30 Times People Were Shocked At How Bad New York Apartments Are And Posted These Pics As Proof
When you think of New York City, what comes to your mind? The outsiders usually say that it’s full of diversity, innovation, and culture. But anyone who's ever lived in NYC knows life there isn't as glamorous as it looks. After all, when you have 8M people staying in one place, things are bound to get chaotic.
The rental property market in the City is quite intense — the average price for a studio apartment there is $2,830. This is a 32 percent increase compared to last year. While some flats tend to be in perfect shape, others come with frustrating design flaws, missing bathrooms, or showers in the kitchen.
New Yorkers who experienced the "pleasure" of seeing such mishaps decided to snap a photo and share it with the internet. So get ready to appreciate your current living situation and take a look at some absurd and unexpected things people came across while apartment hunting. Continue scrolling, upvote the ones that baffled you the most, and make sure to share your thoughts in the comments below!
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To learn more about the housing market in NYC, we managed to get in touch with Kirsten Jordan, real estate advisor with Douglas Elliman and founder of the Kirsten Jordan Team. She told Bored Panda that the situation could be described in two words: high demand. "Apartments are selling and renting faster than ever before because there aren’t enough of them and because everyone wants to be back in New York," she said.
We also reached out to Adrian Savino, director of leasing at Living New York, who pointed out that "inventory is lower than it has been in past years as COVID-19 rents and deals were picked off by renters. Supply chains/labor markets were disrupted so delivery of the new product was delayed. Because of that, prices are being driven up."
Due to the rising rent, people often have to opt for low-quality apartments. "Most renters are confined by certain parameters, whether it's compromising on space for price and location or quality of building and amenities," Savino explained that most individuals have to make a sacrifice in some way.
Seems like landlords are just shoving all 'necessities' in the apartment
"The popularity of the City and high demand for housing, coupled with the fact that Manhattan is an island and has a limited amount of inventory, leads to a higher price per square foot than many other cities," Brian P. Hourigan, managing director at Bond New York, told us. "Even during the last few years, when COVID-19 initially caused many to leave the City for more affordable and less populated places, a surge of returning and new New Yorkers has caused the market to [become] as strong as what it was pre-pandemic."
New York is notorious for its tiny flats. "Your average city apartment is obviously going to be smaller than your average single-family home," Jordan said. "That’s just the nature of city-living anywhere in the world. You trade square-footage for the ease and excitement of living in the center of everything – with the best restaurants, shopping, museums, parks, theaters, and entertainment all right outside your front door."
An average NYC apartment has 733 square feet compared to the national average of 882 square feet, Savino added. However, while many people believe that The Big Apple has far smaller apartments than in the rest of the US, Seattle rentals (with an average size of 711 square feet) offer less space than a regular Manhattan unit.
No, it's not. It's actually very smart. You can prepare your breakfast and take a shower simultaneously and the morning routine convenience here cannot be overstated.
For $800, You Too Can Relax In Spacious Luxury
I believe that's what a property agent would call a 'pied-à-terre'.
Hourigan added that the limited amount of living space in the City makes the apartments more efficiently designed. "Open kitchens become part of the main living space, bathrooms sometimes have showers instead of bathtubs, and rooms like walk-in closets and formal dining rooms are less prevalent," he said.
"However, a commonality among many New Yorkers is that they love to live the majority of their lives out in the City itself." They go shopping, try out new restaurants, head downtown for the nightlife: "People don't generally move to New York City to stay at home, so the best way to think about your apartment is that it's your bedroom, and your living room is the rest of the City, which is right outside your door!"
If this room ($900) looks more like a closet, that’s because it is!
Yet, many who just moved into NYC or are on the hunt for a new place to live often feel intimidated and discouraged by the process of finding a new place. Hourigan said that if you want to be prepared to rent in the City, you need to do your homework ahead of time. "Set a realistic budget for yourself, then explore what each neighborhood has to offer for that budget before seeking out the assistance of a real estate professional."
