Advice on Rental Market
I have owned a brownstone in a very good location in North Park Slope right near the park for almost eight years. Until late last year all I had to do was put one ad on craigslist,I got an enormous response and had the apartment rented. Well, no more. The market has flipped. It’s incredible….
I have owned a brownstone in a very good location in North Park Slope right near the park for almost eight years. Until late last year all I had to do was put one ad on craigslist,I got an enormous response and had the apartment rented.
Well, no more. The market has flipped. It’s incredible. I rented a couple of apartments a few months ago although it took a couple of weeks. Now it seems worse. After advertising for a week I’ve gotten a total of two people to look at the apt. May get a couple more this week. The rent is already about $100 below what it would have gone for last year ($1400 vs. $1500). It will be vacated at the end of this month so I’m under pressure to get it rented now.
My question is this. I’m considering lowering it by $100 from what I thought was already a relatively low rent. But I’m wondering how much of an effect that would have. There just seem to be so few people out there. Any advice besides lowering the rent?
Hi Starfish1948,
Am a long time N. Slo brownstoner.
One of my kids is currently looking for apt in the poetic Licence nabe, so I tried yr Craigslist post to hv a look/ forward link to her.
However, was no longer viewable as post taken off by owner.
Does this mean now rented?
Hope so for your sake, but o/w pls advise where she can view o/l.
In thanks, Merlyn
Maybe i you stopped doing bussness wt Cocorean you would do much better. After al it i because of greedy commision charging idiots like them that rents have gone through the roofs for the regular working family. Butterfly you better hope you never get someone like me for a homeowner. You respect elders not treat them like trash.
It’s always difficult to rent an apt this time of year. Big whoop.
Yes. Landlords need to understand that broker fees are like a “cover charge” at a club.
When you have a line of a people waiting outside hoping to get in, sure, you can charge a cover.
But when you club is empty and no one is walking in the door, it’s time to get rid of the cover charge and start a happy hour.
Exactly, Northsloperenter. The notion brokers are telling landlords to take huge cuts in their rental income so the brokers don’t have to lower their fees in this new market is absolutely absurd. Landlords should be negotiating fees down with brokers and if they can’t get a good deal for their prospective tenants don’t use a broker at all.
“The agent from Corcoran said that he has two 2 bedrooms that rented in just 3 days last year for $3,600. This year the price is $3,000 and they’ve been sitting empty since July.”
Well, maybe if the agent from Corcoran lowered his $4400 fee the places would rent a bit faster…
well i rented a place w/i the last 3 months and i gave the LL his ask and all n all i’m pretty happy with the deal,,,,,,,,,,, SO THERE!
I would bet money that 99% of the commenters on this thread have not rented an apt. in Brooklyn in the last 3 months. The market is WAY down. I just rented 2 and it was HARD and I took almost a 10% price drop. What rented last year in 3 days took me 3 weeks and with 2 price drops. They were on Craigslist with gorgeous pics, empty, with no dropped ceilings and brand new everything. I consulted w/ 2 agents, one from Corcoran and one from Halstead and they confirmed that things are sitting empty for months even after significant price drops. The agent from Corcoran said that he has two 2 bedrooms that rented in just 3 days last year for $3,600. This year the price is $3,000 and they’ve been sitting empty since July. He has another 600 sq. ft. 1 bedroom, no fee that has been on the market for 2 months empty. The market has tanked and it’s taking longer and prices are lower. People are not looking for a deal they are looking for a steal….hopefully it won’t stay like this for long.
I went to your Craigslist ad pretending that I was in the market for a studio apartment. I ignored the furniture because let’s face it, sometimes having furniture in an apartment can’t be helped, and it’s not that cluttered that you can’t see the bare bones of the unit. Things I saw immediately and liked:
* Beautiful front windows with lots of light
* Nice amount of shelving and closet space
* Hardwood floors (yay!)
What made me go hmmm…:
* No bathroom shot. Even though it says it’s big and beautiful in the ad, the fact that there’s no image supporting this automatically makes me suspicious.
* Kitchen shot is cropped. Once again, people are more interested in what’s omitted than what they see. Is there a place to put dishes? Groceries?
Those things are all things I might be able to live with. Here are the dealbreakers:
* That godawful drop ceiling. And the fact that it’s a drop ceiling in a brownstone fills me with GOTDAMN BURNING ANGER. I prefer living in older buildings for the wonderful high ceilings, and I think most people who like vintage prefer that as well.
* Absolutely no dogs. I’m a responsible pet owner. I also realize that some people aren’t, and often bad experiences make landlords prefer not to rent to people with pets. Therefore, if I’m looking at apartments on CL I always make sure I have the dog and cat checkboxes checked before I start searching. If I were really conducting a search I would never see this ad.
IMO, one of the best thing you could do is remove the drop ceiling. It’s especially important in this case because it’s a studio (as opposed to only having it in areas like the kitchen or bathroom) and the entire living area has it!