Broker asking $3500 fee to renew lease

That is Cra-Zay!!! Your broker was paid a few for renting the apt. to you the first time. That should be the end of it. The whole scenario seems really fishy. Contact your landlord, immediately. Good luck.

He did not collect his fee two years ago as it was 2010 and the apartment remained vacant for a long time. So it was a no fee rental (or maybe the landlord paid the fee).

Eh, what's $3500 to you at the end of the day?

Joking ... no fee is due and it's time to stop sending checks via the broker and franky time to stop talking to the broker at all or dealing with this broker in any way - remove him or her from your dealings and don't feel bad about it, he or she is 2 years too involved with you at this point, unless he's providing some property management services in which case that's all on the landlord to be responsible for.
Out of curiosity, did you get a renewal form (are you rent reg or market)?
Your lease should have the name and address of the landlord. What do your cancelled checks show?
No renewal form - stay, keep paying current rent. Renewal form, send it to the owner (see above) along with a check for any additional deposit. Either way pay only to the landlord.

Look at your current lease, who is your landlord. Keep paying them. Ignore broker. Broker is trying to bully you, they cannot throw you out. Tell them to take you to small claims and watch them get kicked to the curb by the judge. This is BS. Keep paying rent and the law is on your side.

I am not an attorney!

Contact the landlord directly. There is no need for a broker to be involved. Landlord has a tenant that pays on time and you have a place you like. Broker is sticking his nose where it is not wanted. Better yet, tell us who he is, this is unethical, tenant/landlord relationship already exists, broker is deliberately trying to sabotage this relationship. Fight your corner. Speak to attorney, it will cost a lot less that the broker fee and give you peace of mind.

I do not have the landlord's address as The broker provides property management services and I send all the checks to him (but labelled to the lamdlord's name of course).

Can I contact REBNY to report him?

You never contacted your landlord or management company during the whole two years. The landlord's company and address is likely on the lease, go from there. Ask for a renewal. Stop talking to the broker.

The landlord's address is not on the lease. The broker is the managing agent for the apartment.

All of you sound like a broken record. Read what he's saying. Sounds to me like if he wants to stay in this apartment he's going to have to pay. Id be surprised if there is any law or ethics violation here, though ot is unseemly.

There is an ethics violation- the broker isnot acting in his clients's (i.e the owner's) best interest.

I we stay in the apartment - the landlord will have no vacancy between tenants and will not have to renovate the apartment.
If we do nt stay in the apartment and the broker finds a new tenant straight the way, there will have to be a vacancy and the landlord will have to incur extra costs.

And Jim, you must be a broker. Only a broker would find it normal to be paid for doing nothing...

Sorry for my last comment, I should not generalize. Some brokers may actually be worth their fee, but they seem to be rare.

Do you have this all in writing from the broker?

You can find the owner's name, probably the address, and probably his/her lawyer through ACRIS.

Is this a condo/coop, or a whole building owned by the LL?

Hones, you must really suck at your job if you cannot figure out some options for this guy to pursue.

It probably is Hones

I have this all in writing. It is a condo.

The landlord has had the apartment for the past 15 plus years so I am not sure the info in ACRIS would be accurate.

I talked to my doorman this morning and I have to see with the super on Monday of he has her an addres for her in the US. My landlord has a foreign name and the broker who manages her apartment too, so I am not sure if the owner lives in the US or abroad. We never had any direct contacts with her.

Ohhhh no. This seems like a classic huck a buck scam. Wouldn't surprise me if the LL was also the Broker.

If you want to stay there badly, negotiate with the broker if you can't get around this. He would have to actually work to re-rent the apartment. Offer him a shinny nickle.

*Shiny

He does not mind working as he has only a few apartments under management. I just think that he did not inform that landlord that we wanted to stay and is now ready to kick us out just to get more work and receive his fee. I want to stay he but I cannot support these practices.

Is it worthwile cobtacting REBNY?

Just find the wording in New York law that states an expired lease becomes a month-to-month obligation at the terms of the old lease and state you intend to follow that path in the absence of an offer of a new lease on paper.

Then remind this foreign broker and owner of the costs and time involved with eviction proceedings (6-12 months).

Then say you have every wish to resolve this amicably, preferably with a new lease, but if it comes to that, you will have to refuse permission for the broker to show the apartment to prospective new lessors- of course follow what it says in the lease about this if anything.

This is complete BS. The broker is entitled to 0. I would just tell him flat out NO and that they should be ashamed of him/her self for teying such cheezy move.

