Housing in NY Graduate Visa

caoimhirino27

Hi there,

Over in NY with some 4 friends on a graduate visa. Currently living in a sublet for a month but finding it really difficult to find somewhere for somebody to take us for any time longer as we don't have a credit history here, no guarantor from the US and can't put down a huge security deposit (willing to put down about 3 months security plus first and last). We are willing to share rooms (2 double rooms and a single), just wondering if anybody had this issue before and how they got around it? Surely we can't be the only ones? Would appreciate any advice or recommendations!

iusedtoknow

Space is at a premium. You will probably need to break up a bit and find individual rooms rather than hope to find a place together.

Just because you don't live in the same place, doesn't mean you can't all still hang out together.

podgie.

Get a character reference letter from your current employers. It will help you a small bit, as regards building your credit report, after a few weeks of you lodging your salary/wages into your bank, apply for a credit card from them, this will build your credit rating provided you pay it on time.

Paul_Hacket

I've lived here 20 years and sympathize. It's hard, specially with no credit history, but you'll get something if you persist. What neighborhoods are you looking in? Are you willing to sign a 12 month lease? If you're not you're going to have a hard time. What's your budget? Unless you're very lucky you won't get anything large enough for four people for less than $2,000 in the boroughs and about $2,500 in the city.

If you're willing to put up several months for a deposit that actually sets you apart from most people, especially at the budget end of the market. There's a lot of crap on craigslist but if you persist you can find stuff on there listed directly by landlords and building managers that you won't find via realtors. As well as being cheaper these guys are often more flexible about credit history. Make sure you explain that you don't have bad credit, you just don't have an established history because you've just moved here.

You might want to consider some lesser known neighborhoods in Queens - the main thing is to be close to a train and be somewhere with good amenities (shops, etc). I live in a neighborhood called Ridgewood in Queens, it's not very well known, isn't really on the hipsters radar yet despite being on the L train, and is very affordable for rentals. It's only 25 minutes to downtown on the train. If you're lucky you can get an entire floor of a home out here with a separate entrance for about $1,500 - this is a steal.

Another thing about the less hot neighborhoods in the boroughs is that the realtors there are often sympathetic. Walk around and look for storefront small-business type realtors, not big chain operations. Walk in and be pleasant - explain your situation and your budget. Stress that you're responsible people, studying at a good college, whatever. A lot of business is still done on feel over here, if they like you they'll often be able to get you in with a landlord they know based on their recommendation.

Other neighborhoods to consider are Kensington in Brooklyn, Astoria in Queens, Harlem (a surprisingly good place to live), Gowanus in Brooklyn and possibly parts of the Lower East Side and Chinatown. Landlords in these places tend to be more flexible about their requirements. Streeteasy.com is a great site for doing searches - it aggregates listing from all the major realtors plus a lot of the independents. One thing you have in your favor is that this is a quiet time of year, nobody wants to move in January/February so you'll have less competition right now.

If you can't do a 12 month lease you're going to have a really hard time though. Sometimes 6 month ones are available, however if that's your position you'd probably be better off splitting up into individual or groups of two and sub-letting a room from someone else who has a spare room to rent.