Last Updated on 11/12/2024 by Rany Burstein
Moving to New York presents so many different obstacles that typically one does not encounter in other cities, it starts from finding a roommate (which we proudly help solve), finding an apartment from a reputable landlord, dealing with brokers, viewing apartments, passing the landlord’s strict requirements and in some cases coming up with a guarantor. And once you found a place you like, you need to shell out a large sum of money upfront. While Diggz solves the problem of finding a roommate, we’d like to introduce you to some apps and services that will make the rest of your move to New York a bit easier.
Don’t have an income that’s 40 times rent? No problem with The Guarantors
Most landlords require that your annual income is at least 40 times (sometimes it’s even 45x) the monthly rental price. So for example, if you make $60,000 per year, you could qualify for a room with a monthly rent of $1,500. Anything beyond that, you might be required to provide additional security deposit, and that’s assuming your credit score is stellar. But what if you don’t even have an income? For example, If you are a student, self-employed or even an unemployed trust fund baby you probably would have to provide a guarantor. Landlords’ requirements for guarantors are even higher, asking that the guarantor make 80x the monthly rent. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have parents or other family members with deep pockets, and it becomes extremely harder if you are coming from oversees. One service that can help you with this problem is called ‘The Guarantors’ which provides an insurance backup that acts as a guarantor would which many landlords in New York accept in lieu of an actual guarantor. They provide services to domestic students, international students, expats, and other employed individuals that don’t make the income or credit score requirements. Their process is fairly quick and they claim that they can qualify you in less than 12 hours. The cost of their services is typically 5–7% of the annual rent for U.S. residents and 7–10% for Non-U.S. residents. So if you thought renting in New York City was beyond your financial reach, try them out.
Short on cash, Plastiq is here to help
Moving into a new place is expensive and requires a large upfront expense, no matter how good of a deal you got on rent. Typically, you would be required to pay at a minimum first month’s rent and a security deposit. In addition, you might have to pay a broker’s fee, extra security deposit, moving costs, and maybe even purchase new furniture. If you are low on cash or want to conserve it, Plastiq can offer some help. Most landlords and brokers will require a certified check (basically cash), thus having a high limit credit card won’t help, unless you’re using a service like Plastiq offers. They allow you to pay any bill including rent, using your credit card. They do charge a 2.5% fee on these payments, but they often run promotions of 0% fees for your first month. You could take advantage of such promotions to pay off your initial move-in costs. If you manage your credit card effectively, continuing paying your rent with plastiq could earn you a lot of credit card points and cashback rewards that might be worth more to you than the 2.5% fee.
Avoid sketchy landlords and poorly maintained buildings with RentCity
As renters, landlords scrutinize whether you’ll be a quality tenant that will pay rent on time and not cause any issues. However, the reverse isn’t readily available. Want to know if the building you’re considering has a history of building violations, or how safe the neighborhood is, or what other tenants have experienced living there? With RentCity’s platform, you’ll be able to read apartment reviews from previous tenants and check out the RentCity Score for any residential address in NYC to help you make the right decision for your next apartment. RentCity rates buildings across the five boroughs and assigns a RentCity Score so you can know what it’s like to live in an apartment before you sign the lease. Avoid renter’s remorse with RentCity and know before you sign.
Note, that the services listed above are not affiliated with Diggz. For other services to help you move, we also recommend checking out our partners for Moving, Storage, temporary walls and renters insurance.