This post is long overdue! I finally had a chance to take some shots of the new apartment (okay it's been 4 months..) and am excited to share! This is my 4th apartment in the city, and my first with Chris (other than the few months in the studio) so it's a bit of an eclectic blend between both of our things. 

The Specs

Location: Upper East Side

Apt. Sq. Feet: Apx. 385 sq. feet

Outdoor Sq. Feet: Apx. 240 sq. feet

So living in NYC, they never tell you the square footage of apartments (unless they're new buildings) so it's always a bit of a mystery until I measure for my apartment tour posts. I have to say after moving in here, my guess was it came in around the 450 sq ft. range because it feels a lottt bigger than the studio, which was around 373 sq ft, but to our surprise it doesn't even break the 400 mark coming in at apx. 385 sq ft. Can I also take a moment to acknowledge I just said I thought 450 sq. ft. felt big?! 😂 You know you've lived in NYC too long when... haha. 

I must admit, while we certainly could have made the studio work for a bit (if my landlord didn't sell the building), having the bedroom is pretty nice. I'm very much a night owl and work pretty late a lot of nights, so it has been nice to have the separation in the space. Plus, we can have two TVs out now too so I'm not tied to watching sports 99.9% of my evenings anymore. 

Oh and btw, note on the pics -- my marquee sign has some blinking lights which is fun when you're in person, not so great for taking pics lol!

I really loved using washi tape to decorate the walls in the studio so I went at it again in the new place! This time around I went with a gold washi tape and went with a linear design to spice up those white walls a bit.

Chris had a few "must-haves" in the new apartment... Cue his Pearl Jam, the Iron Sheik, and Bob Dylan posters.. Sooo yeah those made it in. 😂

While most days we end up just eating on the couch, I wanted to create a little eating nook. I decided the perfect little spot to create one was on the wall in between the kitchen and living room so I bought a shelf from Ikea and wa-lah instant little eating bar!

Another thing that was a little tricky is we don't have many cabinets in the kitchen and we didn't have any drawers. So we bought a hutch and put up some open shelving to create some addition storage space and kind of a galley kitchen feel. I have a lotttt of glasses -- hey a girl needs cute glassware for girls nights right?! So this really helped maximize the space we have.

Okay, so total confession.. I've become a magnet hoarder. I've been picking up new ones whenever I got somewhere new and I've worked up quite the collection.

As you can see, our apartment is old -- Pre-War baby. So there's some older and kind of funky things. Yes, we have an electrical reader in our living room lol.. buttt that's what people on HGTV like to call 'character', right?!

As renters, obviously most are things we can't change but we still did some DIY projects to spruce the place up where we could! Like our bathroom! While it isn't anything to call home about, I did do a lot of work on it when we first moved in to get it up to my standards. Just call me handy Anna! I re-grouted and re-caulked the bathtub, which let's just say needed some love.

Our apartment is long and skinny so from north to south it's our bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom and then the backyard.

It's okay that our apartment is still under 400 sq ft. too because what reallyyyy MAKES this apartment and why I really really wanted it was because of its private backyard which comes in at a whopping 240 sq ft! Bringing us in at 385 sq ft inside and 240 sq ft outside for a nice 625 sq ft of living space when the weather is nice. Summer come back to me already!!

I put some serioussss sweat equity into the backyard to get it to look like this. Let's just say it was a bit of a fixer-upper but I'm sooo happy with how it turned out with some help from the Felicetta's! I'll share the before and afters on this one (along with the bathroom projects) on a future post to show some inexpensive projects you can take up as a renter.

All and all, we're really happy with the new place and the new location! Anddd being on the first floor instead of the 5th of a walk-up has totally changed my life #realtalk. Hope you've enjoyed checking out the new digs too!

For week 3 of my moving series with FlatRate Moving we’re talking all about apartment listings! Onto some of the fun stuff guys! 

When you decide to move to the city chances are you’re moving here more for the lifestyle than a huge luxury apartment. If you’re working with a modest budget that is anyways. When they say location is everything, location really is everything in the city. While the city is easy to navigate by public transportation, chances are you’re going to end up spending a lot of time in your neighborhood so it pays to take the time to find one that you like. 

Something that kind of caught me off guard when I first moved to the city is that apartment listings aren’t always what they seem. We’ve all seen apartment listings before that are too good to be true or places that don’t match the online photos, but I was really bummed that it happened a lot more here than I had experienced before. This is why I really suggest that you don’t rent a place sight unseen if possible. Unfortunately there are just too many scams and after seeing a lot of apartments that don’t match the online photos it’s just not worth it. It’s not to say it can’t be done because people do it – even I did – but I at least had a roommate and another friend who had both seen the apartment to make sure it was legit.

