Finding an apartment in New York City can be just as challenging & exciting as graduating college! Endless paperwork, flights of stairs, and fees? Do not be discouraged. This is only a sliver of what you are going to experience in the city that never sleeps. Ditch The Space is dedicated to connecting available spaces to financially responsible renters. We are the future of seamless subletting and renting.

Here are some tips for living the dream in New York City, from a chronic renter.

• Communicate like an adult, call for details, email to confirm.
• Be patient, and tough, & ask for what you want, New York is full of Type A’s; not psychics
• Except in Little Italy because there, you will find many psychics.
• Small doesn’t mean bad, all the best restaurants, music venues, and grocers are compact and convenient ..with the exception of espresso lattes and shiny buildings, many things here are small, efficient, and great!
• People schedule play dates for their kids & dogs, don’t be shy! Meet your neighbors.
• It is safer to discuss politics rather than Yankees VS Mets.
• Do laundry, often! Nothing is worse than lugging 50 lbs of clothing up 4 flights of stairs to your apartment, in a classic pre-war townhouse with no doorman.
• In addition to paying for groceries, and paying for them to be delivered, the young man delivering them will expect a tip.
• Be aware. If you have the time, walk! Avoid the subways at rush hour and accept the fact that it will take you an hour to do almost any errand in the Big Apple!
  

You will spend as much time planning a vacation out of here as you will thanking the heavens that you don’t reside anywhere else. There is a deep sense of peace that comes from knowing your place in the world. Though it may be small, like a studio in Midtown, it is entirely your own. Here is a not so small rental available for assignment for about 8 more months. Click on the pictures below for the full listing & details!

 

Pet owners everywhere have been going to great lengths, for many years to get approved in new condo’s and apartments. To make life easier, Ditch The Space has many listings that are pet friendly, we even provide a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ option on the listing! The inspiration for this post was meeting a Dalmatian in a gypsy cab this morning, yes the dog was in the cab with me.

2014 is in full swing, people all over NYC are adjusting and making arrangements for this somewhat new infatuation with puppies! It seems on every corner in Brooklyn there is a dog friendly something, or other, including pet taxi’s. While this is exciting, are we forgetting the difficulties of having a dog in the city? Delicate paws on hot, summertime pavement, barking at the neighbors every move, dog hair on your pea coat before a meeting (thanks Montana, the lovable taxi-dog I mentioned earlier) and of course, cleaning up after them! Pet friendly Manhattan is on the rise. The traditional “pet deposit” is losing steam. More and more buildings, property owners, real estate agents and landlords are going pet friendly! Need to ditch your pet friendly space? Click here and don’t forget to select ‘Yes’ on the pets allowed tab!

Featured Pet Friendly Listings

  

 

Stressing out about bringing your dog into the big city? Need to smooth it over with the neighbors? Socialize! Introduce him/her to the neighbors. As long as your dog is friendly enough and trained for this type of interaction, your neighbors will most likely love your best friend, too! A neighborly gesture goes a long way in the ever blatant, not-knowing-your-neighbors city we live in. I have a large dog and I find comfort in letting new neighbors know we have extra security on our floor.

What to do when you’re finally settled? Get familiar with your neighborhood. Ditch The Space’s favorite, pet friendly parks include Central Park, with over 20 on and off leash play areas, and The East River Esplanade Dog Run, found on The East River at E. 63rd Street. Sign up for the Central Park Conservancy Paws newsletter for more dog related news!

Brooklyn is way ahead of the game, offering hotels, restaurants, parks, and luxury buildings that are all pet friendly! Manhattan got the memo and is following suit to the new, hip, pet parent trend.

The perfect window sill for a kitten!

Upper East Side one bedroom

Liberty Green $6000 per month

New Jersey’s Met Life Stadium is hosting their first Super Bowl! On Sunday February 2nd, 2014, between 70,000-100,000 people will enjoy the NFL’s first cold weather, open-air stadium Super Bowl game. Advertisement dollars in the millions mark have been spent, many thanks to the NFL Commissioners. With that being said, hotel rooms in Super Bowl host cities are always at least double the price. Here in New York and New Jersey, some establishments are reporting increases as much as three to five times the standard price. Many hotels in the greater New York City area typically have a two to three night minimum, with some, amending that policy to a three to four night requirement due to the high volume of reservations. As hotel rooms sell out, prices increase and guest policies become even more strict. Well done, NFL. And welcome to the marketing and media capital of the nation.

Desirable locations such as Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Hoboken, NJ are getting anywhere from $3,000 – $28,000 per person for a Super Bowl related stay! Insane, I know. Hotel rates are incredibly high (increasing more everyday) and only put you up for a few days. Not too appealing? Ditch The Space has you covered. Consider this..

Sublet an apartment!

  

Why? Well for starters, there is no possible way to be a successful tourist in this city, in such a short time. Subletting gives you the freedom to stay in a space for at least thirty days. Enjoy the comforts of a private home and avoid the busy hotels! Not to mention the lovely incentives offered; many of our listings at www.ditchthespace.com currently have flat screen TV’s, beautiful furniture, and discounts on spaces with special circumstances.

Sublets are simply an easy way to get a good deal.

This listing has 1.5 months left on the lease, offering a 10% urgency discount on the first month’s rent. Click the picture above to see the full listing.

In Manhattan right now, rental prices are at all time highs, and some sources say they have hit a ceiling. Prices to buy are also at all time highs but are expected to continue to climb due to foreign demand. What’s interesting is that the annual price to rent an apartment in Manhattan in some cases equals the landlord’s annual cost just to maintain the taxes and common charges on the apartment. So what’s so great about buying a home in NYC? The benefit to home ownership is clearly financial security. However, if one can attain financial security through other means such as growing one’s business, then that individual might not be so foolish after all for renting, especially if that business rate of growth surpasses the rate of growth in the apartment value. Over the next decade, whereby many expect interest rates to rise and inflation to rise, it’s very possible that the rate of growth in apartment value will not be as a high as the last decade. For the past decade, all that we saw were rates going down, which has lifted asset values. Over the next decade, rising rates will negatively impact asset value annual rate of growth.

New York City is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. There is, however, a way to get deals on residential spaces. Sublets. Subletting can offer certain perks that traditional leases don’t.

• Furniture included.
• Negotiation on price and terms.
• Cheaper monthly rent.

Renters can potentially get an incredible deal by subletting. Sublets usually have lower monthly costs, because the rate was set months ago and hasn’t been affected by inflation or lack of supply, both of which lead to rapidly rising rental rates.

Where is the demand coming from?

• Corporate employees who are moving to NYC temporarily.
• College students moving to NYC for internships.
• Recent college graduates just starting out in NYC.

Who is looking to unload their space?

• Local NYC families that have outgrown their space and need to move.
• Professionals who are being transferred out of NYC for their job.
• Recent college graduates who are leaving NYC for a job.
• College students who are going home for the summer.

If you want to shop smart, you should definitely consider sublets!

Start searching here.