I used a broker for my last 3 NYC apartments (luckily the first two were new developments so only the most recent one did I pay myself).
I can't exactly say I regret it because the alternative was settling for a much worse apartment, but I absolutely despise brokers and the current system.
My biggest problem is that whether you take your time and have a broker show you 30 apartments over the course of a month, or whether you find the place on Craigslist and the broker literally opens the door and does nothing else, you pay the same fee of 10 - 15% the annual rent. I've been in the latter category and it's infuriating, you're paying literally thousands of dollars per hour. Why can't you pay this person a reasonable hourly rate for their time?
Another problem though, even if they did charge hourly rates I'm sure those would be unnecessarily high anyway, just because for whatever reason these people need certifications and a certain number of hours training so it takes an investment to become a broker. That's also insane to me, for renting in NYC to someone who's lived in the city for a while, a broker's "knowledge" has absolutely zero value (buying/selling a house might be a little different, but even then I'm skeptical). The only advice a broker has ever given me is trying to convince me that a terrible apartment, which they had obviously been trying and failing to rent for a while, was worth considering.
I'm glad you had a good experience. But the system is completely insane!
I can't exactly say I regret it because the alternative was settling for a much worse apartment, but I absolutely despise brokers and the current system.
My biggest problem is that whether you take your time and have a broker show you 30 apartments over the course of a month, or whether you find the place on Craigslist and the broker literally opens the door and does nothing else, you pay the same fee of 10 - 15% the annual rent. I've been in the latter category and it's infuriating, you're paying literally thousands of dollars per hour. Why can't you pay this person a reasonable hourly rate for their time?
Another problem though, even if they did charge hourly rates I'm sure those would be unnecessarily high anyway, just because for whatever reason these people need certifications and a certain number of hours training so it takes an investment to become a broker. That's also insane to me, for renting in NYC to someone who's lived in the city for a while, a broker's "knowledge" has absolutely zero value (buying/selling a house might be a little different, but even then I'm skeptical). The only advice a broker has ever given me is trying to convince me that a terrible apartment, which they had obviously been trying and failing to rent for a while, was worth considering.
I'm glad you had a good experience. But the system is completely insane!