NYC Broker Fee...am I getting screwed?
The apartment my wife and I are looking at has nearly everything we want. Closet space, King size bed + room for desk and dresser in the bedroom, nice kitchen, etc. (One downside is no laundry, but laundry is RIGHT next door)
We are getting charged 11.0%-11.5% annual rent. The fee is around $4,200-$4,600...just $ down the drain in our eyes. Finding an apartment has been slightly difficult because we do not currently live in NYC (can't get there with our paperwork, etc.) We were hoping to be around one month's rent (8.3%) if we had to pay a fee.
We really like the apartment, but are we getting screwed?
Yes and no. No in that this is a normal fee for a broker in NYC, and yes in that all broker fees in NYC screw you over. That said, the number of apartments without broker fees is substantially lower, and there sometimes aren't any good ways to get out of paying one (especially if you've already found the unit that you want)
How are you getting a place like that for 3200/mo in nyc??
You were hoping it to be ~8% instead of ~11%….??? If you found a place you like then don’t worry about paying a few hundred bucks more for the broker fee. And as far as broker fees go, yes sorry, NYC blows and nearly every halfway decent place will have a broker fee (mind you 15% is pretty damn common)
11% is actually very reasonable considering 15% is standard... you were living in fantasy land thinking it'd be 8%
If the money is too much go find a no-fee rental building. But IMO you should take the 11% and run. Yeah it's down the drain but it's a standard NYC practice
I found a place with my buddies and we had to pay 15% to the broker just to move in. The broker didn't do anything. It was just an agreement the realty had with the broker.
Our broker asked for 15%, we asked for 1 month rent (8.3%), they countered at 10% fee and we took it, for a similar priced apt. Sucks but don't think there's much of an alternative if you want the apt
Thats a nice broker. When I countered, our broker literally told me to get bent.
Hi just to clarify, if I use a broker and pay the fee for the apartment we sign with, do I still have to pay the building broker fee?
At most apartments the fee is a flat 15%, split between your broker and the broker representing the apartment. So you're not paying 15% x2, but if they ask you to write half the check out for the other broker you're not being taken advantage of
Are you getting screwed when you pay for your groceries? Do you think the Uber driver is soaking you because you have to pay to ride? You're getting a service, and presumably they advertised their fee before charging it. If you don't like it, find the apartment yourself. After all, if the broker is being so unreasonable, then certainly it's worth it for you to take time off from work or your schedule to do all this yourself.
I found an apartment myself in NYC, but there was still a 15% broker fee.
Was it in a major building with an in house broker team? If so, no surprise. Otherwise, I'm not sure why you paid a fee, unless you were communicating with a broker of course
Look for no fee apartments. It's pretty simple.
15% is standard now, you’re lucky if you find something closer to one month’s rent these days
As a monkey outside of NYC, can y’all explain why there are brokers fees and they are so ubiquitous? Never heard of them in my day to day life outside of going through an agent if you just didn’t wanna do the apartment search on your own. Never heard of any of my friends doing that tho.
For the same reason middlemen in every industry charge fees - because they can.
NYC real estate can be bewildering and most people would rather pay than put in the work to find an apartment on their own. For all the complaining on this thread, none of these people seemed eager to devote tens of hours a week to finding a no-fee rental apartment, which is very doable. People just want their convenience to come cheap.
Thank you, was wondering if it was a regulatory thing or a cultural thing
I wish I was charged 11%. I thought 15% was more the norm
For a few years this was made illegal given the abuse… NYC brokers take advantage of a tight market and add no value. I think they are real parasites of our economy
They were actually only illegal for a few days because there was an immediate injunction for the year until that law was overturned - so doubt many people got to switch apartments in that time. I agree it doesn't add much value, and the fees should be capped at 1 month's rent
Use the no broker fee option on streeteasy. Trust me, you'll find an apartment you like without paying a fee.
Most luxury buildings don't have broker fees. Just find a highrise that's a little further away, they usually don't have broker fees and chances are it will be cheaper after you factor that and the gym and laundry machines in too.
YMMV… I paid a 1 month broker fee (so 8.3%) and it got me a rent stabilized luxury building in an area that wasn’t on my list but meets all my criteria (and then some). I spent a lot of time looking and didn’t have anywhere lined up that was as good as what I got.
Was it “worth” it? Probably not, insofar as the broker was probably way overpaid for the value they added. But on the other hand yes, in that I knew what it cost ahead of time, found a place that exceeded expectations, and I feel fine with what I paid.
I’ve never had to pay a broker fee in nyc whether it was my LES trap house with five other guys my first year or my one bed in tribeca years later. I always used streeteasy and always filtered for apartments without broker fees. They exist in multitudes and many times the broker fee is paid by the building. For example, I live in a Related building rn and for any external brokers (which Related doesn’t use often), the building will reimburse the broker for their fee instead of having the tenant bear it. Now granted I have lived in the same unit for over four years so I can’t comment on the current state of the market, I think it should be possible to find something where there isn’t a broker fee incurred to you. That being said, I know there are fking lines now to view open houses so if I’m totally off base in my view, let me know and then ignore my post - but just providing my experience from mid 2010s to now.
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