How to Find a No-Fee Apartment in New York City

If ever you find yourself sleuthing out an apartment in the bustling city of New York, you must first understand the lingo. Apartment hunting is already a long and stressful process, but it’s possible to get through it that much quicker when you understand what it is that you want.

Rental apartments in NYC are divided into two categories, ones that require a broker’s fee and one’s that don’t. The broker’s fee is sometimes fifteen percent of the first year’s rent paid upfront before you can move in. That’s pretty costly when you’re stacking pennies to get by. You want to make your new home in a no-fee apartment in New York City. No-fee because it means you’re partnered with the person or company that has control of the property, either they own it or have paid the broker fee, so you don’t have to.

Finding a no-fee apartment in New York City, however, isn’t always so cut and dry. There are times when it isn’t the best option for your wallet. These no-fee gems are most likely going to be in the best of the best areas of New York City. That means your new apartment may reside in one of the infamous, luxurious NYC skyscrapers, where the  monthly rent is more expensive than if you had found a place without a broker’s fee. You’d hardly come out of the equation on the better end of things.

People and Your No-Fee Apartment

The search for a no-fee apartment in New York City may not be easy, but there are helpers all around you to ease the journey along the way. Anyone living in the NYC area can help and may be your new neighbor. Ask your buddies and family members, but don’t stop there. Ask their friends, ask strangers, ask the employees at the local coffee shop, and don’t forget to check the listings available on any bulletin boards. You could even scope out street poles! You’ve got to start tapping into every viable network, and it’s best not to limit yourself. In this way, that ancient saying: it’s not what you know, but who you know, will come into play and get you a no-fee apartment in New York City.

The Internet and Your No-Fee Apartment

As mentioned above, these apartments are in the more affable neighborhoods of the city, but there may be a few affordable gems there. Apartment hunters should put on some comfortable shoes and start scoping out buildings in the Upper East and West Sides, as well as Brooklyn Heights, just to name a few good areas.

Here are a few steps that you can take to find a no-fee apartment in New York City:

• A good online search
• Networking with people you know and ones you don’t
• Explore and lay inquiry

It’s a good thing we live in the information age. The internet is one of your best assets for finding a no-fee apartment in New York City. There are many resources online that can help you. Sites like Craigslist, can allow you to specify what you want, what areas you want to check out, and link you up with people that may be offering no-fee apartments in those areas. It’ll also help if you can use Craigslist in accordance with a website called Padmapper that will allow you to receive alerts on certain properties that match your criteria, like costs of bedrooms within an apartment if you’re looking for roommates or you’d prefer a certain distance to your workplace.

There are other online sites, too, that can help you navigate through the New York real estate world. There’s BrickUnderground.com and StreetEasy. Like their names imply, these sites can be used to give you the insider’s perspective on apartment hunting and find spaces for you that may be missed by a newcomer. These engines will offer information about apartments that have the things you require and make your search all the more easier.

An online source called Zumper.com has a system set up like Padmapper, where you can receive apartment listing alerts. NakedApartments.com is very useful and cost-effective. It filters available apartments for you, targeting the ones that have the no-fee option and even keeps in mind your price range. The ability to set up an appointment to view the apartment is also available with this site.

NYBits.com is yet another extremely useful online source. It may be the one for you to use to find your very own no-fee apartment in New York City. That may be because it only delivers no-fee apartments to its database. Average people that own property and are looking for tenants, managers that need to fill up building space, or the best yet, broker’s that have no-fee attached, all can post their listings onto the site. The site, in turn, helps you narrow down your choices, then puts you in contact with people that can get you into your new apartment.

Throughout this article, only a few websites have been listed to help you with your real estate endeavors. There are way more than the ones listed here like, Urban Edge NY or Apartable. A rudimentary Google search can pop a few more up and some good ole internet digging.

When doing any kind of real estate search for New York City, it is very important to use the internet to the best of its ability. However, you can skip the most important step: actually walking. There are some goodies hidden all over the city, and some of them can only be uncovered by going to each listing, exploring the outside world and finding the locations for yourself. Most importantly, you can’t give up. It won’t be easy, and it’ll take a lot of creativity and drive, but it is possible for you have your very own no-fee apartment in New York City.