International guarantors: Worth the risk?
Susan Tsang had already seen dozens of apartments by the time she finally convinced a landlord to rent her the $1,950-a-month Upper West Side studio where she lives today. A doctoral biology student who grew up in Queens, Tsang earns a modest stipend. However, her family lives in Hong Kong, where she was born. And her roommate, who works as a receptionist and teacher, was back from a two-year stint in Japan, and had yet to earn a U.S. paycheck when the longtime friends began apartment-hunting. This unique collection of circumstances combined to turn their hunt into a three-month marathon. It wasn't until the Brodsky Organization took the rare step of allowing Tsang's father to act as an international guarantor that she was able to sign the lease, she said. "I found it was a little bizarre that [landlords] didn't already have a system set up for allowing international students [to rent], considering that New York is so cosmopolitan," Tsang said. read more