When you’re looking up apartments remember the saying “if it’s too good to be true it probably is”. You can definitely find some great places but if you see an ad for an awesome luxury apartment at a price way below market, then proceed with caution. Not all scam listings are as easy to spot just off first glance though. Watch out for any listing where the person you contact says they are out of town and can have someone else meet you and if anyone wants you to wire money for an apartment.. run! Unless you are meeting with someone to apply or sign a lease don’t ever wire or mail anyone money. If a landlord or broker really is out of town or lives out of the country they will either schedule when they are back or have someone managing their rentals for them so don’t buy into any ploys. Also be very careful with who you are handing your social security number to too. Apartment rentals do run credit checks but I wouldn’t suggest sending this info to anyone until you are applying for an apartment, which I suggest you do in person.

My best advice for looking at apartments is to schedule a viewing – which we’ll discuss next week. Between wide angle lenses or just photos that are not the real unit, you really can’t tell what a place is like until you’re in it. And to be completely honest I just don’t trust people after going through this process a handful of times.. It’s unfortunate to have to say that but it’s just about being smart about the process. It’s not always the broker’s fault either because sometimes landlords will give them different photos or photos of a “similar unit”. 

Nothing is more awful in my opinion during apartment hunting than a bait and switch listing, which I can tell you a thing or two about… Boy were there a lot of tears shed when looking for my first apartment on my own. I looked at so many apartments and only one, ONE apartment was actually the same unit as the photos – which was then the building I found my 2nd Avenue apartment in. I saw an apartment that was supposed to be a “spacious, renovated studio with great light” that ended up being tiny basement apartment with no windows and that you couldn’t even access from the main entrance. Or the other one that looked so adorable online on the Upper West Side that was in my price range and an “open-layout studio with a modern kitchen”. Instead it ended up being a 10x10 room with a tiny sleeping loft that you couldn’t have sat up in with kitchen appliances that weren’t a day newer than the year 1950. 

The reality was even though I felt like my expectations were realistic for the market, I learned really fast that I had to be a little pickier for what was going to work for me. My list of any apartment in x neighborhoods in this price range that are pet-friendly had to be refined to include no basement apartments, full sized fridge, oven, and good natural lighting. I learned that it’s just as important to tell your broker what your deal breakers are as what features you are looking for because it’s a little harder to fudge the fact that the apartment is in a basement if you call it out. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll totally escape false descriptions but it will help you ask better questions. 

The way apartments are described certainly isn’t everything, but here’s a look at my take on what some apartment adjectives really mean ;-) I mean I guess you have to give landlords and brokers a little creativity credit to rent some of these dumpy apartments to begin with though right?

Unique= Really funky layout! Like, walk in and think to yourself, who thought that was a good idea funky.

Cozy= This apartment could literally classify as a closet in other cities. “Cozy” means you can multi-task because your kitchen doubles as the bathroom area and living room.

Loft= In other cities, loft apartments can be really cool! You always hear about how awesome NYC lofts are too.. Well, if your budget is less than 4k a loft is a storage space turned bunk-bed contraption that they insist is big enough to sleep on. In reality it’s about 3 feet from the ceiling and has a little ladder with either a low or no railing. I’m already having nightmares of falling off.

Amazing Closets= There is one maybe two small closets, but you should be thankful that you have one.

Amazing Light= There actually is a window! It’s scary when apartments have to note that they have windows, which is technically illegal BTW. Come on people, I know it’s NYC, buttttt I’m pretty sure inmates in prison have windows so you bet there better be a window in an apartment at that price!

Chef’s Kitchen= There is a full-sized oven (NYC full-sized anyways) and a full-sized fridge. No counter space, but be happy you have more than a stovetop and not a mini fridge.

Rooftop Access= Access to the jimmy-rigged emergency exit door that isn’t exactly the rooftop deck you were hoping for. 

And then there’s that one thing you’re so used to seeing on rentals that you’ll rarely see in NYC. Square footage. Unless you’re looking at a larger luxury apartment you won’t see a number on the listings and if you do it’s usually not accurate. I can talk about this topic for a whole other blog post though, which ah ha, I did. If it interests you check this post out. 

Of course these are all in good fun, sometimes you really do get lucky! Hey, I somehow found a studio with 3 closets, a renovated kitchen with a dishwasher andddd a balcony for under 2k. Unicorns in the city do exist! It just takes a lot of monitoring the market and a little pixie dust. 

In all seriousness though, my motto with apartments is if you can find a place in a neighborhood you like, that is liveable and in your price range – you’ve won. With a little elbow grease, creative storage, and home decor you can make any place cute (especially with Pinterest for inspiration!) and functional so don’t get so caught up in the fine details. After all, you’re moving here to have delicious food, museums and events right at your fingertips – not to stay in your apartment all of the time! 

So get out there.. browse online for some listings that sound good and make some viewing appointments!