He continued: "Landlords and management companies often have multiple applications for their best units, so you want your application to be the most attractive to ensure you'll be the applicant who's ultimately approved to lease the apartment."
Adrian Savino noted that people should come prepared with paperwork and do their diligence digitally before visiting in person. "This will help you be decisive when you find something of interest and convert on the unit you end up choosing," he said. "Demand is high for low supply."
When asked about predictions for the future, Brian P. Hourigan thinks that the rental market will continue to be strong. "Folks who are new to the City might consider exploring more affordable areas like Upper Manhattan or further East in Queens or Brooklyn, where there's often more space and value for their budget," he suggested.
$600: Includes A 'Roommate Who Has To Walk Through Your Room To Get To Theirs'
Overpay In Style For This $800 'Artist Loft' Complete With Exposed Plumbing
As someone who has been apartment hunting in New York, I don’t mind this?? For $800?
The public transit system in NYC is convenient and efficient. Hourigan believes it’s not as important to live in the same neighborhood where you work or want to spend recreational time. "Being open to a short commute to your destination on the subway or a bus can save money on your home, provide more space, and offer a better overall quality of life," he told us.
Come move to Oregon our apartments are cheap and they their own toilet each
This Beautiful View From My NYC Apartment
Remember the “‘Morning’s hereee, the morning’s here.. Sunshine is here..” scene from Friends?
"Some people said New York was dead. And those people were dead wrong," Kirsten Jordan added. Employees are returning to their offices, students are coming back to the campuses, and venues are going strong with many different events and shows. So if you’re one of those people who's looking for a rental in NYC right now, Jordan suggested to be "flexible about your must-haves and if you find a place you love, don’t hesitate because someone else will take it."
$950 A Month Apartment In NYC (Harlem). No Stovetop Or Private Bathroom
Looks like they took large apartments and split them into smaller ones then added random stuff that couldn't fit in the actual rooms it was to go to.
For $475 This 'Semi-Private Living Room Space' Could Become Your Semi-Dream Apartment
Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn. Two bunks$500 and $600 per month. Electricity included.
$700 Gets You This 7x5 Slice Of Heaven
Or you can just shoot someone and get an 8.5 X 14 foot prison cell for free.
Man lives in ‘smallest apartment in NYC’ - here’s what it’s like inside
Actually, we've just seen smaller on this thread. "Roommate has to walk through your apartment to get to theirs" tops this by a looong shot.
Note: this post originally had 38 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
This is pure greed on the part of the owners. They are subdividing appartments into smaller and smaller flats and charging a fortune. Hopefully working from home will mean young people don't NEED to be in the city in order to work there and these unscrupulous landlords will lose out.
You never needed to live in the city for work, commuting from a little further is an option. It's the societal standard and the live outside work that makes it such an attractive place to be. It's nice to have everything within arms length. And it's not greed as much as it is how economies work. And as long as people only use it for a quick shower and to sleep, it's clearly acceptable.
Load More Replies...Yeah, I live in NYC and have my whole life, most of these are BS. And besides most of these are people who are looking in prime neighborhoods in select parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. You can find lots of affordable housing in safe good neighborhoods. This is how you can tell these people are not New Yorkers, but recent transplants who don't know anything and think this is what NYC housing is and fall for it. In my neighborhood (ranked in the 5 safest in NYC) you can get a 3BR 2bath 1200sq apt for 2400-2800 a month and a a 650sq foot 1br 1bath apt for 1500/month. 300sq studio for 1k/month. And there are cheaper areas that are safe. And its just 25 min by public transit from midtown. This is just housing for gullible transplants
Thanks for the insight! I was wishing all these had neighborhoods with the price.
Load More Replies...Lol... I still don't understand the appeal of New York unless you make atleast 6 figures a year. Why? I just don't get it? How is this worth it?
I had to stop halfway through because the photos make me feel very claustrophobic!
