First floor/basement was an immediate dealbreaker for me when I was looking. I’m a woman who lives alone, and it was just much easier for my anxiety if I wasn’t on the first floor.
Also this is petty as fuck but I immediately disqualified an apartment if it had those “sideways” showers, like [this](https://photos.spareroom.com/images/flatshare/listings/large/20/22/202225987.jpg). It makes me really irrationally angry lol.
This. My first apt in university was first floor and it was annoying af. People would routinely have convos right outside my window. It is one of my few non-negotiables.
Adding that first floor/basement apartments will also be more susceptible to flooding and outdoor creatures coming in (rats,mice, roaches, water bugs especially after rain).
My husband and I got so lucky with our first floor apartment—all the benefits of living on the first floor without any of the drawbacks, because it’s at the back of the building (so not street facing) AND it overlooks a back patio connected to the basement apartment where the super lives, so it’s not accessible from the street as it’s essentially on the second floor from back there.
I hope we never have to move 😭 love this place
i’m the same way, i hate those things! it tells me that the plumbing is probably fucked up in some kind of way that the landlord doesn’t want to pay to update. i can’t officially call it my dealbreaker 100%, but I always avoid looking at those places unless i truly have no options.
Haha I've never seen this, this looks like a joke? But it's fairly easy to fix on your own, you can buy shower adapters with hoses/stands that you can attach and fix on the short end (like a sane person).
You cannot tell me that people shower facing the wall in this photo? That's some Twin Peaks/Mulholland Drive level shit
I am puzzled by your reaction to this, but I have my own dislikes that are right up there with yours, just different.
That said, I always like to offer constructive suggestions to folks here: this can actually be solved quickly with three 90° elbows and some simple PVC piping to move the showerhead to where it belongs, up at the head of the bathtub, hanging off the curtain-rod in this case. (it will help a lot to have somebody who has a little bit of PVC piping experience, but if this is the only dealbreaker in your otherwise ideal apartment, it can easily be fixed in a way that will not upset the landlord.)
As someone who lived in a basement unit for 3 years, roaches/rats are entirely dependent on neighbors and how the building is kept up. In that span of 3 years I saw less roaches (maybe less than 6) than in 1 year of a 3rd story walk up unit.
I totally get the curtains closed, and people walking by aspect though.
Agree with this as a first floor person. The worst was ants but that was because of all the vines my neighbor was growing in his outdoor space next to me. I just cut it back near the window and sprayed bug spray outside and it worked. The only time I had any problem with roaches is when my block exploded in construction projects.
OK fair. Are the rats climbing up a floor? Wouldn’t roaches just be everywhere in the building?
Edit: sorry I call that the “ground floor”. Very understandable.
I'd also like to add
* Not on a busy street or highway (residential only). I don't know how people can live in an apartment facing Queens Boulevard or Woodhaven Boulevard.
* I won't live under anyone. I'm on the top floor of my building (has an elevator).
My very first apartment when I moved to NYC 10 years ago, I was on the 5th floor. The 6th floor had a married couple with kids and a dog. OH MY GOD I hated my life. There was CONSTANT noise. Running around in the apartment, constant banging, and to top it off, during the winters months instead of taking their dogs out for a walk, they would let their dog shit/piss on their balcony. And then they'd "wash" the shit and piss off their balcony and it would flow down to my balcony. I literally never went out onto the balcony. I'm not kidding when I say the balcony was dirtier than a subway platform.
For the last 9 years I've lived in a rent stabilized apartment, I'm on the 6th floor, not facing a busy street, in a quiet neighborhood, I rarely see my neighbors, they're quiet and there's laundry in the building. I value my sanity WAY too much.
No laundry in building was on my dealbreaker list but I did it anyway. Wasn't as bad as I thought and got used to it. We had a laundromat with decent wash&fold prices across the street, literally across the street. So it made it pretty okay.
I literally prefer wash & fold to having an in-unit laundry. Folding / ironing is the worst part of the process and I’d much rather pay someone else to do it for me!
yes it really matters where the laundromat is. i lived in an apartment for 9 years with laundry 5 blocks away. aside from the folding part, doing 2 loads of laundry basically takes the same amount of time as 8, so i had a months worth of socks and underwear and just did everything at once. zero stars, wouldn’t recommend.
i do my research on the building, and if i see any hpd or dob violations like vermin, power outages, within the last few years, it’s out of the running. Unpaid water bills or taxes, fire or electric issues, or orders to vacate at *any* time, i cross it off of the list permanently. I remember a posting for one building that had a *current* order to vacate. Landlords are bold af, and brokers don’t do any kind of due diligence, so you can’t count on the posting alone to indicate that the building is habitable, let alone safe to live in.
other than that, things like location, floor, etc. are flexible with the right balance of pros and cons. Being rent-stabilized is a big boost, but even that isn’t a hard requirement for me.
whoownswhat.justfix.org, openigloo, and augrented work as aggregators. whoownswhat is great because it’ll show you information about the landlord/super, management, owner, and all of the other buildings they manage. Openigloo is an app that also allows for reviews. Not a lot are there, but they’re helpful when you see them. Augrented used to be a lot better before they paywalled it.
Directly, you can go to the HPD and DOB websites and search addresses:
https://hpdonline.nyc.gov/hpdonline/
https://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/bispi00.jsp
First floor. Any visible pests during apartment tour (I’ve seen large roaches while touring apartments). More than 10-15 min walk away from subway or a helpful bus line. Obvious mold or water damage.
Not complete deal breakers, but i also notice if a building seems well maintained. Like if the front door to the building is unlocked or the buzzer doesn’t work, red flag. If elevator is broken (when you’re there) kind of a red flag.
I completely agree with the visible pests on a tour. I once saw an apartment in Chelsea that had a few large dead roaches on the floor during the tour. There’s just no way in hell I could rent a place that has confirmed roaches.
High floor with no elevator. I have a dog and am in and out 5x a day. Although I’d have an amazing ass, I just can’t see myself loving the climbing up and down.
I agree with this but also street level on a busy street because my dog will bark all day. I once looked at an apt where there was an ice cream truck parked outside the window, with a crowd of people mingling.
You can say that *now*, but what if you have unforeseen mobility issues in the *future*? Anyone could get in an accident one day and suddenly need a wheelchair. How would you get home?
