Millennial Writes Off 'Terrible' Apartment Listing—Then Realizes Mistake
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
A Brooklyn-based content creator's hunt for an apartment in New York City has gone viral, showcasing how a poor listing may have helped her land what she called the "best worst listing ever."
Victoria, an NYC-based lifestyle and food creator in her early 30s who posts under the handle @atyourleisurenyc on YouTube and Instagram, shared her unusual apartment hunting story in a video. The clip, which has amassed over 221,000 views since it was posted on YouTube on June 13, features various shots of Victoria in her apartment.
"I still can't believe I found my rent-stabilized one-bedroom apartment with in-unit washer dryer in New York City on StreetEasy with zero competition and here's how," Victoria says in the video.
She explains in the video: "My friend sent me the listing, but I almost skipped it. The photos were terrible, the description was super generic, did not mention any amenities, and the rent was out of my budget. But then the broker texted me a video of the apartment and said the listed price was actually $300 too high, which was so sketchy, but I went to go see it anyway."
Victoria's viral video comes at a time when millions of Americans are struggling to afford housing. A 2024 report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University describes an "unprecedented affordability crisis," with nearly half of all renter households in the U.S. considered cost-burdened. About 12.1 million are "severely cost-burdened," meaning they spend over 50% of their income on rent and utilities.
'Exactly What I've Been Looking For'
Victoria moved into her Brooklyn apartment in February 2024. Speaking to Newsweek, she explained that the broker's video, which showed the apartment furnished by the previous tenant, offered her a more realistic view of the space than the official listing.
"I liked the layout, large windows, and spacious closet of the apartment, and the fact that it had a dishwasher and in-unit laundry and was in an elevator building," she told Newsweek. "I was the only one who saw the apartment on the night that I went, and don't think there were other viewers on other days. The photos on StreetEasy were blurry and unappealing—I found out later that some of the photos weren't even of my actual apartment."
The night she viewed it was far from typical. "I showed up for a tour at 6:00 p.m. in the dead of winter only to find that the power was cut and the broker couldn't make it," she recalls in the video. "So I toured the apartment by myself in the dark with my phone flashlight and the broker on speaker phone. I realized even in the dark that I had finally found exactly what I've been looking for."
Having viewed several other apartments in Brooklyn that she couldn't see herself living in, "this one had everything I was looking for and was just within my budget," she told Newsweek.
Her monthly rent was about $3,200 at move-in, but the building's participation in New York City's 421-a tax abatement program meant it came with a rent-stabilization rider—a rare find in the current market. Although the stabilization clause expires at the end of June, Victoria secured a two-year lease extension at the current rate.
Despite the apartment's many perks, not everything was perfect. "Although I hated the floors of the apartment—they were an ugly linoleum yellow tile—I knew I couldn't not sign the lease because of that," she said. "So, I ended up installing peel and stick flooring all throughout my apartment and strategically layering several rugs to cover up the existing floors."
Her decision paid off. "Thank God the StreetEasy listing was so bad and scared everyone else off," Victoria says at the end of the video. "It was the best worst listing ever."
Screenshots from a viral video on YouTube showing an exterior and interior shot of a rare rent-stabilized one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, New York City.
Screenshots from a viral video on YouTube showing an exterior and interior shot of a rare rent-stabilized one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, New York City.
@atyourleisurenyc on YouTube and Instagram
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