Help me find a Manhattan apartment for 3-6 months

November 13, 2007 1:43 PM

Looking for resources / advice on finding a Manhattan apartment for 3-6 months (Feb-July 2008).

Furnished would be preferable, but I can deal with buying some throwaway furniture.

I'm open on price range, though if it gets up to "corporate temp housing" level expensive, that isn't too useful.

I live in Seattle and am expecting to take a trip in order to handle closing arrangements. I've considered just coming to NYC for a week (is that enough?) to do everything in person (looking at places, haggling, signing papers etc) -- thoughts on that approach? (in particular, how far in advance would be best to maximize my odds?).

Other thoughts:

1) Craigslist: most of the ads seem to be for comparatively short term sublets (days or weeks, rather than months). I'll probably post a "housing wanted" ad there at some point, but am really looking for other options.

2) Apartment brokers: given my requirements, will they useful / required?

3) Universities/colleges: do any in Manhattan make student housing available to non-students?

posted by kanuck to travel & transportation (5 comments total)

Just as a data point, I've done this several times, each time trying to find better options than Craigslist and each time ending up going via Craigslist, because it does seem to suck all the best places available (along with infinite amounts of crap) into its all-powerful orbit.

But Metro Home helped me out for a month once (perhaps this counts as corporate prices, though) and some people think paying the registration fee for Sublet.com is worthwhile.
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 1:49 PM on November 13, 2007

Additionally:

*I met lots and lots of apartment brokers. It never once proved useful. The system seems to have broken down in NYC, so that anyone offering a place via a broker is quite likely to be advertising it with numerous brokers and also privately on Craigslist too. Plus, the brokers all advertise on Craigslist. You can end up seeing the same place with three people, or risk paying a month's rent as a fee when you could have gone straight to the landlord for no fee. Hours of frustration later, I'm absolutely convinced that private sublets with trustworthy people (or commercial short-stay corporate places) are the way to go, though the student housing idea sounds intriguing too.

*For stays shorter than (I think) 6 months beware of the preposterous rule that requires short-stay tenants to pay some kind of hotel-style room tax, which whacks up the price. I think it's basically done by the city under pressure from the hotel industry. More informal sublets seem usually to avoid this - whether legally or illegally I'm not quite sure.
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 1:58 PM on November 13, 2007

Also, Maison International, maybe out of your price range but maybe not. Nice friendly people. Sorry for all my comments in this thread, but I went through endless tediousness with this and it is wonderful to have the opportunity to help someone else avoid it.
posted by game warden to the events rhino at 2:02 PM on November 13, 2007

Send me an e-mail (in profile). There's a chance I might have something available from Feb 1 through April 30.
posted by kimdog at 6:10 PM on November 13, 2007

seconding g.w.t.t.e.r's data point... CL-NYC worked very well for me when I posted a housing wanted ad. (had to repost a few times, but it worked...)
posted by NikitaNikita at 9:56 PM on November 13, 2007