home vlog: we won the NYC housing lottery!

*sorry for the low quality vid*
didn't realize it until after we shot this and honestly I felt the info was more important than the quality, lol
link to housing lottery forum:
www.city-data.com/forum/new-y...
we won the housing lottery! we thought this video may be helpful to those going through the NYC housing lottery process. if you have any questions, drop em in the comments and we are happy to answer them :)
I also want to clarify something I said: there are apartments available at many different rent levels depending on your income level -- I have seen rents as low as $0, $400, etc. I meant that if you are middle income like us, be prepared to still be paying a decent amount in rent!

[@MA-rn2xp]

Congratulations I've been applying for almost 2 years never been contacted but hoping 2024 will be my year

[@brynneandpeter]

I hope so too! Sending good vibes your way.

[@IsaiahCarroll95]

Thank you both for this video! Very Informative. I applied in late January and was recently contacted about a 1 bedroom (March 14th). I submitted my additional documents (March 26th) ASAP and fast forward, about two weeks, I've been contacted to view the apartment next week. Moving very quickly so far. I hope everything goes well. Wish me luck. 🤞🏾😆

[@brynneandpeter]

Congrats! That’s great news - from our experience, if you are viewing the apartment that is pretty much the final step. Once we viewed this place they said it’s yours to apply for - and then we had to go through the final approval phase. Hopefully that is the case for you. :)

[@IsaiahCarroll95]

That’s great to hear! I have a question, after viewing the unit and potentially confirming that I want the apartment, is the second round of paperwork essentially the same as the initial paperwork requested(Employment, Bank, Income Docs but more recent) or do they ask for anything else? Just want have as much as I possibly can prepared. Thanks!

[@brynneandpeter]

@@IsaiahCarroll95 for us, we had to provide more paperwork but our income and assets are quite complicated. We also had a long period between when we initially submitted paperwork and saw the apartment so we had to update pay stubs etc. I think it depends on your particular finances, but I would be ready to go with every possible piece of paperwork!

[@ronniebettis]

Congrats!!! I finally won the housing lottery last year after years of applying. Such a blessing!

[@brynneandpeter]

Congrats to you as well! It’s been life changing.

[@babycakes5629]

amazing. I felt great when I finally won. 🎉

[@brynneandpeter]

Same - we were so thrilled and honestly let out a huge sigh of relief!

[@lorigrabowski]

Huge congratulations!! It’s an amazing NYC unicorn, isn’t it?! I was SO fortunate to move into a lottery apt in N. Williamsburg last month! After months of little work due to the writers strike (as you know, the industry is still incredibly slow to rebound), the timing couldn’t have been more fortunate, truly. This video was great to stumble onto last night, as a (fellow freelancer) friend in the industry is navigating her way through the challenge of preparing her docs. Even though I went through the process a few months ago, I still don’t have a fraction of the answers! It’s nice hearing your perspective as fellow 130% and being able to share your video. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience!! 💪🏼❤

[@brynneandpeter]

It really is the best feeling, winning the housing lottery, especially for those of us who freelance! Glad the video was helpful. :) And the industry has been incredibly slow on our end still, too -- really hoping it picks up again soon.

[@flowersandcandyflowersandc9093]

Your housing lottery apartment can be passed down to your children someday congrats 🎉🎊🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

[@VaneezyTV]

Yay congrats y'all!!!! How early would y'all say to start applying before moving to NYC? Lol I heard it's better to try before moving there.

[@brynneandpeter]

Thank you! I’m not sure re: moving here - Peter is a native New Yorker and I’ve been here a long time! Each building is also different with timeline, so the process can take a few months to years. We were asked to submit paperwork for buildings that we had applied for like 8-10 months prior. Many buildings also set aside units for community board members (people who already live in that neighborhood) and also keep in mind that people who already live in NY are given preference so your chances of winning a unit go down if you don’t live in the city!

[@VaneezyTV]

@brynneandpeter yeah, at the end of the video, I figured it would be smarter to sublease for 6 months while looking right? I'm from Austin Texas, living in houston right now so I can't really take a quick trip lol so I think I'd have to be there to raise my luck too. Thank you for the video, loved.

[@innal4363]

They putt a lot of people from shelters in housing connect Apartments now.

[@wendywattnyc]

This was so informative! Do you have to keep your income at the same rate to stay there?

[@brynneandpeter]

No! In some buildings you do have to re-certify but once you’re in, you’re in unless you violate your lease or don’t pay you rent, you know - all the normal reasons you may be kicked out of an apartment. All the leases are rent stabilized lease so they also have to offer us a new lease!

