Newspaper and online classified ads
Every newspaper has an “Apartments for Rent” classifieds section. Both homeowners and real estate brokers advertise there. Today you will find most such ads online – on classified ad sites and on brokers’ websites – but the abbreviations and rules have stayed much the same. The text of the ads is often very terse in order to cut the cost of the ad, and it frequently reads like a mysterious code.
Here are some of the most common abbreviations and terms:
- “eik” – this is an “eat-in kitchen,” that is, a kitchen big enough to fit a family dining table.
- “bth” – this is a bathroom. An interesting numbering system is used here. A ½ bathroom has only a sink and a toilet, a ¾ bathroom has a sink, a toilet and a shower, and “fl bth” (full bathroom) means a bathroom with a sink, a toilet and a bathtub. Rooms with nothing but a toilet are unheard of in the States. “jkz” means a Jacuzzi.
- “wtw carpet” – this is “wall-to-wall carpet,” that is, carpeting that covers the whole floor.
- “mdrn kitchen” – means a new kitchen with modern appliances (such as a refrigerator, gas stove, microwave oven, etc.).
- “3 rms” – this is not an apartment with 3 bedrooms, or even with a kitchen and 3 rooms. “3 rooms” means a kitchen with two rooms, because the kitchen also counts as a room.
- “box rooms” – means an apartment whose rooms are separate rather than walk-through.
You should know that in New York there are many buildings with apartments laid out like a train (railroad or subway apartments) in narrow, long, old tenement buildings. You enter the kitchen and from there pass through a string of several rooms located one behind the other. Only the kitchen and the front room have windows. All the rooms in such an apartment, except the last one, are walk-through rooms, so they are not very convenient, but they are usually cheaper to rent.
Through the superintendent
The person who is the first to know about a vacant apartment is the building superintendent. Every large apartment building has a super who takes care of maintenance and repairs. Knowing the super personally can turn out to be very helpful. If you don’t know the super in the building you have your eye on, you can leave him a postcard with your address and ask him to mail it back when an apartment becomes available. The super may do so in the hope of getting a tip. In large apartment buildings in attractive parts of cities, you can sign up on a waiting list for an apartment.
Brokers
Real estate agents (brokers) often have a large selection of apartments for rent. Landlords who have not managed to find a tenant on their own also often list apartments with them. Before you use their services, find out who pays the commission and how much it is – in many places the broker charges the tenant the equivalent of one month’s rent. In New York City, since June 11, 2025, the FARE Act has been in effect: neither the landlord nor the landlord’s broker may charge the tenant a fee for a broker hired by the landlord, and every listing must disclose all the fees the tenant will have to pay. Complaints can be filed at nyc.gov/consumers or by calling 311.
Of course, you need to keep an eye out for “for rent” signs. A good way to find an apartment is to walk or drive around the neighborhood you are interested in, looking for “FOR RENT” signs.
Important links if you are looking for real estate in NY, NJ, PA, CT, AZ, FL, CO…:
Real estate and closing attorneys >>>
Elżbieta Baumgartner
Elżbieta Baumgartner is the author of many advice books on personal finance and consumer topics, including “Otwieram biznes” (“Starting a Business”) and “Praca w Ameryce” (“Working in America”) (Poradnik Sukces, 255 Park Lane, Douglaston, NY 11363, tel. 1-718-224-3492, www.PoradnikSukces.com).
Updated October 2026.
