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Topic: paperwork for apartment
| Author | Message |
| kaceclosed | Posted – 10/3/2007 10:31:51 PM | show profile Hi there--So, I have a staff job and I freelance regularly, and I'm looking for a new apartment. I know a lot of places require proof that you make X times the monthly rent, and I'm wondering what types of documents to show for my freelance work to show that I do meet the criteria--with just my staff job, I fall short, but I make about 15K a year on freelance assignments . . . was just wondering if there was a simpler way to "prove" this to management companies than bringing all my contracts with me . . .? Any thoughts would be appreciated . . .thanks! |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 10/3/2007 10:56:41 PM | show profile Hello Kace ... As vice president of my co-op board, I can tell you what my building requires for renters: -- Your last three federal tax returns -- Six months' worth of bank statements -- Three letters of recommendation -- Six references (three business, three professional) -- Letter from your employer verifying your salary -- An updated copy of your credit report Of course, this is for renting within a co-op building. For rental buildings, you might only need to provide last year's federal tax return and credit report. |
| Cyrus | Posted – 10/3/2007 11:58:29 PM | show profile Matt, I'm reasonably certain this is a rental situation from the description and not a co-op, because (s)he said monthly rent, not mortgage. Rental approvals are completely different than purchases, be it a condo or a co-op. Often in cases of rentals, a letter will suffice. If it will not, just bring your W-2, plus any 1099s you got for your freelance jobs. Although technically companies aren't required to issue 1099s unless you exceed a certain income, which I can't recall off the top of my head, most do issue them. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 10/4/2007 12:04:13 AM | show profile Cyrus ... ...please re-read my post. In both cases, I was talking about rentals. |
| Upward Bound | Posted – 10/4/2007 12:25:23 AM | show profile Holy shit that's invasive. Hy not also require DNA samples for the renter and all potential visitors and use the renter's first-born child as collateral in case of late payment. Is there no such thing as privacy these days? |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 10/4/2007 12:33:23 AM | show profile In a co-op building ... ...your privacy is MY privacy. Many co-ops don't allow shareholders to rent out their apartments. My building is rather liberal in that regard ... we allow unlimited renewals of one-year leases. In exchange, however, we require the prospective renter jump through the same hoops the shareholder did in buying the apartment. Manhattan co-op owners make significant investments in their homes, and we reserve the right to regulate who our neighbors are. |
| seeattleme | Posted – 10/4/2007 12:47:22 AM | show profile Hence the reason so many of us blue collar daughters of cops and firefighter can't get apartment leases and have to leave NYC. I'll never forget the fuckface broker who laughed at my tax returns--then laughed at my panrets--for an apartment on Riverside at 1300 a month. we ended up i an papertment off East End at 1450 a month, as a sublet. Paid early eavery month for a year. The guy offered us a lease, but by then we were tired of being treated like children at age 35. And so, we left the quote unquote BIG APPLE for gorgeous weather and BAy to Breakers. Enough to make you want to blow something up. Making more money don't make you a better tenant (in fact, the opposite is true cause you're so eager to please you'll take better care to stray in the place--not to mention you'll be SO.FUCKING.GRATEFUL.) It just akes you a polied rich asshole. And you who like spoiled rich assholes to rent to-fine. You're making NYC suck the great asshole of corporate America. Don't blame us for the dentist takeover of SOHO--or the fact that your city smells like--well you know. |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 10/4/2007 12:55:16 AM | show profile Lady ... ...it's not my fault if you can't afford the rent. |
| mkelly | Posted – 10/4/2007 10:36:12 AM | show profile Tone down the language, Granite Girl. If you can't skewer someone with polite words, keep working on your writing until you can. |
| reporterwriter | Posted – 10/4/2007 11:18:56 AM | show profile Language aside, I appreciate granitegirl's point that money alone does not make a good neighbor. Unfortunately, it's just about the only remaining basis on which to reject a rental applicant. I live in a high-rent place, not in NYC, requiring three times the rent in income plus a good credit history. My neighbor, a healthcare professional, has those. She also has a mental disorder affecting tenants for two buildings all around ours. I'm afraid to come home at night for fear she'll jump out from a bush and attack me with a spray can of insecticide, as she did once. An interview might have weeded her out; I doubt references from former neighbors could have done it, as they probably tossed a party when they saw her rear license plate heading out of town. But she meets the monetary requirements for renting. Anyway, as to the original question, when I rented here I provided the rental agent with a list of clients, noting which were under contract, and stating my annual income from each one (it doesn't change much from year to year). The credit check satisfied the agent enough not to pry further into my finances. So, yes, it is possible to rent with your freelance income figured into your total. |
