Rent-Direct.com—Apartment IQ Answers
Find out what you know about renting an apartment in the New York City metro areas. . .

So how did you do? Give your self one point for each correct answer. Check your answers and get some great tips below.

More than 3,500 landlords in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, metro New Jersey and Westchester post their apartment listings to Rent-Direct.com. This gives you more choices than any other service out there, and you will never pay a broker fee.

Our Rent-DirectAdvisors will show you the best way to find and qualify for your next apartment.

Example: 
You find a fabulous apartment for $1500 a month. A landlord in Manhattan will require you to earn about 40 times the rent ($60,000) to consider your application. A landlord outside of Manhattan will require you to earn approximately 30 times the rent ($45,000). If you're on a tight budget, living outside Manhattan can be a good option.

If you don't meet that requirement, you can consider other options. You can pay several months rent in advance, get a guarantor, find a roommate to help you with the rent or choose a less expensive apartment. Call your Rent-DirectAdvisors for some helpful tips on qualifying for your apartment.

If you or your family can afford to pre-pay several months rent, some landlords may consider renting to you.

A guarantor guarantees that s/he will pay your rent on time every month on your behalf in the event you don't mail in that rent check.

If this is your first apartment, you are also likely to need a guarantor even if you're living with one or more roommates. In a roommate situation, only one guarantor is required. Landlords are business people and they want to know that each party signing a lease is good for the rent.

Your rent and security deposit are only part of the many financial requirements involved with moving. Be smart and prepare for these additional costs:

• Credit Report fees (get your credit score )
• Apartment Application fees (varies from landlord to landlord)
• Moving company or truck rental fees (save big time with us)
• Moving boxes and supplies (get these wholesale through us)
• Moving insurance (a really good idea if you have some valuables that you don't want to live without
• Broker fees (NOT necessary if you use Rent-Direct.com)

We can save you hundreds of dollars on most of these expenses. Just ask your Rent-DirectAdvisor how to budget for a move.

Guarantors need to make 50 to 75 times your rent in yearly income. They have to be able to cover their own life expenses plus your rent. The good news is your guarantor does not have to be a parent. If your parent can't swing the rent, you can call uncle John or your mom's best friend to vouch for you.

Example:

The apartment you want is $1,200 a month.

Your guarantor needs to earn 50 x $1200, or $60,000 a year for an apartment outside of Manhattan; or 75 x $1,200, or $90,000 a year for an apartment in Manhattan, to qualify as your guarantor.

We give you direct access to thousands of landlords and their apartments via the web. This means you get to choose the apartments you want to see with no pressure from a broker.

We'll keep you up to date on the latest listings that match your profile, provide you with tons of apartment and neighborhood information, and give you expert assistance to make your apartment search easier.

All we ask of students is a nominal, one-time registration of $175 to access our database and services for three months--that's $20 off the full price! This will save you thousands of dollars on your move, which leaves you extra cash to pay for renting a van or truck, furniture, appliances, accessories, a new iPod, you name it.

Example:

Let's say you find a great one-bedroom apartment for $1,500 a month on Rent-Direct.com. The same exact apartment is listed on another website, but there you can access it only through the listing broker.

It sounds like the apartment is everything you hoped for and more.

If you see the apartment through the broker and decide to rent it, you'll pay a fee of 15% of the annual rent for the broker's services. That will cost you $2,700. 

Or, as a Rent-Direct.com member, you can rent the same apartment directly from the landlord and skip the 15% broker fee entirely.

You save $2,525 ($2,700 - $175) and lots of time. Plus, you may receive a move-in incentive, such as free rent or a rebate. 

You do the math.

We highly recommend you run your own credit report to see what it says before you start looking at apartments. Landlords traditionally charge applicants a credit report fee that can run $25 and up. A basic report is only $14.95 through Rent-Direct.com. Carefully check your report for errors and report any you may find immediately to the credit reporting agency. 

Print several copies of your credit report and put them in a folder along with the other typical paperwork needed to submit an application. Carry the folder with you when you're out looking for apartments. You'll score big points with the landlord for being prepared when you show up with your application paperwork in hand. 

You wouldn't go to a job or internship interview without a resume, right? Think of your application paperwork, including the credit report, as a resume when hunting for an apartment.

Sadly, since 9/11, more and more landlords are now running background checks that reveal your past. While this seems harsh, no one wants a potential trouble maker, or worse, living in their building.