How to rent an apartment in New York City during a pandemic

“Necessity is the mother of invention”

So people ask all the time how the pandemic is impacting the real estate market. In rentals there is a dramatic dichotomy. Two trains running on different tracks.

On one track it is Christmas in May. We are seeing discounts that you might normally see in December.

There in another factor in play. Some landlords want to get deals done, other are feeling cautious, concerned about the financial stability of new tenants. I take a lot of pride in getting people approved.

This week we had someone rejected for a decent but not outstanding credit score. I knew instantly it was a symptom of the pandemic, a real estate cough. I get it landlords are frightened, making that tell tale swerve like people trying to socially distance on the sidewalk.

If I can get people matched up with a rare deal you know you are changing their lives for the better, it’s a great feeling. But there is an uneasy realization, those landlords offering enticing specials might be reluctant to “put a ring” on it.

We have a nice opportunity for someone who needs a nice 1BR on the Upper East Side. 309 East 61 #10. My latest listing.

Along with all of you we spend our days zooming and face timing and keyboarding, video has become real estate gold. It is a big change from the world where sometimes the best apartments had no photos. Getting customers excited to see mystery apartments was part of the game. Now it is a scavenger hunt for video.

Ironically one of the skills that no longer counts is the ability to sniff out a deal without seeing pictures, right now if a tree falls in the forest and nobody films it, it ain’t gonna rent.

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