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Renting in NY: Fee or no-fee brokers?

post #1 of 78
7/28/10 at 1:15pm
Thread Starter 
I did it, the search, but the newest thread is a year old.

Which is more worth it, fee or no-fee brokers? Or should I just try to find something via craigslist?
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post #2 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:36pm
Outside of NYC, it seems like most reputable rental brokers collect their fees from the landlords, not the perspective tenant. I know the NYC housing market is a different beast altogether, but I cannot imagine that aspect being much different.
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post #3 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:38pm
I'd do a fee broker, personally. You're going to be paying a fee anyways, the landlords simply have a fee built into the rent. If you are looking at a no-fee place, offer to pay the broker's fee and you'll see the rent go down quite a bit. It's irrelevent first year, but if you continue the rent you'll end up paying much less for each successive year.

Craigslist sucks for apartments.
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post #4 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:41pm
I got my best apartment through a fee broker. Really nice place so I sucked it up and paid.
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post #5 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:41pm
Be careful with craigslist. A lot of brokers just post there amazing deals, you spend whole day with them but never that one that you saw. And definitely, go to no-fee deal and also, there are a lot of 1 and 2-months free rentals. As gomestar said, Craigslist sucks for apartments.
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post #6 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:43pm
I got an awesome place in Manhattan w/a no fee broker. I forget what the deal was, but he was able to negotiate so our rent was a little lower than advertised while the owner still took care of the fee. There's value in a good broker. Right now is probably the worst time to look for a place though. If you can hold out until ~Jan-Feb you will get the best deal. Still though if you can't wait, Citi Habitat has some great brokers. We told the dude exactly what we wanted, and we wound up taking the 2nd apartment he showed us. I agree that CL blows. Lots of baiting and switching. Best bet is to just walk into either a brokerage or a building you want to live in (if it's a high rise). Other than that it's a pain in the ass.
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post #7 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:43pm
So, jon, does this thread mean you are moving from Boca to NYC?
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post #8 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:46pm
It depends on how much time you have to sink into an apartment search (where will you be staying when you do this). If you want to only see places that really fit your criteria, you'll need someone to screen them for you, i.e. a broker. I found places with and without broker. The nicest place was with a broker and she got paid by the landlord.
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post #9 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakota rube View Post
So, jon, does this thread mean you are moving from Boca to NYC?

Yes. My first day is August 9th... it all happened rather quickly.
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post #10 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:53pm
Holy sht - not much time to find a place. Congrats on the job I guess?
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post #11 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by imageWIS View Post
Yes. My first day is August 9th... it all happened rather quickly.

So, dish.
What are you going to do?
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post #12 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:54pm
Thread Starter 
At the moment I'm not looking to rent a place by myself, any suggestions regarding roommate searches?
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post #13 of 78
7/28/10 at 2:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dakota rube View Post
So, dish.
What are you going to do?

PM sent.
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post #14 of 78
7/28/10 at 3:11pm
With your timeframe I'd go with a broker. I found my nicest place in the City with one.
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post #15 of 78
7/28/10 at 3:15pm
Brokers can suck a lot. Try searching directly via owner first. I did this and will never look back. He even upgraded us twice for a very minimal amount.
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