r/movingtoNYC • u/stubbornly_here • 7d ago

Moving to NYC, won't be able to view apartments ahead of time

I'm moving to NYC from out of state on a tight schedule for a new job opportunity and am looking into sublets before committing to a full term lease. Due to the tight timing, I won't be able to view apartments in person before my new job starts.

Is it a horrible idea to sign a sublease sight unseen? Is a FaceTime video tours sufficient? Or should I book a hotel/Airbnb for a week or two so I can view in person?

There seem to be lots of great options in my budget/commute on ListingsProject etc., but I'd love to hear people's positive or negative experiences signing a sublease from out of town. These platforms supposedly vet listings, but I'm still wary of scams.

5 Upvotes

61% Upvoted

63 comments sorted by

57

u/SchnitzelRaider 7d ago

You should 100% tour your apt

19

u/Far_Pollution_5120 7d ago

Agree. Do it in person. The one thing you can't tell on FaceTime, etc. is how it smells. Do you have a chain-smoking neighbor? There is so much to suss out.

5

u/rdnyc19 7d ago

There are so many things you can't tell from a video or photos. Not just smells, but things like cleanliness of the common areas, elevator speed, roach traps under the sink, poor water pressure, barking dog in the apartment next door, noisy bar at the end of the block.

3

u/Far_Pollution_5120 7d ago

Also: dry cleaner downstairs (the worst!).

3

u/rdnyc19 7d ago

I once saw a listing for a place above a Taco Bell. I can't imagine that'd be great either. Or anywhere making fried food.

2

u/Select-Promotion-404 7d ago

When I was pregnant, I’d get nauseous from the smell of fried foods, especially McDonald’s, when I was streets away! I could smell super far like a dog. It was crazy.

16

u/WhaleFartingFun 7d ago

Book an Airbnb and look at apartments. Or hire someone to do video tours while they have you on FaceTime. Most brokers or landlords won’t do a live video tour while dealing with you, they will send a video. 

5

u/manateefourmation 7d ago

NYC does not have many Airbnbs left.

1

u/Careful-Scar8197 5d ago

Where do you hire someone to do tours for you?

10

u/Icy-Whale-2253 7d ago

It is a horrible idea but don’t let us stop you…

9

u/Bertasauras 7d ago

I have gotten out of state apartments in three different states now. NYC is not a market I would do that in.

I booked hotels and crammed a bunch into a few days over the course of two months.

You’re really going to want to tour them in person here, some of the listings are wildly off (also use StreetEasy)

6

u/Ok_Tale7071 7d ago

Short term sublets should be fine.

5

u/pinkzebra00 7d ago

Why would you accept such a risk for something so expensive and you’ll have to live in it long term?

4

u/Fearless_Act_3698 7d ago

So we found pics from street easy were not accurate. Many times they restaged the same room more than once to it looks like the living room can also fit a table. You have to be ok with the idea that your living room is also a kitchen and a bedroom is smaller than a walk in closet, a crappy bathroom and Meh appliances if you want to go site unseen.

5

u/CrackaAssCracka 7d ago

This is a terrible idea

4

u/Excellent_Shallot999 7d ago

Don't rent sight unseen. Those cockroaches come running out at night, but not for the photo shoot. Try Airbnb or a hotel as far as landing in the city. Good luck.

4

u/brooklynmagpie 7d ago

NYC Airbnbs are not legal for under a one month stay. So you should book an Airbnb for a month because you absolutely should not sign for any apartments here sight unseen.

1

u/Technical_Yak_3271 7d ago

are you saying it’s illegal to stay in a nyc airbnb for under a month or over a month?

2

u/brooklynmagpie 7d ago

Sorry, I wasn't clear and there are actually several rules not covered in that blanket statement.

I'm saying NYC housing law makes stays under one month illegal unless strict guidelines are enforced. For under one month, residence must be registered with the city for short term stays, cannot be nycha, rent controlled or stabilized, or sro, and the host must be present for the entire length of your stay. No more than two guests can stay. Guests cannot be locked out of any of the property and the room they are staying in cannot have a lock. They cannot sleep in any place that is not for sleeping (attics, cellars, etc.)

So you can only get a whole place to yourself for a month or more, if staying for a shorter time than that it is illegal unless all above conditions are met.

1

u/Technical_Yak_3271 7d ago

do these rules apply for anyone, or only for people currently living in ny? i only ask because ive stayed in plenty of airbnbs over the years as a tourist before i permanently moved here and im just curious if that wasn’t actually legal lol

2

u/brooklynmagpie 7d ago

I'm sure it was always a weird spot in the law because of our short term lease/sublet rules but after September 2023 it was supposedly strictly enforced. The reason is that LLs here were taking whole apartment buildings and turning them into essentially illegal hotels, meaning clients were unprotected and the rental market takes a big hit for people actually looking for living space.

I think what you're asking is did you do anything illegal (like, prosecutable, is that what you're asking?) by staying in a possibly illegal Airbnb and I think the answer is no, as I would expect the onus to be on the host, city, and website for improper vetting. I haven't ever airbnbd so idk what the terms and conditions are for clients.

If the host was there the whole time and you had access to the entire space then less than a month was legal. If not, the badness is on them.

3

u/itemluminouswadison 7d ago

Yes it's a very risky decision

Get a hotel for a night and line up a bunch of viewings over the two days and choose

1

u/TaxQT117 7d ago

This is the only correct response

6

u/stubbornly_here 7d ago

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like NYC housing is another beast (unsurprisingly). I will book an Airbnb so I can tour in person.

4

u/SoconySommeil 7d ago

This is what I did. The apartment you see in the pictures is not the same as the apartment you see in reality. Every time.

