going through an apt broker vs going directly to the leasing office? (apartments)

[czer]

i'm new to the whole broker thing, coming from LA, and moving to NYC next week.. but when i visited the last 2 times in NYC i went through a couple brokers to look at apts.

ive mainly been looking at craigslist, and i see some apartments in newer / luxury buildings that i like and i know where the building is and have visited their website. however, i also see brokers with listings for the same apt and same price as the building's website. so i was wondering is there any benefit of going through a broker vs going directly to the leasing office? i know if i go through the broker, the broker will get paid. but is it possible to negotiate with the leasing office saying since im not going through a broker, can you lower the rent by like $50 month or whatever?

basically, why go through a broker if i already know the apt i want?

[newyorker24]

In your case I wouldn't use a broker. Even if the leasing office will rent you the apartment for the same price as the broker can get it for, remember that broker is getting paid. So in some cases they will give you an extra free month of rent without a broker. The broker might advertise no fee plus 1 free month, while the leasing office directly will give you 2 free months. Brokers are good when you're not sure exactly where you want to live, or they are showing an apartment not advertised elsewhere or when there is no onsite leasing office. I know in FiDi right now there are a few buildings with a lot of empty apartments and they do have onsite leasing offices trying to get people to move in.

[SKooT1027]

If you can avoid the broker and are comfortable doing so, it will save you a broker fee (up to 15% of annual rent). It's a good option if you're looking at the larger buildings that have leasing offices within them. If you're looking at smaller buildings, a broker may be more helpful, or even necessary.