hey sara, how did the search go so far? and as mamaof3 mentioned most apt finders do charge a fees, not sure about ny but out here they charge the most would be 300 dollars. what you can do is search them online on sites lik apartmentfinder.com and there are many more. when we searched for our apt in dallas, we found listings off of the websites online, and the catch was even better, if you write down on the leasing/renting paper that u find out about the certan apt through that webstie, u got like 50 or 100 dollars off of the first months rent. but I'm not so familiar with ny. Also when you decide on an apt, if the owner is not so grumpy, make a cute face and ask to reason down a bit on the rent amount
do also make sure that if the price is a bit high, den is the gas or heat or water included and stuff cuz dese bills could add up to a heartattack. AND MAKE SURE U TAKE A GUD LOOK AT THE INSIDE OF CABINETS FOR ANY SIGNs OF PEST! and clean carpet or new carpet(u don't want someones pet flees) . overall make sure u don't have to call the management every week to fix something. adios