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This section serves as a guide to singles and families
who are looking for housing through Housing Stability
Plus, Section 8, and/or through their own financial
resources.
Getting Started
Find a Real Estate Broker
Searching the Internet
Search in the Neighborhood
Interviewing with Landlords/Brokers
Addressing Bad Credit
Getting Started
Start your apartment search by figuring out what
neighborhoods and rent levels are realistic.
- The government suggests that a family’s
rent should equal between 30-40% of the household’s
income.
- You should consider neighborhoods where rent levels
match what is affordable to you and your family.
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Find a Real Estate Broker
The most traditional route to finding an apartment
is to use a real estate broker. Brokers act as middle-men
in connecting prospective tenants and landlords. For
their services, they usually charge about 15% of the
annual rent as their fee. If you decide to work with
a broker, keep the following in mind:
- Do not pay a broker any fees until you have signed
the lease for an apartment
- Choose another broker if your broker is asking
for a fee above 15% of annual rent
- Never pay any broker’s fees with cash (use
a check or pay with a money order to ensure that
there is a clear record of any payments you make)
You can find the names of brokers in print or online
classifieds, in the local phone book, or walking around
individual neighborhoods.
You may also find lists of brokers online, for example, Information for Families, Inc. provides a list of brokers on their website.
Some realtors and housing developers also maintain their own websites with listings of apartments and the programs accepted. Sites include www.programrentals.com, Barron Rentals and Lemle and Wolff.
If you have any concerns about your broker, you can
verify that he/she is a licensed broker by calling
New York State’s Division of Licensing Services
at 212-471-5747.
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Searching the Internet
In the last few years, a number of resources have
come online to help prospective tenants link to apartment
vacancies.
If you are unfamiliar with using the Internet, you
should visit your local library to see if they can
help get you onto the Internet and help set up an email
account.
As a rule, you should only use websites that provide
housing information for free. Some websites will ask
for a fee before providing information that might be
available for free another website.
Online resources include:
- CraigsList:
CraigsList is a message board that allows landlords
and brokers to post apartments and prospective tenants
to search for apartments without any charge. Keep
in mind that these are self-posted notices. If a
deal sounds too good to be true, it might be.
- Online
Newspaper Classifieds:
Free newspaper listings can be a good source of apartment
leads.
- NJ
Housing Resource Center and NYC’s
Affordable Housing Resource Center:
These government websites provide housing listings
and information.
- NYCHA maintains online listings of Section 8 apartments. To view NYCHA’s list click here.
Click
here for a complete list of online resources
for finding housing.
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Search in the Neighborhood
In addition to searching online, there are also many
options for searching for housing off of the Internet.
Here are a couple suggestions of resources you should
use in the neighborhood to which you are hoping to
move.
- Look in local and cultural newspapers for specific
neighborhood listings. The mayor’s NYC
Affordable Housing Resource Center offers
a list of these newspapers and other apartment hunting
tips.
- Find the local library and find out about other
local newspapers and resources for finding housing.
- Take a walk around the neighborhood and look for
realty offices and “for rent” signs.
- Identify local nonprofits and government representatives
that might know about housing resources in the neighborhood.
You can find information about local city council
members in a particular area by visiting the City
Council website.
In general, the more people you can speak to in the
neighborhood, the better your chances of finding an
apartment.
Please click
here
for specific housing resources listed by borough.
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Interviewing with Landlords/Brokers
Because of the tight housing market in New York City,
it is very important to make a good impression on a
landlord. Every meeting is an interview when you meet
with landlords or brokers. They are looking at you
to see if you will be the right tenant for their apartment.
- You should be prepared to answer questions about
yourself, your family and your apartment history.
- Some of the questions you will be asked might
be difficult to answer, but you have to come up with
an answer that will satisfy the landlord's concerns.
- In order to have the best chance of getting the
apartment that you want, prepare answers to possible
questions in advance and think about ways to answer
the questions that will cast you in the best light
as a prospective tenant.
For a list of possible questions and tips for a winning
interview, click
here.
NOTE: Although it is important that you present your
tenancy in the best possible light, you should never
do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. Keep
your own mental and physical health in mind as you
go through this process. There are many brokers and
landlords who are out there to help you find an apartment,
but there are others who may not act as ethically.
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Addressing Bad Credit
One particular issue that many domestic violence
survivors encounter is bad credit. If you do have a
bad credit history, the landlord will most likely find
this out when they do a credit search. You can do things
now to improve your credit.
- Face any credit history issues and take positive
steps to address bad credit
- Download your credit report from the federal government’s
three major credit-reporting agencies at AnnualCreditReport.com
- Improve your credit history by contacting a credit
counseling agency like Consumer
Credit Counseling or
working with an advocate who can recommend appropriate
steps
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