Shocking Truth Behind No Fee Apartments
To some, no fee apartments in New York are a myth. While it may sound like a great idea, anyone who has tried to find one that isn’t immediately snatched up by hungry renters is quickly surprised at how few options there are available. So how do the lucky get so lucky and find an apartment that not only meets their expectations, but also is available and charges no fees?
The reality is that the most dedicated will hire brokers to find their apartments for them. The brokers will comb through the listings, subscribe to the alerts, and find the right apartment for the right price that is still available. However, these brokers can easily charge a minimum of 15% of the annual rent of the apartment, making the idea of a no fee apartment, well, obsolete. If you have to pay a broker 15%, in addition to your security deposit and first month’s rent, you will quickly find that your great deal has turned into a sour one.
What about the listings, like the newspaper and Craigslist? If you honestly think that there is a no fee apartment that is worth living in that makes it to the morning delivery, you haven’t live in New York for very long. Then again, if you try Craigslist, you’ll quickly find that a majority of the listings on Craigslist are lead generation tools for brokers. They’re just looking for apartment hunters to find them so they can charge the aforementioned 15%.
There are, however, listing services that will list apartment vacancies. Most of these do not charge for you to subscribe to them. They instead charge the landlord to advertise in them. Many of them have sections that are dedicated to no fee apartments only, or the entire site only has no fee apartments. These will give you the most up to date no fee listings in all of New York, and usually are your best bet for finding the apartment the perfectly fits your needs.