fall06

Hi all,

I need a good summer sublet in NYC and don't know where to begin. Any advice is welcome. I'm most concerned about not getting ripped off and wonder if it is safe to deal with VRBO or Craigslist, or if I should go with agency. I'm lookng for a vey spacious 1-bedroom or a 2-bedroom, and while I'd like to be in Manhattan, I can deal with just about any neighborhood.

Like I said, any advice is welcome!

NativeNewYorker

NYC is a big place....and even encompasses several boroughs. You will need to zero in, sort of, to a basic location. Do you know where your obligations (ie-school, job) will be. Forget about a 2 br, unless you're rich! In fact, 1 br's are pretty price-y. How old are you? Male or female? How do you feel about the subway? Walking? Nightlife? I would give different people different advice. Personally, I've had good experiences with Craigslist.

mclaurie

I think we need much more info from you to advise you properly. Do you know the city well (ie neighborhoods)? Do you know where you'd like to stay--or better still, where you DON'T want to stay? Are you savvy at reading between the lines of an ad? (ie do you know realtors speak) Do you have a decent budget (ie $3-4,000 per month)? Are you prepared to act the part of friend or relative if the sublet is illegal? If the answer to all of these is yes, then you can look anywhere and everywhere for listings. Once you find something of interest, speak to the renter on the phone, ask lots of questions and don't ever wire money to anyone to a bank account.

But most probably, your answer to one or more of those questions is no. I think it's very difficult to use Craigslist or private listings on vrbo if you're very far away and don't have someone who can check out apts. for you. There are too many potential scams.

Have a look at furnishedquarters.com and tell us more about what you need.

nytraveler

You need to give us a lot more info.

Summer sublets in NYC are more common among students/faculty - so you might check with the local universities (but I think you're very late for this).

also - give us an idea of what you'll be doing and where you need to be - since NYC is enormous. You don;t want an aparmtnet 1.5 hours from where you need to be.

Also - budget. In a middle class neighborhood in Manhattan a deent (not luxury) one bedroom is about $3,000 per month - if you can get a 2 month lease. A 2 bedroom would be much more.

And are you looking for furnished?

I think VRBO (probably more reliable) and Craig's list (probably less reliable) are your only choices. Realtors don;t deal with 2 month sublets.

Also - find you if your sublet is legal or not (most aren;t) and what your status would be if you're discovered. And who would handle any issues that arise (plumbing problem etc).

fall06

Hi again! Sorry I was so skimpy on info.

I've actually lived in NYC more than once in different years but I've never sublet. I'd love to avoid exorbitant broker fees. Also, it might actually be better for me to take something unfurnished if such things are available.

NativeNewYorker,

What were your good experiences with Craigslist?

Mclaurie,

I'm not willing to pose as somebody's relative or anything illegal. I'm looking for a legal sublet and do expect to pay between $3,000 and $4,000. Thanks for the link to furnished quarters.

Nytraveler,

Thanks for all the warnings. I'm close enough to NYC to check out apartments. I was hoping maybe a Fodorite had done a multimonth sublet at some point in their lives and could advise about agency vs. private transaction.

lizziea06

If you use common sense (don't wire money, if it sounds to good to be true, etc.), then craigslist if probably the best tool to find apartments in NYC. The most annoying thing that you will encounter is no-fee or by-owner listings that really aren't no fee. Brokers love pulling a bait and switch on you by doing that. YOu'll call, and miraculously the aparmtent will no longer be available, but they'll have something just like it but with a fee.

I would start by looking at the by-owner postings and the sublet postings. You can usually tell by the language usedi n the posting whether or not it truly is an owner or tenant or a broker. Feel free to post nay listings that you see on here. I love helping people parse out the broker BS!

fall06

Thanks very much lizzie! I'll go check them out now and come back and let you know how it goes.

What do you think is a reasonable broker's fee?

lizziea06

Ha! No broker fee is a reasonable broker fee in my mind. For an annual lease, the broker fee is typically 15% of the full year lease. In a down market, the fee drops slightly, but rental vacancy rates are as low as they've ever been, so little room to negotiate.

For a $3K a month apartment, the broker fee for a one year lease would be $5,400.

SInce you are subletting an apartment, I think that the fee would be substantially less, or non existent. I would look at hte sublet section of craigslist to get an idea of prices and availability. You are looking in the most popular season of the year, and you'll be competing for apartments against every other soon-to-be summer intern.

fall06

Thanks again lizzie. I'm not expecting this to be cheap or even easy! I hadn't thought about the summer interns, however. Hope I've got more money than their parents!

travelbuff

I don't think you will find any brokers that will do a 2 month sublease, not enough money in it for them. Most leases in the city have a clause that subleasing is illegal but lots of people do it anyway.

Just about anywhere in Manhattan would work for you, depending on what kind of things you are planning on seeing and doing, the subwaybus system in Manahattan can get just about anywhere you need to be.

You might look in upper Manhattan, since there are lots of students in this area.

I would suggest checking the NYTimes, The Village Voice and Craigslist for apartment listings.

Also make SURE you have air conditioning, lots of apartments in the city do NOT have any AC. Some apartments are not wired for it and since we had a couple of days at 105 degrees last summer, I'm guessing it will be really hot again this year.

If I hear of any apartment available I will post back.

lizziea06

Your budget is quite reasonable for a one bedroom in most neighborhoods in Manhattan. The bigger problem will be inventory.

mclaurie

I can't imagine where you'd find a non furnished sublet just for the summer. Here are some more cos. you can check

http://www.trpproperties.com
http://www.tempapts.com/index.html

Glenwood is a mgmt company that has apt. buildings
http://www.GlenwoodNYC.com

lizziea06

Are you a student? The reason I ask is because NYU allows college students to stay in the dorms over the summer. YOu have to prove that you are enrolled in an accredited university. I did this the summer before my senior year in college, and it was fantastic. I'd probably still be living there if they'd let me

Keep looking on craigslist.

fall06

Nope, not a student. I'm one half of a married couple. I have called one broker firm that specializes in sublets and they didn't seem fazed that I only wanted a place for 10 weeks or so. In fact, their website listed several apartments that were summer sublets. The fee they quoted me was half a month's rent -- but the rents are high!

I am specifying air conditioning as an essential. I also have 2 cats -- so that's going to limit my possibilities even more.

Thanks for the extra links and offers of help in this adventure.