Hey all,

Just wanted to share with you a blog I was mentioned in. The blogger was one of my satisfied clients:

"...After a minor freakout each night of the week, we met Reison Dominguez from A.C. Lawrence. Ladybird was skeptical since the apartment we met him at was covered in scaffolding. But that changed the second he showed her the open kitchen space and brand new floors. He took us from place to place, talked us through each one and prepped us for what we were going to see. He even had keys for each one. How novel.

Our first two places fell through: one was bad timing and the other because of a bidding war. Yes, a bidding war for rent in a crappy economy. Reison knew our tight timeline and helped us lock in a place 14 hours after our other ones fell through. It was a bit more than we wanted to pay but at that point we didn't care. It was by far the nicest building we saw and our rental car back to Boston was already idling. We had to blow town.

In the end, we are happy to have met Reison and already referred him to two friends in their search. It's a shame that for every Reison there are 10 Britney, Ehren, and Pieros in the New York real estate rental market..."

Check out the rest of the article here. It is pretty funny, and sadly his troubles are all too common.

NewYorkHateofMind

 Happy New Year everyone!

2008 was a tough one for many New Yorkers so lets hope 2009 brings better fortunes!

To make life a little easier we are beginning to put together a list of websites that offer useful services to NYC apartment hunters and New Yorkers generally. We will link them through from our resources page over the coming months. So if you are aware of any services that you think would be useful the other NYRentClub users please let us know by emailing info@nyrentclub.com.

Here are a few to get the ball rolling:

www.theboxbutler.com
The Box Butler is the white glove approach to storage in NYC. The Box Butler will come to your apartment with your choice of various sized portable closets, help you pack them and then take them away. If you change your mind and need something back in a hurry with 18 - 36 hours notice The Box Butler will bring the box back so you can retrieve whatever you need. A great service for NYC renters with space limitations.

www.123movers.com
NYRentClub has partnered up with 123movers to offer our users free, no obligation moving quotes from pre-screened licensed and insured moving companies. The NYC moving industry is similar to the NYC rental broker industry, in that there are bad apples ruining it for the honest folk who strive to provide great service. Just click here to go to our Moving Page to find honest, reputable moving companies and get free quotes.

www.seamlessweb.com
SeamlessWeb is the leading provider of online food ordering services for businesses and individuals. They have been linking New Yorkers to restaurants since 1999 making ordering food easy and reliable. I like Seamless Web because like NYRentClub, customers can make an informed purchasing decision by reading the user-generated content at both the restaurant and item-level. It is also a very easy-to-use interface.

www.directbuy.com
Get wholesale pricing on thousands of brand-name items for your home.

www.chelseaflower.net
Here is one for our building management readers. Chelsea Flower & Plant Design offers a full suite of services to NYC management companies including lobby arrangements, plant layout and maintenance as well as event design and holiday floral decorations.

This is a brief video blog on what I am seeing right now in the NYC residential real estate market.

These are crazy times, but for savvy renters there are bargains to be had if you know what to ask for. I'll tell you a bit about what landlords in NYC are offering as incentives to get renters into their NYC rental apartments.

Click "PLAY VIDEO" to watch.

In the past, when the sales market was slow (which it is), rentals experienced an uptick in activity. This is distinctly not the case now. Without exception, landlords are lowering rents or providing incentives to get their apartments filled. If your lease is coming up for renewal, you should look around. And if your still on the fence about buying, know that your dollar is going to go way farther now than it did a year ago.

The short term furnished rental market is booming right now, offering an extensive selection of apartments at amazing rates. When you look at the cost of a room in New York City ($450 - $855 a night for a king single) you can really appreciate the cost savings and your people can appreciate the added space (1300 sq ft vs. 250 sq ft). I've also found that hotels can get a bit annoying on longer stays. So whether someone is here for 2 weeks shooting a TV spot or bringing the whole family for a year while they work on a project, there are fantastic furnished lofts, hi rise luxury and brownstones available with landlords eager to rent.

Finding an apartment in New York City should not strip you of your faith in mankind.  I know the deal.  The bait and switch, the "oh that sold yesterday...." and the ever popular "dramatic duplex with garden!" that turns out to be a bombed out shell with overflowing garbage cans outside the window instead of trees.  New York is tough and we all (me included) hear the stories of the 2 bedroom on Park Avenue a friend of a friend got for a song and you are looking at lightless gulags that will swallow up your family’s savings.  How do you live in this town?  You work with an honest agent (could be me) who won't waste your precious time (or mine) who is as excited about a great apartment as you are and who can't lie to you. I have absolutely no poker face - ask my wife.  Having bought and sold and rented in New York myself for years, I know how frustrating it can be. I will work my hardest for you and my goal is the same as yours:  Find you a home in this incredibly exciting city that you can really be happy in.

Manhattan is a big place. Many of its neighborhoods are larger than whole cities in other parts of the country. For those new to the city, it can often seem a daunting cityscape. This quick guide will provide a quick reference point for you as start to figure out what part of the island you would like find a New York apartment in.

Chelsea: A relatively expensive area to live, there are large numbers of clubs that people from across the city flock to. There is also a strong GLBT community here.
This is the toughest part of town to find an apartment. Vacancy rates were just 0.53% during the third quarter of 2007.

East Village: Home to Alphabet City, once considered one of the rougher parts of the city, the East Village today is populated by more and more twenty-somethings, and boasts a solid nightlife filled with a good number of quintessentially New York bars. NYU has a strong presence in this part of the city. At 0.93%, vacancy rates are just slightly above Manhattan averages

Gramercy/Flatiron: Last year, Grammercy was home to the single largest real estate deal ever, in terms of dollar value. In a move that is sure to change the face of the area, the city sold a large public housing complex for many billions of dollars. Outside of the public housing, this is the third most expensive part of Manhattan to rent an apartment in.

Harlem: Long one of the most notorious urban areas in the country, Harlem today is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. The Clinton Foundation houses its offices here, and a number of urban renewal projects are taking place here. Rents remain relatively low. During the third quarter, it cost just $2,179 on average for a 3-bedroom apartment.

Upper West Side: Fans of Seinfeld will recognize much of this area. Scenes from the show almost always took place in this part of New York. Vacancy rates are 0.87%, which is just about the average for the island.

Upper East Side: One of the wealthiest parts of the city, it is considerably easier to find a single or flat here than it is a three bedroom apartment.

Soho/Tribeca: The single most expensive part of the city to rent an apartment in, the area boasts a number of warehouses converted into large flats. It is home to the famous Tribeca Film Festival. The vacancy rate is 0.93%; a single will cost you a hefty $3,555 on average.

Midtown: Just south of the park, midtown east and midtown west are home to some of the most famous parts of the city. Madison Square Garden is here, as is Penn Station.

West Village: Perhaps the most European feeling part of the city, the West Village is home to a large number of British style pubs. Apartments are expensive here: A single costs an average of $3,082. A 3-bedroom is an average of $6,438.

Article Source: [link to source]

Link to Article

NYC Renters are pretty good at decifering the origins of a NYC neighborhood name. We all know where SoHo, TriBeCa and NoLIta came from. Most of us are now familiar with SpaHa and SoHa and SoBro (South Bronx) is making a comeback.

So you won’t be surprised to hear a new NYC name has been developed. This time it is not for a NYC neighborhood, but for a NYC park - CaVaLa Park. Pretty obvious isn't it? No? The park is bounded by Canal, Varick and Laight Streets!

[link to source]