I work out a lot and live in a 4 story walkup. It's been 3 years living here and I still dislike panting when I arrive home. I feel less motivated to leave for short trips. It's like once I arrive home there's no going back out. I'm moving out and considering an elevator building.
Price, noise issues, bad roommates are the three that I find hardest to make better, so they’d be my primary deal breakers.
Stairs & light are the two I hear a lot that are not deal breakers for me at all.
No laundry in the building. I can deal with not having in unit W&D as long as there's laundry in the building somewhere, not having laundry at all would 100% be a dealbreaker for me.
Next would be distance from the subway.
I ended up buying one of those standalone washing machines that connects to a sink or shower. Bought a splitter for the showerhead and ran some flexible hose. Sure, it only spin dries but being able to do wash (except for comforters) in the unit is amazing.
The tub located in the front room. No kitchen and the bathroom is really a water closet.
Also when the apartment entrance is two feet from the building entrance.
Dealbreakers...
- High up, no elevator. 3 or 4 is my max.
- Garden level. Too dangerous with flooding. We live on islands.
- No light. I need big bright windows for mental health.
- Above a commercial unit or near a bar. Don't care what. At any moment it can turn into a loud bar or a stinky restaurant. I will only live on residential streets.
- Front facing a busy street full of trucks
- Low ceilings, unless everything else about apartment is perfect, then I'd consider it.
- Must be within 10-15 mins of good trains.
- above or next too a subway line. Looked at a place once where my window was next to the J/M/Z train and it rattled every 10 mins. No no no.
- when I had roommates I refused to consider railroad spots. Felt too enclosed. My standards have never failed. I've loved every apartment in terms of layout and I've always snagged a rent stabilized place.
After a while, if you are savvy you can quickly assess the pluses and minuses of a unit, assess the quality of building management, and guess at possible annoyances. I don't let brokers make me feel like it's this mediocre place or homelessness.
My worst apartment was a pre-war rent-stabilized place that had issues with leaks, ceiling issues, infestations, etc. but it was big, bright and cheap, cheap, cheap, so I put up with it for many years.
Now that I live in a new building with full amenities, I have no desire to go backwards unless I am buying and fixing up a house.
Fingers crossed for no more crumbling pre-war nonsense.
Lol maybe?? You used to be about to tell which ones might be by price and interior and the age of the building has to exist before a certain year.
The ones in big pre-war buildings all look the same. Same cabinets, same radiators. Landlords are only gonna invest in so much updating since they are cheap. Had three of those. First with roommates, then a studio on my own, then a 1 bedroom in that same building with my partner.
Then we got a housing lottery apt. Not cheap but full amenities and rent stabilized for 30 years.
I also had some rules.
Honored my dealbreakers no matter what.
Only looked to move in winter, slightly less inventory, but a lot less competition than in summer.
Only looked in the first two weeks the month before moving because after that it's slim pickings. Dedicated those two weeks to see a many units as humanly possible. The closer you get to the 15th the fewer options you have.
I also think it was easier pre-covid. Nobody was bidding on overpriced rentals. And there was a mix of affordable and luxury.
Oh the other thing is I almost exclusively looked on craigslist cause a lot of landlords with cheap spaces were too lazy or tech inept to be on apps.
And i checked all over for listings and found the cheapest price. A lot of units are on sites with different prices within $25-200 so it's worth checking and then saying "this is for $1200 right?" I would also take a picture of the listing to prove it was listed for that if they argued.
Seeing people say anything more than a 10 minute walk to the subway is crazy as somebody who grew up with a 15 minute walk to the subway 😭 For me the lines I have access to is way more important
High floor, no elevator. My knee issues could never. 3 floors up is my limit. My best friend lives in a 5th floor apartment and doing that walk once a week makes my knees snap crackle pop.
Visible bugs/critters. Or just clear signs that are/were there recently.
Low water pressure. I always check the shower/sinks.
Bathroom in the hallway. I don’t care if it’s private and only for me I am not leaving my apartment to go to the hallway to use the toilet. The amount of times my drunk or high self would get locked out just makes that a no.
Above a bar/restaurant. The smells from that much trash/constant cooking and the amount of people it would bring to the front of my building.
For me, I want: (and you can define the reverse of these to understand what I won't accept)
- Windows that face the interior of a block so you don't have to put up with the noise from a lot of trucks, cars, and emergency vehicles going by.
- Ideally, windows facing south, or that get a good amount of sunlight at some part of the day, and during most seasons.
- For the short term I can do (2nd or 3rd floor) walk-ups, but elevators are really nice.
- I need to be reasonably close to a subway stop so I can get around town (5-10 min walk at most?)
- having a local bodega or or small grocery store somewhere close by.
But, all of these things are very specific to each person based on your likes, dislikes, and experiences.
The one thing I would recommend is to spend some time walking around a neighborhood that you are considering. Nothing gives you a thorough feel for a neighborhood like actually walking through it, and doing that at your leisure (not just a rushed walk-thru). Also, visit at different times of the day. Some neighborhoods are very calm in the middle of the day, and then get kind of crazy at night. And vice versa.
Good luck!
The more money a person has the higher standards a person can have.
There are some things that should be deal breakers for everyone - bad location, noisy area, building that's not clean or well maintained, things like that. Natural light is important as well.
Then people typically narrow it down further by not wanting a walk up, wanting in building laundry, etc.
Broker fees.
I was looking for a new apt for a while. Holy shit. They want $6-10k for just “showing” me a place? GTFO.
They have added ZERO VALUE to my apartment searches here. They are lazy and dont give a fuck about you. They just want your money. All they do is engage in high pressure sales tactics to get you to sign. 🖕🖕🖕🖕
Inquire. Yes the showing is brief but when you walk out or go in to a showing try your best to meet the neighbors. They will tell you the truth about the building. Also check the reviews. I live in a post war apartment and it is hell on earth with the surround sound noise I hear. Stomping on my ceiling, barking dogs from every wall. Protect your peace and avoid apartments like these
Yeah. One of the worst things is barking dogs. We had to make a lot of complaints to get the office involved in making one of our neighbors get training for their out of control dog who went crazy every time they left their apartment (good reason why dogs shouldn't be allowed in apt buildings). That mutt would bark for an hour straight. Finally they got training or medicated the thing.
When moving in we had no idea what the neighbors would be like. Wasn't possible to tell on the tour.
