Need advice for NYC first time home buyer

[Paula Londono]

Hi everyone! I’m currently in the process of closing a deal for a studio apartment in NYC. The unit is sponsored by the building and after a couple hurdles it seems like we are getting closer to closing. I don’t have any relatives/friends in this country that own real estate so I’ve been pretty much navigating this on my own for the past couple of months. I would really appreciate if anyone has any first time homebuyer tip/ they could share. I plan on living with my mom in my current apartment, and renting the new apartment out to someone else so the mortgage will pay itself. I’m a bit nervous because I’ve never been a landlord and I don’t know the first thing about marketing the apartment. My real estate agent said I should wait until the deal is finalized to start marketing the apartment online. What is the best way to find tenants??

In general, any advice you could share would be really helpful to me!!

[Joel B.]

Hi Paula.

I would suggest you start with your realtor to see if they can help you with finding tenants. I believe that is something realtors do in NYC, but I don't know that market.

Craigslist is always a great option, as well as Zillow. You may want to also talk to local investors to see what they do to find tenants. This lesson has already been learned by others in your area, so go get that wisdom and don't make their mistakes.

You need to start documenting your rental criteria as soon as possible. It needs to be written down so you can objectively look at each potential tenant and defend yourself if you are ever accused of bias or discrimination (the illegal kind). Here's a beginning list of criteria to start with. Adjust it as you feel makes sense.

• Credit score of 600 or more
• No evictions in prior 10 years of rental history
• Monthly income of three times rent
• No criminal record, or criminal record older than 10 years
• No pets
• Good references from previous landlords

Make sure you vet people over the phone/email before you accept an application from them. Go over your criteria so they know whether they qualify before submitting a rental application. Collect your fee with the rental application and make sure you get a list of their three past landlords. Do not rent to anyone until you have checked their references. Keep in mind that if they are a bad tenant, the most recent/current landlord will probably say good things about them hoping they will leave. Talk to older landlords to get their perspective. A great question to ask is "would you rent to them again?"

Hope this helps!