Apartment hunting
I recently made a first attempt to rent an apartment in NYC. Even though I had lived in the city for four years before, I previously dealt exclusively with the university for housing (In retrospect, this was a luxury). The manner I approached the process truly showed my naivete to the housing market–I believed that there was a housing market slump. Several months ago, the NYTimes published an article regarding the amazing deals to be had. I was wrong.
I had been on the hospital housing waiting list for over a year now, and initially hoped to take the first available opening. After calling the housing office daily for two weeks, I was finally told that I had two days to accept an offer before the unit was offered to someone else. I frantically requested a personal day at the hospital, and made a trip up. To maximize my trip, I also found two real estate agents to show me additional apartments.
The hospital housing was atrocious. The building itself was nicely maintained, with an ornate, marble lobby. The apartment was a first floor unit directly next to (3 feet away) the loading bay of Gristedes, a local supermarket. It was still under “moderate” renovation when I viewed it, and the electrician was trying to patch up some nonworking electrical outlets. The bedroom also had an elevated 4′x4′x4′ cube in the corner, which apparently formed the ceiling of the outside walkway down to the garbage alley.
Some of the realtor listed apartments in the neighborhood were situated in a more ideal location, but still had major issues. I encountered one listed with a “renovated” bathroom. The bathroom wall tiles resembled those at my high school, a distasteful pale yellow. The tub, toilet bowl, and wall-mounted soap dish were an algae-green. The toilet seat was an off-white color. The shower wall had four knobs–I did not inquire their functions. Indeed, the bathroom was “renovated”. No missing tiles though!
Have I been watching too much HGTV? Is it too much to ask for matching bathroom fixtures? Hell, if I’m going to shell out $1200+ a month for a 280 sq. ft. studio, shouldn’t I get one without brown fungi oozing out of the water faucet? Fortunately, subsequent apartments I viewed were slightly improved, although they wielded a price difference of several hundred dollars.
Weary after several hours of hunting, I finally settled on a modest 1BR apartment on the 1st floor (geh!). The laundry room is located in another building across the street, but at least there is no visible hyphae growing in the bathroom walls. With the recent housing market slump in mind, I attempted to negotiate a better price. This neighborhood was not in a favorable part of Manhattan, and the building was close to hundred years old (with minimal updates). My realtor smiled politely at me, and told me that she would speak to the landlord.
Several hours later, my realtor informed me that another potential tenant for the apartment was interested in paying more than the asking price. So much for bargaining.
For now, my apartment hunting adventure continues…