Hey everyone, my name is Ming & we are going apartment hunting in the great NYC! I’ve pretty
much moved every 1-2 years my entire life - I’ve lived in Flushing, Elmhurst, Richmond Hill,
Jackson Heights, Upper West Side, a couple neighborhoods in Long Island, and even
in Michigan. I’ve never lived in Lower Manhattan, but I really enjoy the neighborhoods, restaurants,
the events, the vibe here, so I’m thinking of moving here for the next phase of my life! Before I have to get
married, get kids, and need more space. Let’s get apartment hunting!
so here's a checklist of what I'm looking for in this potential new apartment for the size
of it I'm looking for a studio or one bedroom preferably one bedroom because on the upper west
side it had a studio it was pretty tight and the kitchen and the bed were like in the same room so
everything smells there's a lot of tall buildings in Manhattan but the highest that I'm willing to
walk is the fourth floor maybe the fifth floor but I actually never seen a six four so I'm gonna say
my limit is four four for the amount of stairs I want to walk or it has to have an elevator
in the building I love natural light at home so preferably I would love south facing Windows which
gets the most direct sunlight Eastern exposure gets the morning light and the Western exposure
gets the afternoon light so those could work out as well just no Northern Exposure please because
that gets no direct sunlight I'd also love High ceilings because that would make the space feel
much bigger than it is the location is really important too because I want the space to be
safe quick access to the Subways and a lot of good food options around for my budget it's definitely
risen across the years and for Lower Manhattan definitely gotta increase that so right now it's
at 2.9 K to 3K a month but the lower the better I definitely want a formal kitchen to cook in so
something more than just a microwave a toaster oven and a mini fridge and last but not least
on this checklist five you just know when you walk into Apartments sometimes if you like it
or you don't so really important thing when you're apartment hunting in New York you got to check out
the apartment for yourself in New York instead of trusting the pictures because sometimes it doesn't
correlate recap so for my checklist of what I'm looking for in this potential new apartment I'm
looking for a studio to one bedroom highest fourth floor maybe fifth floor or elevator in building a
lot of natural light high ceiling safe location quick access Subways fitting inside my budget
or lower has to have a formal kitchen and buy so I also have a nice to have list things that
aren't mandatory to have but it'd be really nice to have so that includes a laundry and building
doorman extra storage space and outdoor space or rooftop access for the apartments that I saw in
this video there are three neighborhoods that I visited West Village East Village and lower east
life I use Street easy because I always found it to be better organized easier to contact agents
and set up times to view the apartments almost all of these apartments have a 15 broker's fee
except for two of them we'll get to that later that means 15 of the annual rent that's a lot
of money that's a lot so if you're going to apartment hunting in New York there's a list
of things that's generally required for approval I'm gonna list it out right here on the screen
because there's a lot to go through so just pause it and take a screenshot okay that was
a lot of talking let's get into the apartments so for all these departments I'm going to talk about
and do a pros and cons list Apartment One let's go this apartment was brightly lit with south facing
windows it's on the third floor one bedroom it was advertised as a studio with an extra room for
a bed or a walk-in closet so those are the pros for the console slanted floors no microwave no
kitchen counter space the lay of this apartment was kind of weird because the shower was in the
kitchen and the toilet with no sink was in the bedroom so yeah it was a weird living space layout
that's number one so I'm reading my notes of my pros and cons I'll be department so that's why I
looked down that way so the second apartment was the first floor Studio it was the only apartment
in the building with a dishwasher and one of the only ones with a full fridge there's a microwave
there's an outdoor Garden backyard space which will share with the whole building it was newly
renovated had a little walk-in closet it was sunny and it was a front-facing street view however this
apartment was on the first floor so people could look in people going to the shared outdoor space
backyard they could just peek right in the garbage disposal and the recycling bins were
right outside it was literally renovated had a Dusty smell but that could dissipate and there
were two small stove tops so the third apartment I saw second floor one bedroom High ceilings good
closet space they were doing work in the space so hopefully they're renovating it a little it was
an old feeling phase there was no microwave and the lighting wasn't amazing here fourth apartment
fifth floor one bedroom this one definitely had better lighting than the one I just saw there
was a bigger closet than the previous one with double doors High ceilings everything was really
renovated three years ago ah but there's a cons for this one as well it's on the fifth floor and
there's a whole flight of stairs going into the building as well so that's like six floors this
fifth apartment first floor one bedroom recently renovated as well five windows in unit however it
was right by the entrance on the first floor so people could just look in there was not that much
light in the bedroom the windows were facing a different building and there was no microwave the
sixth apartment that I saw was also in the same building it was on the fourth floor one bedroom it
was really sunny large windows were the Southern Exposure and they were high ceilings I didn't
find any cons with this one but the thing was it was already in contract yeah a little too late
there so for the seventh apartment I walk five flights of stairs up there was a lot of stairs
going inside the building as well so there's kind of like six staircases I walked all the way up
there but I actually ended up not being able to see this apartment because there was no realtor
