<prompt> Human: Hi reddit! This is my first post, and I am reaching out because I feel like Ive exhausted all other resources. You seem like a very smart, helpful bunch, and Id love to hear what advice you have for me on this subject. Please bear with me, I can be quite verbose :A little bit about me: I am a 28-year old single mom with a 6-year old daughter. Moved to NYC for grad school about a year ago. Couch-surfed with friends for a few months while I looked for apartments, but as you might imagine, this is not ideal with a child in tow. Because of bad credit current score: 582, but was lower at the time and no steady income besides student loans, I was not approved for the apartments I applied for. I ended up in an illegal sublet in one of the more dangerous NYCHA projects in the city. I had to move out in December because the original tenant wanted to move back in. I was lucky and hopefully also qualified! enough to get a full-time job that I very much enjoy beginning in January of this year. I make about 40,000. I was also lucky enough to have a friend here who was kind enough to let me and my daughter stay with him while I got settled in my job and looked for an apartment. Unfortunately, he had previously arranged for some of his family to come visit beginning next week, so I need to be out by then. For anyone familiar with NYC renting requirements, it is INSANE. You have to make 40X the monthly rent annually, and you generally have to have a good credit score. If you use a guarantor, the need to make 80X the monthly rent annually! Between my job 40K and my student loans 20K, I can show income of about 60000 not sure how landlords feel about loan income though. I am therefore looking for apartments in the range of 1250-1350 max. Obviously, if I could find something lower, it would be ideal. Because of my daughter, I am looking for a 1-bedroom. At her age, a studio just isnt feasible for us anymore. I have found a few albeit a very limited number of options in this price range in the area in which I would like to live. However, I am worried that I will not be approved for these apartments based on my credit score, and possibly the fact that without my loans, my income does not meet guidelines. I also do not have a guarantor who makes 80X the monthly rent. I know there must be other people in this city with less-than-stellar credit and modest incomes. How are they able to rent? There is also the issue of brokers and their outrageous fees 12-15 of the annual rent. As I am only recently getting back on my feet financially, I dont have any savings. I cannot really afford to pay such a large sum of money to a broker for basically unlocking a door and showing me an apartment and passing paperwork on to a landlord. It seems crazy to me that this is even a thing. So any ideas on how to avoid this would also be appreciated. Thanks in advance!TL;DR: Single mom with bad credit and modest but stable income is having a hard time finding an apartment in NYC. Help! :Edit: For those of you advising me that I wont be able to afford to live in most areas of Manhattan- I am well aware : I am not trying to live in some doorman building in midtown or anything. My daughters school is in Washington Heights and my work is in Harlem, so I am looking at both of those areas and in between, which coincidentally is where the most affordable housing in Manhattan is located, so that works out for me. I am willing to look elsewhere, but in addition to higher commuting costs, I also have to consider that there would be higher childcare costs as well, since I would need to pay for care during the additional time that I am traveling home from work. I appreciate all the advice so far, but I guess I want to clarify that I am not having particular trouble actually finding places in my desired area within my desired budget. The issue that I would like help with is how to improve chances of being approved. For example, is it worth it to explain my personal situation to owners? The advice about Insurent was very helpful, I have already been approved for a Lease Guaranty with them. Its just a matter of deciding if the crazy fees would be worth it. Thanks again reddit!  <response>: Hi! You are pretty much the poster child for NYCs Affordable Housing Lottery. There are some alternative links that advertise lower income requirements on that page too.Also: This is a good resource for searching available listings. After you click ok, click on the HDC now renting on the right hand sideEvery new development for the past few years have been required to set aside a percentage of their apartments for lower-moderate income families. You are looking at nice developments for anywhere from 800-1000 which looks like it would be in your range. There arent any broker fees to worry about and I think that things like the downpayment and security are all negotiated cheaper. If all that fails, look north. Look from Inwood up to Yonkers. It is a decent area that you might be able to find a deal and they are much more accustom to working with lower income families. You cant really stay within 20 mins of midtown with your requirements. You have to get at least 25-30mins away. That is just the reality of it if you want safety and decently livable conditions. Good luck! edit when applying for the housing lottery, do NOT add your student loans. Just your base salary. 