Any hope of finding a place without a broker? (Boston: for sale, real estate)

[Mb1985]

This is my first time renting a place in the US (From England originally), and even Craigslist is literally full of broker ads, with hardly any decent (if any) no fee apartments direct from a landlord.

Now if a broker goes out and finds me places specifically, based on my needs, puts in the time and research and saves me some hassle and i finds me my dream apartment, sure, he probably deserves his $.

But paying somebody a $1500 lump sum for essentially posting an ad on craigslist doesn't sit right with me.

Is this just something i need to suck up or am i just looking in the wrong places?

There's one place i like that i've seen posted on about 4 or 5 different sites by various brokers. Only thing i can think of is to try use that to my advantage and play them off each other a little to get the better deal.

Is that worth a go? Or they gonna be pretty wise to it? I guess it can't hurt to try.

I am available to move in immediately, which i guess could work in my favor. i.e. "there's 5 other brokers offering the same place and I'm good to go any day, can you give me a good deal to go with you?" kind of thing..

[yaeger07]

My understanding is that the brokers on CL don't actually have most of those listings. I know for a fact that one I've seen passed around they just took from a for rent by owner post and made it look like they had it too. Then when you call they say that unit is rented, but try to offer you other stuff.

[Maroon197]

The broker situation in Boston is an absolute nightmare. There's no other way to put it. I can't tell you how many times I did all of the research, found an apartment I liked online, and then was told I'd have to pay a broker a full month's rent for performing the extravagant service of letting me in the door of the apartment I found. A lot of landlords list with a broker simply because they don't want the hassle of having to answer emails/phone calls from potential renters. But then, inexplicably, it is the renters who end up paying for this service.

Moving in any city is usually stressful and hard, but in Boston it is taken to such an extreme (out of control costs, dilapidated/crumbling apartments, high cost brokers, extreme competition) that it almost outweighs all of the other positives of the area.

[sobo16]

You can filter on the type of posting and eliminate (most of) the broker listings. Keep checking the ads multiple times per day, and jump on anything that looks decent as soon as it pops up.

[timberline742]

I, and three close friends all found no fee apartments by owner in Somerville. Mine a few years back, them past few months. It's totally doable. Use the filters. Act quick.

[495neighbor]

Postlets has some By Owner rentals.

[mimi in boston]

Yes. I have lived in the area for years and refuse to use a broker after trying a few and having a crazy experience. I find that the most legit and fair landlords also won't rely on brokers.

You can search on CL for no fee apartments. Also try padmapper.

[Shutout]

How are Zillow and Trulia in terms of rentals?

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by Maroon197

The broker situation in Boston is an absolute nightmare. There's no other way to put it. I can't tell you how many times I did all of the research, found an apartment I liked online, and then was told I'd have to pay a broker a full month's rent for performing the extravagant service of letting me in the door of the apartment I found. A lot of landlords list with a broker simply because they don't want the hassle of having to answer emails/phone calls from potential renters. But then, inexplicably, it is the renters who end up paying for this service.

Moving in any city is usually stressful and hard, but in Boston it is taken to such an extreme (out of control costs, dilapidated/crumbling apartments, high cost brokers, extreme competition) that it almost outweighs all of the other positives of the area.

I couldn't agree more. I pretty much steer clear of rentals and just concentrate on "for sale" transactions. The agents who make their living predominantly off of rentals are just a different breed.

The big problem as I see it is that once upon a time some agent came up with the brilliant idea that they would tell the landlord that they could list their rental for free (at least to the landlord). They would just charge a fee to the tenant. This is great for the agent because the landlord is happy to give them the listing but it stinks for the tenant. It used to be that the landlord would pay some kind of fee but it's become incredibly rare that I see it. Renting has become basically the opposite of selling. When you sell, the agents are paid by the seller. When you rent, the tenant (most commonly it seems) pays the agents.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I couldn't agree more. I pretty much steer clear of rentals and just concentrate on "for sale" transactions. The agents who make their living predominantly off of rentals are just a different breed.

The big problem as I see it is that once upon a time some agent came up with the brilliant idea that they would tell the landlord that they could list their rental for free (at least to the landlord). They would just charge a fee to the tenant. This is great for the agent because the landlord is happy to give them the listing but it stinks for the tenant. It used to be that the landlord would pay some kind of fee but it's become incredibly rare that I see it. Renting has become basically the opposite of selling. When you sell, the agents are paid by the seller. When you rent, the tenant (most commonly it seems) pays the agents.

In the early 1990s when there was a glut of empty rentals around Boston, the landlords would simply advertise the rental through print classified ads in local papers or the likes of the Boston Phoenix or pay the fee to the real estate agent. I never paid a rental fee on any of my post college digs. It seems to me the proliferation of real estate agencies specializing in rentals happened during those times.