This SoHo apartment sacrifices a view for 700 square feet of space.
Warburg Realty
Space can be incredibly difficult to come by when hunting for an apartment in New York City.
Going by the general rule of spending no more than 30 percent of income on rent, that means living in less than 300 square feet of space in Manhattan or Brooklyn, compared to more than 1,000 square feet in Virginia Beach, Va., according to a recent study by RENTCafe.
But agents say that it’s possible to squeeze in some more space without doubling your budget — even in New York City.
“Generally there is a trade-off for everything especially when you have a budget and are looking for the most space,” says Alex Lavrenov of Warburg Realty.
Here’s how to do it:
Give up the view
“Sacrifice a view and shift the mindset to location (being) the new view,” says Christopher Totaro of Warburg Realty, who listed this no-view SoHo 700-square-foot one-bedroom for $4,495 per month. “You can find rentals out there that are in amazing locations, have a great layout and even have great light.
Wash dishes by hand
While a dishwasher can be a useful amenity, it can also add a hefty amount to rent, because of the price of the appliance and the water use.
Set sights lower — or higher
The difference between a first and second floor apartment can be as high as 15 percent, New York City-based appraiser Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel told BrickUnderground. This is also generally true for elevator buildings, but is the reverse in walk-ups.
Lose the bedroom
While renting a studio might not be ideal, open studios are generally less expensive than a similarly-sized one-bedroom. Bedrooms can easily be created with bookshelves or screens as a partition.
“It makes a huge difference in terms of pricing,” says Kathryn Landow of Warburg Realty. “I have searched quite a bit and I would say there is a minimum of $1,000 a month jump.”
Landow notes that this Greenwich Village one-bedroom with an actual wall, which is the same size and layout as Landow’s own studio and rented for around $4,500 versus the $3,000 per month that she pays.
Look further afield
This advice is fairly obvious, but perhaps the best option is to sacrifice shorter commutes for better rents — something New Yorkers have been doing for decades.
And that doesn’t necessarily mean moving to Virginia Beach. Thomas Neary of REAL New York lives in Stuyvesant Heights, which he says gives him a 30-minute commute to Manhattan. It’s possible to get a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment for $2,750, which is the price of a studio in a prime Manhattan neighborhood like SoHo.
“I use my morning commute to catch up on emails or listen to a new podcast,” Neary says. “Evening commutes are great for unwinding, listening to music, and, when necessary, meditating.”
In the end, everything is a tradeoff — even space.
“I always tell clients, at all price points, it’s almost impossible to get everything you want,” says Alex Mahgoub of The Martin Eiden Team at Compass. “However, in the end, it’s often about the complete package, or the apartment that has the best qualities combined overall. It’s not usually the largest, but has good light, good finishes, good transit options and is within budget.”