New York Habitat Blog

The New York and Paris Guides are completed and we are actively sending them to all customers who have booked within those cities and are looking for valuable tips! These renters will receive the orientation guides prior to their arrival, providing plenty of time to plan and prepare.

New York Habitat Academics: Students Housing Program highlights the sector of the company that caters to student housing. Clients involved with this program receive an Orientation Guide, which clues them in on life within their host cities.

It has become increasingly important, as our clients continue to explore foreign locales, for New York Habitat to provide useful and necessary apartment rental tips information concerning the different cities for all.

The Orientation Guide aims to answer the questions that clients generally ask us prior to their trips. In the guides, customers will find:

• maps
• emergency contacts
• rules of the road
• exchange rates
• local hotspots
• tips on mass transit
• day-to-day etiquette
• national holidays,
• other apartment rental tips

As we continually strive to update and perfect these orientation guides for New York and Paris, we hope that you appreciate our efforts to optimize customer service.

Please leave your questions or comments concerning the Orientation Guide below.

Many real estate publications underline the importance of cleanliness.

Our 18 years of experience in this business have taught us that presentation is the key to success when renting out your apartment, and that making your rental a clean will bring in more quality clients. We have had many satisfied tenants who have wished to return on their next visit, and have even spread the word to friends and family because of the pristine condition of the rental.

In our recent client surveys, cleanliness comes only after location in criteria for a good rental. One of our clients raved, “It was very clean and tidy, I wish I was still there!!!” Another responded, “The apartment was very comfortable and was clean, in good condition and we felt very much at home.”

New York Habitat presents you with these tips to improve the overall aesthetic charm of your rental:

• Interior basics: Start here by making sure the walls, ceilings, and trim work are freshly painted, washed, and have no holes or cobwebs.  Make sure to sweep, mop, and polish any non-carpeted floors. For carpeted floors, clean between every tenant change, no matter how long or short their stay. Since carpets collect dust mites and germs, sometimes creating odors, professional cleaners may be a good option.
• Kitchens and Bathrooms: An unkempt bathroom or kitchen is the surest way to lose potential quality tenants, so it is important to give these areas some extra effort. Make sure to clean them thoroughly. Cleaning out your refrigerator before tenants arrive is also a good idea.
• Overlooked areas: Smaller spaces, like ceiling fans, lights, vents, grills, mirrors, windows, and appliances quickly collect dust and dirt because they are often overlooked. Give your rental a more attractive presentation by cleaning off these often neglected, yet regularly used spots.
• Clutter: Sometimes, having a lot of furniture can be limiting to the spatial atmosphere of an apartment. Try to leave some floor space to the clients—you never know how much they might bring with them for their stay.
• Odors: A clean appearance is complemented by an attractive scent. Remove anything that may cause an odor. Consider placing plug-in air fresheners around the house, as they can emit a pleasant smell for a month at a time. Make sure to get rid of smells before clients arrive to avoid a negative first impression. 

A clean presentation is the key to successful tenant prospecting, often ensuring renter returns and a positive reputation. For more information on the subject, read another entry on our blog, “Tips from the Pros: Clear the clutter”.

Feel free to leave your cleaning tips and ideas in our comments section.

Traveling comes with various risks and many New York Habitat customers have asked what is the best solution to minimize those risks. One solution that our team often recommends is purchasing travel insurance which can include coverage if:

• Your trip is interrupted or delayed by unforeseen events
• Your baggage is lost in transit
• You need medical assistance far from home
• You have to cancel your trip
• You have to be medically evacuated 

New York Habitat has a long-standing relationship with Travelex to provide travel insurance to customers who are interested in purchasing it. Travelex offers full-line coverage that can include basic plans just for flight coverage to plans that include baggage, trip delay, medical and flight coverage. New York Habitat’s discounts can be seen on the Travelex website.

In addition to Travelex, there are many other providers of travel insurance. One easy way to find other choices and get a variety of quotes is to use the new websites that have cropped up specifically to provide competitive insurance quotes.

Some sites include:

Insure My Trip (http://www.insuremytrip.com)
Total Travel Insurance (http://www.totaltravelinsurance.com)

For more information on travel insurance, you can visit the ASTA website article “Tips for Purchasing Travel Insurance”.