Ah, the foreign landlord. Use it to your advantage.

Well, under the terms of the contract, my lease expires on August 31, so I am supposed to leave by then, no? The contract does not say that he has to offer me a new lease before the expiration of the existing one.

Notwishstanding a broker who is very shady, there are elements in the situation in your favor, and elements in the law that are in your favor. So, I should ask, do you want to stay? Are you willing to be aggressive? Are you ok with the potential that the broker might try to bully you (and of course the bully knows where you live and probably even has keys)?
By the way, do you have the landlord's name at least? Is the landlord a person or a corporation or LLC?
Separately, what type of firm does this person work for?

jd1234, It is unfortunate to be in this situation. It is not customary to pay the broker for renewal - can not think of this being illegal though. Your broker seems to have too cosy a relationship with the landlord. Unless you can reach the landlord directly, you may have to pay. Broker clearly is not acting in the best interest of the landlord but that is for landlord to decide not the renter. The other option is negotiate a lower rent with the broker and pay him the commission so that you are even.

300 that's ridiculous.
& how do you know that the broker has a cosy relationship with the landlord? Maybe the broker is taking advantage of the absent landlord too by mistreating the landlord's assets - this income generating property? What will happen if those checks stop coming in from this tenant or another? Will the landlord start to wonder (or worse be in distress)? Will the broker have to lie to the landlord to cover for him or herself about what the broker tried to do in this circumstance with the tenant?

hburg, But it is for landlord to decide. Landlord has decided to make the broker managing agent which requires a good relationship. Broker may well lie to landlord. In either case, it does not help jd unless he can reach out directly to landlord.

OK, thanks for your inputs. I am trying to get LL's address. My friend's father is a RE lawyer so I will talk to him too. This is such an unbelievable situation. I do not really want to move but I like the apartment and the building and it ia always a hassle having to deal with the movers. But if I have to pay the broker fee every year, I will definitely not be staying...

And yes, I am willing to be as aggressive as I can which means:
- writing to REBNY (his practice is contrary to their code of ethics - I checked that)
- sending a letter to the LL disclosing her agent's behavior
- giving the broker a bad reputation in the building (I know a lot of residents really well)
- posting his bad practice on a board that is related to the building on Streeteasy (so renters can find it)
- be present when he shows the apartment to warn future tenants
- see whether a lawyer can write him a letter (if there is legal ground)
- anything else you can suggest?

I have time on my hands and am pretty good at writing so I do not mind going the extra step...

By the way, I am a lady...

Other than myself, the only poster who has applied any logic here is 300mercer. It isn't very nice, but not illegal. And since we are not privvy to the relationship between client and broker, all else is assumption. O.P is stuck.

OP, please provide a link to rebny page that proves this is an ethics violation.

Just look at the REBNY code of ethics. The broker is supposed to act in the best interest of his client. By the way, are all brokers members of REBNY?

You can google REBNY code of ethics

1. REBNY does not regulate brokers
2. the NYS Department of State in Albany does
3. the behavior sounds like unethical self-dealing
4. brokee has duty to act in best interests of owner at all times
5. you can find owner's name on Department of Finance website once you know block and lot
6. or from condo management's office
7. avoid court: going there will damage you and maybe get you blacklisted

Good Luck

Should have mentiomed:

1. broker has duty to give you renewal lease if owner wants him to

2. and is barred from doing so if owner doesnt want him to or if it is not in owner's
best interests to do so

3. if broker is doing so he is acting per owner's instructions and cant charge you a fee
simply for offering you a renewa lease

4. I would accept the lease and not pay the broker

Thanks for your advice tb345. Can I contact the NYS Department of state to report my broker? I have found the owners name, but I cannot find her address (or I have found 5 people with the same name that line in NY, in CA, and in Japan...)

If I go to court, where would I be blacklisted? From brokers? They are way to happy to get any new client...

I got the offer to renew the lease via email. The broker clearly stated he wanted a $3500 fee. If I want to renew the lease, I have to get it first and then send him his commission at the same time I send the adjustment to the deposit... SO I won't be able to renew the lease unless I pay him big $$$. Crazy! And it is soooo not in the landlord's interest to get a different tenant...

>but not illegal

Not an issue of legality, but rather contract and law. Staying beyond the lease term isn't illegal. Withholding rent isn't illegal.

>Can I contact the NYS Department of state to report my broker?
Sure but that won't be a remedy for the situation. Certainly not short term.

