Manhattan Housing
When you're searching for housing in Manhattan using various sites, such as citi-habitats.com for instance, there are a lot of sweet listings that don't have exact addresses listed but do have brokers as contacts. So if you are interested in one of these places and call the broker contact, what kinds of fees do you have to pay to the broker? Is it only if you end up taking it? I'm still clueless about the whole procedure, so any insight into this would be nice.
Broker fees vary, but the typical fee is 15% of a years rent. Some brokers will negotiate and maybe let you pay 10% of a years rent. Getting an apartment in Manhattan is a big hassle and brokers have the most information. You also have to leave a security deposit that is first and last months rent. Imagine you rent a place for $2000 a month, that’s $4000 in deposits plus $3600 to the broker. Save your signing bonus you will need it. There are some no fee places, check out www.nofeerentals.com
If you are in NY, and have a day or two to spare...it depends where you want to live, but if you're looking in an area with a lot of doorman buildings, then you can just walk around the neighborhood and ask them directly. That is how I found my apartment and I avoided the broker fee.
It's a pain in the ass, but if you have a free day, it can save you three grand. Sometimes the doorman will refer you to a broker, but most of the time they give you the management company, who you can then directly contact to sign a lease.
good luck.
Agree with Calvin. I wasted so much money on a broker when I could have walked into the building and simply asked where the manager's office was.
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