One question we hear a lot is, “Why hasn’t Craigslist solved the apartment hunting process for Manhattan, like it has for many other cities?”
A lot has been written already on the Internet about how to improve Craigslist. In fact, many new websites have attempted to “beat” Craigslist, but the site still remains as one of the most popular and widely used forums for placing low cost or free advertisements. Unfortunately, there are very specific and unique problems when hunting for an affordable apartment in Manhattan using Craigslist.
First, Craigslist is not in the business of listing real estate or apartment availabilities. While they have admirably attempted to allow a few basic search features such as limiting the price range and specifying a general neighborhood, the filters are horribly insufficient. They sort listings by the posting date of the ads, not by relevance, and most ads do not provide real addresses or even cross streets. Instead, we at Rent Hop notice many apartment hunters prefer to search geographically, knowing the exact address of the building, and seeing it on a map.
In addition, in recent years, the competition among NYC apartment brokers has grown fierce, compelling a few brokers to take desperate and extreme measures to stay in business. Although most brokers are honorable and trustworthy, a few bad apples easily spoil the bunch with unethical and underhanded tactics. Here is how a typical Craigslist scam works. A broker posts NO FEE MANHATTAN APARTMENT in the ad subject, placing attractive looking photos and citing an even more attractively low price. Once you call the number, the broker tells you the apartment is available but won’t last, and you must immediately meet at his or her office to schedule a viewing. Once you arrive, the apartment mysteriously has “just been rented,” but the broker knows lots of similar apartments that might interest you… only they have fees attached! One good way to protect yourself from such a scam is to see whether or not the building address is on the advertisement. If the apartment is truly no fee, there is no reason for the broker to withhold it from you!
At Rent Hop, all of our listings come complete with building addresses, landlord names, and phone numbers. You can zoom into your favorite neighborhood in our interactive map search mode, and quickly filter for listings located exactly where you want to live. We have over 1000 no fee listings throughout Manhattan and the New York City area, and we promise that you will never be directed to an apartment broker when you call; you will be talking directly to the landlord, management company, or exclusive listing agent (if any of the landlords attempt to charge you a broker fee, let us know immediately and we will investigate).
Craigslist will probably be around for a long time and is still a great service to the community, but for now, it simply isn’t a great place to find no fee apartment listings in Manhattan.