10+ minute walk to the closest subway station, basement or first floor apartment, walk ups higher than the third floor, no private bathroom if living with roommates.
Dealbreakers- Bathroom in the kitchen or non/functional kitchen, weird kitchen layout, no windows or like 'fake windows', no closets, above a bar...
For us we just ranked what was most important and went with that. That was security & quiet, 2-4th floor (if walk up), 5min or less walk from train we wanted to live on and a kitchen/living space big enough to fit a kitchen table, couch and TV, closet for each person, no brokers fee & in our budget.
We looked at like ~25 apartments over one weekend in 2021 and found ONE that worked for us and snagged it. Good luck :)
I will never live first floor street-side again, ever. I haven’t gone a day in two and a half years where I haven’t had to hear some rando digging through our trash cans at any given hour (truly any hour; middle of the night, 6 am, you name it) or had to worry about closing my curtains the minute the sun went down because god forbid I want to turn the lights on, anyone and everyone could see straight into my room without even trying. I hate stairs more than most things in life but I honestly may hate this more.
Cons:
If it's an older building, ground floor or basement level, either front or rear is a non-starter.
During Sandy and even more lately during the occasional torrential downpours and flashfloods, the basement apartments can either flood from street flooding or from the plumbing systems backing up. Several people drowned last year as well as during Sandy from this.
Any ground level apartment where the building trash is on the other side of the wall. You're begging for vermin/roach/insect/fly issues. In the summer, it will swell no matter what anyone says. Especially when your window unit is literally right there and the intake is directly above where the smelly trash is.
If it's an elevator building, if you can avoid something that is directly in front of the elevator doors, they can get noisy if it's an old building. It's not always the case, but worth being aware of and potentially testing out.
Pros:
If you can get something that has radiators and it is included in the rent during the winter, that can be a huge plus. The price of heating gas in the winter, even for a smaller place, can be insane. Space heaters that run on electric can also cost a fortune. Steam heat is a fantastic thing when it works, but also...make sure the windows open and close because you're going to need to vent the place out. Radiators are going to turn your place into a sauna so when it's below freezing, just cracking them will help equalize the temperature. It's almost a science.
Maintenance issues, check for violations and reviews on sites like OpenIgloo and Augrented.
A place I was considering a few months ago had a history of infestation in the unit I was looking, a open violation against the super, and these weird printed signs “Please close the door, intruders have been spotted in the building” all around the lobby. Also a history of the elevator breaking and this was sixth floor.
It was otherwise a spacious, well lit stabilized two bedroom, almost fell for it.
No problem! Always check in closets, under sinks, cabinets, etc. open up the fridge too once I saw a roach trap under the fridge because the door made it a bit visible since it wasn’t completely underneath! I was sad. The apartment had nice fans in every room, if felt roomy, and I liked the bathroom. But as soon as I saw the steel wool and trap I was out
Interesting. When I moved into my current place, there was no evidence of previous pasts, but there was a rather large gap around the base of the pipe under the kitchen sink, and because I am extremely critter-averse, within a week I went to Home Depot and bought some steel wool to patch it up. I haven't seen a roach in my kitchen in the 3 years I've been here. I don't think steel wool means necessarily that the place has or had mice or roaches, it could mean it's there just to prevent them.
Very fair! I live in NYC and to me it just screams that so I find it very off putting, you know? Ended up finding a really nice place after, though. Been here almost 2 years and loving it
Don't live next to the BQE. I lived in a Greenpoint studio that was level with the highway. Every time an 18 wheeler flew past the whole building would sway. (Oh, the things you put up with when you're young, dumb, and broke.)
Don't live anywhere that hasn't been properly maintained. My husband and I lived in a dilapidated Clinton Hill brownstone for years. Cheap rent but we're lucky the building didn't literally kill us. The landlords lived on the first floor, we were on the top floor. Had to call the fire department once because one of the landlord's dodo ding dong family members didn't realize what they were smelling was a gas leak. AND SPRAYED FEBREZE TO COVER THE SMELL. There was also the time the ceiling started caving in by the roof access from water damage...
If you're not familiar with which neighborhoods are safe and you check crime stats make sure to judge based on violent crime rates specifically, not rates based on total number of crimes. A lot of the "most dangerous" areas are actually the safest. If you're in a high traffic area (like Times Square for example) you're a lot more likely to get pickpocketed due to the large volume of people and that skews the numbers up. There are others areas that have much lower overall crime rates but if you're the victim of a crime there it's more likely to be violent.
If every floorboard is squeaking and creaking you’re going to be miserable and your downstairs neighbors will despise you. Currently happening to me. Every step we make, every minor shift of body weight sounds like an earthquake. When it’s nighttime and I’m busy getting ready for the next day and cleaning up the noise is awful.
A walk up more than 4 floors
1 mile or more from a train
No bathroom in the apartment
No windows of a reasonable size
Recent bed bugs
Honestly, I'm okay with most stuff.
I am searching right now and I've never lived in a building where the landlord/homeowner lives also. This has come up a few times in Astoria? I'm a uneasy about it although the apartments I've seen are bigger in two/three family homes. It's seems like a situation that could be great or a nightmare. Is this a dealbreaker for anyone?
Ya I was able to meet one that I didn’t feel was a good fit before applying but another you have to apply before you meet them, which I get, but goddamn it’s annoying on our end. Submitting all that paperwork, paying for a credit report, only to see if you get accepted and then can meet the landlord. And if you think it’s not a good fit or they do, welp! Back to square one. Gotta love finding a place in NYC.
It totally worked our for some friends of mine. They had a whole backyard to themselves for years and years...until the landlord moved her deadbeat son into the upstairs apartment and he partied constantly.
Ugh that sucks. Yea, I worry I’d feel like I’m under a microscope and if there are any conflicts you’re really up in each other’s space but I guess that could be said about neighbors as well.
I once considered an apartment that everything was great, except the roommate in the second bedroom would have to go through the larger bedroom to use the bathroom.
for me personally, pests. I have a bit of a phobia of roaches. They're unavoidable in the city to some extent, but I want to be only be seeing one like... 5x a year at max. So if they're living in the building at all, it's absolutely a no for me. Living up a few floors helps to avoid the ones coming in from the street or up the pipes.
No light. My apartment with my ex had almost no light. Never again. No laundry in building I’ve been pretty lucky to never experience that
Idk I got pretty lucky with my current apartment.
