Subletting my Place - How to Avoid Broker Scams?
I am subletting my NYC apartment and would like to know if I should be on the lookout for brokers posing as prospective tenants, or any other scams. More precisely, I am not subletting my place but rather “assigning” my lease (this is the NYC housing law term for it). It simply means someone fully…
I am subletting my NYC apartment and would like to know if I should be on the lookout for brokers posing as prospective tenants, or any other scams.
More precisely, I am not subletting my place but rather “assigning” my lease (this is the NYC housing law term for it). It simply means someone fully taking over your lease.
That is, a person can break their lease and assign it to another person, if the landlord agrees. The first tenant’s lease (mine) is then completely terminated and the new person gets their own lease.
My landlord’s condition was that I find someone to take it over, which is very fair. (They have every right to refuse, and could have required me instead to simply sublet.) The management company has been very upfront and cooperative with allowing me to do this.
It also means, of course, that I advertise and show the apartment myself.
Naturally I make the situation clear to everyone who inquires. If they want the apartment they go directly to the management company who handles all the paperwork and credit check. I am not involved in that nor does any money get paid to me.
My only concern is that somehow this situation could be gamed by unscrupulous brokers.
Thanks for your help.
In the part of Queens I was living in, the new tenant paid the broker fee. It is quite common for the tenant to pay the broker fee.
Unfortunately I do have to find the tenant myself.
The management company said if they used a broker, the fee would be passed on to me and it would be equivalent to my security deposit.
I didn’t try to bargain because (1) given the NYC rental world, I thought I was lucky they’re letting me break the lease at all, instead of subletting, and (2) I’m lousy at bargaining.
Also, what price level were you at? I at the cheapo student-type apartment level, where I don’t think that extras like what you’re describing can be expected from a big management company. Maybe if I was dealing personally with a really nice owner who only had a few units.
I did this with the last apartment I rented before moving in with my partner just before we closed on our condo. I actually just got the brokerage firm that rented it to me to find a new tenant that would be acceptable to the landlord. It was really easy, I left the place very clean each morning, the brokers would show prospective tenants – no drama. I moved out in the middle of the month and there were new tenants approved for the first of the month.