{"id":3887,"date":"2009-02-27T02:15:05","date_gmt":"2009-02-27T07:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.renthop.com\/news\/?p=167"},"modified":"2023-07-24T14:41:37","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T18:41:37","slug":"no-fee-apartments-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/blog\/no-fee-apartments-nyc\/","title":{"rendered":"No Fee Apartments NYC!"},"content":{"rendered":"
Entrepreneurs know that the key to most great innovation isn’t an incremental improvement on the status quo, or a slightly more efficient and optimized implementation of an old spec.\u00a0 As Christensen <\/span>writes in the infamous Innovators’ Dilemma<\/em>, the real game-changers in the world are disruptive inventions.\u00a0 When we began creating RentHop.com, the first truly free collection of no-fee apartment rentals<\/a>, we suspected we were in the midst of crafting one such disruptive technology.\u00a0 By finally breaking up the monopoly on landlord and building information, we naively thought we were disrupting a system filled with inefficiency, dishonestly, and dead weight.<\/p>\n But we were wrong.<\/p>\n Brokers Are Not Evil<\/strong><\/p>\n Contrary to what many apartment finders believe, most brokers earn their fee.\u00a0 In fact, there is a strange catch-22 that applies to any good apartment broker:\u00a0 Renters are more likely to despise the harder working and more competent apartment brokers!\u00a0 Remember, a great apartment broker makes something that is very hard a lot easier.<\/p>\n Imagine a renter who meets his apartment broker (who shows up early to ensure he is punctual), seamlessly views a half a dozen suitable candidate vacancies (and the doormen all welcome you eagerly), and signs a lease that afternoon (the broker brought the application form).\u00a0 That renter will believe finding an aparmtent in Manhattan is painless and possibly even enjoyable. \u00a0\u00a0 It won’t be obvious the broker added much value, since the process seemed so easy, and because finding that $2,000 studio only took 4 hours all in, the broker certainly didn’t add $900 an hour of value!<\/p>\n Or did she?<\/p>\n Good Brokers Add Lots of Value<\/strong><\/p>\n Before the apartment hunting day began, the broker carefully spent the last few weeks previewing dozens of apartments in her neighborhood of choice, personally visiting and photographing each unit, then confirming the amenity offerings with the super and doorman.\u00a0 On the morning of the hunt, the broker called the management for each building, potentially traveled uptown to obtain some of the unit keys, and called each of the doormen to confirm the apartment was vacant and available for viewing that day.\u00a0 She searches her company database for the application PDF forms and prints out a copy for each apartment she’ll be showing that day.\u00a0 Finally, she maps out an itinerary that solves the infamous traveling salesman problem to the best of her ability, and includes a few optional nodes should the renter be an above-average speedy browser.<\/p>\n Circumventing Renters Simply Did Not Have a Good Alternative<\/strong><\/p>\n At last apartment hunting begins.\u00a0 The renter shows up 30 minutes late, apologizing that the previous broker meeting went overtime.\u00a0 They spent 4 hours searching, and finally the renter says complains that the broker fee is too high.\u00a0 The renter ends up finding a sublet with a college roommate (or worse, figures out a way to circumvent the broker and rent one of the apartments).\u00a0 This process can go on for days or weeks until finally a qualified, able, and willing renter comes along to compensate our poor broker!<\/p>\n