Options For NYC Renters - Online Listing Services

Yesterday we discussed licensed real estate professionals as an option in finding an apartment in NYC. Today we will look at online listing services.

What is an online listing service? Essentially, a listing service is a database of available apartments. It is a sort of mid-way point between hiring a broker who does all of the groundwork for you but charges a brokers fee and searching completely on your own through newspapers, bulletin boards, and web sites for free. Most listing services charge a subscription fee that allows you to access their data for a set period of time.

PROS:
An online listing service is generally much cheaper than using a broker. The most popular site in NYC, RentDirect.com has several packages but charges roughly $200.00 for access.
You have access to the date 24 hours a day seven days a week. That means that if you want to weed through apartments at 3am, you can.
Often there are pictures which can help you weed out units that you wouldn’t be interested in, without actually going to see them.
You generally have more information about an apartment and the landlord or Management Company through listing services than you would if you just went through the newspaper or bulletin boards.

CONS:
What is listed as available isn’t always accurate since many services rely on the landlord or management company to update their listings. This can take days or weeks, which means that unavailable properties still show up as available.
Units can be rented out in a matter of minutes. Since listing services that handle their own updates call management companies once a day or sometimes every other day, listings can be inaccurate.
Without the expertise of a real estate agent, you may spend a great deal of time looking at apartments that either don’t meet your needs or will not accept you due to financial or credit requirements.
A lot of people find the choices overwhelming and an spend a lot of time running all over town as opposed to focusing on one area and one price range.


THINGS TO CONSIDER:
All listing services must have an Apartment Vendors License which is issued by the State. The only caveat to this is if a business is already a licensed real estate brokerage, they can operate a subscription service under their brokerage license. If you choose to use an online listing service, they should have their AVL or brokerage license displayed on their site. Do not work with an unlicensed real estate business of any kind.
Using a listing service requires a great deal of discipline. You will be responsible for weeding through the information, setting up your own appointments, making sure that you get to viewings on time, and completing your applications.
Using a listing service also requires you to be very practical. Hundreds of people may be interested in looking at the same apartments that you are interested in. It is a competitive market and without a real estate agent constantly checking and maneuvering to show you only available apartments, you will very likely find apartments that are already rented (or at least applications have been accepted) hours before.
A listing service can’t discuss your likelihood of getting accepted. A real estate professional can look at your finances and give an educated guess as to who will or won’t accept your application. You can waste a lot of time and application money simply because you don’t know which companies are unlikely to accept you.

Listing services can be great for people who have good credit, a decent salary, and the ability to drop everything to run to a newly listed apartment. But you have to understand that there job is selling data, NOT insuring that you rent an apartment. That is up to you and your own realities. Sadly, many people want to have real estate broker services (hand holding, up to the minute availabilities, inside knowledge of applications, etc) but only want to pay listing service prices. This is a recipe for upset and bad feelings.

It is also helpful if you understand that just because you have cut the real estate agent out of the picture, if your credit, financial situation, or job is less than perfect, you still won’t get an apartment. Management companies run credit checks, background checks, and eviction checks. They set the application requirements, not real estate agents.

And finally, you get what you pay for. Operating a business costs money. It costs money to rent space, equipment, to advertise, and to hire people. If you are considering a listing service that charges you $20, you have to think about the economy of such an arrangement. Could a legitimate business really make money at that rate? If it doesn’t make sense, go elsewhere.

Tomorrow we will discuss paper based listing services.

Bye for now...

PS... Tabby asked yesterday "....are their no fee brokers.....?"

Well Tabby, when a broker or real estate agent says that the apartment is a no fee apartment, it generally means that the broker is being paid by the landlord or management company rather than by you. These units do exist. But in a market where there are more people than units, it is typically a trick used to get rid of apartments that aren't moving. This doesn't mean that the apartments aren't any good. It is often the case that the developer or landlord simply has a lot of units (like in a newly renovated or built building). So they really aren't "no fee" it is simply that they are "no fee" to you since the landlord pays.

Thanks for your question!