These would throw me into a spiral of depression from which I might never recover. I feel like I can't breathe just looking at them. In a free capitalist society, slum landlords can subdivide anything and charge anything that the market will tolerate. Another reason why I hate capitalism. I would prefer a system where there was a fixed minimum space that you could rent to someone to live in (like at least 350 sq feet (32m squared), and that rent is automatically reduced when repairs are needed, etc.
just move to Brooklyn or Jersey... When nobody rents from these jerks, they will get real... better yet, how good is your little job in Manhattan that you need to put up with this? People get enough of this and permanently move to the midwest or south doing the same work. Can't do that you say because it pays only half of what you can get? Well do the math, the cost of living is half also... and your kids can live in a suburban house with grass on four sides and go to safe schools... why are you being idiotic and then complaining about it when it is inconvenient? sheesh....
Belgium is catching up. I've seen many of those showers in kitchens in Brussels. Disgusting and should be illegal, and those prices are getting up there to, 1200, 1400, though it's in euros
These are luxury accommodations compared to a lot of mega-cities. Still, only a fool or a masochist would willingly live like this.
Paying that much in rent (especially to live in a very congested city) just boggles my mind. I pay less than 2k a month for my mortgage! But the market here in Ohio is vastly different. I live in a fairly desirable city near all the amenities. I'm saving up for my dream country home and I'm going to rent my house in the city out as it's a prime location for it.
In the mid 2000s I had a beautiful apartment in Brooklyn. It was in a popular area near Prospect Park & 2 blocks from the subway & walking distance to downtown Brooklyn. I was able to park my car with not too much issue. The building was new at the time built in 2000 so no bugs or mice. It had 3 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms. A full DISHWASHER & WASHER & DRYER in unit (neither are common in NYC). The Rent was $2000 a month which included water! I shared with friends & rent based on bedroom size so one room was $550 a month. You can’t live cheaper than that in most cities! Side note- the owner bought the 3 unit townhouse for a super low price as the buildings were built to bring up the neighborhood & he didn’t have to pay property taxes for 5 years. Plus he lived in the smallest unit & rented the 2 bigger units which covered the mortgage. I think he paid around $700,000. Now it’s worth 3 million.
People always complains California market, but look at NYC tiny homes all these ridiculous layouts and price, very depressing. In Cali you rent a standard apartment/house between $1925, $2,250, studio 700 sqft and $3,500 1 bed, 1 bath in Los Feliz. West Hollywood 1 bed, 1 bath 550 sqft $1725, $2500 1 bed, 1 bath 789 sqft, $2795 2 bed, 2 bath 925 sqft, and in Sherman Oaks $1875 1 bed, 1 bath 900 sqft, $2700 2 bed, 1.5 bath 1047 sqft. way better than tiny homes in NY.
I have something nice here too. This $1100 room with the heater on the ceiling. Is this a normal NYC thing? :D queen-room...51364a.jpg
Safe to say i have seen better rooms (yes rooms) in Mumbai than this... Even the shanties are better to live...
I'm not justifying these landlords' actions at all, but why live in trendy Manhattan neighborhoods if you literally live in a closet? You're only paying for the posh zip code at that point.
What I found most disturbing were the comments below each foto. That there are actually people writing that they didn't think it was too bad!!! Come on, you have to be insane to call that living. Now I get why no one knows how to cook.
I can't imagine living like that smh, my mortgage is 1091.00 a month for a 2200 Sq ft house.
And this is why I also moved from Cincinnati ohio and Portland Oregon to be in the country in TN. Bye big cities.
I couldn't imagine living in a large city. Grew up & still live in central Washington state. Rents a bit high here but absolutely nothing compared to that. Our home is 3 full bedrooms, 2 full baths, 400sf living room with 18' ceilings on 3 acres - just a bit over $1k mortgage a month. I stayed in Arkansas for 6 months & rented a 2bd beautiful home w/hard wood floors & huge back yard for $650 month on quiet culdasac. How can landlords get by with charging such outrageous rent in big cities like NYC? Because there will always be a demand the even the tiniest apartments. For those who was raised in a small town & moved to NYC as an adult.. Is living in a large city better? Just curios since I've always been a,small town person.
