better to deal with brokers or owners?? (New York, York: apartments, rental)
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I've been browsing craigslist to find a relatively affordable 2 br. apartment in either Manhattan (such as Morningside/Harlem) or Brooklyn and although I prefer to deal with the owners of the apartments straight up, I've seen a few listings by brokers that I'm interested in. Would people say that it is worth it to deal with brokers or should I not even bother? Does anyone have personal experience or knowledge? I'm afraid of getting gypped with hidden fees and what not. Also, are there some brokers that are better than others? I suspect some on craigslist are fake, but it's hard to differentiate since I'm not familiar with New York. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Are you talking about buying or renting ?
In either case,you probably have a much wider selection going through a broker.
Money wise it can go either way... especially with purchases. I have seen people think they were getting a better deal by buying directly from an owner only to find out that they paid too much. I know in my building,the brokered apartments tend to be realistically priced while the "by owner" apartments tend to come on at very inflated,unrealistic prices.Be careful either way and know the market you are trying to buy or rent in. Don't assume too much either way.
Mate, if you are talking about renting in NYC, this is your time! I moved here 6 weeks ago from Australia and worked the brokers like crazy for my first week, getting in the end a high-end 1 bedroom in Mid-town for $1K less then it was advertised, with broker fee paid by the owner. It was not a fluke - my second choice apt was as good and the owner was willing to pay all of the above plus pick up the condo application fees (high 800$). Arguably, I was looking at the higher end of the market (eg $4K+) and this is where they struggle a lot to get decent tenants in the door.
I was told by quite a few people that the lower end of one-bedrooms in decent parts of Manhattan hasn't yet suffered as much and there is still plenty of competition, but one can easily manage to either negotiate a better deal on the rent or lower broker fee or even pay broker’s fee over the 12 months of lease as oppose to paying it upfront before the move-in. This is all based on first-hand experiences of my colleagues in the office in the last few months.
Mate, if you are talking about renting in NYC, this is your time! I moved here 6 weeks ago from Australia and worked the brokers like crazy for my first week, getting in the end a high-end 1 bedroom in Mid-town for $1K less then it was advertised, with broker fee paid by the owner. It was not a fluke - my second choice apt was as good and the owner was willing to pay all of the above plus pick up the condo application fees (high 800$). Arguably, I was looking at the higher end of the market (eg $4K+) and this is where they struggle a lot to get decent tenants in the door.
I was told by quite a few people that the lower end of one-bedrooms in decent parts of Manhattan hasn't yet suffered as much and there is still plenty of competition, but one can easily manage to either negotiate a better deal on the rent or lower broker fee or even pay broker’s fee over the 12 months of lease as oppose to paying it upfront before the move-in. This is all based on first-hand experiences of my colleagues in the office in the last few months.
Good luck!
Thanks for everyone's help and advice. I'm actually looking at renting and at no-fee apartments. Do you think I'll still get to negotiate a better deal on the rent even though the fee is already paid by the owner?
Brokers are a necessary evil in a lot of places in the city, mainly Manhattan.. But in the outer boroughs if you can avoid them you get a much better deal working with the owners or the management company directly.
im currently searching in queens and dealing with both owners and brokers. I found some brokers who are offering a percentage off the brokers fee. Something i wouldnt have known if i hadnt called and made an appt. I really dont want to work with a broker, or pay the fee. but man...it's kinda easier right now for me to have a variety of options at once.
It looks like I'm probably going to go with a broker. To protect myself and my information, what type of information is a broker allowed to ask for? I know they need to do a credit check, but do they have to have my social security number and/or bank information? I was looking a broker's website and it says that I need to provide my bank information in order to apply for any of their apartments.
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