I'm looking to rent, how do I choose a broker?
Hi forum, In the coming months my boyfriend and I will be looking to rent. We are native New Yorkers and have rented in Brooklyn before but only used craigslist. Since we plan to live in our next apartment for a few years, we want to use a broker. We’re looking for a 1 or 1.5 BR in Prospect Heights/Crown Heights/PLG/North Slope/Fort Greene/Clinton Hill. Pre-war with some “old world charm” is must and a garden apartment would be amazing (but I know that’s asking a lot). We have a mid-sized dog, which I know limits our choices. How should we choose a broker? Are there brokers that people would recommend that maybe specialize in these neighborhoods or brownstone buildings or dog-friendly buildings? Should we use more than one broker? Thanks!
devineopine
in Real Estate - General 13 years and 4 months ago
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4 replies
brokelin | 13 years and 4 months ago
it depends on what you mean by better. brokers have apartments where the landlord does not want to deal with advertising, showing apartment, or screening and picking tenants, and is fine with the tenant paying the broker a lot to relieve the landlord of these tasks. In my experience, it has nothing to do with the quality of the apartment. I am not saying not to use brokers, just do not use them exclusively, as you never know where the best apartment for you will come from. In my experience, word of mouth has got me my best places, where you let everyone know that you are looking, and a friend tells you that they have a friend leaving a place. alternately, a friend my know a landlord with an apartment for rent. the next best way is to leave yourself a lot of time, even if it means taking the ideal place a few weeks early, a better way to waste money than paying a broker, if it comes to that, and your move is less stressful when you have some tine to spare. screen well. do not even consider any apartment that does not feel great to you when you walk in. think a lot about quality of life issues….noise from the street, noise from upstairs, top floor only if you do not want to be awakened by upstairs neighbors, how the common areas and garbage areas are maintained, evidence of infestation by rodents or bugs, etc. Most places I wanted to move from were lousy because I took them because I thought it was all I could get for what I could pay at the time. I have since learned that there is not necessarily corelation between price and quality of apartment…it means you just have to hunt awhile before you find one that is good. much easier now in the internet age than before, when you had to waste time going to look at every place…now you can screen from pictures online. my lousiest apartments came through brokers, by the way. dealing directly with landlords has got me better places.
babs | 13 years and 4 months ago
The suggestion that you offer to pay the broker’s fee in cash for a reduced amount is ridiculous and insulting for honest agents and brokers. Anyone who would accept that is doing so because he/she is going to say that the deal fell apart and thus cheat the firm out of their share. If you really want to take your scumminess one step further you should then contact that person’s broker and explain what you did so that person will get fired. On the other hand, finding a place that will take your dog is going to be the hardest part of your search; see the article on that subject in today’s Times, with suggestions on how to find that apartment: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/realestate/getting-started-not-without-my-pet.html Good luck with your search.
brokelin | 13 years and 4 months ago
I don’t understand why wanting to stay in your apartment a few years has any bearing on whether you use a broker or deal directly with a landlord. The only way you can be assured of staying a few years is to sign a two year lease, sign a one year lease with an option to rent for second year at a specified amount of rent, which option is exercisable by you, or get a rent stabilized apartment. None of these have anything to do with whether you use a broker. In my experience, dealing with a broker puts a middleman between you and the landlord, which sometimes, but not always, limits the amount of information you get about the landlord and their plans for the building or apartment. It depends largely on what your priorities are. If you care about saving money, skip paying a broker fee if you can, and you may also skip paying an inflated rent. If you care about the quality of thr apartment, go for a coop or condo, and get an option on a second year, but try to make sure the owner is not in danger of being foreclosed upon. If you want a managed building, where things actually get fixed, go for a larger building, rental or condo. If you want to be more likely assured of staying longer, go for a larger rental building that is well maintained. If you want cheaper, go for an owner occupied brownstone with rental apartments, more likely to be well maintained than a brownstone that is all rental. all of these sorts of apartments are rented through brokers and directly by owners, on craigslist and elsewhere. focus on finding an apartment you want that wiil take your dog, and not whether there is a broker involved.
bowl-of-dicks | 13 years and 4 months ago
Call all the brokers in your preferred nabes and tell them exactly what you are looking for. While there is generally a lot of overlap of inventory between agencies, often times they do have “exclusive listings”. Offer to pay their fee in ca$h, for a reduced amount of course. Worked for me 3 times. Most are real bottom feeders!