Renting advice from the master

By Lucy Cohen Blatter | August 29, 2012 - 8:55AM

Believe it or not, it's still rental high season here in New York City (it doesn't end until around October), and we suspect many of our readers may be finding that they're facing stiff competition for rentals whose prices are through the roof.

So we decided to dedicate this week's SurvivalList roundup to our Rent Coach column, which helps readers navigate the ins and outs of this crazy city, where renting is the norm, and buyers are in the minority.

Rent Coach is penned by Mike Akerly, a real estate attorney, mom-and-pop landlord, and a very busy real estate broker.

Among the issues Rent Coach has tackled, sorted, and duly disposed of are security deposit woes, the downsides of renting a fully furnished apartment and the dark side of a no-fee listing.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of the problems Rent Coach helps solve involve renters' rights -- like the aforementioned security deposit woes, as well as whether it's legal for a landlord to ask for two months security deposit, whether a renter has a right to legal action after a landlord lied about bed bugs and much, much more.

Rent Coach has also helped define some New York City real estate lingo that can be hard to decipher -- like rent stabilization and the Loft Law.

And he's not just focused on renters. Many Rent Coach columns are geared toward landlords looking to rent out their places, with tips on getting an apartment ready to rent, advice for a pet-friendly landlord, and guidelines for being a better landlord. There are even tips for AirBnB-type landlords, who are becoming more and more common.

For these -- and many more -- advice columns take a look below.

Glossary of NYC real estate terms:

Renters' rights:

For landlords:

Roommate help:

Broker issues:

Finding/securing the right apartment:

Cautionary tales:

Neighborly worries:

Renting a co-op or condo:

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