For $967/month per person, a roommate haven near Hell Square

By Leigh Kamping-Carder | December 30, 2014 - 3:59PM

Describing this $2,900/month three-bedroom on the Lower East Side as a “perfect share,” as the listing does, may be typical broker hyperbole, but we agree that this apartment seems to be a solid bet for a trio of roommates.

For one thing, the fact that the broker calls out its shareworthiness in the listing hints that the landlord won’t mind signing a lease with roommate tenants (and, as the listing notes, will accept co-signers).

And the layout makes sense for three adults splitting a space. Though the common area is a squeeze--the kitchen is short on counter space and the “living room” doesn’t fit much more than a couch and TV, per the photos--the layout has three distinct areas, so that residents could cook, eat and lounge without being on top of each other. Also, “all bedrooms are nearly equal,” the listing says, so no squabbles about who gets what room. (The rent on this apartment translates to about $967 a month per person.)

Typical of the Lower East Side, the five-story walk-up building has little in the way of amenities, though there is a live-in super. The real draw (or horrifying nightmare, depending on your perspective) here is the neighborhood. At 91 Allen Street on the corner of Broome, the apartment is a minute from Hell Square, a nine-block stretch of the Lower East Side notorious for its concentration of bars. (And one of the reasons why we named the Lower East Side one of the best nabes in the city for recent college grads.)

For anyone keen on living in the thick of nightlife, restaurants, transit and all the rest, this rental may be a relatively affordable way to get a toehold in the area: the average three-bedroom rented for more than $3,900 in the last 90 days, according to StreetEasy, so this is pretty cheap. Indeed, it may be some indication of how fast the rental market is moving--even in what’s considered the slow season--that this place was listed yesterday for a move in on Thursday.

BrickUnderground's 6-step guide to renting a NYC apartment with roommates

5 things all roommates need to know about renter's insurance

10 handy products to smooth the snags of roommates life

9 questions to ask before renting a mini-storage unit in NYC (sponsored)

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.