Broker fees can be expensive, but apartment hunting without proper guidance costs much more. It’s a full-time job, and until buildings and people become digital like the websites and apps making it appear easier to apartment search, a good broker/agent is the necessary evil that will save you more time, money, and energy than you could ever imagine. Here is why you need a broker/agent for renting and what your broker fee pays for:

Relationships
Between insurance, taxes, permits, maintenance, and other expenses, landlords hold huge responsibility and want tenants they can trust to be responsible and pay rent on time. The pre- qualification and presentation of your application serves as a testament that you will be a good tenant. The better the relationship with the landlord, the more trustworthy and qualified you appear to be, and the more likely you are to be approved over a stack of other applications.  

Time/Legwork
Before you even meet with a broker/agent or click on an advertisement, they’ve spent hours, months, and even years on the ground learning the city and previewing/handpicking the best apartments for the best price with the best landlords to save you time. While you are working for yourself at your job, good brokers/agents are spending that same time working to be ready for you, 24/7.

Knowledge
When finding an apartment, a good broker/agent will have the knowledge of what specifics a landlord requires and how to best present your application to guarantee your approval over another applicant.

Integrity
Not everything you see on the internet is true. With the market becoming more competitive and apartment availability changing around the clock, many brokers/agents will do whatever it takes to get your business. This includes advertising apartments that deceive or do not exist. Sometimes, advertising a really low broker fee may also be a red flag indicating less work for a quick buck. Good brokers/agents care about integrity, and you can guarantee you will get the best of the best from us. This is real estate, and it begins with real apartments in real time. Broker Split/Expenses
Department of State regulates every agent’s license to be associated with a brokerage, and your fee is paid to that company. As independent contractors, real estate agents don’t have benefits, get paid only a split of the broker fee, and have to pay expenses, advertising and taxes out of pocket from their split. The fee that you may think is pocketed is used mostly for the cost of performing the service for you.   What does service include?
Real Estate brokers/agents don’t get paid to show apartments. They get paid only if you sign a lease on an apartment you love. This includes hours of walking, travel, computer work, taking pictures, showing you apartments, preparing your application properly, and often negotiating to get you approved. After countless inquiries, cancellations, mind changes by clients, and application denials, it can be weeks or months before compensation for any work the 24/7 job requires. Your fee is worth it and earned.

New York is Expensive
As one of the most expensive cities in the world, the real estate market here is like no other. The fee for a broker’s service is scaleable to the apartment you choose and the rent you and/or your guarantor can afford. The fee is fair to everyone.

What about “no fee” apartments?
The term “no fee” is actually inaccurate and is referred to as “OP” for “Owner Paid.” No fee / OP means that the landlord pays a portion of the broker fee on your behalf. This incentive is designed to bring the proper tenant for an apartment that wouldn’t be easy to occupy otherwise (because of layout, location, price, etc.) No landlord will give away money, and this fee is usually calculated by the landlord into the rent. No apartment is “no fee.”