Q: "I'm an international student looking for off-campus housing. All my relatives are in Singapore, so who can I use as my guarantor? Is a statement from the bank enough? What have most international students done in the past for letters of credit and guarantors? I understand that most landlords want guarantors from New York City. How do I achieve this? Is a letter of credit from a foreign bank acceptable? Are there any other letters of documents I should bring?"
-International Student
A: A common concern for many students visiting the Off-Campus Housing Office is the question of guarantors. A guarantor is the person who assumes financial responsibility for a tenant who does not meet a landlord's financial requirements. Many students come into the office asking: What is a guarantor? Do I need one? What if I can't find one?
Landlords throughout the city may vary when it come to guarantors, and each has their own requirements and preferences. While one landlord may require a guarantor, for others it may be optional, and still others will turn down any guarantor offer.
The only way of knowing is by checking the application requirements or simply asking - so we decided to ask Bernard Zagdanski from Sara's New York Homestay, a short-term and long-term accommodation option for “international students, visitors, interns, or executives” coming to New York City. Zagdanzki explains that Sara's Homestay provides “shared apartments, homestays, and studio apartments” to all qualified applicants.
How do you know if you are qualified?
Sara's Homestay requires a profile of the person applying, a visa, a screening from the consultant ( if from abroad), a screening from the school they are planning on attending, a completed application, and a justified reason for being in New York. According to Zagdanski, “if the applicant is in New York City for a serious reason and not just to hang out - then 99% out of 100% they are accepted.”
Zagdanski went on to elaborate that 95% of his clients are from overseas and in search of short-term accommodations. “We accept international guarantors,” says Zagdanski, stating that one Ph-D student going to school in New York used his parents as guarantors by verifying their financial eligibility with papers from an HSBC bank in Hong Kong. International tenants using a guarantor have been asked to pay a larger security deposit and at least one months rent in advance.
Despite this, however, many students do not have to worry about guarantors. “We rarely ask for guarantors,” says Zagdanski, explaining that Sara's Homestay does not require guarantors but instead “asks for references to make sure that [the tenant] is honest” and can be trusted. “Guarantors are used only on certain occasions, like for students who are not financially qualified.”
While Sara's New York Homestay accepts international guarantors, not all New York City landlords do. In fact, most New York City landlords require the guarantor to be from the tri-state area if not from New York City. This is the case because it is hard to make sure that someone in California pays the rent in New York City, let alone someone from Australia or Hong Kong. While a contract binds the guarantor in an agreement to pay the rent when the tenant is unable to, enforcing the agreement if the contract is not obeyed can be a huge hassle for landlords. This hassle increases tremendously when the guarantor is from a foreign country. With the competition in New York City being as it is, landlords will often seek to avoid such hassles.
A guarantor is not the only option for students with modest financial resources. Some landlords will accept higher security deposits and several months of rent in advance for applicants with no guarantor. Roommates and shares are popular alternatives as well. And as Zagdanski shows, there are some landlords who will gladly accept international guarantors.
The Citi-Habitats program is one option available to NYU students. NYU students are free to use any real estate brokerage they choose.
Register for the Citi-Habitats Relocation Program
New York University affiliates may also register for our Listings => DIRECT! service by sending an e-mail request. Participants of this service receive recently approved listings from within the Off-Campus Housing Registry - via e-mail. The service is available exclusively to the NYU community, and distribution is available to NYU e-mail addresses ONLY. If you unable to access your NYU e-mail account, make sure to contact ITS to activate it. Information about eligibility for NYU Home accounts is available at www.nyu.edu/its/students. You may also contact the Off-Campus Housing Office at (212) 998-4620 or offcampus.housing@nyu.edu for additional information.
The term for this service is two months. If, after the two month term, you have not found an apartment or wish to continue receiving listings, you may renew your registration by contacting the Off Campus Housing Office.
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