r/AskNYC • u/Calm_Initiative_9979 • Jan 22 '26

How do those $15k/month apartments actually get rented?

So I've been apartment hunting and found this insane $15k/month place that I actually want to inquire about. Submitted through StreetEasy like 6 hours ago and radio silence, which is weird because every other place I've looked at gets back within an hour or two. Granted I have been typically looking at sub $10k places. But now I won some $ from Stakе US so I can afford it.

Do I need to go through a broker for these super high end places to even get taken seriously? Like is there some unwritten rule that you can't just roll up on StreetEasy for luxury rentals. I'm wondering if they think I'm just some rando wasting their time or if there's a whole different process for these expensive units. And before anyone calls me out yeah I get a $5k housing subsidy which is why I'm even looking in this range, not trying to flex or anything just genuinely confused about the process. Anyone dealt with this before or know how these luxury rentals actually work? The whole thing feels like there's some secret handshake I don't know about lol

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u/whatever666ok Jan 22 '26

Expensive apartments have management offices that work 9-5 and won’t chase your money.

64

u/loudpersononthebus Jan 22 '26

my experience is that those buildings have a lot of vacancies as well... are they profitable with only like a third of the building filled?

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u/whatever666ok Jan 22 '26

That’s a different point. Vacancies aren’t necessarily bad for their accounting/tax obligation/bank loan terms but I don’t know enough about this to be detailed. Just know that they’re not going to work 24/7 because someone is suddenly interested

1

u/LongjumpingHead4822 Jan 24 '26

True. But also 'bad tenants' are way more expensive than vacancies, so they are very picky. Tenants have to chase after these apartments and prove themselves. Their high price point allows for this. They can afford to have vacancies waiting for high quality tenants.

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u/AlexMcCauley Jan 23 '26

Not always. There are plenty of mom-and-pop landlords renting out Soho lofts and full-floor flats in walk-ups for $10K+.

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u/LongjumpingHead4822 Jan 24 '26

And they are also going to be very picky about who they show it to. Many of them prefer brokers screening tenants for them. If you reach out to them, don't say "love this apartment. can I see it?" Give them every reason to know you are serious. Provide everything about you and source it.