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New York Real Estate

[(Anonymous)]

How unreasonable would a group of three young professionals renting a Manhattan apartment be, and what would the apartment be like?

Re: New York Real Estate

[(Anonymous)]

It would be totally normal for three young professionals to rent a 3-bedroom apt together.

As for what it would be like...how much money do they have? What neighborhood is it in?

It would prob have 1 bathroom, and 1 (small) kitchen, but beyond that...

Ways to signify they're tight on money: make it a walk-up (i.e. no elevator), mention vermin, no laundry in the building, bedrooms might as well be closets, people who aren't romantic partners are sharing a bedroom to save on rent (or they've quietly converted a common space into an unofficial bedroom)...

If they're richer: the building has a doorman, nicer views, wow a living room with real space, laundry in building (or in the apt itself, oh luxury), other amenities like a gym in the building, central AC, they have a legit dish washer (OH LUXURY)...

There are maps that show the avg rent per bedroom at each subway stop if you want to get a better sense of how much things cost, but of course that may not hold true for MCU!Manhattan.

Re: New York Real Estate

[(Anonymous)]

http://newyork.craigslist.org/search/mnh/aap

You're going to want to narrow your search by neighborhood, with Hell's Kitchen or Midtown West for an idea of the area Matt lives in canonically, though in reality that neighborhood is now massively gentrified and there's no way in hell he could afford to live there.

You can then narrow it down by number of bedrooms, though be aware that most people could not afford a "true" three bedroom. They'd get a two-bedroom and put up a fake wall, or even two walls if it was possible and turn it into a 4-bedroom. My brother once lived with 3 guys he met on Craigslist in a two-bedroom apartment in Murray Hill.

If I had Matt's apartment, I'd put blackout curtains in, loft it, and fit at least four people in there.

Re: New York Real Estate

[(Anonymous)]

What's the legality of people splitting up a space like that?

Re: New York Real Estate

[(Anonymous)]

It's the landlord's decision who can go on the lease and if they can sublet to additional people. Or they can do it and not tell the landlord, depending on how absentee he/she is and no one in the building reports them.

Re: New York Real Estate

[(Anonymous)]

I'll add that sometimes there's an unknown number of people between the person who owns the building and the person who actually lives in the apartment. Like, the building will be owned by a faceless management company, run by a mostly-faceless co-op board, and the person who leases the apartment itself will sublet to someone for a few years, and that person will sublet their spare room to help pay the bills, and between the two of them they'll open the living room up to paying guests. Sometimes there's really know way to know, though usually when you rent the apartment you ask the person you're renting from (once you figure out who that is) if you can sublet your room for a day or a week or a month or a year. And if they say "no" you just don't tell them you did it if you know they're not around.