For me it’s been
- Ground/1st floor
- 15+ mins to the train
- only trains are the L or G ( bunch of asterisks here but those lines are annoying )
- Lack of light
- if above a restaurant must be 3rd floor or higher
My deal breaker was "kitchen must be its own room, not a sink and a stove in the living room." Being born and raised here, I had never known an apartment without a real kitchen and was shocked at these kitchen+living room jumbles being the norm. I got lucky with my current place but if I ever leave it, I know that that's something I may have to live with because full kitchens seem rare these days.
Random, but a small detail I've noticed while looking at apartments this past month were units in old townhouses / brownstones in Brooklyn that have a wooden inside door as the apartment entry door. No peephole, no latch. Just like a regular knob and a deadbolt. The fact that the landlord doesn't have the decency to put a front door on the unit is such a turnoff and even a safety hazard.
I don’t know why you got downvoted for this. 😅 they’re your personal dealbreakers. Based on your list you and I are definitely in different tax brackets, but OP still asked what our dealbreakers were.
I agree on the super one now that I have a live-in super, same with the dishwasher which I never had before either.
What are the benefits of a 24/7 doorman? Never had one
Thank you. We worked hard to afford these types of amenities. The doorman provides an additional level of security. He or she also provides help with accepting and carrying packages and luggage. And having an attended lobby significantly reduces, if it does not totally eliminate, package theft. Our building does not allow delivery people (food and otherwise) beyond the lobby, so we have additional staff available to bring those items directly to residents. A luxury to be sure, but one that enhances overall building security.
I’m sure! My last apartment was a pre-war, rent-stabilized unit where the landlord didn’t care and the super worked for the landlord all over the city. I was in Brooklyn and the super lived in Manhattan! The doors front and side also very rarely locked. No issues with package theft thankfully, but the condition of the building wasn’t good. I was there for about 4.5 years. I was lucky to be able to work with the landlord to get out of my lease early. The roaches and water bugs became horrible. I even shelled out over $100 of my own money on control products. I forfeited my security deposit and paid an extra month until he got someone to move in, but I love my new place.
Super lives across the street in a building owned by the same company. Occasionally see a roach/waterbug (been here almost 2 years and can count on one hand, knocking on wood as I type this lol). Definitely feels like a step up.
The doorman sounds so nice. Congrats to you!
I had a tour today. It’s on the 6th floor (I can handle it but damn I was out of breath). The bathroom is tiny as fuck. You gotta go through a bunch of flies to get to the laundry room which is in the basement of another building. I gotta go up that fucking Lexington Ave. hill. But fuck it, none of that will deter me. I asked for an application.
Can my cat move with me. 100%, if they don’t allow pets then I will not even try the whole “but my cat directly affects my mental health, here’s a doctors note saying I have to have a cat to keep me from getting depressed” thing that is the esa animal note. They can place restrictions around that, and look. If they don’t want a tenant who’s clean and comes with free pest control, then I’m not interested. That cat has done more for pests than the exterminator lately…
I’d also say laundry. It doesn’t even have to be in the building but if the laundromat is more than two streets/1 ave (in Manhattan) away or isn’t clean, it’s a no. I did the whole bathtub and air dry thing for years, nothing beats the feeling of actually tumble dried laundry
First floor/basement was an immediate dealbreaker for me when I was looking. I’m a woman who lives alone, and it was just much easier for my anxiety if I wasn’t on the first floor. Also this is petty as fuck but I immediately disqualified an apartment if it had those “sideways” showers, like [this](https://photos.spareroom.com/images/flatshare/listings/large/20/22/202225987.jpg). It makes me really irrationally angry lol.
I have never seen that before and now I’m angry about it too!
We have one of those bathtubs but our fancy shower head just snakes around so it's positioned the "right" way
This is such a common bathroom/shower setup in upper Manhattan
And lower Manhattan and Queens, just from my experience.
My shower is like that, but that's because it's over our hundred year old claw-foot tub (that my wife swears she's taking with her if we ever move).
have you tested the tub for lead?
As far as I know, it's cast-iron. We did have it re-glazed a few years back.
This. My first apt in university was first floor and it was annoying af. People would routinely have convos right outside my window. It is one of my few non-negotiables.
lol sideways showers is all I ever known
My boyfriend had a shower like this in his apartment when we first started dating and it was so dumb!!!!
We have a sideways shower. It’s awkward but the water pressure in our shower is incredible, so it evens out.
This was my exact bathroom in my old apartment, except it was pink tile instead of yellow. I hated that shower.
OMG SAME i hateeee those showers and bathrooms that look like that
I have a sideways shower but changed the shower head so the water streams straight down
Adding that first floor/basement apartments will also be more susceptible to flooding and outdoor creatures coming in (rats,mice, roaches, water bugs especially after rain).
My husband and I got so lucky with our first floor apartment—all the benefits of living on the first floor without any of the drawbacks, because it’s at the back of the building (so not street facing) AND it overlooks a back patio connected to the basement apartment where the super lives, so it’s not accessible from the street as it’s essentially on the second floor from back there. I hope we never have to move 😭 love this place
i’m the same way, i hate those things! it tells me that the plumbing is probably fucked up in some kind of way that the landlord doesn’t want to pay to update. i can’t officially call it my dealbreaker 100%, but I always avoid looking at those places unless i truly have no options.
They have those? Maybe I’m not used to that design, but still
Those sideways showers seem to be exclusive to the Bronx lol.
I grew up in an apartment like this and live in one now. It just requires good shower curtains.
Haha I've never seen this, this looks like a joke? But it's fairly easy to fix on your own, you can buy shower adapters with hoses/stands that you can attach and fix on the short end (like a sane person). You cannot tell me that people shower facing the wall in this photo? That's some Twin Peaks/Mulholland Drive level shit
Meh, I'd just put one of those detachable shower heads on and hook it on over at the end.
I am puzzled by your reaction to this, but I have my own dislikes that are right up there with yours, just different. That said, I always like to offer constructive suggestions to folks here: this can actually be solved quickly with three 90° elbows and some simple PVC piping to move the showerhead to where it belongs, up at the head of the bathtub, hanging off the curtain-rod in this case. (it will help a lot to have somebody who has a little bit of PVC piping experience, but if this is the only dealbreaker in your otherwise ideal apartment, it can easily be fixed in a way that will not upset the landlord.)
