Renting in New York City: How To Get A Better Deal, by Kirby Sommers

The rental market in New York City is tight. This goes for every single borough, and if you happen to be caught in this summer’s rush-to-rent, you already know this sad reality.

If rents can be said to have gone through the roof, then let’s say they are as high as the second level of Jon Bon Jovi’s duplex in Soho.

Landlord incentives are gone and the commissions, oh, those pesky commissions can make you as lightheaded as your most recent best party night. They range anywhere from one month’s rent in the outer boroughs to as much as 18% of the first month’s rent in Manhattan or Brooklyn. 

So what to do when you want a deal? Bargain? Maybe. But, bargaining isn’t for everyone. And for those of you who think you can shave off dollars on just about anything: beware of bargaining at the wrong time with the wrong landlord and especially when there are 20 other people standing behind you waving asking rent in the landlord’s face.

Ok, here goes: How to get a better than asking deal on your gotta-have-it-apartment-rental?

 You meet the landlord. Real estate agents and brokers create distance between you and your future landlord. If you want to be happy in your new apartment and walk away with a deal you’ve got to meet your landlord. Meeting the landlord, these days, isn’t necessarily meeting a nice elderly couple who own the building. No. Those days, for the most part, are gone. Meeting the landlord, these days, means meet the people who have the power to say “yes” and the power to negotiate.

Most apartment seekers go apartment hunting and do it all wrong. They wear comfortable clothing – meaning they schlep around in jeans and sandals. Unless you have an entourage standing behind you this isn’t the best ‘meet your new landlord’ outfit.

If you are going to snap up a great rental, you have to make a good impression, and that means dressing up. You don’t have to wear a business suit, but you do have to dress in a business appropriate manner that lets the landlord or landlord’s agent form a visual cue about who you are and your ability to pay the rent on time should you be accepted.

 Never ask if the price of a rental is negotiable on the phone. I mean this. Never, ever ask before you even step foot inside an apartment if you can have it for less.

This blunder may make it impossible for you to even see it. I am always surprised at the amount of people who try this and then seem stunned to hear “oh, that apartment is gone.”

The only time to negotiate your rental price is at the time you submit an application. When you have paid the typical application fee which should be anywhere from $75 in the outer boroughs to approximately $150 in Manhattan and Brooklyn – at this moment in time, when you also hand over every document you own, along with a filled out application -- this is when you ask.

And, this is crucial; you ask only if your credit is perfect. If it isn’t, then you will be lucky to pay asking.

Assuming your credit is impeccable, and the landlord’s representative is sitting across from you, and you have discovered through small talk that he or she has the authority to accept your application on the spot (translation: this person also has the authority to accept or reject an offer) – this is when you make your move and state your number.

Heed my words and you may be able to shave off a couple of dollars from the asking rent. Try to barge in with a lower number before you even see the apartment and all you’ll see is the front door. Just remember to close it behind you since you won’t be invited back.

2015 Copyright Kirby Sommers. All Rights Reserved.

Kirby Sommers is the Founder & CEO of LandlordLinks.Net where apartment hunting in New York City is easy and affordable.

The No Fee Myth, by Kirby Sommers

Most renters opt for the "no fee" apartment route, either through a broker, a landlord, or a management company. But is this really a no fee apartment? Or, have you just paid a hidden fee?

Zigzagging my way through the snow and ice covered streets of the West Village I try to keep up with two local rental agents who have agreed to speak with me. I ask them a simple question:

Is no fee really no fee?"

"Renters are stupid! They don't know they always pay a fee!" Rental Agent A exclaimes. (I am going to keep their names out of this, if for no other reason than their personal safety!).

"Absolutely," Rental Agent B adds with a grin. "Renters think the landlord is gonna swallow up their fee? No way. I get paid and the renter pays me every time!"

I'm a born and raised, true to life, completely jaded New Yorker. Not the burbs, but Manhattan. The real deal. Jaded New Yorkers are not surprised by anything. I am wrong.

Their candid answers surprise even my jaded New York soul. It wasn't what they said. It was how they said it. But I digress, so back to what happened.

"How many people would you say call on your for fee ads?" I press on.

Agent B quickly answers: "None. My calls and appointments come from my no fee ads, some of them pay the fee after I show a crummy no fee apartment, but the truth is the tenant pays every time." He smirks.

"The base rent is higher when a renter signs a lease for a no fee apartment," I'm quick to point out. "Do you think your renters know they pay your commission?" I am now firmly convinced my Landlord Links are the best thing to happen for renters in New York City since the smoking ban of 1982.

