We found out a brokers fee wasn't included in our relocating budget DHs new job gave him. I had no idea that it could cost us like $5k! When we move DH will be working full time and ill have a 6 week old and 2 year old. UGHHH. I'm dreading this move more and more now.
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I can sympathize. NYC real estate can be an absolute nightmare, whether you are renting or buying.
It's not impossible to find a place without a broker's fee, but it's pretty difficult. You might have better luck in Brooklyn, but that borough is quickly catching up w/ Manhattan as far as these things go.
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With our apartment search last year (in Brooklyn) we saw about 35 apartments. We used Craigslist (a lot of those ended up being scams), Rapid Realty, and Streeteasy. Honestly, I felt like it was hard to find an apartment without having a broker. That fee kind of hurt to pay, but otherwise we would have kept on running around in circles. Plus, it will go faster with a broker.
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In my experience yes, sorry.
We did a no-fee apartment once but it was a nightmare in other ways and we weren't so focused on avoiding the fee the next time we went hunting. It's a total racket. Maybe your husband can try to negotiate with his company to cover at least part of it? I'd be happy to recommend the broker we used, or even just email you his very thorough document on "The New York Rental Process." Here's what it says about broker fees:
I’ve heard all about “brokerage fees.” How do they work?
a. Many people I’ve spoken to over the years don’t know what the brokerage fee is or where it goes. The brokerage fee is my salary for my services, and that is 15% of the annual rent.
At the beginning of each year my guaranteed salary is zero. If I did nothing all year I would make nothing. However I do the exact opposite, which is to say that I work very hard at being the most-trusted and full-service real estate agent in the New York City area. Not only will I find you the best apartment for you on the market and save you the most amount of money possible, but I will provide any service you can think of that will make your stay in you apartment that much more pleasurable. Quite literally I am your “one-stop shopping” for anything residential real estate in New York.
4. Ok, then can we find a “no fee” building where the landlord pays your salary?
a. The “no fee” buildings do exist despite being a smaller percentage of the overall market. However here is how it works…Let’s say you have an apartment that is $3500 a month that pays part/all of my salary (or gives a month free). The truth is that rent should really be around $3000/month, but they’ve built the fee/free rent into the monthly amount. Therefore after about 10-12 months the landlord has recouped his costs, and each month after you’re spending more money than had you taken a lower rent and paid my salary or not taken the free rent.
Not only that, but when your lease renewal comes up remember that the landlord will be raising the rent a percentage, and if you have a higher rent, then your renewal rate will be higher as well. Basically you should always want the lowest monthly rent possible.
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most craigslist postings for "no-fee" apartments are scams, sadly. if you really don't want to pay a fee, going directly through management companies is the best way to do it. most newer rental buildings are no-fee and have websites, like the related rental buildings.
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@luckypenny: have you decided on a neighborhood?
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@mrsjazz: I've been doing some preliminary looking on Craigslist and can tell some are scammy but it's disappointing to hear a lot were
we don't have brokers really in SF IRS just Craigslist. @hummusgirl: Can you wall me?
@lioneyes: I've seen a few of these. May be worth looking into more. I would rather work with a broker to find a place then do all the work myself and end up paying a fee anyways.
@Anagram: pretty sure we are doing Brooklyn - Carroll gardens, gowanus, park slope...
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Unfortunately, they really are. It's very very hard to find a no-fee apartment here
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Oh dear. Welcome to a new kind of Hell.
I've had three apartments in NYC, and each time paid thousands of dollars to "brokers" who did next to nothing, aside from place an ad on Craigslist. I found the ad, I inquired about the apartment, I met them once to see it, and I paid them way more than their services were worth. None ever showed me an apartment I liked that I hadn't already chosen from an ad.
Many times I did meet with brokers for the purpose of letting them find "my dream apartment" (their words) for me. They led me around to all sorts of shitty places, lying about what they were showing me, using euphemisms like "two bedroom flex" meaning there's a hallway where some college kids once put a bed, and "outdoor space" meaning fire escape. I worked with multiple recommended companies, and never found them to be worthwhile. It's basically organized crime.
Things to keep in mind on Craigslist broker ads - most photos are fake, often of an apartment that rented years ago and was very popular, used to lure you into their office. Many of the ads have four zillion search terms in white print invisibly hiding at the bottom of the ad so that whatever you search turns up that ad, even if the apartment is completely unrelated.
All that said, rarely, if the apartment has been hard to rent (which is probably a warning sign), the landlord will pay the fee for you, making it "no-fee." More often in these cases, they hide the fee by dividing it over 12 months and slightly raising the rent, so you just feel like it was "no fee."
