High broker fees

Yes, this is typical. If demand for the apartment is high, you may just have to pay it. If it isn't you can try to negotiate it down to one month of rent or somewhere in between.

Expect to see this being the norm from here on out!

until september!!

You are probably better off trying to rent from a condo owner vs. a renting building. Individual owners may not want to leave a place vacant for months. I found a good deal for my apt from an owner. The renting apt management could not cared less.

september...try july

this is great stuff. a thread about a 15% fee without people scoffing!

I've opined on this several times.
Paying 15% is not even for the height of the market in the busiest season, unless you have your own broker and the condo owner is represented by a broker (so two have to get paid).
If 1 broker, 1 month, MAX. If 2 brokers, ok ...
but in either case, take out the owners' side on the owners' hide. If the broker provided a service to the OWNER, make sure the owner pays. Free month. Two free months ...
Be sure to check out condo fees too which can be high. Application, move-in, deposits, waiting periods...
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/17348-condo-rental-question-is-it-normal-for-tenants-to-agree-to-pay-all-increases-in-common-charges-fees-and-taxes-or-to-pay-all-the-landlords-legal-fees-in-case-of-a-dispute
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/17619-what-exactly-is-a-low-broker-fee?

splaken
1 minute ago
ignore this person
report abuse I've opined on this several times.
Paying 15% is not even for the height of the market in the busiest season, unless you have your own broker and the condo owner is represented by a broker (so two have to get paid).
If 1 broker, 1 month, MAX. If 2 brokers, ok ...
but in either case, take out the owners' side on the owners' hide. If the broker provided a service to the OWNER, make sure the owner pays. Free month. Two free months ...
Be sure to check out condo fees too which can be high. Application, move-in, deposits, waiting periods...
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/17348-condo-rental-question-is-it-normal-for-tenants-to-agree-to-pay-all-increases-in-common-charges-fees-and-taxes-or-to-pay-all-the-landlords-legal-fees-in-case-of-a-dispute
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/17619-what-exactly-is-a-low-broker-fee?

7 comments

all of this could have been true up until a few weeks ago. this is not going to be the summer of the renter (i think that was a title of a times article at some point in the last 12 months). i am having a meeting with some staff tomorrow where one of the key points will be NOT taking less than 15% for a deal

I saw a nice place on the UWS last week and the broker (from one of the top 3 or 4 firms) told me it was a 1 month fee since I was not using a broker. It was a very nice place and he did not even start with the 15% line, so I highly doubt that 15% is going to be the only way to go out there.

You are not even a broker. Lower than a broker.

starfish, i'm sure that's true. however, given the fact that in the last two weeks, a good number of landlords have decided not to pay the fee, the one month option will begin to go away again as well. once the no fee apartment is out of the equation, the fee's will go back to what they have been for a qhile, and quickly.

Useless drivel.

i know it hurts cc. we haven't all gone out of business, the tide has turned and once again, we are making alot more money than people think we deserve.

if you think it's useless cc, why waste your time here? it must SUCK to be a bearish on ny real estate right now. maybe you all should find a different forum....

The only problem here is you.

The article about the landlords not paying the fee was, I thought, specific to the big landlords like Related, etc. that are no-fee to begin with. They are just no longer paying the fee to brokers who bring in renters (people who unfortunately made the mistake of going with a broker instead of showing up themselves). Those big landlords are still certainly no-fee to direct renters. So, I guess my point is that there are still lots of of no-fee buildings and I don't think the small change in Related's (and the like) approach will trickle down and bring back 15% in full force. Just my opinion of course.

Jim, are you a leasing agent?

bldg, pan am, manocherian (to name three) don't have onsite leasing agents, nor do they show apartments to people without brokers. they have also pulled the op. and they own a lot of real estate (any one of the three above probably own 5 times as many building as related) and not just at the high end of the market. sure, there will be some smaller ones that will continue to pay for a bit longer, but they'll catch on quickly.

Jim, what's so special about Pan Am?

splaken
1 minute ago
ignore this person
report abuse Jim, are you a leasing agent?

i thought i clarified last night. no, not a leasing agent. im a re broker, but my focus is on the listings side of the business. i deal with landlords more than renters.

And you post here to show everyone how terrific it is to deal with the likes of you?