"Renters don't know, no way," Agent A adds. These people want a free ride. But, you know, there's no such thing. And then if they stay in the apartment a second year, they pay the fee again! This time instead of coming to me it ends up in the landlords pocket. You think the owner is going to say: hey, you paid an inflated rent last year. I am now going to give you that money back. No way. What do renters know? Ahh, that's why I call them stupid! They pay this fee over and over again."

And these men, as much as their attitude made my skin crawl and re-affirmed why I am the ultimate anti-broker; renters always pay a broker fee, whether they know it or not.

For example, if the base rent is $2,000 per month and the broker's commission is 15% (which is calculated by multiplying the monthly rent by 12 months x 15) then you have to shell out another $3,600 -- a whopping ouch!

Using $2,000 as the insider rent that only the landlord knows about and adding that hidden 15% fee, the asking rent becomes $2,432.00. Over the course of your one-year lease term you slowly pay this hidden fee. Should you choose to sign a second year lease you will continue to pay a second fee that is now permanently built into your base lease.

In real estate lingo this is called pay as you go. Except no one ever bothers to tell you its coming out of your pocket. Instead you falsely believe you've rented no fee.

Which brings us to the question: is no fee really no fee? The answer is no. Like broker A said: There is no such thing as a free ride. Which means there is no such thing as "no fee."

Bottom line: the rent has been inflated for all apartments in the New York City with these hidden fees. And, unless you know the rental history of the building and the landlord's fee structure, you won't know what or how to negotiate the extra money they've added on to the asking rent.

The no fee approach has forced many people out of the city and kept many from renting in the city. If you're still hanging on and renting in Manhattan, then throw a "My-Rent-is-too-Damn-High" party, and don't forget to invite your landlord.

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LandlordLinks.Net

AptStar: An alternative to traditional brokerage firms. Any Apartment. No Broker Fee.

AptStar: Revolutionizing the Rental Experience in New York City (LandlordLinks.Net)

AptStar allows apartment hunters to use terms like “eclectic, really sunny, kid-friendly, and every imaginable description along with the most desirable tag words any Manhattan bound renter can mutter: "no broker’s fee".

From Press Release 2013

The process of renting an apartment in New York City is overwhelming even for seasoned renters. “After spending numerous weeks wasting my time with bait and switch broker tactics, no show meetings and discovering that certain landlords have notoriously bad reputations it became obvious that I needed help. I reached out to Kirby Sommers’ AptStar service and am so grateful that I did,” states financial services specialist Chris Lautenslager who has been renting in Manhattan for over 8 years.
              
Kirby Sommers has been revolutionizing the way renters find apartments with her eGuides called Landlord Links since 2005. The best selling guides are similar to Zagat books with the added bonus of having hyperlinks which renters click on to see apartment listings offered directly by landlords and management companies.

Mr. Lautenslager adds: ”AptStar identified an apt for me that was literally perfect! This took only 1 day to view listings as opposed to a constant scramble of phone calls, texts, e-mails and meetings. The time I saved was in itself worth the modest one time cost. But the fact that I now have a beautiful no-fee apartment from a solid landlord confirmed that it was one of the best investments I could make.”

Kirby Sommers has recently upgraded a personal service she offers via her LandlordLinks.Net website called AptStar by adding more specialists to handle the overwhelming amount of requests from apartment seekers for help.

While most listings provide only the minimal information on apartments, the uniqueAptStar service allows apartment hunters to use terms like “eclectic, really sunny, kid-friendly, and every imaginable description along with the most desirable tag words any Manhattan bound renter can mutter: “no broker’s fee.”

In addition to saving renters on broker fees AptStar also ensures clients shine like superstars on paper and ace their interview with the landlord thus eliminating stiff competition and also helps them from making costly rental mistakes.

No other rental service offers honest service to renters in the city. Craigslist is full of bait and switch broker posing as owner listings. And, Streeteasy, which was supposed to make renting an apartment easier, is full of random brokers with no guarantee of honest service or the no fee promise.

Ms. Sommers believes AptStar is the only way to solve the dysfunctional nature of the apartment rental market in New York City. “When someone uses AptStar, they’re getting a great rental experience, along with the right apartment, which means we’ve made a customer for life or for as long as they continue to rent in the city.”

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Additional information can be found on our website: 
LandlordLinks.Net
Press Release