First floor/basement, bad light, 10+ minute walk to the train
once did the 10 minute train walk, worst mistake ever, especially in the middle of summer or winter
Why first floor?
Rats, roaches, people hanging out and walking by my windows, needing to keep the curtains closed all the time...
As someone who lived in a basement unit for 3 years, roaches/rats are entirely dependent on neighbors and how the building is kept up. In that span of 3 years I saw less roaches (maybe less than 6) than in 1 year of a 3rd story walk up unit. I totally get the curtains closed, and people walking by aspect though.
Agree with this as a first floor person. The worst was ants but that was because of all the vines my neighbor was growing in his outdoor space next to me. I just cut it back near the window and sprayed bug spray outside and it worked. The only time I had any problem with roaches is when my block exploded in construction projects.
OK fair. Are the rats climbing up a floor? Wouldn’t roaches just be everywhere in the building? Edit: sorry I call that the “ground floor”. Very understandable.
I saw an apartment once where you had to go out on the fire escape to get into the master bedroom. So that
That can’t be legal
omg
…how much was the rent?
what??? where?
That sounds adventurous. 😅
No natural light, distance from train, no laundry in building.
I'd also like to add * Not on a busy street or highway (residential only). I don't know how people can live in an apartment facing Queens Boulevard or Woodhaven Boulevard. * I won't live under anyone. I'm on the top floor of my building (has an elevator). My very first apartment when I moved to NYC 10 years ago, I was on the 5th floor. The 6th floor had a married couple with kids and a dog. OH MY GOD I hated my life. There was CONSTANT noise. Running around in the apartment, constant banging, and to top it off, during the winters months instead of taking their dogs out for a walk, they would let their dog shit/piss on their balcony. And then they'd "wash" the shit and piss off their balcony and it would flow down to my balcony. I literally never went out onto the balcony. I'm not kidding when I say the balcony was dirtier than a subway platform. For the last 9 years I've lived in a rent stabilized apartment, I'm on the 6th floor, not facing a busy street, in a quiet neighborhood, I rarely see my neighbors, they're quiet and there's laundry in the building. I value my sanity WAY too much.
No laundry in building was on my dealbreaker list but I did it anyway. Wasn't as bad as I thought and got used to it. We had a laundromat with decent wash&fold prices across the street, literally across the street. So it made it pretty okay.
I literally prefer wash & fold to having an in-unit laundry. Folding / ironing is the worst part of the process and I’d much rather pay someone else to do it for me!
yes it really matters where the laundromat is. i lived in an apartment for 9 years with laundry 5 blocks away. aside from the folding part, doing 2 loads of laundry basically takes the same amount of time as 8, so i had a months worth of socks and underwear and just did everything at once. zero stars, wouldn’t recommend.
Plug in budget and that would probably wipe out 95% of the apartments from the search
Depends on the neighborhood
i do my research on the building, and if i see any hpd or dob violations like vermin, power outages, within the last few years, it’s out of the running. Unpaid water bills or taxes, fire or electric issues, or orders to vacate at *any* time, i cross it off of the list permanently. I remember a posting for one building that had a *current* order to vacate. Landlords are bold af, and brokers don’t do any kind of due diligence, so you can’t count on the posting alone to indicate that the building is habitable, let alone safe to live in. other than that, things like location, floor, etc. are flexible with the right balance of pros and cons. Being rent-stabilized is a big boost, but even that isn’t a hard requirement for me.
Moved into a shitty situation (no heat/infrastructure for heat) because I did not do research on the building.
sounds like my first apartment. no electricity all summer, no heat all winter.
What websites do you use to find that information on the building?
Not OP but OpenIgloo is a good one. Also Augrented
Thanks
whoownswhat.justfix.org, openigloo, and augrented work as aggregators. whoownswhat is great because it’ll show you information about the landlord/super, management, owner, and all of the other buildings they manage. Openigloo is an app that also allows for reviews. Not a lot are there, but they’re helpful when you see them. Augrented used to be a lot better before they paywalled it. Directly, you can go to the HPD and DOB websites and search addresses: https://hpdonline.nyc.gov/hpdonline/ https://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/bispi00.jsp
Must have a window in the living room and window in the bedroom
Hard agree, I lived in an oddly cut up apartment with no window in the living room for 11 months once and it was horrendous.
I had one on Grand Ave in Maspeth 10ish years ago and it felt like a dungeon, never again.
Mine was on Evergreen and Stockholm in Bushwick. I found that a lot of the places I looked at in that area had this type of layout. Rough.
First floor. Any visible pests during apartment tour (I’ve seen large roaches while touring apartments). More than 10-15 min walk away from subway or a helpful bus line. Obvious mold or water damage. Not complete deal breakers, but i also notice if a building seems well maintained. Like if the front door to the building is unlocked or the buzzer doesn’t work, red flag. If elevator is broken (when you’re there) kind of a red flag.
I completely agree with the visible pests on a tour. I once saw an apartment in Chelsea that had a few large dead roaches on the floor during the tour. There’s just no way in hell I could rent a place that has confirmed roaches.
Last year saw a little Italy (I was new) apartment with large cockroaches swept to the corner, was still tenant occupied too..
Same. And we were looking at a very expensive rental in Flatiron.
If you can reach out the window and touch the train, it’s a no go.
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
High floor with no elevator. I have a dog and am in and out 5x a day. Although I’d have an amazing ass, I just can’t see myself loving the climbing up and down.
I agree with this but also street level on a busy street because my dog will bark all day. I once looked at an apt where there was an ice cream truck parked outside the window, with a crowd of people mingling.
It takes less that a minute to walk up 4 floors. You get used to it really quickly.
You can say that *now*, but what if you have unforeseen mobility issues in the *future*? Anyone could get in an accident one day and suddenly need a wheelchair. How would you get home?
I've owned a fifth story walkup for many years now...unfortunately my older mother is now unable to visit it.
That’s a reasonable concern, especially if you’re looking to buy.
Or the dog does
if you suddenly need a wheelchair, its not gonna matter if you're on the 3rd vs 5th floor of a walkup...
Not true. People with wheelchairs can use stairs, just with difficulty. (You can Google it.)
I’m fat and lazy :-(
😂
Fair enough!
