Usually, The Landlord Makes a Decision in One or Two Days
When you apply for a rental apartment in NYC, generally speaking the landlord makes a decision in a day or two. Sometimes the landlord can take longer especially if you apply for the apartment on Thursday or Friday right before the weekend as most landlords don’t process rental applications over the weekend. Sometimes the landlord’s decision process can take even longer than this.
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Of course, the landlord may also come back with some questions which could delay things, and sometimes it takes a day or two simply to run credit. Some types of credit checks can take even longer than a day or two.
But aside from these items, what determines when a landlord makes a decision?
Unfortunately, it is a little bit of a black box on what is going on behind the scenes when a NYC landlord is reviewing your application. Here are some of the factors which could affect the timing of when the landlord makes a decision:
Time on Market Affects When Landlord Makes a Decision
How long the apartment has been sitting on the market for rent can affect how quickly a landlord gets back to you. If the apartment just hit the market the landlord may want to wait for more qualified or better offers. If the apartment has been sitting on the market for a while, the landlord will generally get back to you more quickly as the landlord knows every minute that passes by is a chance for you to see another apartment.
A Landlord Who Lives Outside NYC Could Affect When Landlord Makes a Decision
Since many landlords live out of the city, some even outside of the country, the amount of time before a landlord makes a decision could depend on the landlord’s geographical location, especially if the landlord is in another time zone. If the landlord is in another time zone, this could easily delay the process by a few days.
Whether There is a Broker Involved Could Affect When The Landlord Makes a Decision
If there is a broker involved in the process then you are also operating on the broker’s schedule. If information is not getting to the landlord right away, this could affect when the landlord makes a decision. Most brokers know that any wasted time could affect the deal, but they have other clients they are dealing with. Therefore, practically speaking – this will delay things a little bit. However, this delay is often offset by an agent’s inside knowledge of the best way to communicate with the landlord
Whether the Broker has an Exclusive on the Property Could Affect When the Landlord Makes a Decision
If the broker has an “exclusive” on the property then he or she will have the most up to date and accurate information and this could speed up when the landlord makes a decision. This will speed up the process. If the broker does not an exclusive on the property (i.e. it is an “open” listing which means other agents can advertise it too), then it could take an extra day or so for the agent to confirm all relevant information, and also to confirm that there it not already an application on the property.
If There is Another Application on the Unit This Could Affect When the Landlord Makes a Decision.
If the landlord already has an application on the unit, then sometimes the landlord will delay in getting back to you. The landlord may want to give the current application more time to see if it will go through or not before the landlord makes a decision on your application. Very often deals “fall apart” so the idea here is to just wait a little bit before getting back to you so that they can give you a solid “yes” or “no”. This can sometimes delay things by at least a day or two, sometimes more depending on the situation.
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This article was written by:
Phil Horigan, NYC Real Estate Veteran
Founder, Frēlē, the free and honest NYC rental marketplace
Producer, Phil’s NYC Rental Tips [YouTube Channel]
Blogger: flowfreely.com
Instagram: @philiphorigan
Phil has been a licensed NYC real estate agent since 2004 working for some of the top real estate brokerage firms in the industry. He founded Leasebreak.com in 2013, and Frēlē in 2017. Frēlē and Leasebreak are free and transparent rental marketplaces to search for or post apartments for rent in NYC
Go to frele.com to search for NYC apartments (free service).
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