Finding a new apartment to rent in New York City can be daunting, especially during the summer. We recently uncovered that the summer and early fall are the most expensive time to rent. If you have just recently landed a job or an internship, are starting your college this fall, or need a new apartment, chances are that you will be hunting for an apartment among many other renters this season. The following tips will help you successfully sign a lease during the summer.
1. More Apartment Rental Choices During Summer
Most sign a new lease during the summer, and landlords use this time of year to increase their rents. Therefore, even if you sign a lease in the winter, your lease likely expires in the summer season.
While there may be more apartment rental choices during summer, you might also want to note that there are also many potential renters in the city competing with you for affordable apartments. It is imperative that you keep track of the apartments you’re already interested in and reach out to the landlord or broker to schedule a viewing. These inventories move fast, and some of the most popular apartments can get seized by other renters within a day!
2. Majority of the Leases are Year-Long Leases
Most of the listings advertised online by landlords and agents are for strictly a 12 months lease if the listings do not specify that those listings are sublets or for short-term rentals. If you cannot commit to a year-long lease and are only looking for a short-term rental, you might want to consider subletting the apartment later on (with the landlord’s consent) or simply look for sublet apartments from other renters.
Most of the time, you should be able to find apartments or rooms at affordable prices for several months or weeks. Here at RentHop, we offer a great selection of sublet apartments and rooms available for you to choose from. While sublets are a good alternative, do also be cautious about the terms of the sublease, such as whether you are required to pay for utilities and electricity. Most importantly, ensure that the landlord is aware of the sublet and has already agreed to it.
3. Get Ready to Pay for Security Deposit & Relevant Documents
Get ready to pay a security deposit that is equal to one month’s rent. However, the exact amount may vary according to your landlord or broker. Sometimes it might help to negotiate with your landlord or broker if the amount of the security deposit may be too high.
Besides that, some landlords and brokers may also require you to produce relevant documents such as your identification proof, bank statements, recent copies of your pay stubs, and references. The New York City rental process is more strict than most areas of the country. Gather your application documents before you start your apartment search. Once you see something you like, you’ll have everything ready to submit that day.
4. Review Your Credit Score
Speaking of the rental approving process, some landlords and brokers may indicate that they are looking for renters with a certain minimum credit score as an assurance that you are able to make monthly rental payments on time. If your credit score isn’t good enough, don’t worry. You may request to have a guarantor who’s your parent or relative.
5. Don’t Pay Before You Have Personally Seen the Apartment
While you may feel the need to urgently find and secure an apartment during this busy summer season, it is not a good idea to put down a security deposit payment before you have personally seen the apartment. This is to avoid paying for an apartment which appears very different from how the photos online looked, or even finding out that the apartment doesn’t exist. Touring in person is also favorable as it gives you a chance to check that everything works, including the water pressure.
6. Check the Posting Date of the Listing
The rental market moves quickly, especially when you’re trying to sign a lease during the summer. By the time you see a listing online and make it to a tour, someone else may already sign the lease. Therefore, you should ensure you’re viewing active listings online to save yourself some headache.
Check the original post date of the listing. If the listing is older than several days, someone may have rented it. RentHop not only takes into consideration the “listing freshness” in our HopScore, we also review our listings regularly and remove expired listings to prevent renters from inquiring about unavailable units.
7. Get a Broker
Working with a licensed real estate agent or broker makes the renting process easier. While most of the time a broker’s fee would require you to pay out of your pocket, there is also an abundance of no-fee listings! Working with an agent is a great way to save time. They’ll work to find listings you may not see online. This will potentially save you a lot of time. Tip: Check out RentHop’s no-fee listings.
Editor’s Note: We updated this article to enhance readability.
