The lease you can do

Pity the poor college senior.

His student loans are high, his job prospects are bad and if he decided to strike out on his own in the big city . . . well, we salute the courage of anyone looking to rent an apartment in NYC.

The rental market is flat-out lousy for a first-timer, and it’s not much easier for someone looking to upgrade.

According to Citi Habitats, the vacancy rate in April was 1.16 percent. Not as bad as it was last summer (0.69 percent), but real estate pros are bracing themselves for a busy June.

“The market’s tightening up and prices are getting higher,” says Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats. “There’s very little new construction. There are only going to be 2,230 [new] units in Manhattan this year, which is a drop in the bucket. It’s the lowest [number of new units] it’s been in seven years.”

And if the low vacancy rate doesn’t raise your eyebrow, prices will. According to Malin, the average Manhattan studio rented for $2,025 per month in April; the average one-bedroom was $2,785; the average two-bedroom was $3,891; and the average three-bedroom was $5,186 per month.

“Last month was an all-time high,” Malin says of prices overall. “We assume that every month [over the summer] we’re going to continue setting an all-time high.”

And for luxury rentals, the market is just as strong. Related is introducing 1214 Fifth Ave. — the tallest rental building on the Upper East Side, where alcove studios start at $2,595, one-bedrooms start at $4,025, two-bedrooms start at $5,195 and three-bedrooms go for $8,995.

And if you thought Brooklyn was a better story, in some cases it’s worse. At the new DUMBO building 220 Water St., which opened in February, studios start at $3,175.

Even in Long Island City, rents are rising.

“On the water, it’s anywhere from $48 to $52 per foot,” says Eric Benaim, president of Modern Spaces. (This means a 1,000-square-foot apartment would cost approximately $4,000 to $4,333 per month.)

Still, LIC and other Queens neighborhoods continue to attract those priced out of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

“A lot of people can’t find anything in Williamsburg or are priced out of Williamsburg,” Benaim says.

We asked the experts for their tips on handling the heated rental market.

1. Carry a lot of paper on your hunt.

“Have immediate access to all of your paperwork to verify employment and references,” says Marc Lewis, chairman of A.C. Lawrence. “You need to have copies of your two to three most-recent pay stubs. If you’re a new hire, obtain a signed employment letter on company stationery stating your job description, hire date, annual salary and any bonus.”

“Have your 1040 tax return for two years,” says Victoria Shtainer, executive vice president of Prudential Douglas Elliman. If you’re self-employed, have a letter from a CPA verifying your income.

2. Take aim.

“Give yourself enough time to look,” says Vicki Negron, senior vice president of the Corcoran Group. “Don’t look three days before your lease ends. A good window of opportunity is 45 days in advance to guarantee that you find that needle in a haystack.”

Investigate neighborhoods, too. Vacancy rates in TriBeCa and SoHo are 0.49 percent. The Upper West Side is 1.64 percent. Take a guess where you might want to be looking.

3. Make Zuckerberg earn his billions.

“Post on Facebook and everywhere that you’re looking for an apartment,” advises Victoria Hagman, founder of Realty Collective. “There’s a good chance your friends or friends of theirs have one or know of [an apartment].”

4. Pull the trigger immediately.

“You should be prepared to make the decision then and there,” says Daria Salusbury, senior vice president of Related. That means that if you’re making the decision with your husband or roommate, you should both go together.

“It’s worth the $50 or $75 that in the worst case you lose that application processing fee” rather than missing out on an apartment, says Andrew Barrocas, CEO of MNS.

5. Make sure you have money in the bank.

Typically, the average landlord demands that you earn at least 40 times the monthly rent in a year. Plus, you’re usually going to need the first month’s rent and a one-month security deposit. (Your landlord will sometimes demand the last month’s rent, as well.) This can add up to a lot of scratch.

And if you’re getting help from a guarantor, they need to have even more money — typically 80 times the monthly rent, and in many cases landlords require that the guarantor live in the tri-state area.

6. Let the guarantor know what he or she is in for.

If you’re using your parents to nab your apartment, you should be up front with them: They’re on the hook for a lot of money.

“Sometimes, you have a roommate situation in which one roommate has a job earning $60,000, and the other roommate doesn’t have a job but has a guarantor,” Barrocas says. “But the guarantor is responsible for the whole apartment — not only are they guaranteeing their child’s portion of the rent, but both children.”

So make sure you’re not taking on a deadbeat roommate.

7. Ask if your building is cash or credit.

“We’re accepting credit cards for rentals,” Salusbury says. “And we have electronic leases.” While many of us wouldn’t think of putting our first month’s rent and security deposit on the card, some of the bigger landlords (like Related) allow this, and you can at least get some nice AmEx points from your apartment.

8. Prioritize!

Nobody gets everything that they want — be it on a $900-a-month budget or a $30,000-a-month one.

Just get the agony over and rank your wish list.

“Figure out if [your priority] is a garage in the building, or if it’s being close to work. Is it having a doorman or being able to have a pet?” Barrocas says.

“After establishing that list ask yourself, ‘Are there certain things you are willing to sacrifice?’ If you have a pet, you’re not getting rid of the pet, but there are certain other things you are willing to sacrifice. Maybe you have a threshold of $2,500 a month, but you find an apartment for $2,600. Maybe you found a part-time rather than full-time doorman.”