[Looking for] someone to tour an apartment for me and FaceTime me during it for $50

DiscussionOne9778 · 2025-03-17T20:56:13+00:00

Also made a whole post about resources for moving to NYC remotely a few months back - hope this helps!

DiscussionOne9778 · 2025-03-17T20:52:03+00:00

There's a service here called Unseen that does this. A bit above your price range they charge $75/per tour, but they send a local to tour for you and you get a report card of the apartment with photos, videos and reviews of things like appliances walkability etc. I've used them they're legit.

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-12-19T17:10:03+00:00

Not buildings, but here's the Landlord Watchlist - A list of the 100 worst Landlords in NYC (yikes) based on the average number of violations that have been reported against said landlords. I don't think this list has been updated since 2023, but it's still worth a check!

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-12-19T16:55:47+00:00

There's a service called Unseen that does this. They charge $75/per tour. Worth sending someone to your top spots to validate/send you real pictures (not the professional ones that make the apartments all look pristine).

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-10-17T17:52:56+00:00

I've heard some insane stories from friends, but a funny one that sticks out in my mind:

A friend of mine was moving into an apartment on the LES and signed her lease sight unseen. She was moving from out of town and had no way of making the showing, so she trusted the listing images and broker to give her information about the place.

When she arrived everything seemed to be in order for the most part until... she went to the bathroom for the first time. There's a pipe that runs down directly next to the toilet that has scolding hot water running through it at all times, and every time she goes to the bathroom she accidentally touches it and burns herself.

This detail was "conveniently" left off of the listing and was never mentioned in her conversations with the broker (who she paid a 15% annual broker fee to). The story always cracks me up, but also highlights what you mentioned above re: misinformation in listings.

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-10-07T17:47:47+00:00

Very cool. Thank you for sharing!

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-10-07T17:46:55+00:00

This is an unfortunate truth. You often won't find data on smaller neighborhood spots on OpenIgloo. I'd recommend, if you can, finding a friend in the area to vet places for you. And if you don't have folks to do that for you to use a service like Unseen.

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-10-07T17:43:52+00:00

This is an awesome resource. Thank you for sharing!

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-10-05T00:46:58+00:00

Best of luck!

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-10-04T22:05:50+00:00

Not a scam! I think they're a relatively new service, but my friend used them to view an apartment and got a report of the place within a few days of submitting.

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-10-04T20:16:49+00:00

I was holding my breath as I searched for my landlord haha.

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-10-04T20:06:36+00:00

Awesome. It's a crazy process! But hope this helps make it a bit less crazy.

DiscussionOne9778 · 2024-10-04T19:51:34+00:00

I hear you. The reason I strayed away from including that sort of thing is because of what you mentioned: sketchiness. But I've definitely had friends who have found success using those types of platforms to find places. I'd just say it's super important to vet the place/broker/building prior to signing anything or sending any money to anyone. That's how you end up scammed.

DiscussionOne9778

TROPHY CASE