Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007

The $700 German

For some unknown reason people still prioritize living in Manhattan:

Oh, to be a young bohemian with a Manhattan apartment — these days it seems difficult to pay rent without a trust fund. But Jessica Delfino — comedian, musician, voiceover artist — has found a way.

She and her boyfriend converted their living room into what essentially is a studio apartment, and they rent out the bedroom to travelers.

“We did have a roommate at one point, but the apartment is kind of small,” Delfino said. Tourists help offset the roughly $1,600 monthly rent. “We don’t do it every night. In between we take a night off to wash and clean everything and have some privacy.”

Whenever they post on Craigslist — the current rate is $70 a night for a private room in an elevator building with Wi-Fi, A/C, unlimited local calls and balcony access — Delfino, 30, gets nearly 100 e-mails during the first three days.

. . .

She discourages people from bringing guests or staying more than a week.

“The longest stay was 10 days — an older German couple,” Delfino recounted. “It was kind of a disaster. She broke the bathroom door knob and it was locked for days. I couldn’t get the super to come fix it. She walked around naked. I walked into the kitchen in the middle of the night and there she was naked, peeing in a cup.”