Who pays for broker's fees in a rental? (New York, Huntington: apartment complex, renter)

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

Although the contract is with the seller, the only person I have ever seen bring a check to the closing is the buyer. So who, in effect, pays the fee?

Well, essentially...but the seller pays the BROKER fee. Buyer pays for everything else, lol.

[LoracG]

So...how do I find these "No broker" fee rentals? Moving to LI is not by choice. My husband matched into a fellowship at North Shore Long Island. He'll be primarily at North Shore University Hospital. Craigs list? I still can't believe I'm responsible for broker's fees. I thought living Chicago was bad enough...

Also, any suggestions as to where to live? I'm now thinking of places in Queens. We have a soon to be 3 year old so family-friendly, safe, good schools town is key.

[I_Love_LI_but]

^^^
Try craigslist.org. You can search for "no fee" on there.

Also note that there are two areas on craigslist.org for Long Island:

One is under New York State.

The other is under New York City.

So be sure and search in both of them.

PS: Aren't you getting any relocation assistance? If so, perhaps broker's fees can be negotiated into the contract.

[TomMoser]

Be cautious when trying to avoid brokerage fees on rentals. Often (not always) people do not use brokers to rent their apartments because the apartments are illegal. Illegal apartments can cause serious safety hazards to you and your family. Just to be fair -- even when you use a broker, check with the town to make sure that the apartment is legal. While brokers are not supposed to list illegal apartments some uscrupulous ones indeed do so.

[HomeFinder15]

Tom is right. While a commission is agreed to by the seller, it is actually the buyer(s) bringing all funds to the closing table.

[I_Love_LI_but]

To OP:

On Long Island, apartments must have separate electric/gas utilities.

If you see ads that say "includes all" do not answer them because they are illegal apartments.

Illegal apartments are not inspected and may be dangerous. Even if not dangerous, if someone reports your landlord for having an illegal apartment, you will be forced to move out.

[TomMoser]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

To OP:

On Long Island, apartments must have separate electric/gas utilities.

If you see ads that say "includes all" do not answer them because they are illegal apartments.

Illegal apartments are not inspected and may be dangerous. Even if not dangerous, if someone reports your landlord for having an illegal apartment, you will be forced to move out.

There is no requirement that legal apartments have seperate utilities. Many legal apartments are offered with all utilities included. The only way to check if an apartment is legal is to call the town in which the property is located.

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by TomMoser

There is no requirement that legal apartments have seperate utilities. Many legal apartments are offered with all utilities included. The only way to check if an apartment is legal is to call the town in which the property is located.

I do not think that an apartment in a two-family house in any municipality on Long Island can be legal without having separate utilities. There is such a thing as a mother/daughter house where you can build an apartment in your home which can include utilities, BUT you must rent it to a close relative, not anybody off the street.

In NYC there are many carryovers where there are legal apartments that include all utilities, especially apartment buildings (and some of these have been made into co-ops where the utilities are included in the maintenance), but I have never heard of an apartment like that on Long Island being legal. Do you have any examples of Code on LI where utilities included is legal?

[TomMoser]

I have not seen any town code on Long Island that addresses this issue at all.

Most "Accessory Apartments" (legal apartments within owner occuppied homes that are permitted to rent to other then family members) offer all utilities included.

Many apartment complexes include heat in the rent.

There are many legal two family homes where there is only one heating system, and it is quite common for the landlord to include heat in the rent. It is much easier to split the electric, so most have seperate electricity.

Utility set up is not an indicator of whether an apartment is legal or illegal.

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

I do not think that an apartment in a two-family house in any municipality on Long Island can be legal without having separate utilities. There is such a thing as a mother/daughter house where you can build an apartment in your home which can include utilities, BUT you must rent it to a close relative, not anybody off the street.

In NYC there are many carryovers where there are legal apartments that include all utilities, especially apartment buildings (and some of these have been made into co-ops where the utilities are included in the maintenance), but I have never heard of an apartment like that on Long Island being legal. Do you have any examples of Code on LI where utilities included is legal?

I own a co-op. All utilities except electric are included in the maintenance...namely just heat/hot water...but I pay my own LIPA bill. It's a legal co-op in a building.