Clahal

Hello,

Can someone tell me the difference between the two please?

My husband's company will put us in touch with their preferred Real Estate Agent who will help us find a home.

Is this the same as using a broker? I've been told that broker fees are very high, like 10-15% of our annual rent for the 1st year.

Thanks in advance 😀

RoadWarriorFromLP

There are two kinds of real estate licenses: broker and agent. An agent's license is easier to get, but an agent must work under a broker, while a broker may work independently.

From your standpoint, none of this makes any difference.

Clahal

Ah I see. So we won't need a broker as well as an agent?

We've been told the agent's fees are $1250.

Thanks

RoadWarriorFromLP

From your standpoint, the terms are interchangeable.

Clahal

Ok thanks again.

I'm just surprised the fee is so low and not done as a % of the annual rent.

Nutmegger

You said there was a referral from your husband's company -- perhaps they have a deal with them to work with relocating employees for a flat fee.

Clahal

Good point Nutmegger..hadn't thought of that! Thanks x

roberth1970

Do you need a broker in NYC? Can't you just use Craigslist?

Nutmegger

You can do whatever you want, but for someone arriving with a family on a corporate transfer, using the firm's relo company makes a great deal of sense.

roberth1970

As long as the net cost to you is 0, I'd agree, but that wasn't the impression I got from the OP.

notonuksoil

There are a number of apartment buildings in NYC that you do not need a broker or an agent to show you a rental listing you just deal with the building directly however until someone is familiar with how NYC real estate works I wouldn't suggest this.

As the OP has the services of an agent as part of her OH relo package I'd take advantage of their experience.

In my experience when dealing with brokers for clients in NYC the usual brokers fee is equal to one months rent.

tht

I did exactly this, using No Fee Rental Apartments NYC, Apartments for Rent - Nofeerentals.com but that was more because I had issues with securing a regular apartment without a guarantor. Even a letter from my employer guaranteeing the lease was not enough. The first place I found wanted 12 months rent in advance, but would not agree to hold the balance in escrow (I was not prepaying to an LLC that could go bust). I found this service: Rental Guarantor & Lease Cosign Company in Boston, Chicago, DC & NYC - Insurent Lease Guaranty but they would not accept it, so I ended up doing a 3 month rental with the nofeerental place, and paying them 3 months plus 1 month deposit. After 3 months they were fine giving me a longer lease until I ended up buying a place.

From my experiencing of NYC property hunting as someone with no Us history the agent fee was the least of my problems, and I actually ended up avoiding it.

H Bomb

We thought we would have problems - but in the end it was quite smooth (other than finding somewhere we liked).

We knew we couldn't afford a broker - so just looked for no fee places. We quickly worked out that more established buildings were not happy with no credit history and were always insisting we use Insurent. Again, we had no intention of giving money away for nothing.

New builds looking to fill up were the best option. We found a place that were happy with no credit history, no fee and free months rent. All we had to pay was 1 month deposit, 1 month in advance and the last months rent.

IlAlfie

We did the same when we arrived in NYC 4 years ago. We were provided a broker (at no cost to us) but we ended up in a Glenwood building which was pretty new. They were so used to dealing with foreigners that the lack of credit history was not a problem. They just wanted the offer letter and a snapshot of our current bank balance (luckily had just been paid the relocation 'one off' cash). We just paid one month's deposit and one in advance. Was pretty easy in the end. And they were no fee too.

Clahal

Thanks for all your comments.
I think we're going to need the help of an agent as we've got 3 young children in tow so it's going to be tough looking round etc anyway!!
The thing I'm concerned about at the moment is being able to get everything done in the first 30 days (we have temporary accommodation through the company). I can't see how we can look round potential areas, see specific apartments, find one we like and move in within 30 days!
Are a lot of places empty and therefore available to move into straight away?
Thanks 😀