No-Fee Apartments

No-Fee Apartments

Fee vs. No-Fee
Real estate agents charge a fee for their services. The standard realtor fee in New York is 15% of the first year's rent. For a $1,000 / month apartment, that's $1,800 up front and out of your pocket. Given these sums, many people try to find no-fee apartments. No-fee apartments are apartments that are being rented out directly by their owners. Sometimes the owners are individuals and sometimes they are companies that own apartment buildings.

No-Fee Brokers
Given the current fervor for finding no-fee apartments, many real estate agents have jumped on the no-fee bandwagon. It is not uncommon for apartments to be listed as no-fee that are actually being rented by a realtor, who is being paid by the owner or landlord. As they say, there's "no free lunch": the presence of a broker will usually be reflected in a higher rent price.


Finding No-Fee Apartments
Finding a good no-fee apartment is not always easy. Backpage and Craigslist have large no-fee sections, as do many other online listings sites. There are also companies (many of whom lure in customers through online listings) that provide lists of no-fee apartments for a small ($100-$200) fee, which they claim will be refunded if you don't get your apartment through them. Some of these companies are legitimate, but there are many that are not, providing poor-quality listings and then refusing to refund your payment at the end. As always, be careful before handing over your money. One of the best ways to find a no-fee apartment is simply to find someone whom you know to be moving out of his or her apartment, and contact their landlord directly. Another option is to contact the companies that manage large apartment buildings. If you find a building that you would like to live in, look for the contact information of the building manager (usually right by the mailboxes in the entrance) and give them a call. There's a good chance that they'll know of an upcoming opening in that building, or in one of their other similar properties.


No-fee apartments are apartments that are being rented out directly by their owners. Sometimes the owners are individuals and sometimes they are companies that own apartment build