Renting in Financial District

What it's like

The Financial District is mostly converted offices and new towers, which means high floors, gyms, roof decks, and floor plans that were laid out around a building core rather than around living in them. Studios can be genuinely odd shapes. Light is usually excellent above the twentieth floor.

It is quiet at night and quiet on weekends in a way that people either love or find eerie. The grocery and restaurant situation has improved a great deal but is still thin compared to anywhere residential uptown.

Who it suits

People who want amenities and a doorman for less than they cost in Midtown, and anyone who works down here and wants to walk.

The catch

The concessions are the largest in Manhattan for a reason, and they mask the real rent. Two or three months free on a fourteen-month lease is common, and the renewal comes at the gross number. Work out both figures before you compare anything to another neighborhood.

Getting around

Almost every line in the system passes through: the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, Z, R, W and the 1 at Rector. The PATH is at the Oculus. Nowhere is better connected, and the ferries are genuinely useful.

What to check at the viewing

• Ask for the net effective and the gross rent in writing, then compare the gross to other neighborhoods.
• Ask about the flood plan and where the mechanicals are. Several of these buildings lost power for weeks in Sandy.
• Check what the amenity fee is and whether it is mandatory. It is often several hundred a year on top of rent.