Who are you kidding?

http://www.urbansherpany.com/OwnerHome?ID=112

check out the list of buildings. four pages long.

post

http://www.urbansherpany.com/OwnerHome?ID=94

this is pan am's sister companies portfolio

and this is a bldg. another major landlord who has pulled the plug on the op on their downtown buildings. solil will be next

http://www.urbansherpany.com/OwnerHome?ID=24

I agree with Starfish. I have been to rental buidlings where you don't have to pay the broker's fee if you don't show up with your own broker. I have been wondering if all the noise from the big rental landlords is that they are acting like the airlines were to travel agents at the start of the internet. We are no longer going to pay you a commission anymore so you better get someone else to pay you for your services.

Pez
3 minutes ago
ignore this person
report abuse I agree with Starfish. I have been to rental buidlings where you don't have to pay the broker's fee if you don't show up with your own broker. I have been wondering if all the noise from the big rental landlords is that they are acting like the airlines were to travel agents at the start of the internet. We are no longer going to pay you a commission anymore so you better get someone else to pay you for your services

except....it hasnt happened that way reall has it? you can buy an airline ticket online, but you need to go and actually see an apartment to rent it. sure you go to an onsite leasing agent in a premium building and you don't have to pay a fee. part of the asking rent includes that persons salary, etc.

and i have been out drinking with the director of leasing for related in the last month, and believe me, our (brokerage communities) relationship with companies like that is very strong.

and...think about the fact that the good folks at related (and others) were giving a free month away as well (either that or a fee paid to the broker or at times both). and not long ago either. those days are long gone.

You have certainly convinced everyone, you dolt.

i don't feel the need to convince everyone. the market is doing that for me.

Then why do you keep posting the same crap about the same crappy landlords?

because their porfolios are massive, and diverse. and popular.

But if the market is so good for you and them, why bother continuing to shill? On the other hand, if it's not...

i like saying i told you so. yes, as noted many times here, i am an asshole. but im smart, and very good at my job.

Uh oh. Looks like you've outed yourself yet again.

must be all the new hires from the banks renting places...oh wait no..must be all the new lawyers..oh shoot..i got it...its all the eurpeans looking to take advantage of that cheap dollar...oh man. I know..its shortage of available apartments...I give up..whos doing all the renting?

Luckily Jimmy and hfs have created enough identities to fill every available apartment and cover the fee!

Dude919, I suggest you look at the overall cost of the place. If the owner wants to have it such that "it costs them nothing" and have you pay the fee, then fine: take it out of the price you're willing to pay. If they have already agreed to pay the fee and negotiated it down to 1 month, then good for them. In either case, all that matters to you is the overall cost.

Last year, I negotiated (but didn't end up taking) a couple of places. On one of them, I was going to pay the fee (12.5%?). On the other, I don't even remember. I do distinctly remember talk of "free months", and I said that they didn't make a difference to me: "I can quote an offer with or without free months, what do you prefer?"

I suggest you put in two offers: one where you pay the fee, the other where the owner pays, and let the owner decide. Chances are the owner will have more leverage on the 15% than you do.

Dude919: if you have to move soon, then you are in a bit of a jam. However, if you can stay 3-4 months longer where you are (offer the landlord to pay higher rent to have him/her agree to that), you can put yourself in a position where you will be looking to rent a place in august-september, which is the end of the busy rental season. Actually the dead season begins in October, but by late August the landlords get antsy and quickly come back to reality. You will then be in a much stronger negotiating position.

By the way, there is a place that I like and the re is a 1-month broker's fee. I contacted the broker under another name and got the exact address of the apartment. I found the owner's name through ACRIS. It is a fantastic building, but in a fringe area. My lease expires in September, so I have time to decide until then. But if by late August I still feel I want to move there and the apartment is available, I will work around the broker. I have done it once already.

When I paid an apartment broker, he lowered the fee to 12% for me. My understanding is that this is typical. But 12% is a high fee. You can rent an apartment in the midwest without paying any fee at all. It's unheard of to pay a fee to rent an apartment in any other place that I've lived. Maybe you should move somewhere else.

I saw two more nice places on UWS today and both times the broker's starting position was a 1 month fee, so I still think it is premature to pronounce the return of the firm 15% fee.