Relocating or Moving to New York?

LANDLORDS in New York City can afford to be picky. With a vacancy rate in Manhattan of under 1 percent, apartments sometimes rent in hours, not days or weeks. Good tenants are not that hard to find. On top of that, evicting problem tenants can be expensive and time consuming.

So, most landlords here require a lot of information. They want to see a prospective tenant’s tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, proof of employment, photo identification, and sometimes, reference letters from previous landlords. Everyone will run a credit check (many Manhattan landlords look for a score above 700) and just about all, from big management firms to small-time landlords, want to know that your gross income is somewhere between 40 and 50 times the monthly rent

Read the full story here: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/realestate/prospective-renters-have-much-to-prove-to-landlords.html?_r=1&ref=realestate