>If I go to court, where would I be blacklisted?
Not sure what your cause of action is today to be going to court.

>SO I won't be able to renew the lease unless I pay him big $$$. Crazy! And it is soooo not in the landlord's interest to get a different tenant...

I'm not telling you what to do, but it's not in the interests of the broker's relationship with the landlord to have the monthly rent not come in because you've refused to pay or because you've stayed beyond the lease term and stopped paying.

jd1234, is the renewal being offered at the same rate as your first lease? Or at what percentage increase if not?

The reason I ask is because that rental broker sounds like such a low-life, backstabbing, double-dealing, fish-eyed, sleazy, lower-order nothing [as virtually all rental brokers are; just look at their poster geisha jim_hones10] that I wouldn't be surprised if he's screwing the landlord out of the higher rent that can be fetched, while screwing you out of the fee, while taking the laziest path -- not even involving the key-turning skills that brokers have to spend ten years learning and pass rigorous examinations on -- of not even finding and screening a new tenant.

I think in life it is worth knowing which battles to fight and which on'es not to. Unless you have some very strong attachment to this unit, I think it is time to move on. What you have is a bad relationship and even if you 'solve' this one, there will be more to come. This is nothing to do with the broker per say: in this deal the landlord and broker are in tandem and come as a package. It is not for you to know whether the broker is acting in the landlord's best interest - you have no idea what the landlord's circumstances are or the nature of the relationship. Maybe even the broker and landlord are spouses or business partners. There is a reason why the broker manages the unit and very likely the relationship between the landlord and broker/agent is far more important than that between the laandlord and a tenant who has been there only two years.

The main problem here goes back to 2010 where you signed and accepted a contrast that did not make clear the options for continued lease after the two year period.

I would certainly not confront a landlord in manner you describe, including sabotaging new renters. Either pay the 3,500, negotiate an alternative or leave the unit. After such a fight, making threats etc do you think it will get better next year?

Did the landlord increase the rent if you want to renew and if so by what percentage? How do you know the rent you will pay is the same as that prospective renters would? Is the unit on the market for rent yet?

>The main problem here goes back to 2010 where you signed and accepted a contrast that did not make clear the options for continued lease after the two year period.

So you say that the tenant is to blame here?

For all any of you know the owner will be splitting this "renewal fee" with the broker. You CANNOT assume this is not in the owners interest unless you know the owner.

jd, does the lease form mention the new fee, or is it not included in the leaes form?

>For all any of you know the owner will be splitting this "renewal fee" with the broker. You CANNOT assume this is not in the owners interest unless you know the owner.

That's your theory? Lets see how jd answers my question.

"For all any of you know the owner will be splitting this "renewal fee" with the broker."

... ah, yes -- the kickback arrangement that sleazy rental brokers like hones rely on in lieu of adding any value whatsoever.

There is no way they are splitting it. It is clearly an absentee owner, and if the tenant does not take it, the broker will just tell owner that the tenant vacated and now its time to re-rent it.

The broker is only managing properties for the potential of $$$$$$brokerage commissions$$$$$. To manage a few units is not a sustainable business AT ALL. He/she wants to get the commissions every year, and it looks here that the owner has at least begun requested 2 year leases by now. Broker must have hated that.

The idea for an owner to partner up with the broker to squeeze out a fee, which could just be netted as more rent and not split with the broker, would be foolish.

Its crazy to me that people have brokers manage their properties rather than property managers/management companies (who must be licensed RE brokers/associates anyway). I guess there are just so many people that some people don't realize this.

btw, I am an owner and manger of small NYC apartment buildings (rentals, not co-ops/condos)

MAV is probably right, and I'd like to add to that the possibility that the sleazy neanderthal rental agent is charging the landlord the fee (as happened two years ago) ... AND charging you the fee at the same time. After all, how would the landlord know if the lowly rental agent controls communication between you and the landlord?

There was an increase in rent to $3500 (that rate is now offered to all newapplicants/ tenants). I am pretty sure the landlord does not know we want to stay. Why would she kick us out to through the trouble of renovating the place and potentially having a vacant apartment with no income for 1 or more months. It would make no sense.

Why wouldn't I sabotage the brokers efforts to rerent the apartment? I se no downside. I will jus be honest with all people who want to see the apartment. Last year, I only paid $150 renewal fee, so $3500 makes no sense this year. The only difference this time is that the broker did not ask me if I wanted to stay but he simply assumed we would be moving out at the end of the lease...

