Is $1350 a month reasonable for an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan?

June 2, 2008 11:50 AM

Is $1350/mo reasonable rent for an apartment on W 107th St. & Broadway (Upper West Side of Manhattan)? One bedroom, ground level, furnished, clean, utilities and cable included. Can you tell me anything about the W 107th & Broadway area? Nice? Stuff to do? Safe?

If I had to pay for utilities + cable in Manhattan, approx. how much would that be per month?

posted by oldlies to work & money (25 comments total)

Reasonable? Sounds like a steal to me. Almost a little too good to be true.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:56 AM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

It's cheap for that area.
posted by agent99 at 11:56 AM on June 2, 2008

when i lived in nyc a couple of years ago, cable ran about $75 for the basic package (no hbo or anything). utilities should be about the same as anywhere--i'd estimate $75 a month to account for variances in weather.

it's cheap for the area, especially with cable and utilties included. wow.

107 and broadway is fine. i used to live up there. it's a nice neighborhood, convenient to the subway (there are subway stops at 103rd st. and 110th st. and broakdway) and if memory serves, there are good services -- grocery stores, drugstores, etc.
posted by thinkingwoman at 12:01 PM on June 2, 2008

what's the square footage? are you sure it's not a studio?
posted by thinkingwoman at 12:02 PM on June 2, 2008

Yep, that's definitely a great deal. You'd be lucky to get a 1 bedroom for that price in Williamsburg, much less the Upper West Side.

As far as utilities go, I (single guy, studio apartment) generally pay $35 in electricity every month and $40 in gas every two months.
posted by nasreddin at 12:02 PM on June 2, 2008

Make sure there's a bathroom. When I was looking around in that area, I got suckered into coming and seeing a couple "1 bedrooms" in that price range. One had a shared bathroom for the entire floor of tenants; another had a large sink but no toilet or shower. When I questioned the landlord he suggested sponge baths and running downstairs to the bookstore to use their toilet.
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:04 PM on June 2, 2008 [5 favorites has favorites]

Make sure there's a bathroom. When I was looking around in that area, I got suckered into coming and seeing a couple "1 bedrooms" in that price range. One had a shared bathroom for the entire floor of tenants; another had a large sink but no toilet or shower. When I questioned the landlord he suggested sponge baths and running downstairs to the bookstore to use their toilet.

This. If you found the place on Craigslist, be especially careful--this could just be a thinly-veiled roommate arrangement. The fact that it's a furnished one bedroom makes me a bit suspicious, since full-fledged furnished apartments on the Upper West Side are not commonly rented out (short-term sublet, yes; full lease, not that I've seen).
posted by nasreddin at 12:11 PM on June 2, 2008

Lets just say it sounds wayyyyy tooo good to be true. If I were you I would make sure this is not a scam and would proceed to visit the place first before making any decissions.
posted by The1andonly at 12:13 PM on June 2, 2008

It's up by Columbia, so the neighborhood has all the things that students like. If you like those things too, you'll be fine. I lived a few blocks from there ten years ago, and at the time it was the safest residential neighborhood in Manhattan.

But I agree with what everyone else said -- that's a suspiciously good deal.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:15 PM on June 2, 2008

That sounds almost too good to be true. Cable and utilities included? That would run roughly 120 a month. So you're really only paying 1200 a month for a 1 bedroom on the upper west side. That is cheap for the area. In fact, that's almost too cheap.

Go and look at the place. If you're thinking of getting it sight unseen, you are going to get screwed and scammed. For comparison, Washington Heights and Inwood (where you can still get good deals if you are lucky) is starting to price 1 bedrooms in the 1400 range. Harlem is still the "cheapest" part of Manhattan but, sheesh, 1200 is too cheap for that area.
posted by Stynxno at 12:18 PM on June 2, 2008

Man, that's a great deal. Utilities and cable included? That could easily run 200 a month or more depending on the cable options.
posted by stormygrey at 12:38 PM on June 2, 2008

Another vote for too good to be true. Especially if utilities are included. The going rate for 1BR apartments in that area is closer to ~$2000 on the cheap end. Unless this is a short term sublet, and someone is just trying to recoup their rent over a couple of months, I would be very, very suspicous.

