Mistakes People Make When Searching For Apartments

A rental expert weighs in on the most common missteps renters take, and how to avoid them.

Not Available Lead
Image via Complex Original
Not Available Lead

Searching for an apartment is ring of hell left undocumented by Dante. Between actually securing a place you deem worthy of living in, and making it through a realtor's many hoops, to the many fees and the plethora of paperwork required to actually lock the place down, renting is a sort of mental gymnastics few are trained for.

Alicia Schwartz, co-founder of rental ratings start-up Rentenna.com, is experienced in the art of stress-free apartment searches. Her experience as a successful rental broker in New York City led to her to becoming the New York Times rental expert and creating HowToRentinNYC.com. Here, Alicia shares what her rental survival guide, and tells would-be-renters what not to do when searching for their dream apartment in any city. 

RELATED: The 25 Sketchiest Apartments on Craigslist
RELATED: The Particular Cool of Brooklyn Apartments in 1978 
RELATED: Why I'd Rather Live with Rats Than Look for a New Apartment in NYC 
RELATED: 20 Life Hacks That Will Make Moving Less Hellish

Not having a guarantor ready to go.

Not Available Interstitial

Landlords have tough criteria everywhere, though it is definitely the worst in New York City. The typical income requirement is 40x the monthly rent. Meaning, if you want to rent an apartment that is $2000, then you'll have to prove an income of $80,000. If you were to have a parent/family member cosign your lease, then they would have to make 80x the rent, or $160,000.

Most people and their families have a very difficult time meeting these standards. For the parents/family members who do meet the insane 80x income requirement, the majority feel violated with the amount of paperwork they have to submit on behalf of their child and get frustrated. In the last few years a new type of service has been popping up called a "rental cosigning" service. The one that is most trusted would be Insurent.com. They act as your "institutional" guarantor and will co-sign your lease for a fee. What is great about them is that they are already accepted by all the major landlords (NYC, Chicago, Boston, DC, and soon more) and their income requirement is only 27.5 x the rent. That same $2000 studio income requirement is now a more palatable $55,000. They also require far less paperwork if your parents would rather use them then be on the lease directly. 

Searching too early or late for an apartment.

Not Available Interstitial

Not using a broker effectively.

Not Available Interstitial

A week before you hit the pavement, take a day to properly research and set appointments with both no-fee apartments and 1-2 brokers from different brokerages. Take the first day to go through all the no-fee listings, make sure to make a list of all you have seen. On the second day, bring this list to the brokers so they don't take you to something you could and have already seen on your own. Because, once a broker shows you an apartment, even if you could have found the apartment on your own, your bound by the disclosure form you sign to pay them if you rent an apartment they've shown you. 

If a broker takes you to an apartment you could have seen on your own and you missed it in your research, that's just the way it goes sometimes. The broker doesn't get paid unless you sign a lease and they are taking their time to take you around and show you everything you requested. Hopefully you exhausted every no-fee lead before you meet with a broker, but it happens! Suck it up.

Not utilizing a broker in a tight market.

Not Available Interstitial

Not having their paperwork and monies ready to go.

Not Available Interstitial

Having unrealistic expectations.

Not Available Interstitial

Latest in Pop Culture