With "apartments" this small maybe they could plan the interiors better, like a shower instead of a bath tub, for example.
Why anyone would live in NYC is beyond me. Say what you will about "flyover country", but I'm happier living in the middle of cornfields than I ever was living in the city. And the cost of living is so much cheaper. The peace and quiet is so relaxing.
Almost all of these would be illegal in Canada. You need to have a safety exit, door of window, and bathroom. And for those prices, we have a detached house in a cul-de-sac with tenants that pay 30% of the mortgage. Real estate is just INSANE.... I get it's New York. But come on, what kind of quality of life is that?
They are illegal in the US too because we require the same safety features. People will do this until they get caught.
Load More Replies...And then you see the Billionaires Row. Mostly empty. Half sold. Priced at hundreds of millions. Thousands square footage of livable space, unused. Being there as a wealth retention instrument. You guys need to introduce taxes on unoccupied property and scale them on livable space and value.
And they say Floridians are crazy. NYC landlords give them a run for their money.
The concept of supply and demand does not mean that others have to supply what we demand. I'm not saying that it's right for landlords to charge so much for these places but they're certainly within their rights to do so. It's a straightforward question really. If paying that much for a crap hole isn't acceptable to you, do whatever you have to to get out of NYC rather than whatever you have to to find an affordable place. Of course, I am not referring to those who are too impoverished to leave. I'm speaking of the the American dream. That anyone no matter their background, nationality , whatever can be what they most desire. I fear that dream has nearly died.
this is why people should live in iowa we arent fancy and we have good apartments
And I thought $1300 for a 600sq foot apartment in Washington DC was bad..
I remember being so depressed when I would go to my grandmother's apartment in NYC. Apparently it was a goddamn palace. It had two (tiny) actual rooms, a (tiny) kitchen and a balcony. It would probably go for 9k a month now...
Grew up on a farm, live in small towns, and big city. I can say decisively that the big city isn't to my taste. That said, some careers cannot be pursued past a certain point outside certain urban centers (NYC or London, for example), or there may be study programs only available at urban sites (e.g., Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD, USA, or CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA, come to mind b/c I'm medical). It's a trade-off. If they're going to complain about rent, then is the trade-off worth it? Is it worth two hours each way commuting by rail/bus, expense of car, etc., to (as someone put it) live in "Podunk, bumpkin"? That's their trade-off. The landlords exploit the situation, just as any profiteers will, so... stop going online, go vote for better mayors/city council/etc! IMO.
I realize that not everyone can get out but why live in a city? Small towns are generlly cheaper, you can find similar work, and if needs be, run in for a weekend to get your city fix. I lived in small towns most of my life. Friends often said I was missing out but I wasn't. One said, for example, I never got a chance to see live theatre. I had been to 3 plays that year, they had never been. I dunno, just do not see the fascination with cities.
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This is pure greed on the part of the owners. They are subdividing appartments into smaller and smaller flats and charging a fortune. Hopefully working from home will mean young people don't NEED to be in the city in order to work there and these unscrupulous landlords will lose out.
You never needed to live in the city for work, commuting from a little further is an option. It's the societal standard and the live outside work that makes it such an attractive place to be. It's nice to have everything within arms length. And it's not greed as much as it is how economies work. And as long as people only use it for a quick shower and to sleep, it's clearly acceptable.
Load More Replies...Yeah, I live in NYC and have my whole life, most of these are BS. And besides most of these are people who are looking in prime neighborhoods in select parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. You can find lots of affordable housing in safe good neighborhoods. This is how you can tell these people are not New Yorkers, but recent transplants who don't know anything and think this is what NYC housing is and fall for it. In my neighborhood (ranked in the 5 safest in NYC) you can get a 3BR 2bath 1200sq apt for 2400-2800 a month and a a 650sq foot 1br 1bath apt for 1500/month. 300sq studio for 1k/month. And there are cheaper areas that are safe. And its just 25 min by public transit from midtown. This is just housing for gullible transplants
Thanks for the insight! I was wishing all these had neighborhoods with the price.
