John and Katrina were terribly jet lagged when the called me. Just 2 days earlier they arrived in NYC from Tokyo where they lived and worked as teachers for the last four years. You can imagine how they must have felt being back in the states jobless with no home to call their own. They were looking hard to find their new home but were not going to settle.
When I was initially contacted they were looking for a 2 bedroom and called about the 2 bed for $1500 (the “steal of the month” at the time). Luckily this is really a renters market. At the time I had a good amount of inventory which always works in the renters favor. John and Katrina now had plenty of options, good options. We started by seeing the 2 bedroom for $1500 that they called about and they liked it a lot. I’d even say they were very interested, but not trusting their judgement from lack of sleep they asked to see some other options.
We proceeded to view other options in the area, some one beds but mostly two beds, and found ourselves in a charming pre-war one bedroom for $1350 per month. To be honest, I was not going to show them this one because we were looking for a two bedroom but I figured if they saw enough apartments they would have a better understanding of the marketplace in hopes that they would make a confident decision. We saw one other great 2 bedroom by Astoria Park which I was sure that they would love for $1700 per month but while in the apartment they professed their love for the previous 1 bed.
Now came the hard part. Explaining to the landlord that he would be making a good decision by renting to an unemployed couple with no rental history was not an easy task. However, they did have a few things going for them. By showing several recent bank statements, they were able to verify enough money saved to cover the rent for a specific period of time. It also helped that they have very good credit. The landlord happened to be there for the showing. He had a good feeling about them and basically accepted them on the spot. This happens more than you think. Landlords in Astoria are very old fashioned in this way. Many will take into consideration a persons character as major deciding factor and are often willing to overlook blemishes on your finances if they like you. This is just another reason I love working in Astoria.
Good luck in your new home John and Katrina!
