New York has the most challenging apartment rental market in the country. Prices are sky high. Great apartments get snapped up in hours. There are dozens of neighborhoods to choose from (exciting!), but each one is like its own small market, with quirks and challenges of its own (frustrating). And applications require so much documentation you might think you’re applying for security clearance at the State Department.
For a fee (usually a hefty 15%), real estate brokers promise to transform this madness into method, creating an efficient and painless experience that ends with you moving into an apartment you love. But do they live up to that promise? To answer that question, we followed rental brokers and agents from some of the city’s most reputable firms as they worked with clients. The most surprising takeaway? Over and over again, we saw that the success of a broker/client relationship depends not just on the quality of the broker (more about that below) but also on you, the client. Put simply, there’s a right way and a wrong way to work with a broker.
Here’s our tips to know before meeting your broker in 2014!
Tip #1:Â Understand the process going in
Tip #2:Â Work with the right expert
Tip #3: Â Commit to the process
Tip #4:Â Remember that not everything is your broker’s fault
Tip #5:Â Be clear about what you want
And one bonus tip: Keep the faith, because you’ll find something great!
We hope you enjoy the series and find it useful. Let us know what you think! You can email us, tweet us, or find us on Facebook and Google+!
