You don’t want to work with a broker. You don’t want to pay a fee. You’ve read the articles. You did your research. You know no-fee apartments can be properties priced above market value but labeled no-fee to feign marked-down prices. You’ve cut through the fluff: no-fee simply means the landlord has decided to pay the broker fee so you don’t have to. But it doesn’t matter, you made up your mind: you will find a no-fee apartment.
Since you’re set on searching for a no-fee apartment, here are some tips to get through the process unharmed:
Step 1: Have (or find) Connections
The best way to start your no-fee search on steady footing is through personal connections. Take a recommendation from someone who has a good experience with a rental broker to get a feel for where to find reliable no-fee apartments. Here’s where your college networking skills can shine. Ask your friends and friends’ friends if they know of upcoming vacancies that haven’t been listed. After you’ve asked around and found some options, if you still aren’t happy with your options, go straight to the management companies. Pick a neighborhood or area you want to live in and start walking around. Talk to doormen or supers, even residents. Try to find out directly from them if there are upcoming listings. You may get lucky.
Step 2: Craigslist is your friend.. sometimes
If your personal search came up short, or you don’t feel like hitting the pavement and going straight to the source, look to Craiglist. On Craigslist, you can look for apartments under no-fee and by-owner. It’s a one-stop destination for quantity. But quantity does not equal quality. There are horror stories associated with Craigslist listings. And Craigslist is a website crawling with bait-and-switchers waiting to pounce. Demand is high on craigslist as well. Owners and renters alike know about the site, so you risk losing the crème of the crop to other no-fee hunters if you hesitate. That being said, great options can appear. But you must be cautious, even with the nicest listings. Which leads to the next step.
Step 3: Due Diligence
Now that you’ve found the perfect, no-fee gem of an apartment, double-check and triple-check the details. Reach out to anyone you know in the real-estate world for an industry assessment of the price point. If you don’t have those connections, search the apartment on multiple listing websites. Look at similar apartments, regardless of the fee structure, to get a feel for how your potential apartment’s price compares to others in the same neighborhood, similar dimensions and amenities.
If you still can’t find the appropriate comparative data to feel secure with moving forward, here are the approximate average rental prices for no-fee apartments in Manhattan today:
Studio: $2,800
Alcove Studio: $3,200
One-Bedroom: $3,600
Junior-4/Convertible-2 : $4,600
Two-Bedroom: $5,500
Convertible-3: $6,200
Three-Bedroom: $6,800
Parting Words
Remember, quality no-fee apartments are the New York real estate equivalent to unicorns. You’ll have to spend hours combing through piles and piles of listings before you find one that fits your needs. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. And in New York City, most apartment-hunters don’t have the time, or resources, to prepare for that marathon.
When push comes to shove, working with a broker will save you significant amounts of time and money. The team at TripleMint is well known throughout New York City, and can help you navigate the ins and outs of real estate. By working with them, you can make your search refreshingly simple. The fee will pay for itself.