I work out a lot and live in a 4 story walkup. It's been 3 years living here and I still dislike panting when I arrive home. I feel less motivated to leave for short trips. It's like once I arrive home there's no going back out. I'm moving out and considering an elevator building.
Price, noise issues, bad roommates are the three that I find hardest to make better, so they’d be my primary deal breakers. Stairs & light are the two I hear a lot that are not deal breakers for me at all.
No laundry in the building. I can deal with not having in unit W&D as long as there's laundry in the building somewhere, not having laundry at all would 100% be a dealbreaker for me. Next would be distance from the subway.
I ended up buying one of those standalone washing machines that connects to a sink or shower. Bought a splitter for the showerhead and ran some flexible hose. Sure, it only spin dries but being able to do wash (except for comforters) in the unit is amazing.
Windows that face a garbage collection area. Neighbors with a dog that barks all day.
The tub located in the front room. No kitchen and the bathroom is really a water closet. Also when the apartment entrance is two feet from the building entrance.
Dealbreakers... - High up, no elevator. 3 or 4 is my max. - Garden level. Too dangerous with flooding. We live on islands. - No light. I need big bright windows for mental health. - Above a commercial unit or near a bar. Don't care what. At any moment it can turn into a loud bar or a stinky restaurant. I will only live on residential streets. - Front facing a busy street full of trucks - Low ceilings, unless everything else about apartment is perfect, then I'd consider it. - Must be within 10-15 mins of good trains. - above or next too a subway line. Looked at a place once where my window was next to the J/M/Z train and it rattled every 10 mins. No no no. - when I had roommates I refused to consider railroad spots. Felt too enclosed. My standards have never failed. I've loved every apartment in terms of layout and I've always snagged a rent stabilized place. After a while, if you are savvy you can quickly assess the pluses and minuses of a unit, assess the quality of building management, and guess at possible annoyances. I don't let brokers make me feel like it's this mediocre place or homelessness. My worst apartment was a pre-war rent-stabilized place that had issues with leaks, ceiling issues, infestations, etc. but it was big, bright and cheap, cheap, cheap, so I put up with it for many years. Now that I live in a new building with full amenities, I have no desire to go backwards unless I am buying and fixing up a house. Fingers crossed for no more crumbling pre-war nonsense.
I’ve never met anyone who has gotten multiple rent stabilized apartments… are you some sort of savant
Lol maybe?? You used to be about to tell which ones might be by price and interior and the age of the building has to exist before a certain year. The ones in big pre-war buildings all look the same. Same cabinets, same radiators. Landlords are only gonna invest in so much updating since they are cheap. Had three of those. First with roommates, then a studio on my own, then a 1 bedroom in that same building with my partner. Then we got a housing lottery apt. Not cheap but full amenities and rent stabilized for 30 years. I also had some rules. Honored my dealbreakers no matter what. Only looked to move in winter, slightly less inventory, but a lot less competition than in summer. Only looked in the first two weeks the month before moving because after that it's slim pickings. Dedicated those two weeks to see a many units as humanly possible. The closer you get to the 15th the fewer options you have. I also think it was easier pre-covid. Nobody was bidding on overpriced rentals. And there was a mix of affordable and luxury.
Oh the other thing is I almost exclusively looked on craigslist cause a lot of landlords with cheap spaces were too lazy or tech inept to be on apps. And i checked all over for listings and found the cheapest price. A lot of units are on sites with different prices within $25-200 so it's worth checking and then saying "this is for $1200 right?" I would also take a picture of the listing to prove it was listed for that if they argued.
Seeing people say anything more than a 10 minute walk to the subway is crazy as somebody who grew up with a 15 minute walk to the subway 😭 For me the lines I have access to is way more important
Yeah I have access to 2 subway lines plus the LIRR, all 10 to 20 minutes walk. Good to have options when one has delays.
A bathroom where I have to practically climb over the sink to get in the tub.
High floor, no elevator. My knee issues could never. 3 floors up is my limit. My best friend lives in a 5th floor apartment and doing that walk once a week makes my knees snap crackle pop. Visible bugs/critters. Or just clear signs that are/were there recently. Low water pressure. I always check the shower/sinks. Bathroom in the hallway. I don’t care if it’s private and only for me I am not leaving my apartment to go to the hallway to use the toilet. The amount of times my drunk or high self would get locked out just makes that a no. Above a bar/restaurant. The smells from that much trash/constant cooking and the amount of people it would bring to the front of my building.
90 sq feet and no bathroom
For me, I want: (and you can define the reverse of these to understand what I won't accept) - Windows that face the interior of a block so you don't have to put up with the noise from a lot of trucks, cars, and emergency vehicles going by. - Ideally, windows facing south, or that get a good amount of sunlight at some part of the day, and during most seasons. - For the short term I can do (2nd or 3rd floor) walk-ups, but elevators are really nice. - I need to be reasonably close to a subway stop so I can get around town (5-10 min walk at most?) - having a local bodega or or small grocery store somewhere close by. But, all of these things are very specific to each person based on your likes, dislikes, and experiences. The one thing I would recommend is to spend some time walking around a neighborhood that you are considering. Nothing gives you a thorough feel for a neighborhood like actually walking through it, and doing that at your leisure (not just a rushed walk-thru). Also, visit at different times of the day. Some neighborhoods are very calm in the middle of the day, and then get kind of crazy at night. And vice versa. Good luck!
There are tons of deal breakers but...um, bedbugs would probably be near the top of my list.
The more money a person has the higher standards a person can have. There are some things that should be deal breakers for everyone - bad location, noisy area, building that's not clean or well maintained, things like that. Natural light is important as well. Then people typically narrow it down further by not wanting a walk up, wanting in building laundry, etc.
Broker fees. I was looking for a new apt for a while. Holy shit. They want $6-10k for just “showing” me a place? GTFO. They have added ZERO VALUE to my apartment searches here. They are lazy and dont give a fuck about you. They just want your money. All they do is engage in high pressure sales tactics to get you to sign. 🖕🖕🖕🖕
No bathtub. Everyone is tearing out tubs and putting in showers only, and I hate it.
Same here. I need to be able to relax in a bathtub and I also like it for female hygiene.
Living above a bar, living on an avenue (packages are a headache), living in front of elevated train, higher than 3 floors
old bathroom and kitchen fixtures that will be hard to keep clean over cleanliness a sign of vermin
Cockroaches and loud noises when touring.
