Realtors unresponsive (Philadelphia: apartments, rentals, good credit)

[Jamie76]

We are moving relocating to Philadelphia with 3 children in the next few weeks and looking to rent. We have been here since Thursday and the Realtors have been so unresponsive. I don't understand how they have listings on their websites or Trulia but don't call or email back. We have good credit and the money to put down on a rental. We are looking to move to Chesnut Hill, Mt. Airy or a similar neighborhood. Can anyone recommend a responsive Realtor?

Jamie

[eastwestcoast]

You will probably have better luck looking for listing yourselves on sites like Craigslist or Padmapper than going through MLS sites like Trulia or Zillow. Realtors don't make a lot of commission off rentals and therefore often are not very responsive (at least this seems to be the case based on my experience in the Philly area). Also if you are using a realtor or MLS site you only see a small percentage of the apartments available, and you may be more likely to get a response by contacting a landlord directly.

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by eastwestcoast

You will probably have better luck looking for listing yourselves on sites like Craigslist or Padmapper than going through MLS sites like Trulia or Zillow. Realtors don't make a lot of commission off rentals and therefore often are not very responsive (at least this seems to be the case based on my experience in the Philly area). Also if you are using a realtor or MLS site you only see a small percentage of the apartments available, and you may be more likely to get a response by contacting a landlord directly.

Agree with this. Hotpads is another good site to use. I attempted to use a realtor when I moved here and it was way more of a hassle, I ended up finding my house on my own. And as said above, realtors can only show you listings that are contracted for them to get the commission which is a very small percentage of total rentals.

[toobusytoday]

Unfortunately, It's against the terms of service for this site to recommend realtors, even if it's in regards to a rental.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Seconded what other people have said - use craigslist, or padmapper and hotpads (which pull listings from other sites, including craigslist). You can deal directly with landlords or property management companies.

Not sure where you're moving from - but it's typically the way it works in Philadelphia. There is a company or two out there that works more in the style of NYC (where what's basically a broker will show you around different apartments - but even then the selection will be limited to a certain kind of apartment, and is more centered on the downtown area).

The one time I used a realtor to check out a listing that interested me on the MLS, the place wound up being a dump, and the guy just tried to sell me a house instead. He couldn't believe I wasn't interested in a house - although I guess when you primarily sell people houses that becomes your state of mind.

[Wisertime]

Originally Posted by Jamie76

We are moving relocating to Philadelphia with 3 children in the next few weeks and looking to rent. We have been here since Thursday and the Realtors have been so unresponsive. I don't understand how they have listings on their websites or Trulia but don't call or email back. We have good credit and the money to put down on a rental. We are looking to move to Chesnut Hill, Mt. Airy or a similar neighborhood. Can anyone recommend a responsive Realtor?

Jamie

Also, I had a similar experience when moving here and ended up with some really crappy realtors...one time even, my realtor was out of town and we were ready to make an offer and no one in the office would help...looked at us like we were crazy.