apartment rental experts?

[thenelenasays.livejournal.com]

my lease is up in july and i'm about to start apartment hunting. i find craigslist a little daunting and sometimes a little sketchy. is apartment rental experts in davis quality? do they charge a fee? i've never gone through an agency before. any opinions or alternative search modes are welcome. thanks!

Comments

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Virtually all apartment rental agencies charge a fee. It's usually the equivelent of one month's rent, or sometimes half a month's rent, but either way it's a lot to pay on top of first/last/security deposit.

Really, don't be afraid of Craigslist for apartment hunting in Davis. We all use it. I personally have had great results. If you see an ad you like but aren't sure, feel free to run it by us here for opinions.

[eclecticavatar.livejournal.com]

I secnd the CL recommendation. If you go in and be very specific, like check if you have a cat or dog and search specifically for July and the price range, you'll come up with a smaller number than you'd imagine.

[jadia.livejournal.com]

The sunday edition of the boston globe also has classifieds which can be useful.

We actually went through Apartment Rental Experts for our house, and they were reasonable, though possibly a little lame. This was a few years ago, though, so I don't know how they are now.

[nowalmart.livejournal.com]

As someone else mentioned, almost everyone uses Craigslist.

I have never used an agency, but it seems to me that going to one would limit the number of apartments you could see due to the popularity of people relying exclusively on Craigslist.

Depends.

[kyroraz.livejournal.com]

I know a lot of people that use Craig's List, and it depends on your situation on how well it works or not. If you're looking for a place now or in a month, it works well. If you're looking a little further down the road o' time (for example, I am looking for a new place myself, but have a 60 day notice requirement) it may not work so well.

But to actually answer your question, I found my current place through ARE and they're nice, and there usually is at least a 1/2 fee. I do admit that there is something to be said about having actual help in seeking an apartment, however.

[http://users.livejournal.com/urban_faerie_/]

They charge a fee just like everybody else! Usually a months rent plus first, last and security deposit. My golden rule about realtors is if they pressure you, just walk away. Everyone wants to lie to you and tell you that the dump they are showing you is the only thing in your price range in the whole city! Don't believe it! I have lived in metro Boston for years in some awesome neighborhoods and great apartments on the cheap!

I had a very bad experience with Paul from Apt. Realty Experts. We were out with him for just under 3 hrs. and only saw 1 apartment. He even left in the middle of our appointment for 20 minutes to show a place to another party. he left us sitting in his car with the motor running! I wouldn't waste any time with him. The other people there seem nice, yet flaky. I think they try to be the hip young realtors and specialize basically in renting expensive dumps to college kids. I ended up getting my new place through a private LL I met through my place of employment's electronic buliten board. He did not charge us a fee and has been great so far!

Henry George Quote for Today,

[artic-monkeys.livejournal.com]

Friday, April 21, 2006

"There is, indeed, as Bishop Nulty says, a peculiar beauty in the clearness with which the wisdom and benevolence of Providence are revealed in this great social fact, the provision made for the common needs of society in what economists call the law of rent."

Your best bet is on craigslist. Keep in mind that realtors will have access to some inventory that is not available there. some out of state landlords and others prefer to keep their rents lower to keep the hassle of turnover and bad tenants out of their hair.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

When I was searching for apartments in Davis, my housemates and I met a fella over at Apt Rent Experts named Will, and he was *totally* cool. They do charge a fee, but whether you're responsible for it depends on the owner of the apartment; sometimes they opt to pay the fee themselves, more often they split the fee down the middle or ask you to pay it.
We didn't end up getting any of the apartments that Will showed us, but he was so great that we got him a gift certificate afterwards to thank him for his time. There were a couple of other people that work there who are sketchy (ie. they'd put a fake ad in craigslist that looks really enticing just to get people to call in, then they'd say "oh, that's not available anymore, but I have these other listings...") But Will was a pleasure to work with. If he is still working there, I recommend asking for him.

[yangelina.livejournal.com]

I should add that this was back in June 2004.

[sasha-bee.livejournal.com]

jay gardner at chestnut hill realty between harvard and porter on mass ave is a great apartment hunter and knows somerville and cambridge really well. he helped me & my husband find a great place. good luck.

[left-unsaid.livejournal.com]

one way to try to avoid a rental agency fee - a lot of local landlords put listings on the Tufts off-campus housing website....i've had good luck with this list:

http://ase.tufts.edu/och/Listing_form.htm

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i found my apartment thru the phoenix classifieds, altho that was a long time ago so i don't know if craigslist would be better now.... but the phoenix is free too, and if you need another source for apt's it can't hurt....

[viellen]

I used ARE to get my current apartment about a year and a half ago. I liked em. Their office and the staff are pretty low-key, but the apartment they found me is actually a really great price for the size. They also have a ton of listings, which is a major plus. I paid 1/2 fee for my place, but the fees are going to depend on the landlord. Basically, if you're going through a realtor, there's always a fee--but if the landlord really wants to rent the place he might pay 1/2 or all of the fee.