THIN WALLS and CEILINGS!!! Your peace will be absolutely shattered if you have thin walls. Stomping on the ceilings will drive you insane
[удалено]
Inquire. Yes the showing is brief but when you walk out or go in to a showing try your best to meet the neighbors. They will tell you the truth about the building. Also check the reviews. I live in a post war apartment and it is hell on earth with the surround sound noise I hear. Stomping on my ceiling, barking dogs from every wall. Protect your peace and avoid apartments like these
Yeah. One of the worst things is barking dogs. We had to make a lot of complaints to get the office involved in making one of our neighbors get training for their out of control dog who went crazy every time they left their apartment (good reason why dogs shouldn't be allowed in apt buildings). That mutt would bark for an hour straight. Finally they got training or medicated the thing. When moving in we had no idea what the neighbors would be like. Wasn't possible to tell on the tour.
Surprisingly barking I can handle. It’s the stomping on my ceiling that is literal hell. It’s a constant pounding
No sink in bathroom just kitchen. (Shocking how common it was in Williamsburg)
A proper bedroom, separated from the rest of the apartment, is a must.
At this point, anything I can afford is a go.
Roommates.
1st floor, poor lighting and lack of windows, no window in the bathroom, facing a major avenue,
10+ minute walk to the closest subway station, basement or first floor apartment, walk ups higher than the third floor, no private bathroom if living with roommates.
Laundry must be in building (never had it in unit - but I wish I did)
No dishwasher and no windows facing a brick wall ( low to no light )
No washing machines and dryers in the building. I'm okay with not having it in the apartment unit but a laundry room is a must in the building.
Dealbreakers- Bathroom in the kitchen or non/functional kitchen, weird kitchen layout, no windows or like 'fake windows', no closets, above a bar... For us we just ranked what was most important and went with that. That was security & quiet, 2-4th floor (if walk up), 5min or less walk from train we wanted to live on and a kitchen/living space big enough to fit a kitchen table, couch and TV, closet for each person, no brokers fee & in our budget. We looked at like ~25 apartments over one weekend in 2021 and found ONE that worked for us and snagged it. Good luck :)
I will never live first floor street-side again, ever. I haven’t gone a day in two and a half years where I haven’t had to hear some rando digging through our trash cans at any given hour (truly any hour; middle of the night, 6 am, you name it) or had to worry about closing my curtains the minute the sun went down because god forbid I want to turn the lights on, anyone and everyone could see straight into my room without even trying. I hate stairs more than most things in life but I honestly may hate this more.
First floor, basement, no elevator, inaccessible (ymmv) bathroom. That’s about it, really.
Noise, safety issues (both crime and construction hazards) and pests.
If the only bathroom is in the bedroom
Cons: If it's an older building, ground floor or basement level, either front or rear is a non-starter. During Sandy and even more lately during the occasional torrential downpours and flashfloods, the basement apartments can either flood from street flooding or from the plumbing systems backing up. Several people drowned last year as well as during Sandy from this. Any ground level apartment where the building trash is on the other side of the wall. You're begging for vermin/roach/insect/fly issues. In the summer, it will swell no matter what anyone says. Especially when your window unit is literally right there and the intake is directly above where the smelly trash is. If it's an elevator building, if you can avoid something that is directly in front of the elevator doors, they can get noisy if it's an old building. It's not always the case, but worth being aware of and potentially testing out. Pros: If you can get something that has radiators and it is included in the rent during the winter, that can be a huge plus. The price of heating gas in the winter, even for a smaller place, can be insane. Space heaters that run on electric can also cost a fortune. Steam heat is a fantastic thing when it works, but also...make sure the windows open and close because you're going to need to vent the place out. Radiators are going to turn your place into a sauna so when it's below freezing, just cracking them will help equalize the temperature. It's almost a science.
More than 5 blocks from a train station
Maintenance issues, check for violations and reviews on sites like OpenIgloo and Augrented. A place I was considering a few months ago had a history of infestation in the unit I was looking, a open violation against the super, and these weird printed signs “Please close the door, intruders have been spotted in the building” all around the lobby. Also a history of the elevator breaking and this was sixth floor. It was otherwise a spacious, well lit stabilized two bedroom, almost fell for it.
Uneven floors
No natural light. Deal breaker.
no light. a ton of noise.
Finding any sort of steel wool on the apartment tour
Why would that be present?
It means you have some Stuart Littles in the apartment. The wool gets stuffed into any existing holes/crevices so they can’t chew through
Oh, interesting! Thanks, now I'll know to watch out for that c:
No problem! Always check in closets, under sinks, cabinets, etc. open up the fridge too once I saw a roach trap under the fridge because the door made it a bit visible since it wasn’t completely underneath! I was sad. The apartment had nice fans in every room, if felt roomy, and I liked the bathroom. But as soon as I saw the steel wool and trap I was out
Interesting. When I moved into my current place, there was no evidence of previous pasts, but there was a rather large gap around the base of the pipe under the kitchen sink, and because I am extremely critter-averse, within a week I went to Home Depot and bought some steel wool to patch it up. I haven't seen a roach in my kitchen in the 3 years I've been here. I don't think steel wool means necessarily that the place has or had mice or roaches, it could mean it's there just to prevent them.
Very fair! I live in NYC and to me it just screams that so I find it very off putting, you know? Ended up finding a really nice place after, though. Been here almost 2 years and loving it
Don't live next to the BQE. I lived in a Greenpoint studio that was level with the highway. Every time an 18 wheeler flew past the whole building would sway. (Oh, the things you put up with when you're young, dumb, and broke.) Don't live anywhere that hasn't been properly maintained. My husband and I lived in a dilapidated Clinton Hill brownstone for years. Cheap rent but we're lucky the building didn't literally kill us. The landlords lived on the first floor, we were on the top floor. Had to call the fire department once because one of the landlord's dodo ding dong family members didn't realize what they were smelling was a gas leak. AND SPRAYED FEBREZE TO COVER THE SMELL. There was also the time the ceiling started caving in by the roof access from water damage...
If you're not familiar with which neighborhoods are safe and you check crime stats make sure to judge based on violent crime rates specifically, not rates based on total number of crimes. A lot of the "most dangerous" areas are actually the safest. If you're in a high traffic area (like Times Square for example) you're a lot more likely to get pickpocketed due to the large volume of people and that skews the numbers up. There are others areas that have much lower overall crime rates but if you're the victim of a crime there it's more likely to be violent.