[@juice4156]

I recently got contacted to submit documentation for a place and was wondering how long this part of the process is ? I’m trying be as patient as I can be but don’t know if I should reach out to the person who pulled my file or wait it out 😵‍💫

[@brynneandpeter]

It can take awhile to be contacted after submitting documentation - so be patient! It took a couple months before we were contacted to view the apartment.

[@nicolesbeauty8870]

May I ask did they give you a hard time about Zelle/Cash App/PayPal and etc transaction? I just submitted my deposit explanation and I’m nervous cause I’ve used zelle like a mad women lol.

[@brynneandpeter]

We rarely use venmo/cash app so no on those -- but for Zelle, we highlighted some of those up front because they were part of our income. They didn't ask about any other Zelle transactions, though! Hope that helps. Good luck!

[@nicolesbeauty8870]

Thank you for reply and yes your response helps out a lot.

[@leonjohnson3501]

@@brynneandpeter I emailed you guys about the process. My wife and I applied but I'm not sure if I gave enough information.

[@brynneandpeter]

@@leonjohnson3501 hi can you shoot us a dm on instagram? I don't see your email. @peterbrynneandjelly

[@leonjohnson3501]

@@brynneandpeter Thanks. I will

[@jaydupree422]

Say if i get contacted on my email, can i bring in my documents to drop of at the marketing agent, instead of downloading documents

[@brynneandpeter]

hello -- I am not 100% about this! initially we had to upload everything to the portal, but once we started working on the final approval stage, we were sending docs directly to someone. so I imagine we could have dropped off physical documents, too. however, it was a very, very fast turnaround process and I'm not sure we would've had the time to physically drop stuff off every day since we had a lot of back and forth!

[@rheaduncan5751]

Hi. Does anyone have any idea how I will know if my application was rejected? I have 2 that says “under review” for about 1.5 months now. My log numbers are 500s and 1000s but it’s been so long and it says under review. Will it still be under review even if someone else was chosen? They only have like 4 available apartments

[@brynneandpeter]

Hi! Your status will change if it’s rejected and you will be notified. If they fill all the apartments, it will change to No Units Available. Our application was “Under Review” for about 3 months before they called us to view an apartment - be patient, you’d be surprised how long it can take for them to fill all the units. Good luck!

[@rheaduncan5751]

@@brynneandpeter thank you so much!

[@ashleysoule1805]

Did you put your net or gross income?

[@brynneandpeter]

hi -- they use gross income for eligibility!

[@dogdog4173]

They contacted my mom about an apartment and I am worried because she told me she made $16k, so that’s what I put on her profile but turns out she made $24k plus $12k from Social Security so $36k. $20k over the amount on her profile. The qualifying income was $15k-$29k. Does she still have a shot? Do they take SS benefits into account m? :/

[@brynneandpeter]

We are definitely not experts - but I imagine they will count SS benefits as income. Not 100% sure though! It’s ok if it doesn’t match the info on your profile, but if it’s over the qualifying income amount, they will reject it unfortunately. Might be worth trying anyway - at the very least, it will force you to get all the proper documents together with the most accurate income!

[@dogdog4173]

That sucks. He has not said anything back after I emailed him all the paperwork and it has been over 2 weeks. I checked housing connect and it says “Application under review” still. You mentioned that they immediately rejected your application when the income went over so that somewhat gave me hope

[@brynneandpeter]

@@dogdog4173 well if it’s under review they are still looking at it which could be a positive sign. Fingers crossed that it works out!

[@naseerlee7728]

It's a way to re budget your money your going to have to go back into your profile and re do everything on your profile and when you go to income you can re budget you income

[@Iamdeborahyoung]

Where can i find the forum?

[@brynneandpeter]

here you go: www.city-data.com/forum/new-york-city-housing-lottery/

[@mirving31]

Oh please! You pay 3500-4000 for a 1 bedroom or a studio!! You think that’s luck! It’s mortgage! Not worth it!

[@brynneandpeter]

Thank you for your concern but we actually pay $2800. Our careers are in NYC and my husband was born and raised here. This is our home and it works for us. I hope you are happy paying less whenever you live!

[@lorigrabowski]

@mirving31 No, what it IS, is “relative”. “Not worth it”? Again, when living in NYC, it’s all relative. Don’t be angry. Life is too short!

[@miamiflorida6965]

Teachers, nurses, firefighters & police officers should really have preference. 🙏🩷🙏 P.s. give us a tour.

[@brynneandpeter]

City employees do receive preference. We are both teachers and I work for a city college 👍🏻 if we have the time soon we can do a tour but it’s just a typical one bedroom! the neighborhood is more exciting to us than the apartment.