NYC's week-to-week room rentals-- what's the deal? are they real?
August 5, 2010 2:07 PM   Subscribe

Renting week-to-week rooms in NYC...are they for real? Are they safe to rent? what should I be aware of?

Hello!


I'm moving to NYC very soon, and I have been looking on craigslist for a place to live.

I'm a grad student with minimum budgets so I really would like to keep the cost down. There's been a lot of rooms for rent on a weekly basis- usually range from 100-125/week. That's where my budget is, and seems to be the lower end of all other rentals anyway (400-600/month), and I do like the idea that if I don't like the place I can move on a relatively short notice.

I've never encountered anything like this though-- does anyone know if they are for real? Why so many week-to-week? Anyone have real experiences? Are they illegal or do people get evicted often? What's the deal? Is there a catch I should know?

Thanks!
posted by atetrachordofthree to Home & Garden (17 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Week to week is pretty common here in Las Vegas, for people coming into town on business for a stretch of time. It winds up being cheaper than a hotel, and more home-like. I'd imagine a fair portion of the weekly rentals there are for similar circumstances.
posted by Rendus at 2:09 PM on August 5, 2010


In Philly I've had the sense that week-to-week rooms cost more than equivalent month-to-month rooms. This makes sense, because you're not "buying in bulk" as it were. So in the end you're not saving money if you plan to stay for a while.
posted by madcaptenor at 2:19 PM on August 5, 2010


Yes, they are for real, and they are typically on the nasty side. I lived in one on Broadway and W. 72nd for several weeks while in the process of getting an apartment. It was like an SRO+youth hostel combo. That meant that it was not at all unusual to share an elevator with, say, a couple of traveling German students and a woman who looked minutes away from overdosing. But, I survived. It helped that a friend was living with me, I suppose, and that it was clearly a short-term thing.
posted by onepot at 2:23 PM on August 5, 2010


My ex-roommies are renting out my old room in Brooklyn, week-by-week. It's very nice— basically a B&B. It's out of your price range, unfortunately, but reputable places do exist and nice people may run them.

I have no experience staying in these $100-125 places, but that cheap? In NYC? I don't know about that... sounds sketch.

(Damn you, expensive city...)
posted by functionequalsform at 2:26 PM on August 5, 2010


I think you'd be much better off finding a regular share further out in a borough. My ex-boyfriend rented a room for $500 a month for years on a month to month basis (so he could pretty much pack up and leave at any time) and I had a one-year share lease for $515. Both of these places were in Harlem within the last few years.

I don't think you need to look at the (very probably sketchy) weeklies to get the price range and flexibility you're looking for.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 2:59 PM on August 5, 2010


Well... it's gonna depend on what kind of living conditions you're used to. I've rented in this price range in both Brooklyn and Manhattan (West Harlem).

Typically you pay a finder's fee (equal to 1 week's rent) to an agency. They then give you lists of "roommates" (people renting out rooms) and you go out and meet with some of them and close the deal with one you like. The folks I've lived with have all been upright (primarily) spanish speaking folks.

I don't think my living conditions would have been much better or worse if I had rented my own place.

A couple things to watch out for. Sometimes the agencies may want to hold your security deposit. This is a scam, because once you pay the finder's fee you don't have any further dealing with them, so they can easily go out of business and abscond with everyone's money.

Second, I've not had problems with the people I rented from, but they've had problems with other people also renting from the people I'm renting from. To avoid this, you might prefer a place where you and the man/woman you're renting from are the only occupants.

While the rent is denominated in "weekly" amounts, the last 2 (of three) places I've lived, I've actually paid on a monthly basis. The latest (of three) places is also the only place where I've paid by check, rather than in cash. Depending on how paranoid/risk-averse you are, you might want reciepts.

Make sure you negotiate internet and air conditioning. Utilities are usually included, but not these things. I've usually paid an extra $20/month during the summer cooling season with it being up to me when I put the air conditioner in the window in the spring and took it out in the fall. I think I paid an extra 10 dollars a month for internet once.

You may or may not have kitchen priveliges (I've had it go both ways). Factor this into your cost of living.

While these arrangements are "week to week" you should discuss your expectations with your landlord/roomate. While they are OK with the instability, most people aren't looking for someone for just a couple of weeks. Also, remember that you do have some renter's rights despite the informality of the arrangement.

In a situation like this, you probably won't be friends with your roommates... which it looks like from your previous questions you value?

If I were not male, I'd be more careful than I've been in picking people to live with.
posted by Jahaza at 3:02 PM on August 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


I suspect that a lot of those rooms listed on CL are way uptown, in neighborhoods that are fairly isolated/inconvenient if not outright sketchy.

Other downsides: you're sharing a bathroom. You probably will not have access to a kitchen.
posted by mkultra at 3:03 PM on August 5, 2010


Err... they've all been upright and they've all been primarily Spanish speaking.
posted by Jahaza at 3:03 PM on August 5, 2010


Best answer: Jahaza has it - Spanish Harlem and the like is fine if you have some common sense, and these arrangements are popular for a lot of reasons. They're not necessarily popular with - sorry - midle class white kids coming to the city and floating on the top of the social class. They're under the radar of, oh, say, Gothamist.