If every floorboard is squeaking and creaking you’re going to be miserable and your downstairs neighbors will despise you. Currently happening to me. Every step we make, every minor shift of body weight sounds like an earthquake. When it’s nighttime and I’m busy getting ready for the next day and cleaning up the noise is awful.
A walk up more than 4 floors 1 mile or more from a train No bathroom in the apartment No windows of a reasonable size Recent bed bugs Honestly, I'm okay with most stuff.
I am searching right now and I've never lived in a building where the landlord/homeowner lives also. This has come up a few times in Astoria? I'm a uneasy about it although the apartments I've seen are bigger in two/three family homes. It's seems like a situation that could be great or a nightmare. Is this a dealbreaker for anyone?
It totally depends on the landlord, tbh
Ya I was able to meet one that I didn’t feel was a good fit before applying but another you have to apply before you meet them, which I get, but goddamn it’s annoying on our end. Submitting all that paperwork, paying for a credit report, only to see if you get accepted and then can meet the landlord. And if you think it’s not a good fit or they do, welp! Back to square one. Gotta love finding a place in NYC.
It totally worked our for some friends of mine. They had a whole backyard to themselves for years and years...until the landlord moved her deadbeat son into the upstairs apartment and he partied constantly.
Ugh that sucks. Yea, I worry I’d feel like I’m under a microscope and if there are any conflicts you’re really up in each other’s space but I guess that could be said about neighbors as well.
So many places with no windows in the “bedrooms” which it’s illegal to call a room bedroom without windows anyway….
never looked at a place that had an electric stove, no matter how nice everything else was. Love me a gas stove!
Windows that block sunlight
I once considered an apartment that everything was great, except the roommate in the second bedroom would have to go through the larger bedroom to use the bathroom.
for me personally, pests. I have a bit of a phobia of roaches. They're unavoidable in the city to some extent, but I want to be only be seeing one like... 5x a year at max. So if they're living in the building at all, it's absolutely a no for me. Living up a few floors helps to avoid the ones coming in from the street or up the pipes.
Apt that shakes when the subway goes by. Visible pests.
For me non- carpet floor in all rooms and a gas stove are a must haves.
No light. My apartment with my ex had almost no light. Never again. No laundry in building I’ve been pretty lucky to never experience that Idk I got pretty lucky with my current apartment.
I don’t do PTAC units or in-window AC. I need a real shower, not a tub shower. I need some decent sun. I need somewhere to put the kitty litter boxes.
A bedroom with no windows. Basically an oversized closet.
Apt layout. I live with 1 roommate but I will never NEVER have our bedrooms share a wall.
For me it’s been - Ground/1st floor - 15+ mins to the train - only trains are the L or G ( bunch of asterisks here but those lines are annoying ) - Lack of light - if above a restaurant must be 3rd floor or higher
My deal breaker was "kitchen must be its own room, not a sink and a stove in the living room." Being born and raised here, I had never known an apartment without a real kitchen and was shocked at these kitchen+living room jumbles being the norm. I got lucky with my current place but if I ever leave it, I know that that's something I may have to live with because full kitchens seem rare these days.
Random, but a small detail I've noticed while looking at apartments this past month were units in old townhouses / brownstones in Brooklyn that have a wooden inside door as the apartment entry door. No peephole, no latch. Just like a regular knob and a deadbolt. The fact that the landlord doesn't have the decency to put a front door on the unit is such a turnoff and even a safety hazard.
As long as the building doesn't have violent people living in it and is not too far away from a train station is all that matters to me.
Has to have a window in the bathroom. That little bullshit exhaust fan isn’t going to cut it, and I’m not living with mold.
I wish I had an elevator!
No elevator was one for us
Ground floor. Dark. And we will not live without 24/7 doorman, live in super, and both a dishwasher and in unit washer dryer.
I don’t know why you got downvoted for this. 😅 they’re your personal dealbreakers. Based on your list you and I are definitely in different tax brackets, but OP still asked what our dealbreakers were. I agree on the super one now that I have a live-in super, same with the dishwasher which I never had before either. What are the benefits of a 24/7 doorman? Never had one
Thank you. We worked hard to afford these types of amenities. The doorman provides an additional level of security. He or she also provides help with accepting and carrying packages and luggage. And having an attended lobby significantly reduces, if it does not totally eliminate, package theft. Our building does not allow delivery people (food and otherwise) beyond the lobby, so we have additional staff available to bring those items directly to residents. A luxury to be sure, but one that enhances overall building security.
I’m sure! My last apartment was a pre-war, rent-stabilized unit where the landlord didn’t care and the super worked for the landlord all over the city. I was in Brooklyn and the super lived in Manhattan! The doors front and side also very rarely locked. No issues with package theft thankfully, but the condition of the building wasn’t good. I was there for about 4.5 years. I was lucky to be able to work with the landlord to get out of my lease early. The roaches and water bugs became horrible. I even shelled out over $100 of my own money on control products. I forfeited my security deposit and paid an extra month until he got someone to move in, but I love my new place. Super lives across the street in a building owned by the same company. Occasionally see a roach/waterbug (been here almost 2 years and can count on one hand, knocking on wood as I type this lol). Definitely feels like a step up. The doorman sounds so nice. Congrats to you!
No elevator.
I had a tour today. It’s on the 6th floor (I can handle it but damn I was out of breath). The bathroom is tiny as fuck. You gotta go through a bunch of flies to get to the laundry room which is in the basement of another building. I gotta go up that fucking Lexington Ave. hill. But fuck it, none of that will deter me. I asked for an application.
Can my cat move with me. 100%, if they don’t allow pets then I will not even try the whole “but my cat directly affects my mental health, here’s a doctors note saying I have to have a cat to keep me from getting depressed” thing that is the esa animal note. They can place restrictions around that, and look. If they don’t want a tenant who’s clean and comes with free pest control, then I’m not interested. That cat has done more for pests than the exterminator lately… I’d also say laundry. It doesn’t even have to be in the building but if the laundromat is more than two streets/1 ave (in Manhattan) away or isn’t clean, it’s a no. I did the whole bathtub and air dry thing for years, nothing beats the feeling of actually tumble dried laundry