap apartment in New York City.

What most don't realize... : 

What most don't realize... What most people don't realize when first thinking about the idea of moving to Manhattan (or any of the outer boroughs ) is that it can be as hard to land that new fantastic postage stamp pad as buying a house or nearly as costly as giving up your first born.

Everyone wants one: 

Everyone wants one New York Real Estate is tough and right now it seems everybody and their brother/sister is out to rent an apartment in New York City.

Golden Robert Moses : 

Golden Robert Moses Gone are those golden Robert Moses days (everyone was moving out to Long Island and the boroughs due to his new super highway system) when apartments were easily had and available.

1960’s Greenwich Village: 

1960’s Greenwich Village The village no longer caters to the poor artist. Loft Space Apartments (attractive for the Southern light) these days have rents climbing upwards to as much as 15 or 25 thousand dollars per month.

Never a greater need: 

Never a greater n eed There has never been a greater need for a method of finding an apartment for the average everyman (or woman) or just those who don't believe they should spend more than half of their household income on rent –so I created this guide. Richard Smiraldi, Author

Things You’ll Need:: 

Things You’ll Need: Location near the city Perseverance Charm A good pair of sneakers or walking shoes Competition is Fierce!

Okay, you’re ready!: 

Okay, you’re ready! Firstly, you must give up the idea that you can find an apartment the size of the fictional character, Monica Geller's on the sitcom "Friends" or Jerry Seinfeld's apartment on "Seinfeld." The fact of the matter is that very few people who aren't either, a. over the age of 80 and in a rent controlled apartment, or b. stinking rich, have apartments of that size or caliber.

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New York City Or Bust!

Less than $1,000./month: 

Less than $1,000./month The apartment you may find for less than $1,000 . a month (which is what I'd consider cheap), will be about 550 square feet. It could be more or less, but I think that if you settle for that number, you will be just find and have a more realistic goal in mind.

20% Determination: 

20% Determination And 80% perspiration! What this means is that in order to find a cheap apartment it will require a lot of "pounding the pavement" on your part. Army Ants are notorious for their ability to get things done against insurmountable odds (see Rubber Tree Plant)

Anything worth having…: 

Anything worth having… It takes work to get anything, but who was it that once said, "anything worth having is worth working for." So get ready to put on your running shoes because the task ahead, although not impossible, will require real work on your part.

No Place For Ego.: 

No Place For Ego. Leave your Pride at the door. Many of the things you will have to do will require you to swallow your pride. That having been said, let's progress, shall we?

Word Of Mouth: 

Word Of Mouth I'm sure you've heard of this before, but one of the best ways of finding out where a cheap apartment may be is by talking to everybody everywhere, and I mean everywhere.

Post Box Story: 

Post Box Story I once found an apartment in the very tony Soho area by talking to a man I was renting a post office box from (it was a service). The old man I spoke to explained to me how he owned the building and how he'd rent me the one bedroom apartment above the store for $800 . a month. He told me that the apartments around the corner were renting for $2,500 . but that I seemed like a nice kid. (Never over estimate the boy/girl next door image if you can pull it off).

Contacts Are Key!: 

Contacts Are Key! With word of mouth you need to make a lot of contacts. You start out by determining where you want to live. Once you know where you want to live you need to saturate that neighborhood like an April Shower.

How can this be done?: 

How can this be done? F irst , you need to be living near NYC so that you can visit the neighborhood. There are many cheap Hostels, and room rentals outside of Manhattan. There are also any number of YMCA's/YWCA's that rent. This would just be "temporary housing" and further motivate you on your search.

Make a list: 

Make a list Once you have determined the neighborhood, you need to make a list of public places where you can meet the people who live in those fabulous high rises or Brownstones. For word of mouth, chances are you will be looking at older buildings, possibly pre-war.

Other Means: 

Other Means I've another method if you're looking for modern, but listen - for a cheap apartment in New York, you may have to lower your expectations a little.

Need a doorman building?: 

Need a doorman building? Finding a doorman building apartment for less than $1,000. per month will be difficult. And if you want an elevator, you are further limiting yourself. The more flexible you can be about the space you inhabit, the better off you'll be.

