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I've been planning to move to ny next year and I've been doing some research on various websites in regards to apartments for rent and I've found that many of the ones which are being promoted by brokers are cheaper than those without. However I was cautioned that it was better to get an apartment without a broker. I would just like to hear some thoughts and experiences on that.
If you use a broker, you'll have to pay a fee (~15% of annual rental?). However, if you can rent a less expensive apartment by using a broker, the overall price might be comparable. Be warned, though, that brokers sometimes use "bait-and-switch" and the inexpensive apartment you called about today? "So, sorry -- it was rented yesterday. But, look, I have this OTHER -- slightly more expensive -- place available."
I got my apartment through rdny.com. Its decent. You have access to no broker fee apartments for 3 months for a fee of $200 or so.
They make it sound like you'll be flooded with apartment listings. Not true........ but being new to NYC I found it safe than craigslist or using a broker.
If you use a broker, you'll have to pay a fee (~15% of annual rental?). However, if you can rent a less expensive apartment by using a broker, the overall price might be comparable. Be warned, though, that brokers sometimes use "bait-and-switch" and the inexpensive apartment you called about today? "So, sorry -- it was rented yesterday. But, look, I have this OTHER -- slightly more expensive -- place available."
This is not the way it works in my neck of the woods.
There are several ways to find a rental:
Rent directly from the owner of the property
Rent using a broker and the landlord pays the broker(1 month rent is normal)
Rent using a broker where the renter pays the broker a negotiated fee.
The benefit of working with a broker is the broker helps you negotiate the rental amount and the lease terms with the landlord. If you rent on your own please make sure that you read and understand what you are agreeing to in the lease upfront because it is too late to dispute issues when the lease is up and you are preparing to move out.
If you have no idea of what you can expect to pay, or what part of the city to live in, then a broker might help you a lot. Otherwise I would skip it. If you don't want to pay the fee you really don't have to-plenty of places without the broker fee.
If you use a broker, you'll have to pay a fee (~15% of annual rental?). However, if you can rent a less expensive apartment by using a broker, the overall price might be comparable. Be warned, though, that brokers sometimes use "bait-and-switch" and the inexpensive apartment you called about today? "So, sorry -- it was rented yesterday. But, look, I have this OTHER -- slightly more expensive -- place available."
This is the same experience we had. Brokers generally charge 1 month rent or sometimes up to 15% of annual rent. A couple of them we called about specific listings told us the listings were no longer available and they had better things to show us in the same building (or type of building). The price for the available rentals of course was more expensive and when we insisted on finding equivalent to what was posted the broker would say that in this building or type of buildings the prices are what they are (more expensive than original listing). We ran into one honest broker who was very upfront about his fees and types of apartments we could get for what price. The funny part is that the "bait-and-switch" broker and the honest broker were from the same company. So, it really depends on who you get.
If you like specific area it helps walking around it and finding buildings you like and walking into them and asking if they have available rental units. Often you just get a business card from the concierge at the front with the leasing company info. You can then go to their website to see available rentals or call them. Or alternatively, just drop by the leasing office of the building itself. This is how we found our rental, no drama, very standardized process and paperwork and no extra broker fees. Of course this was not the cheapest rental, but it was within our budget and the broker told us he couldn't do better than what we were looking at in terms of price because even though the similar quality rentals were available for cheaper, after the broker fees are added, it would cost the same. So, I guess you'd still pay the premium with or without broker fee unless you are lucky and/or persistent on finding a place posted by owner.
Don't go with the broker if the whole human element of feeling that you are being taken advantage of is bothering you, because it really depends on who you get and their style of business.
Whatever you decide, start with doing some research to get an idea what rentals go for in different areas. I personally like streateasy.com as a more central database with different brokerage companies as well as some "no fee" listings represented.
This is not the way it works in my neck of the woods.
There are several ways to find a rental:
Rent directly from the owner of the property
Rent using a broker and the landlord pays the broker(1 month rent is normal)
Rent using a broker where the renter pays the broker a negotiated fee.
The benefit of working with a broker is the broker helps you negotiate the rental amount and the lease terms with the landlord. If you rent on your own please make sure that you read and understand what you are agreeing to in the lease upfront because it is too late to dispute issues when the lease is up and you are preparing to move out.
Norm, this is New York City. What happens elsewhere doesn't prevail here. It's a very different real estate world from Central NJ.
My husband and I are planning to move to NYC in October. We are interested in renting a studio or 1 bedroom in Queens, Brooklyn or the Bronx and can spend about $1200 per month. All of the advice on here is helpful regarding walking the neighborhoods where you want to live, craigslist, subletting, using a broker or not, etc., but there is one question I'd love to get some input on: where you live while you're LOOKING for an apartment? I've read that it can often take several weeks to find an apartment, so what do you do in the meantime? What do you do with your stuff? We are moving from the southwestern US and will not be coming with a moving truck - just mainly clothes, books and kitchen stuff. Any strategies on how to handle this logistical nightmare? Hotels are expensive and we'd rather not spend $2500 of our savings to stay in a hotel for 2 weeks while we find an apartment. Surely not everyone who moves to NYC has a friend or family member with an empty couch (we don't)! We have considered renting "sight unseen" through the help of a broker, but we're concerned about the cost of that, too. Unless this might be the best way to go?
It shouldn't take weeks to find a place; in fact, people report being able to find a place in a single weekend (although the paperwork may take an additional couple days). The majority of vacancies are only posted 30 days in advance, and the best suggestion might simply be to travel here a month or so ahead of your planned move date and find a place that'll be available when you arrive.
Worst case scenario, I suppose you could get here, put everything in storage and sublet a place for a month or two, but I think that would be a major hassle .....
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