Contacting a unit owner directly

Meaning, you saw the unit come up via a broker's listing?

The co-op mgmt won't have anything to do with the rental unless it's a sponsor apartment.

It is doubtful the owner will bypass the broker as he/she has a signed agreement with the broker to handle this rental. The owner chose to use an agent to avoid the hassle of marketing the rental, showing the apartment, doing credit checks, etc. Why would the owner breach an agreement with the listing agent to save YOU a few bucks? If you want this particular apartment you'll have to pay the two dollars and rent through the broker. Or find a no-fee apartment somewhere else.

who knows what exists btwn the broker and the owner--half the time the only obligation to the broker is you, who will sign on to paying him/her commission based on your agreement.

no harm at all in communicating directly with the owner to see if they would be willing to deal directly with you. if you have contact info, why not give it a try? if you like the apt, and they req you use the broker, do so

in general, buying, renting, selling, i prefer to deal directly with counterparty rather than have communication filtered by idiot self-serving broker; even if there is contract which requires a commission be paid--

yikes, it has been my experience that a rental listing through a broker involves a signed agreement between broker and owner. In a rental situation there is no upside that I can think of for an owner to circumnavigate the broker unless the owner is responsible for the commission, which is unlikely in a co-op sublet.

So again I ask, why would the owner bother to deal directly with a renter? What upside is there for the owner in that?

>prefer to deal directly with counterparty rather than have communication filtered by idiot self-serving broker;

Are brokers idiots and self-serving as a rule?

bstar--given the obscene amt of bait and switch, and showing of no-fee apts by rental brokers, it makes complete sense for a renter to try to reach owner directly. and many owners give multiple rental brokers non-exclusive listing. in such a case, if a renter who has signed nothing with a rental broker can reach owner and cut a deal, renter saves 15% of a year's rent, and likely has an easier time cutting a deal.

question is more, why would an owner sign an exclusive with a scummy rental broker?

Speaking only for myself here--when I sublet my co-op I always outsource it to a broker. I do not have the time to market the listing, show the apartment, handle paperwork, do credit checks, etc. And I am certainly not interested in fielding calls from potential renters. It is absolutely worth it to me to engage a broker to get a rental deal done.

just negotiate the rent down to cover the cost of the borker fee.

yikes
40 minutes ago
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bstar--given the obscene amt of bait and switch, and showing of no-fee apts by rental brokers, it makes complete sense for a renter to try to reach owner directly. and many owners give multiple rental brokers non-exclusive listing. in such a case, if a renter who has signed nothing with a rental broker can reach owner and cut a deal, renter saves 15% of a year's rent, and likely has an easier time cutting a deal.

question is more, why would an owner sign an exclusive with a scummy rental broker?

Yikes is a typical, unethical, greedy piece of shit. in other words, he is a typical rental client.

that being said, to the OP, if you don't ask, you don't find out. i always give my owners a copy of their contract to rent their unit, including instructions on what to do if a prospective tenant contacts them.

of course, any potential tenant who has been shown a subject property then tries to circumvent the agreement will not be treated as favorably. most owners don't want someone dishonest renting their property.

coop--always sublet?

op described a rental "that is listed" through a broker. no mention of being shown. no rental broker would "show" without a signed agrmt that apts shown must lease via him/her.

and that an apt is "listed" through a broker means nothing as to whether it's an exclusive.

so clearly the renter should give it a shot to reach the owner directly, if he/she has contact info.
downside is he/she just calls the broker.

op--you should give jim_hones a call--you can be one of his clients:"a typical, unethical, greedy piece of shit. in other words, (he is) a typical rental client"

as bad as rental brokers are, jimmie takes a big prize.

you checking in from st bart's jimmie?

Really? Ol' jimmy-boy is chiming in about ethics??

I agree w/ bramstar & jimmie, ethics of the latter notwithstanding.

Assuming this is an exclusive broker, they have an arrangement to exclusively get their cut of the fee in exchange for costs / work. Contractually, the owner is obligated to pay. So that's that. Ethically, you have no gripe against the broker. It is their cost & work (the marketing) that brought the listing to your attention.

The LL has implicitly agreed to take a lesser rent in exchange for not doing the work of finding a tenant. If you attempt an end-run, neither possible outcome is good. If the LL is honest & likes dealing w/ honest people, you're out. If the LL gets annoyed by being disturbed, you're out. If the LL is a shark with lax ethics, you're in (despite still having to pay the fee). No upside.

I suggest you use the incentives laid out to your advantage. The apt is likely going to go for a lower price because it is no-fee. The broker would like this apt rented w/ minimal effort and no co-brokering. Go in, be nice, place your discounted offer, don't make noise on the 15% fee. Let the broker and carrot of an easy 15% fee do the talking, at some point ask for the corporate discount to a 12% fee.

So can we assume that Inododo is calling yikes' approach unethical?

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Sonya_D
about 4 hours ago
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Really? Ol' jimmy-boy is chiming in about ethics??

Do we know each other?

yikes
about 4 hours ago
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op described a rental "that is listed" through a broker. no mention of being shown. no rental broker would "show" without a signed agrmt that apts shown must lease via him/her.

and that an apt is "listed" through a broker means nothing as to whether it's an exclusive.

so clearly the renter should give it a shot to reach the owner directly, if he/she has contact info.
downside is he/she just calls the broker.

op--you should give jim_hones a call--you can be one of his clients:"a typical, unethical, greedy piece of shit. in other words, (he is) a typical rental client"

as bad as rental brokers are, jimmie takes a big prize.

you checking in from st bart's jimmie?

as bad as theft of service? Do you normally in real life advocate that people steal from other people?

understand sometime fuckface, I don't represent the renters. i work with the owners. i could tell a potential renter EXACTLY what i think of them (i often had). they either take it (if they want the unit) or they don't. no loss, another one will replace them.

steal? no, you complete moron.

there is no stealing based on contacting owner of an apt shown in a listing--in fact most of your rental "listings" are bait and switch, or they are for apts that can be rented direct with no fee

maybe your oliver peoples are a bit foggy today, loser

or the fumes from your rotting gucci's have gone to your head

go back to st bart's--they need busboys down there for the high season

yikes
about 1 hour ago
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steal? no, you complete moron.

there is no stealing based on contacting owner of an apt shown in a listing--in fact most of your rental "listings" are bait and switch, or they are for apts that can be rented direct with no fee

maybe your oliver peoples are a bit foggy today, loser

or the fumes from your rotting gucci's have gone to your head

go back to st bart's--they need busboys down there for the high season

What is it like to be so poorly off financially that you have to resent a potential commission someone ELSE may have to pay? to have to be dishonest because you can't afford to pay your way?