In New York City, landlords and owners have certain criteria they expect from any tenant in order for them to be approved for an apartment.  Here are the three qualifications landlords are looking for from a tenant in order to be qualified:

 

• Income - You should be making 40 times the monthly rent of any apartment annually.  For example, if your budget is $3,000/month, then you should be earning about $120,000 for the year.  Usually only base income is accepted as part of this formula.  If you earn bonus or commission income then you typically need to show a few years of consistent or increases in income for the supplemental income to be accepted.

 

• Assets – You should be able to show a few months worth of rent in liquid assets in a bank account, stock portfolio, mutual fund, etc.  The reason for this is if you were to unfortunately lose your job, a landlord would want to make sure that you could continue to live at the apartment while you look for new employment.

 

• Credit – Each landlord views credit differently, but usually the better landlords want better credit (and income/assets) from any potential tenant.  Usually a 700 FICO score is the dividing line between what landlords consider good or bad credit.  While there isn’t much you can do to change your credit at the time you apply for an apartment, it is important to let us know of any credit issues you may have so we know how to present that to any landlord.  It's always better for landlords to know about any credit issues upfront as opposed to them finding out on their own.  

Here is a complete list of the documents you will need in order to apply for an apartment in Manhattan:

 

• Letter of Employment – This should be on company letterhead stating salary, position, length of employment, and any other details that indicate you are gainfully employed, and all the income you draw from your employer. This must be signed by a supervisor, manager, or HR representative. If you are self-employed, a CPA/accountant letter is needed stating all the same information.

 

• Most Recent Pay-Stubs – Please gather at least your last two pay-stubs, but four would be preferred. If you get paid via direct deposit, please provide proof via account statement where funds are deposited.

 

• Tax Returns – Must be the most recent year’s tax returns, but last two years are preferred as some owners/landlords will look for salary history as a means of financial stability. If you have not filed your most recent tax returns, then a W-2 showing gross salary from previous year will suffice as the most recent year, but you always want to show at least one year of filed tax returns.

 

• Bank Statements – Again your most recent two or three bank statements are needed to show liquid assets. Any account you show should have several months’ worth of rent at a minimum.

 

• Landlord letter – While not always needed, a letter from your current/most recent landlord(s) stating you pay your rent on time and have been an overall superb tenant will only help come approval time.

 

• Business Reference Letters – These are letters from colleagues at work who can verify your professional character. Usually only needed with Condo/Co-Op rentals.

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• Personal Reference Letters – These are letters from friends and family that will indicate to a board your personal character. Usually only needed with Condo/Co-Op rentals

 

• Photo ID – Must be a valid form of ID. A driver’s license usually used, but passport will suffice.

 

The reason why owners and landlords have the financial and paperwork requirements they do is because in New York is it incredibly difficult and cost-prohibitive to evict a tenant - Even if the owner/landlord has a legitimate claim to do so.  Therefore they just want to be sure that whatever tenant they accept has the means to pay the rent and a history of paying it on time.  

 

To look for an apartment without having all paperwork already gathered together and ready to go is to do yourself a disservice.  Remember that the best apartments, the apartments you will be most excited about, are going to have multiple people interested in them soon after they come to market, and most of those other people will have their paperwork together. Therefore you don't want to risk losing an apartment you love simply because of something you could have organized before.  

 

In addition, not only is having all your paperwork together possibly the difference between securing an apartment or not, but it can also assist in negotiating the terms of the lease.  In real estate, verbal negotiation is never as powerful as showing a landlord/management company how organized, pro-active, and what a strong candidate you are financially. To be able to make an offer and accompany it with a qualified and complete application package not only increases our odds of being approved for the apartment you're most excited about, but might also be able to get that apartment for less than the listed rent.

 

The bottom line...Make sure you have all paperwork together prior to starting your search