Let’s face it, housing in NYC can be brutal.
If you’re just moving to NYC and looking to maximize your savings, a great place to start is by renting a room instead of an entire apartment.
This will save you thousands in rent, broker fees, and furniture costs.
However, the search for a great room can be quite tedious.
Luckily, these seven major considerations can help guide your search and narrow down your options toward finding an awesome room to rent!
Here’s what to consider during your search:
1. simple commute
If you’re renting a room in NYC, it is safe to assume you have a job that you’ll be commuting to in NYC.
Yes, I know the pandemic is not yet over and many are still working from home. However, many workplaces are starting to bring back on site work as the pandemic winds down and restrictions ease.
In NYC, the average one-way commute time is 33 minutes, with almost 18% of workers having commute times of over one hour (The Center Square, 2020).
So the first major checkpoint we want to have when looking for an awesome room to rent is a place with a simple commute.
Notice how I didn’t say the fastest commute.
I’m saying simple because if you know about getting around NYC, you know that there are many different ways to get to different places.
There are subways, buses, railroads, shuttles, cabs, and even city bikes.
Choose the route with the least amount of transfers
If you’re looking for the most affordable and convenient option, you’re most likely going with the subway or bus. And to make the commute not only affordable but also convenient, I recommend finding a route with the least amount of transfers.
If you have to transfer to another subway or bus, you are now relying on not one but at least two sources of transportation.
Personally, I switched from taking 2-3 different subways that got me to work quickly to taking just one bus.
Sure, I have a slightly longer walking time but this is the most seamless and stress-free commute for me. It’s also nice because I’m able to sit on the bus and not worry about catching another mode of transportation.
So, when looking for a room, consider the location and the commuting options around you. Give your commute a try during the hours you plan on traveling and see if it’s something you are fine doing on a daily basis.
2. Roommate Compatibility
Another major checkpoint you want to consider is how compatible you’ll be with your roommates.
Now, this one will always be a bit of a gamble. However, you can take steps to increase your confidence in your compatibility by meeting your roommates ahead of time and asking some questions to get to know them better.
For example, you might want to know:
How often do you have people over? Are you in a romantic relationship?
What are your expectations of cleanliness?
How will chores be divided?
Do you work from home?
What are your hobbies?
What do you like to do on the weekend?
How often do you cook?
These are simple questions that will help unveil your roommates’ personality, lifestyle (and noise) habits, and give you a sense of how compatible you will be.
Don’t shy away from getting to know your roommates before you move in. Asking the hard questions now will help ensure that everyone is on the same page for when you do move in.
3. Reliable Landlord
This one is naturally a bit of a gamble as well, but it needs to be mentioned.
You want to meet your landlord and see how reliable they seem.
You can get an initial feel for this when you interact with them prior to seeing the room. If they are responsive and attentive to your questions and concerns, that’s a good sign.
If they avoid your questions or give vague responses, they might not be so reliable. Ideally you want to find landlords who are honest and fair.
Find out who your source of contact is for any major issues, such as appliances breaking, the heat not working, and anything else that might come up when renting a room.
Inquire about your security deposit and if you can expect a full return (given no major damage done to the room).
Seek information about pest control (does someone come in to spray once a month?), garbage disposal, and rules/restrictions of the room.
Ask your future landlord about the average cost of utilities, how often (if at all) they come to the apartment, and any expectations of you as a tenant.
These questions will allow you to get to know your landlord better, familiarize yourself with the apartment, and hopefully get a sense of what your interactions with the landlord will be like.
4. Access to laundry and grocery shopping
Ideally, you will have laundry in the building (dare I even say in unit?) and grocery stores right next to your apartment.
However, that’s not always the case and you want to get a good idea of what these two regular (and heavy!) activities will look like before you commit to renting a room.
Ask the landlord about the closest laundromat (within 2 blocks is ideal) and grocery stores. Check out both of these locations to see if they have the food you like and whether the laundromat is open on the days/hours you prefer to do laundry.
Of course, there are always options with these two activities; you can order groceries to your door and arrange to have your laundry picked up and delivered.
However, if you’re looking for the most affordable option, you’ll want a laundromat and grocery store close by.
5. No fee rooms
When you rent a room, make sure there is no broker fee associated with it.
Personally, I don’t think rooms for rent should ever require a broker fee because you’re only renting one room. Additionally, chances are you did your own search and found the room without the help of a real estate agent.
So, try and avoid places with this fee and use the cash to purchase comfortable furniture instead.
Which brings me to:
6. Furnished or unfurnished?
You might have a bunch of furniture. You might not.
Either way you’ll want to take note of the room and see whether it comes furnished or not.
If it does- that could be great and save you a lot of hassle moving. It might also mean that you should take a look and have the landlord remove items you don’t want ahead of time.
If it doesn’t- that could also be great, especially if you already have a bunch of your own furniture you were planning on moving in anyway.
7. Beware of scammers
Full disclosure: you’ll mostly find these on Craigslist. Craigslist has many gems, but it also has just as many piles of dung.
Whenever you find a price that is just too good to be true, tread carefully.
Red Flag #1
When you reach out to the contact, they will give you a lot of information about the place VERY QUICKLY. They might even provide a pre-made video tour.
However, they will come up with many reasons as to why you cannot physically see the actual inside of the apartment before you choose to rent it.
Red Flag #2
Another red flag is when a listing has small, grainy photos of apartments. Particularly ones that just do not look like they’re in NYC.
One example that comes to mind is a room I found on Craigslist in Manhattan. A listing showed up that looked like the inside of a colonial house with lots of trees outside, which most definitely does not resemble the Battery Park location it was listed at.
If it seems too good to be true, it probably is and you should move away from it.
Final Thoughts
Finding a great room to rent in NYC may be challenging, but using these guidelines and considerations should help you narrow down your search.
First, figure out what’s most important to you (commute, location, amenities). Try to find a room that encompasses those factors.
Next, meet the landlord and roommates and ask them questions that will help determine compatibility with your lifestyle.
Additionally, I recommend requesting a video tour before you even take a look at the location. This helps you to rule out apartments before taking the long journey to go out and see them. It also allows you to screen the landlord, real estate agent, and/or roommates before you go meet them in person.
Finally, here are some websites to look for rooms to rent in NYC:
Facebook Marketplace – search “rooms for rent”
Craigslist NYC –> Housing à Rooms and Shares
I hope you enjoyed these seven considerations for renting out an awesome room in NYC.
Let me know if you enjoyed these tips and what additional topics you’d like me to cover in future articles!