Summer is an all-around a fab season: outdoor movies, picnics in the park, and long, sunny days. But it’s also the time everyone’s moving. And since that can really damper your summer fun, Bushwick Daily has compiled a guide on how to find a great apartment, how to move into it, and how to furnish with easy-to-use apps and online services that streamline the whole moving process.
Find it!
#1 StreetEasy
StreetEasy really makes finding an apartment easy (or at least tolerable). This NYC-based service helps you navigate the murky waters of real estate listings by offering a comprehensive list of up-to-date rentals. Search by neighborhood, price point, or bedroom site to find real listings with pictures and facts about the rental or building, the closest subway lines, and more.
#2 Renthop
Renthop sorts listings by quality, so your search request will likely lead to some great finds. Get a bird’s eye view of listings anywhere in the city by using RentHop’s map – like the 8,000 a month 4BR on Canal Street in Soho (BRB crying).
#3 Lovely
Get Lovely App for your iPhone or Droid and search apartments around you. Lovely, similarly to Renthop shows you a map of apartments for rent in selected area. We dig the design and the real-time data and innovative tools. We used it to find probably the cheapest (yet decent looking) place in the entire area– a $1,200 1BR on Bleecker Street (you’re welcome).
See also: Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist.
B. Move and Have Your Stuff Delivered
#1 Updater
Like TurboTax for moving, Updater helps you organize and complete all your moving-related tasks for free. Use the website to forward mail to your new address, update your accounts, and hook up all your home services. Updater promises to help you save an average of five hours by simply using their service. We’ll take that.
#2 Postmates
Moving can be hectic and can leave little time for a supply run. Look no further than Postmates, the on-demand, 24/7 delivery service that will get you just about anything in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens in under an hour. Need batteries, toilet paper or Ben & Jerry’s? All you have to do is enter your home address, then search what you’re looking for. And if all that moving makes you hungry, Postmates has you covered. Order grub from Katz’s Deli, The Meatball Shop, or Momofuku Milk with a simple click of a mouse. Bye bye Seamless.
3. Furnish it!
#1 AptDeco
If you’ve ever been frustrated with Craigslist (and really, who hasn’t?), a new online marketplace is making it easier for New Yorkers to buy and sell used furniture. If you’re looking to re-decorate your Bushwick apartment or just in desperate need of a coffee table, this website might just be the answer. AptDeco claims to be a safe, scam-free online resource for gently used furniture. Once you buy an item, AptDeco provides a fully insured delivery service for a flat fee of $74 within New York’s five boroughs, so you don’t have to hire a truck or pick it up yourself.
“Buying through AptDeco is pretty simple,” says co-founder of AptDeco Reham Fagiri. “We take care of inspecting the products, ensuring that the seller provides all the necessary information and pricing competitively. So if you find something you like, go for it. You have nothing to worry about!”
#2 Chairish
While AptDeco sticks to furniture and décor basics, Chairish sells everything from a basic wood table and chairs to a vintage atomizer circa 1980. This website is great if you happen to find hidden treasures from your parent’s basement and want to make extra cash (so long, pesky eBay) or if you’re jonesing for a tufted velvet sofa to complete your apartment décor. You’ll chairish these pieces long time.
And if you want to keep it local…
– Green Village Used Clothing & Furniture
Happy moving!
