Hello

My fiance and I will be relocating to NY in January from London. I have been investigating various sites like craigslist, dwelling quest, ardorny and city crybs for examples of accommodation to rent.

I have some questions that I'd appreciate a response from someone in the know on these things - thank you!

1) What is a "floor through" apartment and why do they seem cheaper?
2) Is the price that the apartment is advertised at the price that you will pay each month in rent? Do you have a bid system on rentals?
3) We currently reside in Richmond, London - a beautiful part of London with the Thames and Richmond Park close by for long walks and boutique shops and coffee bars. We'd like to keep a similar atmosphere of lifestyle in New York. Does Brooklyn sound like it might fit the bill? If so, which areas? Our budget is maximum $2,500 per month.
4) Is it difficult to get a place with a yard in Brooklyn?
5) What is the best way to go about finding a place to live?

Many thanks for any help that you can provide. Am open to suggestions!

Great questions. I am sure you will get some great answers too. I am not an expert so my response is average.

If it were me, I would sublet a place in the neighborhood that I THINK I want to live in. I would then be able to test the waters all the way around, and know I made a right or wrong decision on the neighborhood.

Best of luck! Envious from Denver

Hi Bronwen, can I be really cheeky and ask how you are able to move to NYC? Do you have a job to go to there or how did you go about getting a visa? Sorry, I don't want to seem intrusive but my husband and I would love to move to NY but it just seems so darn difficult and we don't know where to start! any info and advice would be gratefully received. Happy Holidays.

I have no idea what a floor through apartment is.

You might want to initially sublet a place for a little while until you have had the chance to look around and find out where you want to live...which neighborhood, etc. For $2500 a month you should be able to find a nice place.

Brooklyn has many great neighborhoods. "Yards" are a little hard to come by, but not out of the question. Some neighborhoods you might want to look into, where you might get some outdoor space, are Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens.

Leigh,

Landlords will do credit checks. They will want to know that you have the income ie a job that will be able to let you afford a $2500 apartment. There is also the issue of utilities such as electricity, gas, water, phone, etc that the tenant is responsible for and that can easily add another $200.

Also, landlords will ask for 1 and 1/2 months of security deposit. That is money to be paid up front.



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Hello,

I believe that a floorthrough is simply an apartment that has windows on two sides of the building, for example the living room facing south and bedroom facing north. It may be a coincidence that they seem cheaper to you.

There is no bid system on rents, but most of the apartments that you see advertised through an agent are not no-fee apartments, i.e. you would have to pay the agent's fee (one month's rent or more). Plus coming from London the credit check could be a problem for you as you most likely do not have a US social security number and credit history. Some landlords are very picky about it and require additional guarantees in this case. I agree with the suggestion to first sublet and check out the area. This will also give you a chance to build up your credit history. Craigslist is a good place to look. In any case it's not very realistic to rent something without physically being in New York.

My experience also is that apartments always look so much better in advertisements than in reality...

Good luck!

I would imagine that an official letter from your employer in NYC would be required.
Also bank statements from the UK.

Even when moving from one state to another in the US,
the landlord wanted to see the offer letter I had from my future employer.



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stay in NJ to visit NYC --> [www.broadwayfocus.com]

Thank you very much for all the advice. It is much appreciated.


In reply to Leigh - my fiance was offered a job by Atari and has aquired a visa (long process!!) through this employment. I agree, it is incredibly difficult to get into the States. My situation is such that I cannot work out there. There is no visa for me. I am allowed in the country for 3 months at a time. After we are married in England (in April 2006) I will be able to apply for a spousal visa which will allow me to stay in the country for as long as my fiance's visa is valid. However, it will not grant me status to work. It will just eliminate the need to leave the county every 3 months.

I believe that we will both be applying for social security numbers almost the same day as we arrive. I realise the high importance of this.

Thank you for the advice on subletting. I will investigate this. Also, thank you for the notes on all that we will need regarding fees, letters and bank statements. It is pretty similar to London. However, the fees are not as exorbitant! From my research I understand that the maximum rent that one can afford is the your salary divided by 40. Is that correct? As my fiance's salary will be $100k per annum I have worked to $2,500 maximum per month for rent. With the utilities included it will probably be more like a maximum of $2,300 according to ieee488.


On the note of salary - is $100k a good salary? I know that's a very niave question to ask, however I really am unsure as to the cost of things in NY. Will we both be able to live on that one salary? Taking into account we're average spenders on groceries, clothes and entertainment.

It's been great reading all your responses. Thank you again - this is super site.

Bronwen.

Two people can definitely live pretty well on $100K, even in nice parts of Brooklyn. My wife and I both live on considerably less. You do have to be "smart" about your spending, though. Take the subway rather than cabs, pay attention to where you eat and drink, etc. Shouldn't be a problem. Then again, I make a lot less than your husband, so maybe you won't have to pay as much attention as we do!

A sublet is definitely the way to go, my husband and I did it when coming from Australia a couple of years ago as did his cousin last year. It can take a while for social security numbers to come through. By the way I was on the non working spousal visa and was not eligible for a social security number which meant I could not have a credit card, a bank account etc, everything was in my husband's name. American Express would not even let me be a secondary on my husband's card even though I have a gold card in Australia. I managed to get a Macy's Visa Card, as his secondary, after he signed a trillion forms and promised God knows what.

The law not allowing spouses or children to work will be changing soon. There was an article in the Denver Business Journal which I can't find on line now.

I did find the site below for most frequently asked questions on immegration, including info on Fiances.

[faq.visapro.com]

I have two Brasilian friends who just got a Visa to work for 4 months, along with their ss. cards. They are working at one of the ski resorts as are many other Brasilians and Africans. The day the got their SS. number, there were 15 other Brasilians at that office, and another friend said the same was true at an office near them. I forgot what they called their visa, an H1? I can find out when they check in with "mama" next.

Working visas are dependant on where you come from, apparently it is harder for people from England than it is for Australians, for example. My husband and I are currently working on our visas for our next time in New York so that I can work, but they have recently increased the number of Australian visas issued by around 10,000 because they know we ultimately come back here, it is unusual for Aussies to stay forever because we always want to come home