Apartment rentals New York with NYC luxury apartments

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New York City is on top of another real estate list, no surprise. The list of top 20 worst counties in America to be a landlord, surprise!

Since City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has already announced her bid for the mayoral seat once Mayor Mike Bloomberg completes his term, it was no surprise to hear her include some major promises to the electorate in her annual State of the City address on Monday. Her speech, which largely focused on creating better lifestyles for the middle class, touched a good deal on the issue of rising rents in New York City, because of which many people are unable to afford living here.

Believe it or not, there are 13 other cities in America where 2-bedroom apartments are more expensive than in New York City. So, in theory, if you moved to Honolulu, San Francisco, or even Long Island to rent a 2-bedroom apartment, you would have to pay more. These stats were compiled by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition using “fair market” rents – basically that means that they included rent-controlled and rent-stabilized apartments – and this methodology certainly brought NYC’s ranking down. After all, no other city in America has as many rent-regulated apartments as New York City, not by a long shot. However, this study is far from nuanced, especially since it doesn’t break down average rents for 2-bedrooms by borough. Still, the report highlights an important point: if you want an affordable 2-bedroom in New York City, you might want to look north of 96th Street in Manhattan.

How quickly we forget. 10 years ago, the High Line was a rusted artifact, a blight on West Chelsea, and a large part of the reason that West Chelsea remained underdeveloped and cheaper to rent in than Chelsea itself. West Chelsea has always been something of a separate neighborhood because of its industrial character, slightly out-of-the-way location, and cheap rents relative to the rest of Chelsea and other downtown neighborhoods. However, the High Line changed everything, and that’s not an exaggeration: Rents in West Chelsea now exceed rents in Chelsea, consequently pulling them upward and enhancing the neighborhood as a whole. In fact, rents for luxury apartments in West Chelsea have become similar to neighborhoods like SoHo and Tribeca, Manhattan's most expensive and coveted neighborhoods. Renters looking for great new luxury rentals should look to West Chelsea, because condo owners are cashing in on this sudden popularity by renting out their apartments, giving renters a unique opportunity to live in a neighborhood rich in culture and on the rise.

From earthquake aftershocks to hurricane-turned-tropical-storm Irene, New York City has seen its fair share of natural hazards in 2011. In a city filled to the brim with luxury rental apartments, many renters have a false sense of security and misconceptions about renters insurance. According to a 2010 survey, more than 70% of the 81 million Americans who rent either do not have renters insurance or even know that it exists. Given that the average American renter owns up to $30,000 in personal properties, a renter who finds himself or herself as an unfortunate victim of mother nature would potentially be paying for the bills all out of their own pockets.