If I email a broker about renting an apartment that is for sale do they have to present it to the seller of the apartment ? I emailed a couple brokers about there listings. I asked if I can rent the apartment instead of buying it. And they instantly responded with the answer no.... Makes me think they didnt even ask the sellers.... I understand 6percent of the purchase price is a lot better than leasing it for them... But shouldnt they try to look out for the sellers? If i was selling my apartment I would want feed back in case renting would be an option.....

crazy

maybe they "should", but they have no contractual obligation and no incentive. If it's been sitting around forever, they might think about it. Otherwise, why?

The broker should present to the owner/seller, however if the broker also responds with a quick, no, there isn't anything you can do about it. A broker has a fiduciary responsibility to work for the sellers best interest, but if the apartment is not being "offered" a certain way, you are technically not being excluded for any reason that falls within fair housing, etc. Who are you to question why? If the broker says no, then it's a NO. For all you know the seller could be ill and has to sell, regardless. The seller could have their own son or daughter using the apartment while it's for sale. You just don't know and while I understand you are being proactive with your search, just move on to the next one. You might have better luck. Don't make this out to be another broker witch hunt or worse, show a sense of entitlement that you should be allowed to view or rent the apartment, just because. Move on.

send the owner a letter direct, yes it is stalking, but you seem to be comfortable with it..

or just post the listings up here with the prices you are willing to rent for, there is a chance the owners look at their listings on this site..
maybe you will stir up some type of online rent auction, will be fun..

HunterBug . You are useless...

What's with all of the snide comments??? This is an absolutely legitimate questions that goes to the "scope" of the contractual relationship between an owner and the owner's broker (including whatever fiduciary obligations flow out of that relationship). I encountered a similar, albeit opposite, situation recently, as I was trying to see whether an owner who was trying to rent would entertain my offer to buy. The owner's broker simply said "no" in an email. But here's the additional - material - fact: the owner had been trying to sell the apartment for a while and when it didn't sell, it was pulled off the market and re-emerged as a rental with this broker (who had NOT represented the apartment when it was up for sale). Interestingly, the broker didn't even ask me how much my offer was (it could have been over the last asking price; so much for fiduciary duty). Did the broker bother to ask his/her client if they would entertain my offer? I doubt it, because if the broker had done so, I'm assuming that the owner would have asked the broker "how much?" - and that didn't happen. My situation, i.e., offering to buy a rental (as opposed to offering to rent an apartment up for sale) would seem to be of interest to an owner, particularly an owner who had just unsuccessfully tried to sell. My guess is that if the broker presented my offer to the owner and the owner sold the apartment to me, the owner would still be on the hook to pay the broker the rental commission. So I'm wondering if anyone on this board knows: what is the typical boilerplate language, if any, that covers these permutations of a rental that sells or a sale that rents? Because that will answer the question about whether a broker is obligated (or incentivized) to bring these situations to their client. Thanks.

Why bother at all? There are plenty of real rentals out there. I'd focus on those and leave the sales listings to the buyers.

No, they have no obligation to present your rental request - in fact, rentals aren't even possible in many co-ops, so it's a waste of everyone's time. If you want a rental, look at apartments for rent...crazies...

Has it occurred to you that the building may not allow or actively discourage rentals?

Just because one wants to rent a certain apartment doesn't mean that the apartment is possible to rent due to board restrictions.

The seller and realtor would have discussed this when they agreed to the listing. If they would consider renting, the apartment would be listed under both catagories.