He is just mad becuase he will not collect the 1+ month fee this time. For no work!

The unit is on the market already. I never got an offer to renew the lease. This is all just very silly...

Matsui, the fight is worth fighting. It is just not fair for the broker to get what he wants by being dishonest. And I do not mind confrontation - it will eat his nerves more than mine :-).

You had to pay a renewal.fee last year? What a racket.
Matsui is a broker btw.

$150 last year was OK, I did not mind.

>>>> jd1234 says Why would she kick us out to through the trouble of renovating the place and potentially having a vacant apartment with no income for 1 or more months. It would make no sense.

Because at end of day the landlord may not care about you or your rent. You are a small insignificant fly in the bigger picture. For all you know the landlord has never been to this apartmeent in the last 15 years, or ever at all. This may be one of 50 apartments the landlord has in different cities in the USA, may be one of a hundred in different cities worldwide. You do not know. At end of day may just be a an investment asset, or a safe haven for his/her money and the investment or value is in the property and not in the rental income per se. What makes you think the average businessman or milllionaire is bothered abotu short-term loss of 7,000 USD from having the unit empty than the hassle the broker has saved him over 15 years and the hundreds of thousands of dollars the property has appreciated in value in that period.

The landllord may be very busy with his normal work or business or may just not want to know nothing of details and may not even know who lives there. Not all landlords have time to micromanage their properties and they devolve this to someone else and they have to leave that person to manage it best they can. Those investing in real estate budget for a few months vacancy here and there, renovation costs etc, so it doesnt really affect the bigger picture which is largely the capital invested in the property which has appreciated much in value in the last 15 years.

I think the mistake is that you are seeing the landlord's world the way you see yours - your worlds mmay actually be very different and 7000 USD may not matter as much to the landlord as you think it does.

You just told me that my broker was shady which I already knew. Everyone cares about their assets, or they have no money if they don't...

Jd, the broker may be taking the landlord for a ride but it is not illegal - may be unethical. If you can not reach the landlord, go back to being a lady and either pay or vacate unless your lease has a renewal option. There were several other similar posts on this board of a good renter not being offered renewal but in every single case they did not have the option to renew. This unfortunately is the biggest downside or renting.

Well not everyone cares about the nickels and dimes but many just focus on the bigger picture. Many of those who invest in all sorts of managed funds have no idea how those funds are managed. Some of those funds even invest in real estate. We are then landlords of sorts but someone else manages the investment. All that matters is our money appreciates. You dont have to care how it happens or indeed care whether you got the maximal possible profit.

I know from personal experience having moved from one distant town to another but not sold our residence (and instead rented it out),that it is impossible to directly manage and make decisions regarding tenants from afar, and at end of day you just have to devolve such to a third party. Sometimes you know clearly that the third party is not doing the best with your asset but you have no choice than to live with it (or otherwise go through the hassle and cost of making a five hour trip every few weeks or months, or hassle of finding another agent who may be no better, or sell your property).

I know more about that than you do Matsui. Trust me.

Anyways, thanks all for your comments. I know what I will do. Talk to a lawyer first and then do my best to talk to my landlord directly.

300 I am disappointed in you.

Matsui, people who are wealthy are more likely to care about their nickels, unless its by inheritance in which case this apartment doesn't sound like a characteristic investment. And those who earned their wealth are not big on scumbags representing them.

Sounds like the broker got the owner to buy a line that it's unfair to me if the lessor renews as it limits my income so let me charge her also.

You have an offer to renew. Depending on your perception/desire to have an ongoing contentious relationship with the managing agent / owner for another 12 months, I think you are entitled to accept their offer, return the lease signed (mail to the owner's foreign address too if you can find it) and ignore the demands for a fee to the agent.

Is there wording that says the lease is not in effect without a countersignature from the owner? If so, that is a downside to this strategy. If not, you're in the clear.

BTW, there is downside to staying and forcing them to go to court (being blacklisted), but there is no downside to threatening to stay and making them to go to court to force you out.

"or I have found 5 people with the same name that line in NY, in CA, and in Japan..."

Just curious, but is wither the landlord or the broker Japanese? Because many brokers in Japan charge that one month fee at renewal time. It was an absolute farce getting a letter from a broker whom I hadn't seen in two years, with instructions to send a month's rent to them by bank transfer, just to continue renting with the nice friendly LL who accepted my rent for 24 straight months, in cash at his home on the same lot as the apartments that he'd had built. Then the broker swoops in and wants money for basically just mailing me a new contract with new dates substituted in.