the realtor stepped out I don't know I called them and they're like yeah we'll send someone
soon but no one came so I just kind of didn't see it but what I know is that it's on the fifth floor
one bedroom and this one was really exciting too because you rent directly from the building owner
so no fee this is the only one on the list with no broker's fee but we didn't end up seeing it are
you still with me we are number eight this one's a third floor Studio it has a high ceiling with a
separate sleeping Loft The View outside the window looked like it offered more privacy however I must
have missed this when I was looking at the listing because it didn't have a formal kitchen so this
one had an open kitchenette with a mini fridge and two small stovetops and the bathroom was super
tight with the tiny sink so that was a no-go for me number nine third floor one bedroom this one
had a built-in AC a kitchen bar Sunny bedroom with two large windows and ample closet space
the one count of the space though the living room didn't get a lot of light because the one bedroom
faced the building hey we're on number 10 third floor one bedroom so this apartment I saw it was
no light but apparently it's a sunny bedroom with a certain exposure so you get the morning light
with the two windows and there's ample closet space with overhead storage the condo is the
same as before the living room didn't get a lot of light since the window faced the building light is
hard to come by this one is a one bedroom on the second floor there's laundry in the building Sunny
on the fifth floor but it's an elevator building the elevator was slow but it worked once you get
into an apartment High ceilings Sunny bedroom two windows and instead of the usual 15 Brokers fee
nice elevator building virtual doorman super nice apartment space Sunny bedroom with two windows
newly renovated kitchen had a dishwasher it was a huge mirror in the marble bathroom there's AC and
heating built in there's a nice rooftop deck open to all residents on the seventh floor and there's
a dedicated laundry room in the basement I like the space a lot however we met a girl living in
building an elevator who said that the package room was not it she said people just opened the
boxes random packages and leave things thrown around inside apartment there were no windows
in the living room area and the service was not good I think that was a big factor for me I have
18t and I couldn't load web pages I couldn't pull up Google Maps I couldn't send a text so this one
the cons outweighed the positives number 14 fifth floor one bedroom it's sunny with east facing
Windows it will be painted and new cabinets will be installed two ACS will come with the unit from
the tenant the laundry was in the building and there's High ceilings Hans Khan's con fifth floor
however these stairs are smaller than the long ones from before there's no microwave that's fine
number 15 second floor one bedroom everything will be renovated and the window view has its
privacy so this one the broker's fee was not just a set 15 it's flexible for a good tenant however
this was the worst one that I saw on this list I didn't like it I mean I know everything will
be renovated but during my visit everything just felt old and sticky and dirty and yuck there was
no light in there so I was kind of afraid to touch any doors pull them open I'm sure it'll be a nice
base once everything is renovated all right guys number 16 I entered through one building and went
through the back of another building to get to this apartment this one's a studio on the second
floor it has a fold and wash laundry service for an extra fee and the apartment was freshly painted
and clean so I went to this apartment at 2PM there was not that much lighting at that time there was
no microwave and the bathroom sink was pretty tiny number 17 first floor Studio the kitchen
has its own Corner in the back of the apartment so that layout was pretty nice the building is
very on top of cleanliness and there's a bike rack space as well for the cons it's right by
the entrance on the first floor so people can see in it's darker with the Western exposure
so there's more light in the afternoon evenings apparently but it's pretty dark and there's no
microwave hey guys we're at the 18th apartment now this one's a one bedroom on the fourth floor new
floors were put in there's good Lighting in both the living room and bedroom because the windows
are south facing there's many windows in here and the broker's fee instead of a 15 13 there
was not that many Cons with this apartment I would say the only con would be the living room window
faces other apartments but that one's not too big of a deal okay last but not least this is
the 19th apartment this one's a one bedroom on the fourth floor it has a large Sunny bedroom with two
windows Ben came with me to see this apartment so please enjoy the extra footage of this nice space
the apartment features a small kitchen counter space the bedroom felt big to me but the rest
of the space felt a little cramped especially the kitchen and living room area alright guys
we made it through 19 apartment viewings or let's say 18 and a half because I didn't get to see one
of them but that was a lot so there were a couple apartments that I was interested in but I was too
slow to bite the bullet and submit an application in for them they've since been rented or under
contract already the rental market goes crazy fast here especially in August and September when the
weather is really nice and school starts back up again and there's a high turnover and many
more options on demand get it seems like every year I always start looking to move around this
time is it an internal clock kind of thing even though I didn't get to lease any of these the
apartments were fun to look at anyway all those stressful and time consuming for sure I hope
you all enjoy coming along this apartment tour Journey with me and I hope this video helped a
little in your apartment hunt as well see you next time it was advertised as a studio sorry
there was a bug there recently renovated as well five units sorry this one is a third floor Studio
oh there's a bug um it's a so there's a part oh however oh the pro though I mean
the condo was the same as before there's a nice rooftop yeah oh my
gosh my voice I talk so much in this video I'm feeling my voice like okay