The New York City rental market has always been a pretty wild place. But lately, TikTok’s been exposing just how ridiculous the prices really are — especially considering how much (or, should we say, how little) tenants get in return for their money.
One apartment currently boggling the minds of thousands is a two-bedroom rental in Manhattan so oddly shaped that people can’t seem to get over it.
“This is so weird and yet has so much to offer,” says the real estate agent who filmed the clip (@rentnewyork).
Seconds later, they step into an apartment filled with long skinny hallways and awkwardly placed rooms as the digital tour begins.
According to the agent, each floor in the building has two units, which take up the full length of the structure from front to back. While this may sound roomy, here’s the catch: Each unit is extremely narrow with strange cutouts in the walls that make the prospect of actually living there seem quite challenging.
Getting any sort of furniture through the front door seems like it would require a master’s in engineering, considering how narrow and cramped the entryway is.
In fact, a lot of people who watched the TikTok couldn’t help but call that out in the comments.
“How in the world do they get furniture in there?” one person wondered. “Hoist it up & put it thru the windows??”
“There’s no way any furniture is getting into that apartment,” another person declared.
Others said IKEA furniture might be the only solve, while one person joked that inflatable furniture could be the answer.
Simply decorating the main bedroom appears to be extremely challenging, too, thanks to the strange layout of the room that makes any traditional setup kind of impossible.
“Buildings in NYC are built as an after thought,” one person commented.
“every new york apartment I’ve seen looks like it was designed as a part of a sims challenge,” joked another.
“People in New York must wear the same three outfits every day because the closet sizes on these apartments are small af,” someone else joked.
There are, of course, some upsides to the rental space. Unlike most residential buildings in Manhattan, this one doesn’t appear to be attached to another building on either side, which allows for a lot of windows throughout the apartment that let light stream in throughout the day. And while the kitchen isn’t completely updated, it does feature lots of cabinet space, a dishwasher and even an in-unit washer/dryer, which is a major plus for any NYC rental.
There were a few people who found these selling points to be enticing.
“Am I the only one that really likes it?!” one person asked.
“It’s got a weird cozy feeling to me,” someone else agreed.
That said, the overwhelming majority of people did not find the apartment enticing. To date, the TikTok video has now been viewed more than 10.8 million times, and most of the comments are from people who make it crystal clear they would not be jumping at the chance to live here.
“moving in be wild… PIVOT!! PIVOT!!!” one TikToker wrote.
“Living room and bathroom in two different zip codes,” another person chimed in, while someone else said the unit would need “multiple wifi extenders” just to function.
“Is this a train or an apartment?” someone else asked.
“You’ve got to be kiddin,” another person declared.
To be fair, it does have the feel of a railroad apartment, which is typically longer and more narrow. But unlike railroad apartments, this one doesn’t require you to walk through every room before getting to the next one. Instead, the long skinny hallways offer a bit more privacy.
In the comments, the agent answered a few more of the commonly asked questions TikTokers had — namely as to where in Manhattan this apartment is located and how much the landlord is asking for. According to @rentnewyork, it’s located in a building in Harlem, around 110th Street, and it’s going for $3,275 a month.
While that might sound super pricey, RentHop reports that the average studio apartment actually goes for about the same amount in Manhattan right now, whereas most two-bedrooms average out at just over $5,600 a month. So, based on those numbers, this one is actually quite a deal for the area. (Go figure!)
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