All the numbers in your story jive perfectly with the typical Japanese broker/LL contract renewal situation: 2-year contract, followed by a renewal with a fee of 1 month's rent. It could -- conceivably, and this is giving them the benefit of the doubt when it sounds like they really don't deserve it -- be the case that it's a Japanese person who genuinely believes that this fee is the norm in the US just like it is back home for them.

I'd tell the dirtbag RE Broker that I'd like to renew my lease but will not pay a RE broker $3500 to sign a lease. That he can expect a rent check on Aug 1, of the current rent amount and will pay new rent amount once lease is signed.

Then see what hsppens.

O' yea, don't be available to show the apartment.

huntersburg: I am certainly not wealthy so cannot know for certain. That said judging from what I read on SE, and also personal experience, most brokers and agents will fit into your scumbag category so why would those who earn wealth, by balance of probability not be represented by scumbags, just like the rest of us?

The issue is not about not caring about nickels but what you can do about it. Time is precious and costly. Most wealthy people just lack the time to spend on bothering about nickels and dimes here and there. You pay someone to do that and accept what they deliver (knowing you will be shortchanged to some degree).

We can balk about all this but at end of day it is all about a 3,000 monthly rent. Not a big deal. Not worth losing ANY sleep. Not worth a lawyer, not worth any hassle. Either stomach it, negotiate out or find somewhere else to live. And if OP choses to stay another year, regardless of whether she pays the 3,500 or not, and again accepts a contract that does not have an explicit renewal option then she should be prepared for a similar saga next year. The leopard has shown its spots and chosing to keep dealing with the landlord/broker combo is at her own risk. If she choses to walk then it will be out of prinicipal since the move will likely cost more than the 3,500 in material and non-material costs.

Personally (and I have been in similar position - I walked out of principal and ended up with net financial loss, but at least my money was going to someone else and not the shylock landlord) it is clear to me that the broker/agent is as you say scum and not worth dealing with, and I would carry my 3,000 dollars to someother landlord with more moral and integrity.

...and I am not a broker, thanks.

) not a broker, but pretty pathetic

Mitsui, you seem not to have a dime in your wallet...

Contact the manager at the brokers place directly and see what he says.

"It probably is Hones"

Funny. Probably true.

If you want to fight, here are some ideas.

I first would make sure you get all the broker's shady behavior in email. In terms of the owner's address, you should have something from the owner (to be filed with the condo application) saying that this broker may act as an agent for the lease. You can try getting the address through that.

The broker would not want the argument to end up in court. It's not like the broker can go to court without the owner's permission. So if you send a check at month-end, the broker has a choice between accepting it (making you month-to-month), giving you a new lease, or not cashing it and explaining to the LL the rent is not coming in & they need to begin eviction. That final option will cause the shit to hit the fan for the broker.

On showing to new tenants, first explicitly tell the staff that they are under no circumstance to let the broker in when you are not home. Time to cash in the chips from year-end tips ;). When they do show up, explain the situation and your month-end intentions. That should be nice & awkward for all involved.

Holdover case! ... every wealthy hands-off lord's dream scenario.

jd1234 Mitsui, you seem not to have a dime in your wallet...

Maybe but I am not the one crying over an apartment for only 3000 USD or so rent. I am also not the one who signed a lease without a well defined extension clause and am complaining now about terms of extension. I am not the one seeking a lawyer, when I did not make contractual obligations with my landlord beyond 31 August. I am not the one mixing a brokers role as a broker with that as a lanlord's management agent. I am not the one wanting to be present during showings of an apartment to badmouth the landlord.

Maybe I don't have a dime but I do have some common sense....

This whole thread is a lesson in what NOT to do when you rent.

It is interesting how easy it is to get Mitsui excited. I guess I hit the right buttons :-).

>This whole thread is a lesson in what NOT to do when you rent.

What are the lessons Jason?

Don't deal with a foreigner?

I agree with Triple_Zero. It sounds like a cultural misunderstanding. The broker manages the rents for the landlord. The landlord assumes that the broker is paid through the yearly broker/property manager fee paid by the renter as is the custom in his country. This is not how it works in the US, but the landlord is ignorant of that fact. The only way the broker/property manager is paid is by holding up the renter. The broker may or may not be aware of the US method, but the landlord is obviously assuming that the fees will be paid by the renter, and the broker is the one who has to collect his fees. Maybe the broker isn't even really a "broker".

>I agree with Triple_Zero. It sounds like a cultural misunderstanding.

