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.”
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