| Mag Girl | Posted – 10/4/2007 11:44:05 AM | show profile I too had a very bad neighbor who on paper could afford to rent the place next to me. He was laundering the money he garnered from his identity theft victims through his sham side business. And he stole a bunch of my wedidng presents. And the police STILL have not done anything about him. Sigh. Anyway, did you have those same ongoing assignments last year? Bringing your tax return/1099s should help. |
| Cyrus | Posted – 10/4/2007 11:45:24 AM | show profile Gotcha, Matt, I missed that point. Different strokes for different folks aside, but the situation of renting out ones apartment and other restrictions is why I'd never jump into the co-op game. I prefer to own real property as opposed to shares where there aren't a lot of other people who I barely know telling me how I'm going to live. That said, there are some compelling things about co-ops; chiefly, they're a lot cheaper and the tax structure makes property taxes for them a really good deal. So if you can deal with the disadvantages, one might find it worth it. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| Mirage | Posted – 10/4/2007 1:54:20 PM | show profile That's the real problem, Cyrus. As a former condo owner (outside of NYC) trying desperately for approval in a co-op, I'd leave this situation in a minute if I could afford a similar-sized condo in the same area of NYC I'm currenly trying to buy in. I do agree that money alone doesn't make good neighbors (and that many of the people who sit on a co-op board, if they've been there long enough, probably wouldn't qualify to buy today under their own rules). But it's sort of understandable why the restrictions are what they are: If a shareholder hits financial difficulties, (s)he will continue to pay those bills that affect credit -- mortgage, credit card bills, etc. That puts the co-op's maintenance fee at the bottom of the list. And when shareholders don't pay their share of the maintenance, it puts all the shareholders at risk -- especially if the building has an underlying mortgage. I'm disgusted by the situation and feel like I've been raped by both the realtor and the co-op board, both of whom now know more about me than my own parents do. But until something changes, I guess that's what you have to put up with for the convenience of location in NYC. |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 10/4/2007 2:30:55 PM | show profile Cyrus ... I appreciate your comments about wanting to own property in which people don't tell you "how to live". It's amazing, however, how many people change that tune when they start getting cut with the OTHER side of that double-edged sword ... and that nice banker who bought the unit right next to you decides he really just wants it as an investment property and ... guess what ... the people who'll actually be living next door to you are a bunch of college students who don't really care that you're trying to put your kids to sleep on the other side of the wall that separates the kids' bedroom from the neighbors' "pledging headquarters". Or your neighbors could be the type who get a LOT of visitors ... all the time ... all hours of the day and night But hey ... who are YOU to tell them "how to live", right? |
| Cyrus | Posted – 10/4/2007 2:31:16 PM | show profile | email poster Mirage, Seriously, you might want to consider talking to someone who specializes in real estate litigation in NYC. As you may know if you peruse my other postings on the board, I do a lot of PR work with lawyers and know a bunch. One of my contacts is a partner at a New York firm that does a lot of co-op work. He's not a client, but he'd be a great person to talk to so you could learn your options. I've enabled the e-mail option in case you want to contact me for his info. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| mkelly | Posted – 10/4/2007 4:13:05 PM | show profile Money alone does not make a good neighbor, true, but lack of money to pay the rent certainly makes for a bad neighbor. |
| reporterwriter | Posted – 10/5/2007 9:47:29 AM | show profile >>lack of money to pay the rent certainly makes for a bad neighbor<< Maybe, but they're gone in a month or two. |
| ManhattanMatt | Posted – 10/5/2007 10:37:24 AM | show profile Ah, the naivete ... "they're gone in a month or two". Sweet. Have you ever tried to evict a non-paying tenant? Here in New York City, it's a process that takes SIX MONTHS MINIMUM ... more likely NINE months. You're paying substantial legal and time costs, while at the same time LOSING money every month on rent that isn't being paid. Oh, and of course at that point the tenant doesn't give a sh*t, so the whole time he's in there, if he's not completely trashing the place, he's at least decided to stop cleaning. By the time he's out of there, you're looking at another $2,000 minimum to get a cleaning crew in there ... IF there's been no damage. And you wonder why landlords are so strict with the income requirements. |
