As my wife and I are soon moving to New York City, I have started looking for apartments on classified ads, etc. I notice that quite a few apartments do not entail a broker's fee, whereas a lot of others entail a quite substantial fee.

Taken at face value, it would seem clear that the wisest option would be to go for an apartment without a brokers fee, all other things equal. My suspicion is that there is some kind of "catch", and that all other things might not be equal after all.

Are there guarantees/services/etc. that comes with apartments when a broker is involved. Conversely, are there dangers in going for an apartment without such a fee.

I would be very grateful for an answer.

Short answer: If you see an apartment you like and it doesn't have a broker's fee, go for it.

Long answer:
A broker's fee is not a determinant in the quality of an apartment, nor will it guarantee anything. There is not necessarily a "catch" to apartments without a broker's fee. Most of the apartments without a broker's fee are in large buildings, are relatively new construction or are managed by one of the big management companies in New York. In these circumstances it makes sense for the building management to handle rentals by themselves without turning it over to a third party. A lot of smaller or older buildings will have contracts with brokers and you can only gain access to these buildings by going through the broker. The Broker's fee is mainly just a convenience fee. If you need an apartment on short notice and don't really have time to look around or do a lot of research on your own (or you just don't want to), you might want to go with a broker (you must also be willing to spend a couple thousand dollars for this convenience). Otherwise, avoid a broker's fee if you can.

And, as always, be careful who you give your money to. Make sure you know who you are dealing with as there are many, many scams with apartments and brokers.

Here is a great list of apartments, most of them no-fee, that was a huge help to me when I was searching for a place. Tons of info about individual apartment buildings: [www.nybits.com].

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the answer. As we are awaiting our shipments by boat, which might take quite a while, we are considering short-term furnished rent first. During that time, we would look for something more permanent, so I guess we would not necessarily need to go for a broker then...

Yes, thats a good plan. It's much, much easier to look for a place when you are here in the city, as opposed to far away. Check out www.sublet.com for some short term options. I have never used it, but have heard it is good. Also, craigslist is great (which i have used).

Thank you for the advice. I also signed up for a pay site (mlx.com), but given the quality of some other links I found, including those you sent, I wonder if it was worth my money.

NorseWolf,

I don't think you necessarily wasted your money. I think NYBits.com is great, but they only list large apartment buildings (and let's face it, expensive ones). I once found a place through MLX that was a small walk-up studio. So, depending on the type of place you're looking for, you may actually end up using your subscription for what it's worth... Best of luck.. We've all been there...

Sublet first. Look at craigslist.com or sublet.com to find a place in the neighborhood you THINK you want to be in. The best way to try out a neighborhood.