But as far as the neighborhood, it's pretty great. One of my favorite restaurants, Indian Cafe, is right there. Very safe, lots of students, lots of amenities, and close to Riverside and Central Parks. Easy access to public transport.

Oh, and that's not Harlem, it's not even really Morningside Heights. It's the top end of the Upper West Side.
posted by kimdog at 12:39 PM on June 2, 2008

Sounds too good to be true.
posted by Lucy2Times at 12:42 PM on June 2, 2008

If it's on the ground floor, it will be noisy and there will be bars on the window, and there might be more cockroaches/rats as well. That could explain the relatively low price.
posted by footnote at 12:52 PM on June 2, 2008

It is my wonderful neighborhood. If you don't take it, I know a dozen people who'd want it.
posted by thinkpiece at 12:56 PM on June 2, 2008

When I was looking around in that area, I got suckered into coming and seeing a couple "1 bedrooms" in that price range. One had a shared bathroom for the entire floor of tenants; another had a large sink but no toilet or shower. When I questioned the landlord he suggested sponge baths and running downstairs to the bookstore to use their toilet.

I also got sort of suckered (knew it was too good to be true, still wanted to see what was up) into seeing something like that. Looking up the address online apparently at least the place I saw rented to a lot of prostitutes as their work apartment, so that's another issue with that sort of place. I wouldn't live in that situation not so much because I would care about living with prostitutes but because it sounds like it would get annoying plus bring some sketchy guys around.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 1:11 PM on June 2, 2008

www.rentometer.com is a good resource for this kind of stuff.
posted by baphomet at 1:14 PM on June 2, 2008

There's a reason it's so cheap. If you decide to pursue it, make sure you find out why.
posted by boomchicka at 1:32 PM on June 2, 2008

It does kinda sound too good to be true. HOWEVER, one possibility is that it's a sublet of a rent stabilized place. In which case the primary lease holder could be paying considerably less than what you've been quoted. It would also explain the furnishing.
posted by NormieP at 2:09 PM on June 2, 2008

Another possibility is that a Columbia student or faculty member is subletting the place, as Columbia owns several apartment buildings in the area and subsidizes the rent for certain Columbia students and faculty. A sublease is probably against the rules, so you run the risk of getting kicked out at any time if that's the case.
posted by EatenByAGrue at 3:35 PM on June 2, 2008

I used to live within 2 blocks of where this place is, and I paid $1,100/month for half of a 2-bedroom apartment without an elevator.

It's either a miracle steal, or they're not telling you something.
posted by Mikey-San at 5:11 PM on June 2, 2008

If my experience is any guide:
If the offer is legit, and you’ve taken the time to come here and ask about it, someone else has already snapped it up. I only got my last two apartments (and this was Brooklyn, not even Manhattan) because I went to see them for the first time prepared to write a check, and did.

I hate looking for apartments in NYC on a modest budget. It is one of the most nerve wracking things I’ve done.
posted by SirNovember at 5:50 PM on June 2, 2008

A very good deal, and a decent neighborhood. Stuff to do - lots especially near Columbia on the Broadway side between 100 and 116, as a few have said. If it is not a Columbia sublet, as EatenByAGrue mentions, I would say it sounds too good to be true. Definitely ask a lot of questions. If you are subletting a CU apartment, make sure you are on the up-and-up, so you don't get kicked out or overcharged, etc. There's an application process and everything according to that page.

Cable, probably $70-80 depending on the package. Electricity & gas in the summer, depending on AC, apartment size, etc could run up to $100ish maybe.
posted by ml98tu at 7:26 PM on June 2, 2008

So, what happened?
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:22 AM on June 4, 2008

I got the apartment. It's rent controlled and it's amazing! The building is beautiful and the neighborhood is amazing.
posted by oldlies at 9:20 PM on June 23, 2008