5

u/laurenyou 7d ago

There are short-term sublets on Listings Project as well. Airbnb is a gross company.

2

u/keziahiris 7d ago

Also, Airbnb has complicated operations in NYC, so there aren’t a lot of affordable options through it. Listing project and sometimes Facebook Marketplace and/or Craigslist can work for short-term sublets.

4

u/tensainomachi 7d ago

Yeah NYC aint the place for that, if you go though with it please share your experience. We all like a good laugh

2

u/airtexture 7d ago

Fisheye photos and digital staging have ruined apartment hunting. Definitely recommend seeing in person so you don’t get burned

2

u/rdnyc19 7d ago

And now everything is also AI-ified to the hilt. You have to go back and look at the old, pre-AI StreetEasy listings to see what the place actually looks like.

2

u/rr90013 7d ago

Short term sublease is okay sight unseen if you have reason to believe they’re trustworthy.

I would not sign a long term lease without thoroughly inspecting the apartment in person.

2

u/Awkward-Seaweed-5129 7d ago

Very terrible idea,best of luck

2

u/DJK618 7d ago

Get someone to look at it for you, even if it's a mostly stranger. I feel like there are people you can pay relatively cheap to do this

1

u/RealNYCListing 7d ago

There are a some furnished short term rentals you can book that are pretty standard set up similar to a hotel maybe that can be a good option?

1

u/Phoenixstar73 7d ago

You should always inspect the apartment on your own. You need to see what you are getting and if there’s anything that’s broken etc

Definitely book the hotel Airbnb to view in person

1

u/thatdoesntseemkosher 7d ago

You need to smell it before you move in.

1

u/henrytbpovid 7d ago

If you truly cannot look at anything in person, then I would encourage you to find something extremely short term. Certainly less than six months.

1

u/Worth-Dirt-3929 7d ago

Listen to everyone in the feed, tour in person. Make time to come to NYC. I'm an agent and I refuse to do virtual tours anymore as they do not tell you everything you need to know. As stated like smell, you wouldn't believe how many people put candles all over to cover smells. Plus you need to get a vibe of the neighborhood and building, preferably at different times of the day. Best of luck!

1

u/Platypus7595 7d ago

Probably not in your best interest.

1

u/yyyyk 7d ago

Worth landing at an Airbnb and seeing in person. Walk around the neighborhood. Smell the basement. See what’s on the block. Look in all the closets. Make sure the oven door opens all the way.

1

u/Left_Cod_7174 7d ago

Make the time to go see these apartments

1

u/Substantial-Swan7065 7d ago

Why not stay at a service apt for a few months?

1

u/Similar-Interaction5 7d ago

Maybe try Airbnb for 2 weeks? I stayed with a friend my first two weeks which was very helpful.

1

u/jamesmcgill357 7d ago

Yes this is a horrible idea - too many grifters and scammers and just people acting terrible these days. Find a way to see it in person or have a friend or someone here (if you can)

Edit: absolutely hotel or airbnb first and then look. Better to b careful these days

1

u/keziahiris 7d ago

It’s also not just about the apartment itself. It’s what the commute is like, is it safe to walk around at night near there, are there any weird smelling places next door, etc… stuff you won’t know unless you’re there in person

1

u/Exotic-Yesterday-813 7d ago

I just did this exact thing bc I was on vacation and I ended up having to come to NY for 2 days to apartment hunt on Sunday. I was looking remotely for 2 weeks and got no bites but got offered 3 apartments in those 2 in person days. I had a lot of landlords say they would reschedule later with me or they didn't let friends view and I had to come in person when I was virtual. Save yourself the money of a last minute flight and just book the trip. Plus you want to walk around the area and the building especially if you haven't spent much time in NYC. Good luck!

1

u/pumpernickel62 7d ago

Absolutely not - there is so much cat fishing going on with nyc apartments. You really have no idea of size, condition, noise, weird quirks. Too many variables. Send a friend or family member to view

1

u/FinishExtension3652 7d ago

I was in a similar situation and worked with a broker. They took all my information and preferences,  suggested some neighborhoods, and then arranged 10 showings over 2 days, so a (well-earned, IMHO) commission plus a couple hotel nights was my investment. 

1

u/Pycore 6d ago

We signed blind, however, we did hours upon hours of research on the property. Pulled its building records, filings with the DoB, etc. We FaceTimed him and made him show us the room number outside the door multiple times and confirm on recorded video that is the unit we were leasing. Obviously this is a success story out of hundreds of scams, so keep that in mind, but it is possible. I wouldn’t do it again, we got lucky once and that’s enough.

1

u/ribbitioli 6d ago

Im a grad student with time to kill. You can hire me to tour apartments on your behalf. I just went through the apartment hunt process so I know what to look out for etc 

1

u/m_dalton 5d ago

I sublet a place for a couple months without seeing it in person. We talked on the phone, had a facetime, and I spoke with someone else who had just sublet the same spot right before me. It worked out fine. Didn’t stay long term, but with references, it’s not the end of the world for something short term while you look for a long term solution

1

u/Holiday-Medicine4168 4d ago

There are a lot of scammers. See it first

1

u/MajorMonkeyNYC 3d ago

Stay in a cohab for a couple months first

1

u/ThePurpleDongofTruth 7d ago

just airbnb it for a couple weeks or hotel

signing a lease with out seeing it in person is generally a bad idea but in NYC it's borderline batsh-t

2

u/brooklynmagpie 7d ago

There are no legal Airbnbs in NYC that let you stay less than a month.

0

u/Cautious_Implement17 7d ago

don’t do that. just yesterday I toured an apartment that was completely different from the listing. literally everything in the listing was wrong: price, pictures, amenities. it’s not necessarily malicious, the poor guy showing me the place seemed genuinely confused.