I am so excited to kick-off my new spring blog series, So You Want to Move to NYC. I feel so lucky to have connected with some of my readers from all over the country over the last few years and something I get asked about a lot is moving here. It turns out, there’s quite a lot of you out there who dream of living in the big apple! Well, I’m here to tell you, you can do it! While it can be a scary process at first, after successfully moving across the country from Oregon (and two more times within the city) I’ve done it and I’m here to help you feel confident that you can too. That’s why for the next 6 weeks I’ve teamed up with the awesome pros over at FlatRate Moving to walk you through the process and give you some pro tips and tricks along the way!

Today I’m going to start the series by talking to you all about research! NYC’s real estate market is a little different than other cities (that I’ve lived in at least) and let’s just say the process is a little more competitive and requires a whole lot more paperwork!

Get to know the Market: Time willing, if you’re planning a future move within 3+ months I suggest you take some time to do some online window shopping. Looking at listings when you’re not bound by a move-date makes it a little easier to be objective and understand what types of listings are going to be available. If you’re moving to NYC from anywhere in the country with the exceptions of San Francisco or LA, you’re probably going to be looking at downsizing. Used to living in a 1 bedroom? Here it might be a small studio or you might decide you want to live with a roommate. This is what I consider the “reality check” period. Take the time to get familiar with the kinds of apartments NYC offers on some of the popular real estate websites (see below for some of my favorite resources) so you feel more comfortable with your options.

Resources: What are the best resources to find listings? Here’s a look at some of my personal favorites. StreetEasy and Naked Apartments are definitely my top two resources because both are where I found my last two apartments. For the most part, the listings are generally pretty accurate too. StreetEasy is great because you can look up the rental/sales records for most buildings in the city, which is great when you’re walking by a cute building and want to see if there’s any current listings. I also love Naked Apartments because there is a direct broker option where you can communicate within the website as well as read past reviews by other users. They also have an option to compare apartment photos/listings by different brokers when it is listed by multiple agents. This can really help make sure you aren’t being bait and switched.

• http://streeteasy.com

• http://www.nakedapartments.com

• http://www.nybits.com

• http://www.renthop.com

• https://www.compass.com

Get to know the Neighborhoods: One of my favorite resources for getting to know different neighborhoods is Compass. They have a seriously great neighborhood guide that I definitely recommend. From the types of people who live there to the neighborhood borders and real estate market, they do a great job of laying out the details for each. 

Set Your Budget: Okay… the scary part. Budget. What can you really afford? Do you want the good or bad news..? We’ll start with the bad so we can end on a happy note. The bad news is you’re probably going to get a lot less for your budget here, but you probably already knew that anyways after browsing the market. By a general rule of thumb, landlords and management companies are going to require that you have an income of at least 40 times the monthly rent. Some require up to 50, but every apartment I’ve rented from has been 40. After doing a little math, that number can be a little scary at first, but some buildings are more lenient if you have great credit. 

The other scenario is having a guarantor (aka a cosigner). If you don’t make the minimum income requirements you may be able to have a guarantor apply and sign a lease with you. To have a guarantor, landlords usually want to see an income of 80 times the monthly rent. Does that situation still make you a little uneasy? Don’t worry you’re not out of luck! If you don’t meet the requirements or have a guarantor you may be able to pay an additional security deposit or additional rent upfront. You can also look into subleasing or looking outside of Manhattan where some of the restrictions aren’t as strict. 

Now that that’s out of the way… some good news! Rent might be expensive but for the most part (unless you’re in a new elevator building) your heat, hot water, garbage and sewer are all included in your monthly rent. That wasn’t the case when I moved from Portland so that was another hundred dollars or so I could then put towards my rent budget. Plus, you won’t need a car so you can save on a car payment, insurance, and buying gas! So there’s that bit of good news that should help your budget a little bit.

Timing: When should you actually start the apartment hunt? Coming from someone who is a total planner this part frustrates me a little bit because you really can’t start looking for apartments until you’re about 4-6 weeks out. Because there’s such a low inventory of apartments (especially in the summer) apartments aren’t usually available much further out than a month – most being available immediately. If your move-date is flexible then this won’t be such an issue, but falling in love with a place that is available a month before you’re looking to move can end up being costly if you have to pay double-rent.

Brokers: This is another part of the moving process that is a little different here. You may have used brokers in other large cities, but something that makes NYC a little different isyou are usually the one that gets slapped with paying a broker’s fee (which isn’t cheap). If you take the time to find a good broker, they really can make the process less stressful though, especially for someone from out of town who is going through the process for the first time. Here’s a bit of advice from FlatRate Moving, “Do not hire the first real estate broker you meet, you can always hire them later if they meet your criteria. It’s important to meet with several New York City brokers and find out how long they’ve been in the business, how they handle their communications (email, text, phone, etc.), and what they will charge for their work.” 

And that wraps up today’s topic! Now it’s your turn to start some of your own research! I admit it’s a lot to take in, but education is key! The more you know about the process the more at ease you’ll feel when you go through it. 

Another big thanks to FlatRate Moving for helping me present this series and for the great tips! Make sure to tune in every Tuesday to keep up with the series and check out my Move Here tab for some additional tips/resources I suggest.