The Right Address: 

The Right Address You probably can get the right address, you just might not have a humungous apartment. S ince most of your friends will probably be meeting you in the lobby of your building…

Not too shabby: 

Not too shabby They need never know that your apartment is just big enough to fit your futon in! The lobbies of these places are usually rather grandiose.

Go There: 

Go There Once you've made your list, go there. Now you're probably thinking, "List? What List?" Let me elaborate for you. By list I mean, Supermarkets, Synagogues, Churches, Outreach programs, etcetera.

Apartment Espionage: 

Apartment Espionage You need to get your apartment by means of "infiltration" like a Russian Spy from a James Bond movies. Let's just call it "Apartment Espionage."

Walk Around and Look Up!: 

Walk Around and Look Up! Walk around and look up. Very often you will see in the windows of any number of assorted buildings a sign "apartment for rent." These are usually put up by landlords and folks who generally don't want to pay to place an ad in the paper.

Doormen/Supers: 

Doormen/Supers Doormen/Supers. Yet another way to find a great apartment in NYC for very little.

Carmine Street Story: 

Carmine Street Story I once had a friend just out of college who was living on Carmine Street in the village. Once again this neighborhood is so expensive, you could live a year in Wichita on one month's rent there.

A Secret Sublet: 

A Secret Sublet I asked him how he got the apartment. He told me that his boss, an editor at a local publishing house, had sent him to see the super. When he went to the super he gave the guy $1,000.00 . The super then sublet an apartment to him -a nice studio with a loft space bedroom - for $500.00 a month.

Don’t be afraid to talk: 

Don’t be afraid to talk The trick here is to not be afraid to talk to the doorman. If possible invite the doorman for a coffee. Or maybe just say a nice "hello" to him everyday on the way to your volunteer work at the shelter/make a wish foundation/cancer society ...etc. You can't put a price on this kind of know how...well maybe you can and for you it translates into thousands of dollars in savings.

The 80/20 Rule: 

The 80/20 Rule The 80/20 rule. This is a very little known fact that any new luxury rental building that goes up in NYC/Manhattan has to provide 20% apartments to those of moderate or lower income. This applies to rentals only.

Write: 

Write The way to get in on this is fairly simple. When you see a new building going up, write down the name of the management company on the billboard/sign (they all have them). Write them a letter and ask them about the 80/20 program. They will send you an application.

Lottery: 

Lottery Generally it goes by income, for example, 25K - 50K for a family of one (increases with family size) and varies for apartment size. You fill out the application and then it is picked "by lottery." If you are chosen, you will be invited for an initial interview.

Restrictions: 

Restrictions There are restrictions...for example, if you are going alone, they will give you a 30 year lease, but only you can live in the apartment. You may have guests, but not for more than 30 days. And your income must meet with their restrictions at the time you sign the lease. After that time you can earn as much as you like.

Upper Eastside Story: 

Upper Eastside Story . I have a friend who lives on the upper east side. Her apartment rents for $4,000.00 per month. It is a full service luxury building with a pool on the roof and maids, doormen, and a sweeping drive. She only pays $472.00 per month! I'm not kidding.

Challenge with Lottery: 

Challenge with Lottery The problem is the lottery. I was chosen for an apartment at the Ruppert , but I was number 1,800. There were only 36 units. Eventually my name would've come up, but I'd have had to wait for everyone else to die or move out. You also may have to resubmit a letter every six months to keep your name on the list.

Trade Magazines: 

Trade Magazines Very often if you look in Magazines geared for actors/artists/musicians you will find sublets, or coffee houses where these folks meet.

Actor Friends: 

Actor Friends The nice thing about having actor friends is, sometimes they have a great apartment (more times than most) and than they get a part on a series in Los Angeles, or Hollywood...and then they have to scramble quickly to find someone to take over their apartment.

Someone they know: 

Someone they know Well, it's going to be someone they know, or they run an ad in one of these publications and they need someone fast. So very often they will rent the place to you for less than what they are paying merely for the convenience of having to fly out the next day. Of course you run the risk of losing the place if they lose the gig (whatever it is) but while you're there, -oh the shear heaven of it.

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I hope I've been helpful to those of you who are looking. These methods have helped me many times to land that ever elusive flat and with any luck at all it will help you as well !

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Happy Hunting! Like a mystery? Check out my latest: Seven Murders In Sussex