Load More Replies...Lol... I still don't understand the appeal of New York unless you make atleast 6 figures a year. Why? I just don't get it? How is this worth it?
I had to stop halfway through because the photos make me feel very claustrophobic!
These would throw me into a spiral of depression from which I might never recover. I feel like I can't breathe just looking at them. In a free capitalist society, slum landlords can subdivide anything and charge anything that the market will tolerate. Another reason why I hate capitalism. I would prefer a system where there was a fixed minimum space that you could rent to someone to live in (like at least 350 sq feet (32m squared), and that rent is automatically reduced when repairs are needed, etc.
just move to Brooklyn or Jersey... When nobody rents from these jerks, they will get real... better yet, how good is your little job in Manhattan that you need to put up with this? People get enough of this and permanently move to the midwest or south doing the same work. Can't do that you say because it pays only half of what you can get? Well do the math, the cost of living is half also... and your kids can live in a suburban house with grass on four sides and go to safe schools... why are you being idiotic and then complaining about it when it is inconvenient? sheesh....
Belgium is catching up. I've seen many of those showers in kitchens in Brussels. Disgusting and should be illegal, and those prices are getting up there to, 1200, 1400, though it's in euros
These are luxury accommodations compared to a lot of mega-cities. Still, only a fool or a masochist would willingly live like this.
Paying that much in rent (especially to live in a very congested city) just boggles my mind. I pay less than 2k a month for my mortgage! But the market here in Ohio is vastly different. I live in a fairly desirable city near all the amenities. I'm saving up for my dream country home and I'm going to rent my house in the city out as it's a prime location for it.
In the mid 2000s I had a beautiful apartment in Brooklyn. It was in a popular area near Prospect Park & 2 blocks from the subway & walking distance to downtown Brooklyn. I was able to park my car with not too much issue. The building was new at the time built in 2000 so no bugs or mice. It had 3 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms. A full DISHWASHER & WASHER & DRYER in unit (neither are common in NYC). The Rent was $2000 a month which included water! I shared with friends & rent based on bedroom size so one room was $550 a month. You can’t live cheaper than that in most cities! Side note- the owner bought the 3 unit townhouse for a super low price as the buildings were built to bring up the neighborhood & he didn’t have to pay property taxes for 5 years. Plus he lived in the smallest unit & rented the 2 bigger units which covered the mortgage. I think he paid around $700,000. Now it’s worth 3 million.
People always complains California market, but look at NYC tiny homes all these ridiculous layouts and price, very depressing. In Cali you rent a standard apartment/house between $1925, $2,250, studio 700 sqft and $3,500 1 bed, 1 bath in Los Feliz. West Hollywood 1 bed, 1 bath 550 sqft $1725, $2500 1 bed, 1 bath 789 sqft, $2795 2 bed, 2 bath 925 sqft, and in Sherman Oaks $1875 1 bed, 1 bath 900 sqft, $2700 2 bed, 1.5 bath 1047 sqft. way better than tiny homes in NY.
I have something nice here too. This $1100 room with the heater on the ceiling. Is this a normal NYC thing? :D queen-room...51364a.jpg
Safe to say i have seen better rooms (yes rooms) in Mumbai than this... Even the shanties are better to live...
I'm not justifying these landlords' actions at all, but why live in trendy Manhattan neighborhoods if you literally live in a closet? You're only paying for the posh zip code at that point.
What I found most disturbing were the comments below each foto. That there are actually people writing that they didn't think it was too bad!!! Come on, you have to be insane to call that living. Now I get why no one knows how to cook.
I can't imagine living like that smh, my mortgage is 1091.00 a month for a 2200 Sq ft house.
And this is why I also moved from Cincinnati ohio and Portland Oregon to be in the country in TN. Bye big cities.
