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Time Out NY April 24, 1996 |
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Gimme Shelter- All you need to know to survive the hell of finding a home in NYC by Lambeth Hochwald HOME ECONOMICS & No matter how long you've lived here, it's hard not to stay shocked by the rental prices. "Most people can't imagine paying $1200 a month for a small studio when they used to pay that much for a three-bedroom house," says Barry Feinsmith, owner of The Apartment Store, a firm that charges renters $145 in exchange for a customized list of available no-fee apartments. MARKET RESEARCH & "The market is the tightest it has been in 15 years," adds Feinsmith. "If you walk around the streets of Manhattan, you won't see much construction. This is a city of millions. If you put up 1,500 units, that's an inconsequential amount.". "If you tell kids making $27,000 a year that they have to pay $1,300 per month for rent," says Feinsmith, "the economics just aren't there." HE WHO HESISTATES IS LOST & Another hint: In this city, filling out an application is absolutely no guarantee that you'll get the apartment. You may never get a call after you submit an application, especially if your income is unimpressive. But keep calling. Remember, the broker works on commission and will want to close a deal as quickly as possible. "The broker has $1,000 riding on the application, " notes Steve Wasay, director of operations for The Apartment Store. Fee Fighters These services may help you avoid those dastardly brokers -- & the dreaded fee by James Ireland Baker Although realtors often seem just as inevitable-and just as loathsome-as death and taxes, it is possible to find an apartment without depositing as much as 15 percent of your yearly rent into a fee-jockey's pocket. But you'll have to do a lot of legwork. What follows is a list of alternative hunting resources. Many of the leads you'll receive from these sevices will prove fruitless, but that's true for most apartment-hunting leads in New York-including those provided by realtors. To maximize your chances of success, try as many approaches as possible. FAX/PHONE SERVICES - The following services all offer more or less the same deal: Pay a flat fee, fax or phone in your specs and receive daily updates (via fax or e-mail) on apartment availablity, along with contact numbers and addresses. The services compile their listings by calling a multitude of management companies, finding out which apartments have become available, and providing that information to subscribers. (With a few exceptions, the apartments listed are no-fee and are located in Manhattan.) The listings can sometimes seem off-base, but they are occasionally on the money, making this a helpful resources for people without the time or the inclination to contact management companies directly. |
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