fined a new apartment

Resources abound to aid you in your apartment search! 

 which one(s) should you use? Perhaps a combination of sites? Let’s explore the pros and any cons of some popular sites.

-The first thing you notice about this site is the interactive map in the center of the screen – it's amazing, especially if you aren’t super fluent in the real estate speak of New York, which is constantly inventing new neighborhood names.
-Enter some basic criteria in the dropdown menus – price, number of bedrooms, lifestyle (e.g., student, cooperative living, senior living), move-in date
-The map then only displays apartments that meet your criteria
-Many offer video tours
-The only downside was that some of the “common” living situations (really, technically SROs) were listed as one to however-many-total bedroom apartments – that was confusing (e.g., you’re looking for a two-bedroom; you’d still see a common living situation with two or more bedrooms such that other people would be living with you)

-Great interactive map
-Easy to use filters – the “exact match” filter option on the size makes it easier to look for exactly two bedrooms (if that’s what you want)
-A number of apartments I looked at didn’t explicitly say what the fees for applying and the broker’s fees would be – I find that a bit frustrating and confusing
-They also confuse rent stabilization with rent control

-Good interactive map
-No borough or neighborhood filters, though, so you have to put in the location of the search as “Manhattan, NY” (which, yes, we know is not really an address)
-Really clear pet filters
-Very accessible photos and the text is a nice, readable size by default
-Provides a lot of clear information about the neighborhood in which the apartment is located – schools, shops, restaurants and eateries (even crime statistics)
-Also, does not have information about whether the apartment you are looking at is actually still available – you have to contact the landlord/broker, which is not too inconvenient, but it seems you might be getting your hopes up about an apartment that has already been rented, but has just not had its listing removed from the site
-Only photos – no video tours

-Superb neighborhood filters that are easy to use
-You can even choose subdivisions of neighborhoods, like “West Chelsea”
-Clear options to look for only "No Fee” apartments (because why pay more?)
-Options to filter for apartments with video tours and/or 3D tours
-Only displays basic options up front – neighborhood, min/max rent, bedrooms, and then you can click on Advanced Options to filter for say an in unit washer/dryer
-Clear information on how many other users have viewed a property
-Also, clear price history, so you can easily see if the rent offered has been going down, how often, and, therefore, whether you might be able to negotiate an even lower rental rate

-Simple home page with clear, easy to use neighborhood filters and room filters, plus if you are new to New York, or looking in a borough you’re not so familiar with, there is a cool feature whereby you can float your cursor over a neighborhood name, and the neighborhood will be highlighted in orange on the map to the left of the filter
-Doesn’t let you filter by price until the second screen, so don’t think it won’t let you do that, as price is probably one of the most important criteria along with location
-No video or 3D tours – just pictures

-One of the easiest websites to use
-Really clear indications of price drops
-3D Tours available
-Good layout such that filtering options are always available and open in the same screen as the search results
-Also, clear indications of when the apartment was posted

-It’s an uphill battle to escape the feeling that Craigslist isn’t the most reliable site in terms of potential scams
-It’s easy to search, and there are clear filtering options
-Listings don’t always have the best quantity or quality of pictures
-All that being said, there are some gems on the site, and you could well find a great deal on a great  apartment – you just have to be willing to put in the extra time and tolerate some level of risk about the legitimacy of the listing
There you have it – Happy apartment hunting!