I couldn't imagine living in a large city. Grew up & still live in central Washington state. Rents a bit high here but absolutely nothing compared to that. Our home is 3 full bedrooms, 2 full baths, 400sf living room with 18' ceilings on 3 acres - just a bit over $1k mortgage a month. I stayed in Arkansas for 6 months & rented a 2bd beautiful home w/hard wood floors & huge back yard for $650 month on quiet culdasac. How can landlords get by with charging such outrageous rent in big cities like NYC? Because there will always be a demand the even the tiniest apartments. For those who was raised in a small town & moved to NYC as an adult.. Is living in a large city better? Just curios since I've always been a,small town person.
With "apartments" this small maybe they could plan the interiors better, like a shower instead of a bath tub, for example.
Why anyone would live in NYC is beyond me. Say what you will about "flyover country", but I'm happier living in the middle of cornfields than I ever was living in the city. And the cost of living is so much cheaper. The peace and quiet is so relaxing.
Almost all of these would be illegal in Canada. You need to have a safety exit, door of window, and bathroom. And for those prices, we have a detached house in a cul-de-sac with tenants that pay 30% of the mortgage. Real estate is just INSANE.... I get it's New York. But come on, what kind of quality of life is that?
They are illegal in the US too because we require the same safety features. People will do this until they get caught.
Load More Replies...And then you see the Billionaires Row. Mostly empty. Half sold. Priced at hundreds of millions. Thousands square footage of livable space, unused. Being there as a wealth retention instrument. You guys need to introduce taxes on unoccupied property and scale them on livable space and value.
And they say Floridians are crazy. NYC landlords give them a run for their money.
The concept of supply and demand does not mean that others have to supply what we demand. I'm not saying that it's right for landlords to charge so much for these places but they're certainly within their rights to do so. It's a straightforward question really. If paying that much for a crap hole isn't acceptable to you, do whatever you have to to get out of NYC rather than whatever you have to to find an affordable place. Of course, I am not referring to those who are too impoverished to leave. I'm speaking of the the American dream. That anyone no matter their background, nationality , whatever can be what they most desire. I fear that dream has nearly died.
this is why people should live in iowa we arent fancy and we have good apartments
And I thought $1300 for a 600sq foot apartment in Washington DC was bad..
I remember being so depressed when I would go to my grandmother's apartment in NYC. Apparently it was a goddamn palace. It had two (tiny) actual rooms, a (tiny) kitchen and a balcony. It would probably go for 9k a month now...
Grew up on a farm, live in small towns, and big city. I can say decisively that the big city isn't to my taste. That said, some careers cannot be pursued past a certain point outside certain urban centers (NYC or London, for example), or there may be study programs only available at urban sites (e.g., Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, MD, USA, or CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA, come to mind b/c I'm medical). It's a trade-off. If they're going to complain about rent, then is the trade-off worth it? Is it worth two hours each way commuting by rail/bus, expense of car, etc., to (as someone put it) live in "Podunk, bumpkin"? That's their trade-off. The landlords exploit the situation, just as any profiteers will, so... stop going online, go vote for better mayors/city council/etc! IMO.
I realize that not everyone can get out but why live in a city? Small towns are generlly cheaper, you can find similar work, and if needs be, run in for a weekend to get your city fix. I lived in small towns most of my life. Friends often said I was missing out but I wasn't. One said, for example, I never got a chance to see live theatre. I had been to 3 plays that year, they had never been. I dunno, just do not see the fascination with cities.
Hello everyone , I want to share a great Testimony on how I got blessed by this great Doctor called Dr wonder he helped me in different ways and I cannot thank him less I got a good relationship with his spells and now I have a good pay job I contacted him on Whatsapp +2349150333852 and told him my difficulty in life and he assured me everything will be fine and I believed him and did what he asked from me to my greatest surprise my ex called me and begged me for everything I was so happy. Words cannot express my gratitude to you Doctor wonder ,you can also contacted him for help today on his drwonder512@yahoo.com or +2349150333852