Renting my Tribeca junior 4 and broker not generating traffic

If the unit is priced at true market rate ior just below.... prospective renters will find you.

The broker is not really "finding" anyone for you, they are just hosting the open house

how much are you asking?

$3.90 a square foot. The price is right in the middle of the pack with other units in my building. Thanks

Why not cut it 10%. Each month it sits there costs you 8.25% of your first years's rent. Think like an airline, once the plane takes off, the seat has no value and once the month starts, the the apartment has no value for that month.

You can try craigslist. I think they charge $10.00 a month. People looking to avoid paying a brokers fee look there a lot. Advertise it as a "No Fee" rental and if you can, offer one month free. If your price is good you should get responses. If you can get it on Streeteasy I would try and do that. Brokers who have clients that will pay the fee themselves will bring them to your property. But, things are tight out there. Good luck.

Yeah that is the other thing, the broker fee. If the fee is 1 month (15% is not in this market by a long shot), pay the fee yourself vs. letting it sit on the market for an extra month.

its 8.33%, not 8.25%

You can also advertise directly on streeeasy not sure how much it costs

Yes, jason10006 just earned you 0.083333 percent more than I did. Makes it even more compelling.

can you send me a link? i may be interested .. thanks

Rentals are SLOW -- we are getting some activity on our super-high-end (that's $27,500/month) triplex but nothing else is seeing much traffic or much activity. I find it is tough to get streeteasy to update rental feeds and impossible to get Natefind to pick up individual listings, but you should try both.

It doesn't sound like your apartment is cheap enough to market it locally (ads in the Trib., etc.) so I would try for a relo by working your college alumni network or similar.

good luck!

ali r.
{downtown broker]

Thanks everyone, this is all very useful feedback. BB10024, how do I email you the link? I'm new to streeteasy, so please excuse the simple question.

Just attach the link to this posting so other potential renters can see

Hi hofo -I would do that, but I'm thinking it's not appropriate to do that right now, since the broker still has the contract until about May, and I want to be fair to her. Actually, another interesting question is how to handle it when you are about to have an exclusive listing with a broker end. Thank you to everyone helping me out here.

Hi TT,

I just went through the process of helping my brother-in-law and sister rent out their UWS one bedroom,as they live out of town. Renters are just totally unwilling to pay a broker's fee and also realize that the broker's fee may find its way into the rent if they see the apartment through a broker. It may not be true - but what these people were telling me as I was showing them the apartment - was that they felt they would get a "deal" if no broker was involved. And everyone wants a deal right now...

We had to significantly reduce the rent - they are getting 25% less than what they were previously getting in rent. I have many friends and cousins at large Manhattan law firms. These firms all have places on their intranet to post housing opportunities. That generated some nice leads, and we ended up getting a very responsible creditworthy tenant who agreed to a three year lease (!!) with moderate increases in rent each year.

We also put adds up on Craigslist. At first, there were no real bites, but as we lowered the price, the interest increased. The problem with not having a broker was that we had to organize showing the apartment, getting the lease signed and doing the credit check. I was showing the apartment for my sister, and it is time consuming. But times are tough, and it was clear to us that if we worked with a broker, the landlord was going to wear the cost.

So, it is possible to do it yourself - just depends on how much of your time you are willing to spend doing it. But I really do think that if you hang on to the broker, you should pay the fee yourself. Good luck!!

I wouldn’t renew the contract. I’ve been dealing with brokers for the last couple of months and they lie a lot. They post a studio as a two bedroom. They say one price when it’s another. They show pictures of one apartment and then take you to a different one. They have people view apartments they can’t afford. They’ll show a place that is the most incredible thing then show another apartment that even though is nice is like comparing a five star hotel to motel. They bad mouth one place to hype up a client about a different more expensive place. Show the place yourself don’t lie about the price and you should get people that can afford to live their come look at your place.

I am also planning to rent out my Junior 4 in Chelsea without a broker but I'm having a hard time figuring out what the right price is. It's a small condo building so I have very few rental comps psf in our building. Also, our unit is unique because in relation to the apartment (+/- 800 sf) it has a large (600 sf) outdoor space that is very nicely appointed with landscaping and and storage space for bikes, etc. If I also throw in my quality outdoor furniture, can anyone offer ideas as to how much rent I can add for this amenity?

goose, I would be interested in possibly renting your place. I am currently living in chelsea and my lease is up at the end of May…if you are interested please let me know. Thanks, Erick.

Neil0032, feel free to e-mail me at goose_streeteasy with more info. on what you're looking for to see if we might be a match.

Sorry, that's goose_streeteasy@yahoo.com!

Hey goose - some feedback regarding selling an apartment with outdoor space. When I was speaking with a broker about buying another place (this was back in the good ole days when we all had jobs :) she told me that outdoor space is priced at approximately 50% of the indoor space price. So, if you had 800 square feet that was priced at $1000 per square foot, the 600 square feet would be priced at $500 per square foot. So, you might want to consider that when setting rent for your apartment. And - this may be obvious - but as we enter warmer weather, people value outdoor space more than they do in the dead of winter, because they picture themselves out there.

When it comes to figuring out comparables - here's a possible shortcut. Stop in/call a couple of brokers and ask them to take a look at your place and give you an estimated price. It can't hurt to ask and of course you are under no obligation. I have found streeteasy very helpful in terms of setting my price - and adjusting it, and adjusting it, i yi yi - but sounds like you don't really have enough neighbors to take that path. You could always investigate buildings around you that would considered comparable, and that's probably a good idea anyway - but why not call a broker or two and let them give you feedback? You'll most likely do some online comparables anyway, but ask the broker which addresses are comparable to yours as well.

The other reason I suggest this - you may not wish to use a broker now, because you live in the apartment/nearby. But that may not always be true because you may move across the country. And of course the rental environment may be very different 12-36 months from now. So I think it's a good idea to develop a relationship or two with a broker(s) so that you can call on them in the future. Might as well do the legwork now and get the relationship(s) established, and the broker(s) eager for your business.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck!