Most people avoid paying for things if they can. Consider the popularity of totallyfreestuff.com, or Craigslist’s “Free Stuff” section. Goods or services we don’t have to pay for have a gravitational pull on us capitalists. It’s only natural to want to find the best deal.
This is why the phrase “no fee apartment” has become ubiquitous in the world of New York rentals. It’s enticing, the idea of not paying a fee. Certainly better than the alternative, most assume. They’re often right. But this often leads to a misunderstanding of exactly what a no fee apartment is.
If you use a broker to find an apartment, there will always be a fee. A “no fee” apartment is a rental where the landlord pays the fee for the tenant. Landlords are willing to pay the fee because they realize that tenants would much rather not pay it, and the apartment will rent more quickly.
Sometimes landlords choose not to pay the fee. They know that in the urban jungle, space is at a premium, and their vacancies will often be filled anyway. A renter might fall in love with what’s called a “low fee apartment”, where the fee is only a month’s rent, and decide it is more than worth it.
Using a broker like Rapid Realty gives the renter options. Rapid’s database features only no fee and low fee apartments. Many renters decide that the apartment of their dreams is in fact worth a small fee upfront. Some find a no fee apartment they are thrilled with, and the lack of a fee is icing on the cake.
Landlords also have a choice: charge a fee and potentially scare away some more frugal renters, or pay the fee to the broker and start collecting rent from a new tenant sooner. Working with a widely-used broker like Rapid Realty provides that option.
RAPID READ: “No-fee apartments” save tenants money and save landlords a hassle.