We hope that this information helps to answer the basic questions you might have about travel insurance.

 If you have further questions while planning your stay at one of our furnished apartment rentals, feel free to make a comment on the blog or email us at blog@nyhabitat.com.

Traveling with a family can be expensive and sometimes finding an accommodation for everyone can be almost impossible. New York Habitat offers various apartment options in New York, London, Paris and the South of France, whether it’s for a family of 3 or up to 17 people in a villa in the South of France.

When searching our website for the perfect rental, you have the option to select the minimum number of people that the accommodation can hold on the search page. Once you do the search, each apartment listed will show how many people the apartment can accommodate under the ‘P’ column of the search results. 

If this does not locate the perfect place, another possibility for large families is two apartments within the same building. Our agents are also available to help you find something specific to meet your needs.

New York large apartment rentals:

Large apartment rentals can be difficult to find in New York because many apartment buildings have just studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. However, New York Habitat has diligently worked to find owners of townhouses and other large apartments throughout the city. Here are some of the options:

· NY-11038 A 4-bedroom rental in Harlem that can sleep 8 people for $675 a night
· NY-12189 A 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom rental in Midtown West that can sleep 8 people for $540 a night
· NY-1965 A 4-Bedroom rental in Tribeca loft that can sleep 8 people for $540 a night

London large apartment rentals:

London, like New York, has very limited large accommodations in the city center. In London, New York Habitat offers large spaces outside the city center and townhouses near the center. Our offerings include:

· LN-405: A 3-bedroom rental in Wimbledon that can sleep 8 people for 936 pounds per week
· LN-380 A 4-bedroom rental in Earls Court that can sleep 8 people for 2,380 pounds per week
· LN-306 A 3-bedroom rental in Hampstead that can sleep 8 people for 1,314 pounds per week

Paris large accommodations:

Unlike New York and London, where large accommodations can be difficult to find, there are many large possibilities in Paris, from 4- to 7-bedroom homes. Some of those include:

· PA-2415 A 7-bedroom rental in Gare du Nord that can sleep 11 people for 3,645 euros per week
· PA-2348 A 5-bedroom, 6-bathroom rental in Montparnasse that can sleep 8 people for 2,025 euros per night
· PA-1203 A 4-bedroom rental in Beaubourg that can sleep 8 people for 2,700 euros per night

South of France - Provence - French Riviera villas:

The South of France is one of the best destinations in the world for family vacations because of the large number of villas available that can sleep as many as 17 people. Some choices are:

· PR-446 A 6-bedroom rental in Provence Luberon (prices vary by season) for 17 people
· PR-743 A 6-bedroom rental in the French Riviera (prices vary by season and number of people) for 15 people
· PR-165 A 4-bedroom mas rental in the Avignon region that can sleep 12 people (prices vary by season)

When traveling as a family, consider the large apartment and villa options that New York Habitat can offer. Compared with hotel rooms that are normally limited to 4 people, many of New York Habitat’s accommodations can sleep 6-8 people or more. For help finding the perfect space, contact one of our specialists to find something to meet your exact needs.

Are you looking to rent a furnished accommodation in New York, Paris or London? Are you environmentally conscious? Well if you said yes to both of these questions, New York Habitat can offer some tips to make your apartment rental more environmentally friendly.

What to look for when booking an apartment:

• Double-paned windows. Many of our apartments are equipped with double-paned windows, which are more efficient at keeping out the cold in the winter and heat in the summer.
• Individually controlled heat and air conditioning systems. Apartments with this type of setup allow you to control the amount of energy you use rather then continuously pumping out hot or cold air.
• Proximity to the subway. When visiting major cities, renting a car is not necessary. New York, London and Paris have three of the most extensive subway systems in the world, making it relatively easy to visit any part of the city by train. Furthermore, extensive intercity and commuter rail systems make it possible to travel as far as 100 miles from the city center in as little as one hour.
• Rooftop gardens. One of the new trends in environmentally friendly apartment design is buildings with rooftop gardens. This concept has been proven to keep a building cooler by deflecting the heat from the sun.