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@anandam:
wahh! This is terrifying lol I thought SF was bad when you literally have to have a portfolio put together when you go to a showing and see 65 other people waiting outside too. Ugh.
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@luckypenny: Sorry! I honestly do think apartment hunting in NYC has been the worst thing I've ever done in my life. Like fourteen lifetimes of bad dating - being stood up, lied to, told your standards are too high and it's time to settle... But you've also previously heard my feelings on NYC in general, so you know I'm a sourpuss. Take my opinion with a grain of salt.
ETA: Accidentally posted before I finished. Oops! I wanted to say I have been pretty happy with the apartments once I got them, if that's any consolation. And if you have a decent budget to work with, that makes it way less painful. First two apartments I was a grad student so brokers just laughed at my budget.
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@anandam: haha oh man. Ok. I think our budget is pretty reasonable for the area...maybe? Lol now I'm scared. $3500 should get us a decent 2 bdr in a safe Brooklyn neighborhood right?
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@luckypenny: What I did was once we narrowed down our possible neighborhoods, I looked for reputable real estate companies that cater to that specific area. You should go join local listservs for the areas you listed above and ask for suggested brokers on their. My broker experience was great because I went super local and the brokers came highly recommended for the area.
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@luckypenny: I think $3500 is a totally reasonable budget for Brooklyn. We were just apartment hunting in October, and ours is a 1.5 bed, in a safe neighborhood, in a newly renovated apartment for just under $3000.
As everyone else said, the broker's fee sucks, but it's unfortunately necessary. We looked at a lot of duds, but we did find an apartment we LOVE. Just be prepared to jump on it once you find one you like, the nicer ones go pretty quickly.
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Have you tried streeteasy.com? There is an option there to search rentals by owner to avoid a fee.
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@luckypenny: I think so! We pay less than that for a 2br on the UWS, which feels pricey! I think parts of Brooklyn are more affordable!
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@luckypenny: I think in Carroll Gardens availability is more of an issue than anything else. Be careful that brokers don't try to put you in Red Hook and claim it is Carroll Gardens. 3500 is doable infuse neighbourhoods you have in mind, but it depends on what your requirements are. Walk up vs elevator building, doorman, dishwasher, washer & dryer in the apt etc.
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We always end up with a broker since that's just the way it goes, but we stick to our guns and negotiate! Don't be afraid to try it! We've asked the owner (we usually rent in condos) to pay at least part of the fee twice and both times they agreed.
The broker also has room to come down in their fee. Don't let them tell you it's fixed and they can't do anything about it.
I indirectly did business with the largest real estate brokerage in Mahnattan and learned a lot!NYC is really messed up when it comes to real estate. Where else does an owner hire a broker to work for them, but the renter pays for it. It makes no sense and infuriates us every time.
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we've paid brokers fees for our past three apartments and i did ALL the work. our current apartment we didn't pay a fee because the broker was the owner.
you can get lucky on craigslist, but if you are relocating, it is probably best to use a broker. apartments get snatched up in 1 day. it's the same in popular brooklyn neighborhoods as it is in manhattan. yep it's crazy here...
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@luckypenny: you can get a 2 bedroom for that amount in a nice neighborhood, but it might be walk up. also rental prices have been skyrocketing lately. we were in our last apartment for 2 years and they rented it out for $500 more a month than what we were paying!
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I will say it's been nearly 5 years since I lived in NYC so maybe things have changed. But I lived in 3 different apartments in Manhattan and never paid a broker fee. I think it's possible to avoid the fee if you are considering living in a high rise rental. My first NY place was not a high rise rental and I did use a broker, but the fee was paid for by the landlord. The next two places were high rises, and I went directly through the management companies. If you have an idea of which neighborhood you might like, you can search street easy to see which buildings are located there, and then go directly to their webpages. The first big management co that comes to mind is Archstone. They have a bunch of buildings around the city. I also lived in a Gotham Organization building, and I know they manage a bunch of high rises. Good luck!
ETA: I think if you intend on staying in the same apartment for 3+ years though, paying a broker fee is justifiable since you can amortize the cost over a longer period of time.
We did a no-fee apartment once but it was a nightmare in other ways and we weren't so focused on avoiding the fee the next time we went hunting. It's a total racket. Maybe your husband can try to negotiate with his company to cover at least part of it? 
wahh! This is terrifying lol I thought SF was bad when you literally have to have a portfolio put together when you go to a showing and see 65 other people waiting outside too. Ugh.
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