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

I had a bad experience with Apt. Rental Experts recently. I suppose it's not entirely their fault, but we found an apartment through them that we really liked, wanted to rent it, and my roommate told the realtor she was on her way over to put the deposit down. When she got there, she found out they'd rented it to someone else, like, 20 minutes before she got there. We were both furious. Then several days later, they were still listing ads for that same apartment, even though it was already rented (I checked with them just to be sure).

We ended up renting from an owner found via Craigslist and are happy with the place we got.

[dominika-kretek.livejournal.com]

Okay, here are some things I've learned in the godawful apartment zoo that is Boston.

Fees. First of all, owners can never, ever charge a fee. It's against the law. Sometimes an apartment building is owned by a company that runs a realty office as well. They also cannot charge a fee for their own apartments, though they can for another landlord's apartments. If an owner tries to charge you a fee, pay it and then withhold it from your next month's rent. For fees that are legal, whether you have to pay basically depends on how desperate the landlord is. If the landlord wants the apartment to move fast, then they'll pay the fee. If they think they can wait, then it's all you.

Realty agents will sometimes advertise an apartment, but then say it's been taken and here are some others you might like. This is also against the law, though it's tough to catch them at it. Sometimes they'll even show you apartments that aren't actually available. Other times they will say that an apartment (for example) allows pets when it in fact does not. Ignore everything an agent says about a landlord being "cool with things" or "not really caring if..." Get it in writing. You have to be careful about this, because if you put down a deposit, you have to pay the fee even if you decide not to take the apartment. Let's say you decide not to take it because the landlord has restrictions that the agent "neglected" to tell you about. Too bad! You pay the fee.

Key deposits beyond a one month's rent security deposit are also illegal. If they try to do that to you, pay it and deduct it as above.

Real estate agents provide a service, but they have their own interests. They can save time for both tenants and landlords, but they have as much incentive to misrepresent a tenant to a landlord as they do to misrepresent an apartment to a tenant. If you have time to look, I would go through the for-rent-by-owner listings on Craigslist first. The only defense real estate agents have against a free service like Craigslist is to spam it to death, which they do. If you see agent listings in the by-owner category, do us all a favor and flag them.

Classified ads in the paper are usually agents advertising apartments that are "suddenly unavailable."

The last time I went apartment shopping I talked to between ten and twenty agents, and EVERY SINGLE ONE of them lied about something or other. I finally went rent-by-owner on Craigslist. It's more work, but atleast you're guaranteed not to have to pay a fee, and you know who you're dealing with.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Actually, a key fee to change the locks (not deposit, but actual fee) is legal.

In Massachusetts, a landlord can ask for first month, last month, security deposit (up to the first month's rent), and a key fee.

Also, a real estate agent must disclose any finder's fee arrangements in writing before they show you apartments.

[agoddess.livejournal.com]

I had a great experience with Apartment Rental Experts. (Especially given that the landlord paid our fee). Denis Shekedrovich (sp?) was our agent, and he took us to so many apartments around cambridge and somerville before we found the right one. I plan on going back again to find my next apartment.

[julishka.livejournal.com]

i went through craigslist to find my current apartment. but it wasn't listed. i'd answered a couple ads, went with several different agencies and owner listed. the agencies - different ones! - often showed the same properties. i saw one apartment 3 times - well only once, but i was driven to it two more times by different companies. so lame.

one ad i answered that was an agency listing on CL didn't end up as a fit for me, but i gave the woman my info on what i was looking for. she was old-school ancient and had a whole set of clients she'd been working w/for decades. one of those apartments came up and she called me instantly. i saw it a couple hours later and gave her a deposit.

i'd recommend her and her office but unfortunately she died last year and the office is gone. *sniffle*

anyway, my point being, don't just stick with one real estate office - you're not required to. AND, you shouldn't have to pay anything to see an apartment. fees can be negotiable, and the owner might be willing to pay the fee. it can't hurt to ask.

good luck.

[cold-cold-water.livejournal.com]

i used ARE. my rental agent was totally weird and antisocial which was really off-putting (c.f. cawley). the first time we met him the first thing out of his mouth was yelling at us for not having waited outside when he said he'd meet us at a dunkin donuts. but then, he did find us a great place and it was no fee, and helped us go through a bunch of bullshit getting a cosigner (we had just graduated from college). my management company recommended metro realty to me when i asked them for a friend, and i found them really helpful on the phone.

[phoenixy.livejournal.com]

Very hit-or-miss. The agents are paid entirely on comission. Since it doesn't cost the agency anything to hire folks, they'll take pretty much anyone and then throw them at the market to see what sticks.