Reasonable Brokers (For Rentals)
After much hunting for something to buy, my husband & I have decided to rent for the time being (in large part due to imminent parenthood). It’s been a long time since I’ve dealt with the bk rental market– I owned for a while & am now living in a rental inherited when a friend…
After much hunting for something to buy, my husband & I have decided to rent for the time being (in large part due to imminent parenthood). It’s been a long time since I’ve dealt with the bk rental market– I owned for a while & am now living in a rental inherited when a friend moved out. Does anyone have any advice on which brokers have the right balance of good listings/reasonable prices/reasonable fees? Is it even possible these days to find a no-fee apt? I’m in need of some good apartment karma, so any thoughts are appreciated!
ffggg, try a broker. it’s about advertising
my company rented a two bedroom for $2000 the past thursday on the first day of showing on Clinton Avenue and Gates… and had 3 applicants interested. tenant paid the broker fee.
Best
i am an owner/landlord with a similar question…
i just listed my ad on craigslist ($2000, 2BR, Fort Greene Brownstone 4th floor), but it seems totally lost amidst all the ALL CAPS broker-ads that have flooded the craigslist “by owner/no fee” section…
This did NOT seem to be the problem the last time we listed an apartment just 1.5 years ago… what’s happened to CL?? Are people looking for rentals somewhere else?
if your budget is over $3k, it’s a waste of time to use craigslist.
Use a broker that is a member of REBNY or go on streeteasy / ny times and make your own appointments. You’ll pay a fee either way but may be able to negotiate the commission. Decide if the $200 – $400 is worth it. Direct deal or co broke, I charge 12 or 15 percent.
Some old school agencies don’t advertise on streeteasy/nytimes. You can drop by their offices if you don’t see what you like on streeteasy. Sometimes, old school agency means old school renovation.
The main drags are on 7th Ave in Park Slope and on Court Street in Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens.
Many years ago the big agencies (Corcoran, Elliman, Halstead etc.) bought most of the old agencies in BK Heights and Ft Greene so they have the lockdown there.
Williamsburg is tougher. You have to go to the Hasid real estate offices in the South, the Italian run spots on Graham Ave and the big agencies that have condos for rent. Sometimes they co broke with each other, but it’s best to check.
Snezan
(in real estate)
Jeff Gallo at Corcoran in Brooklyn Heights is great. He showed me apartments in the Heights, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens. He does charge fees, though, but he has good listings, is trustworthy, and really goes the extra mile.
Sorry to hear that you have been having difficulty. I was looking recently using mostly padmapper, which led me to a bunch of actual by-owner listings on craigslist. It is true that many of the craigslist listings are BS, but it should soon become relatively easy to separate the wheat from the chaff – if the ad sounds like something you would write, it’s probably legit.
We are private landlords who always just post on craigslist and it works out well. Ditto the warnings re: scams, though.
BTW, we have a 2 bedroom, 2 bath duplex in WT with a big yard listed right now on cl. Rent is $2,600. Do a search on cl if you want to see pics and/or are interested.
Good luck!
Just went through a similar situation and being wary of brokers. Since you listed Windsor Terrace as a top choice, I had to chime in with a nod for Liam McCarthy. I never got the vibe he was trying to rip us off or make us spend more money than we wanted. He specializes in the WT\Kensington area and also lives there. Extremely accommodating with a pretty good selection of apartments in the neighborhood. Also, he updates his website with apartments that were actually available! If you want more info offline please let me know. http://jmkbk.com/
You can wind up the victim of a scam with licensed rental brokers too, as friends of mine found out. Be wary of writing a check for an “application fee” – they may not give it back, even if you don’t get the apartment.
Also, some legitimate brokers will advertise a place on cragislist – so, rather than going with what one broker has (if you are willing to pay a broker), you can target looking for apartments you want, rather than a broker you want (who may, or may not, have the apartment you want.) The problem of looking to buy with one broker exists with looking at rentals with one broker, too, no?
thanks for pointing me to padmapper, count chocula.
re: craigslist–i’ve been checking daily, but the majority of the “by owner” rentals are clearly brokers. i can’t say i’ve come across even one in the areas i’m looking for that seems to be by an actual brownstone owner.