However, if you don't have any street smarts, don't arrange this long distance. Get to the city, stay at the Y or a hostel, and GO SEE PLACES. Do you know anyone here? It would help if you had a local friend for perspective. But even if you don't, don't arrange stuff long distance. You can stay at the Y in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for $40 a night and they offer weekly/monthly while you get on your feet.

While there are many legit offers, there are also a gazillion scams. Harder to be scammed when you are actually *here*.

$400-600 a month is DIRT CHEAP. Not just low end, DIRT EFFING CHEAP. Suspiciously cheap. I'd reserve judgement until I sussed it out.
posted by micawber at 3:34 PM on August 5, 2010 [1 favorite]


To be fair, 400-600 for a roommate situation is not that cheap. I rented out two rooms to roommates in that price range in Brooklyn a year ago. But I did not offer them week to week, because that is probably sketchy. If you're not going anywhere, rent with roommates. It's not hard to find them, and you'll pay the same amount -- but your neighbors won't be sketchy strangers, they'll be people you've met.
posted by zvs at 4:21 PM on August 5, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks for all the advice so far, guys!

I had thought about renting one of these for a week or two while I physically go see other apartments. Like micawber said, it's easier once I get there.

I had expected that with my budget I'll have to live in one of the boroughs, probably Brooklyn or Queens or Jersey city, and will have to have roommates. I don't have a problem with that. I also don't particularly care if my roommates and i are friends or not, as long as we are civil and on the same page in terms of cleaning/loudness (i'm in the middle of the spectrum for both).


Combing Jahaza and micawber's comments, if I'm paying the agency fee and only staying a week while I find an apartment, it might actually be better to stay in a hostel for a couple of days?
posted by atetrachordofthree at 4:44 PM on August 5, 2010


Yeah, I'd plan to stay in a hostel or hotel for the first few nights even if you went with one of these week to week places. Trying to set it up from a distance is a recipe for being scammed.
posted by Jahaza at 5:36 PM on August 5, 2010


You could also try to sublet something for a few weeks via Craigslist. Though I'd still be hesitant to do that sight unseen unless it seemed exceptionally normal and OK and totally un-sketchy.

Signing up for something like Couchsurfing might not be a bad idea, either, though I'm not sure how it would go over to say "I'm moving to New York and will be looking for an apartment" - it could scare potential hosts a little bit. If you go that route, I'd heavily stress that you are basically looking for a place to lay your head for a couple days while you find a sublet or short term rental. And then really stick to that, of course.
posted by Sara C. at 5:43 PM on August 5, 2010


I was in your situation just last week! I'm a California native, but just moved to New York last week to start my job full-time.
I'd heard from a bunch of people that I should wait to decide on/sign a lease and figured the sublet situation would be similar, so I got in a few days early to find an August sublet (hopefully leading to a September signing soon). The ideal situation, of course, would be to find a friend who'd be willing to have you for a few days, but I assume that's not the case. Craigslist is possible, but as some people here say, it's a little sketchy.

Instead, I used airbnb.com, which is basically like couchsurfing except people post their rooms for you to browse and you pay a nightly fee for staying there. It's generally cheaper than Craigslist, and there's a system in place for reviews, which provides a little bit more security than just randomly picking. And I /think/ Airbnb also has some sort of protection in case something goes wrong. In any case, definitely worth checking out!
posted by thelatermonths at 7:39 PM on August 5, 2010


micawber's comment is spot-on.

Also, avoid the temptation to take a waitressing job in Brighton Beach.
posted by schmod at 8:22 PM on August 5, 2010 [2 favorites]


Renting week-to-week rooms in NYC...are they for real?
Even if real today, they're illegal after April 2011. New legislation bans New York City apartment rentals of less than 30 days.
posted by Dave 9 at 11:17 AM on August 6, 2010


Best answer: atetrachordofthree: i would still urge you to make an arrangement with a well-known place, like the Y or a hostel with a million reviews on Yelp, as your initial landing place, instead of trying to cut corners and stay in someone's room that they're renting out on Craigslist. There are literally hundreds of scams being pulled off there on a daily basis. Yes, there are people who are reputable but the last thing you want is to be taken advantage of for the difference of $50 or $100.

I think you will be able to find a nice roommate situation that you will find comfortable and affordable. Kensington or Sunset Park, I would highly recommend.


*Also, please, no illegal hostels. No Hotel Toshi, either. I just ran into six kids from France on the bus to the Y in my neighborhood who arrived at yet another illegal Hotel Toshi operation to find it shut down for no C of O who were trying to get into the Y in the middle of the summer. They had prepaid a deposit, too, so they were really SOL.
posted by micawber at 11:46 AM on August 6, 2010


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