Is cultural misunderstanding an ok excuse?

It is not me. I have to admit i have never thought of this. Usually i just offer prohibitively high renewal rates if we need to get someone out.

It is not a cultural misunderstanding. Last year I paid $150 to renew the lease (plus the yearly increase in rent).

"The landlord assumes that the broker is paid through the yearly broker/property manager fee paid by the renter as is the custom in his country. This is not how it works in the US, but the landlord is ignorant of that fact. "

You don't think the broker has explained to the LL what is customary in the US? I.e., LL needs to pay property management fee. After 15 years? Hell, 2 years ago the broker had to explain to the LL how the market was extremely soft and therefore the LL needed to reach into their pocket for the broker fee.

Matsui, wealthy people are rarely pushovers. The idea of allowing others to screw with them does not sit well. They also do not like having their time wasted.

You'll note that some of my suggestions force the issue to the LL in a way that goes through the broker. At some point, the broker will need to present a very uncomfortable story to the LL. It will begin with "I don't have the rent this month" and continue down an ugly path for the broker. The LL will be pissed at the broker for the bullshit waste of time created, "What do you mean you didn't give me the lease to counter-sign and/or cash the month-to-month check, I'm already paying you a property management fee, asshole".

>You'll note that some of my suggestions force the issue to the LL in a way that goes through the broker.

As did mine, first.

Kumbaya, brother, kumbaya.

jd1234:

1. credit reporting agencies will report landlord-tenant court
cases involving a prospective tenant - if asked

2. most or all large landlords get those reports, and will auto-
matically blacklist anyone on it

3. your best course of action is to e-mail the broker a counter-offer
stating what you are willing to pay in rent in a renewal leaae, and
set a deadline in your e-mail for acceptance fo your offer.

4. by law the broker must forward your e-mail to the owner
5, if it is not accepted I woulod move on
6. not worth the time, expense, potention harm to yourself, and emotional
drain to try to prevail over the broker

7. I just went through the opposite situation as a landlord
8. held an apt for several days for an out-of-stater who was 99.9% certain to rent it
9. relative who previewed it made snarky and disparaging remarks
10. and no-one contacted me for more than 16 hours after friend left with detailed photos
11. after thoroughly washing my fan I withdrew my offer to rent and moved on
12. apartment rented yesterday to an exceptionally nice and polite person
13. life is too short to let yourself get trapped into situations like the one you are in

This situation will have limited emotional drain on me if I fight. The broker will be more upset than me...

It would be a bigger emotional drain for me to just give up.

I still say if possible you formally accept their offer (the rate appears to have been acceptable to you since you did not discuss it here) by email/letter/whatever to broker and/or landlord and do so without addressing the fee. This of course depends on whether the 'offer' to you is in formal fashion now (i.e. lease for you to sign).

If not possible, then use the leverage possible by threatening (not necessarily following through yet) to use your rights as a tenant under local law to stay and force them to use court to extricate you.

the owner is probably a broker and the agent is his nephew, they are all in on it to squeeze more money out of the apt. There are some managements now,like big apple who are getting in on the brokers commission and charging their own commission now to direct clients. There are so few apartments and brokers are making a killing on fees, i guess the owners and managements want a piece of the broker income as well...#shady and greedy...

speaking of making a killing on fee's....i had to zip car it out to a kids birthday party yesterday. it made me want to buy my own care. i'm thinking vintage mercedes 560 sel, since i always like them. any thoughts?

parking isn't an issue (one of my accounts has garage space i could get for a good monthly), and i've always like this model. i don't need to drive everyday, so why not?

nada, anything called the douche burger sounds perfect for you.

I once had a 1988 560SEL. Fun to drive and comfortable, especially for passengers. The back seat reclined a little and had footrests. Looked good, in a stately sort of way, e.g. in the occasional funeral cortege.

Jim, let me get this straight. You rent in NYC, you own property out of the city, but you don't own a car?

that's right. why does having an apartment here and property somewhere else make a car necessary?

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I once had a 1988 560SEL. Fun to drive and comfortable, especially for passengers. The back seat reclined a little and had footrests. Looked good, in a stately sort of way, e.g. in the occasional funeral cortege.

stately is what i am looking for. and mercedes will warranty them forever if you have service records.

How do you get there? Zipcar each time?

Was back at my old garage picking up a Zipcar the other week. Four years after getting rid of the 560SEL, the garage guy asked about it. Said they all loved it, and they drive everything.