“I’ma make it by any means, I got a pocket full of dreams…” Alicia Keys “ I wanna be a part of it…” Frank Sinatra Whether we’re from Trenton, or Timbuktu, we all know the lyrics. Alicia, Frank and a host of other singers have been belting out the siren songs that have lured people from all over the world to NYC to fulfil their dreams of living you and having it all. And every year people arrive, they…
Author: justinlam
Co-Living: The Answer to NYC’s Impossible Rental Market
If you had to describe what living in NYC is like with one word, my guess is it would be “expensive.” Real estate market trends seem to exclude NYC as we are always living in a steady increase of prices, whether they be rentals or purchases. Sites like GoHome NY feature real NYC tenants and their real estate experiences in our unique market. For decades, New Yorkers have tried to offset the high cost of living with what I like to…
Breaking the Slumlord Cycle When You’re Investing in NYC
It’s no secret. Slumlords do exist. In fact, every year, the Public Advocate’s Office releases a Landlord Watch List which features the worst landlords of NYC, not exactly a credential you’ll be adding to your resumé. Though properties owned by slumlords should always be avoided by potential tenants, there does lie an attractive quality from a business perspective. Sites like GoHomeNY can help both renters and investors discover what people are saying about properties they are interested in. Given the right investor, you…
Creative Living in NYC, or How In the World Do People Afford Apartments in NYC?
How do people find affordable apartments in NYC? When average rents approach $4k per month, how do these hardworking New Yorkers, the tech intern and the junior copywriter and the public school English teacher and that Uber driver/proofreader/Amazon overnight shift warehouse worker/busboy guy find a place to live? The words “side hustle” have become of part of the lexicon of millennials and beyond, especially in expensive cities like NYC and San Francisco where people spend waaaaay more than half their…
Why You Should Always Have Renters Insurance
When you live in New York City, you come to expect the unexpected. While resources like GoHomeNY.com can help you get the hang of city living, nothing—and I mean nothing—could have prepared me for the day I came home to a literal flood in my Rose Hill apartment on East 26th Street. I can’t fault my upstairs neighbor for drawing a bath. But I can fault her for turning on the water and leaving to walk her dog, letting it…
The Top Ten Things to Consider Before Renting In NYC
Often times we fall in love with a space and an apartment without diving further down the road to unforeseen problems that can arise within a building. Here are the top ten things to consider so that you and your loved ones can have more peace of mind before making a decision that can be one of the greatest of your life. What kind of protection does this lease offer me as a tenant? The most common lease in…
Are we in a Buyer’s Market
The heat wave that characterized much of August seems to have broken and the cool weather of the fall is on the horizon. The cooling of the Real Estate market has continued and I’m frequently asked “What exactly is a buyer’s market?” and “What does that mean for me?” There is one simple answer and one much more complex. A Buyer’s market is one in which an increase in inventory and a decrease in demand, along with other market indicators, causes sellers to lower their prices…