Ask Questions

Broker fee??? Oh, thank you for telling me AFTER I said I would take the apartment. Now I can't take the apartment because I never factored in the broker fee, so I am NOT able to afford it. It is a trick they all play and they do it often. I now always ask because 15% is a big difference from 10% and 10% is a big difference from no fee. It is a huge difference when you didn't know there was a fee at all! Advice: ask as many questions as you can. If you are going to live there, it is important to know certain things. Here are questions I have learned to ask every single time and as the hunt continues I learn different places deserve different questions:

• what is the rent?
• how much are approximately the utilities and electric?
• what is the broker fee? (if you are dealing with a broker)
• how far is the apartment from the train when walking?
• how far is the commute to the city? (Penn Station)
• are there any pets/ were there any pets? (I ask because I am allergic)
• did the person before me smoke? (I don't smoke, it's gross)
• am I able to park? (street parking vs no parking vs driveway)
• bugs??
• Can I have guests? (if it is a shared apartment)
• is there laundry in the building? How far is laundry?
• is it furnished?

It is very inconvenient  to be working and searching for an apartment because I have a limited time frame of when I can actually go out to Queens and see these places. I can only go after work or weekends and of course this weekend and next weekend I work at my part time job. It is going to be a long month. Wanting/needing to find a place by Thanksgiving/December is tough and so stressful. If I am available to see an apartment, that doesn't guarantee anything if the tenants aren't available at the same time I am. Now that I am searching with the help of brokers, I feel more stressed because I hear how fast apartments are renting out compared to before when I was just browsing. On the other hand, working with brokers is easier because it is safer and I don't necessarily have to see these apartments with a friend.They provide me with more than one option of available apartments within my budget. When I view these apartments after work, I have to travel from work into Queens, then Queens back to the city back to New Jersey all by train. I am EXHAUSTED!!! On the positive side, I am learning about the trains and their locations and how they work. So it isn't hard anymore, it is just time consuming. I might not arrive back to my cousins house in New Jersey until 9 or 10pm and then fall asleep by 10 or 11 pm and have to wake up again by 6am the next morning. It is taking a toll on me now. I sit here wanting to just lay down and watch TV/movie or sleep! Luckily, my feet don't hurt because after yesterday's travels to Elmhurst and back, my feet were killing me!! I hope today my feet don't hurt after traveling back to Elmhurst for a different apartment I found.

The housing market literally shifts so rapidly that there are different listings for different places all the time. I just have to remember, don't get desperate. I have to find a place that is safe and comfortable. I will be living there for at least one year!

On one visit to an apartment, a broker introduced me to an apartment in Elmhurst. It was magnificent. The living room was so spacious and had two windows. The bedroom also had two windows and a nice closet. The bathroom was full and the kitchen had all the utilities necessary. I felt this apartment was it!! I found it!! The broker was discussing the requirements with me for rent and expenses as we were leaving the apartment and as he turned the door knob to the front door to leave, it wouldn't turn. We were locked inside the apartment. He sheepishly told me to stay where I was while he was going to climb the fire escape to reach the roof door and enter the building from there to open the door from the outside. It was a very awkward moment as I watched this grown man climb out of the window up the fire escape. Then, instead of coming from the front door, he came back from the window saying the rooftop door was locked. We had to call his wife for a phone number but while I was trying to retrieve this number, he took off the door handle and used his keys to turn the lock. It worked luckily and might I say it was a very entertaining moment for me.Unfortunately, that apartment's requirements were ridiculous and very strict on certain areas. I guess that apartment is not my future home. So the search continues.