Tips for when you get to the apartment:

• Remember to turn off lights before you leave the apartment. Unlike hotels, there are no maids who come into our apartments during the day, so you need to be responsible for lights, air conditioning and electronics.
  When leaving the apartment for the day, set the air conditioning to a warmer setting or turn it off all together. Turn off the lights in the apartment and don’t forget to shut off the TV before leaving for the day. The electrical savings might be small on a day-to-day basis, but every bit counts and the owner of the apartment will be thankful that you were respectful in your usage and welcome you back to the apartment in the future.
• Make sure the water is fully shut off. Many city faucets are older and require an extra twist to get them to stop dripping. Even those few little drops can add up to a large amount of wasted water.

Some apartments that include these features are:

NY-11732 A Midtown West Studio with double glazed windows, an efficient in unit washer and small energy efficient fridge

NY-11610 A studio in Battery Park with a rooftop garden double pained windows and individually controlled heat and air conditioning.

Taking these simple steps to go green while staying in a furnished accommodation will help to keep prices from rising rapidly, make you a favorite client of the apartment’s owner and give you the personal feeling that you have made an effort to conserve during your apartment rental.

Look for other green tips in the future as more apartment buildings and houses in New York, London, Paris and The South of France are designed with environmentally conscious features.

Photograph provided by francois-roux-photography.com

Paris Photographs

Well, we have reached April and that is prime time to list your apartment for summer rental. New York Habitat’s vacation rental service sees some of its highest traffic levels during July and August when schools are on recess throughout much of the world.

Also, our furnished rentals and shared divisions generally have a high demand from summer interns and students as well as from business professionals and people vacationing for the entire summer.

With the weather beginning to get warm (except in New York where we are having snow flurries today) and people starting to make their summer plans, now is the perfect time to list your apartment for the summer months. For more information about listing your apartment, take some time to look at our helpful hints:

• Tips from the Pros: How to list your apartment
• Tips from the Pros: Clear the clutter

So, for those of you thinking about listing your furnished apartment, give us a call so that we can begin the process. Our specialists in New York, Paris, London and The South of France will be happy to discuss the details.

Listing an apartment with New York Habitat is a painless process and it is FREE.

New York Habitat specializes in furnished accommodations and roommate shares in New York, Paris, London and the South of France.

If you are interested in listing an apartment, the best way to begin the process is to fill out a listing registration form or to call us (see phone numbers below).

When you are filling out this form, make sure to include your name, best contact phone number and e-mail address as well as the type of apartment you would like to list and where the apartment is located.

Once you have submitted the form, we will generally contact you within one business day to get more details about the apartment you would like to list. Before you hear back from us, you might want to check out the following sections of our website for more information:

• Frequently Asked Questions Page
• Price Range Table for New York, London, Paris and The South of France
• Company Profile (PDF)

When the listing agent from New York Habitat calls, you should expect that they will ask you several questions about your apartment to help determine if it qualifies to be included in our listings. When we determine that the apartment can be listed, the agent will then schedule a time to visit your apartment so that we can take a detailed set of photographs, get a full written description and even chart a floor plan for some apartments. Before the agent comes you may want to look over some tips on how to prepare your apartment.

Either before or when the agent comes to visit the apartment, they will bring a listing agreement which needs to be signed in order to be included in New York Habitat’s listings. All New York Habitat listings are non-exclusive.

When the listing agent returns to the office, they will enter all of the information into our database and website. Normally your apartment will be on the site within one business day after the visit.

Once the apartment is listed, you will then begin to hear from agents with potential clients.

So, if you are thinking of listing your furnished apartment, vacation accommodation, bed and breakfast, or roommate share, remember to consider New York Habitat. We have worked with over 12,000 apartments in New York, 3,500 in Paris, 800 in The South of France and 500 in London.

Thank you in advance for considering New York Habitat.

Phone numbers to contact us to list your apartment or property:

• (+1) 212.255.8018 for New York
• (+33) 42.36.78.70 for Paris
• (+44) 020.79.53.3996 for London
• (+33) 04.42.20.01.53 for The South of France