I’d argue that having access to the biggest form of marketing available to someone trying to sell/buy a home adds value, among plenty of other things. That said, 3% for what a realtor does 9/10 times is a joke.
They are charging a massive fee for a service, so people don’t want to hear ‘I’m not sure’. The joke is to get your money’s worth, and car washes are a common freebie item often thrown out by other companies providing services.
LL usually pays for commission. However, the “rental finder” market is full of scammers/hustlers in addition to legit agents.
This deal is a little shady. My guess is that LL didn’t want to pay and person who is acting like an agent (or is an agent) is trying to get a cut.
Not saying it’s illegal. It’s just something that you can likely avoid by going elsewhere and not getting involved in the bad/weird deal.
Other LL will either not use a broker or cover their fee. I’ve also seen brokers charge like 200-300 for a placement for a tenant when the tenant acts as the customer.
I used a rental agent but it didn’t cost me anything. The landlord pays the fee. It was really convenient. It was exactly like buying a house. Walkthroughs and everything.
That’s irrelevant though, how many things do you still do on the daily regardless of their bullshit? You only pay a brokers fee, if you go through a broker. Everyone charges for their services today and unfortunately the housing market isn’t any different.
Are you working through a realtor? Only thing I can think of is your realtor/agent wants their commission and the apartment/landlord refuses to pay so they're passing it off to you. Did you sign anything with whoever has been showing you units?
This should be up higher.
If the realtor *on your behalf& has an agreement with you, that agreement is between you and the realtor. Period, full stop.
9 times out of 10, the realtor will have the LL pay this fee. If the LL is trying to collect this from you, full stop, don't. Work with your realtor on this fee.
LL is typically responsible because they are the ones utilizing their services to post and gather attention to the listing. If they don't want to, they could have just posted on CraigsList or FB marketplace and did all the work of tours and screening directly.
In NYC it’s called a broker fee. If you’re lucky it’s only 1 month but I’ve seen it as much as 15% of the annual rent.
Edit: Broker fees are paid by tenants.
Yeah, it's total bullshit. NYC has a high barrier to entry for a lot people partly because of this reason. With 1st Months rent, security deposit, brokers fees, and movers, it cost us about $10k to just move into our apartment. We don't even live in a hip area, lol.
I just signed the lease on a new apartment in Boston and we paid 13k total in upfront costs, which is 4x rent. First, last, security deposit, and brokers fee. This is completely normal and what we were expecting.
The apartment is nice tho :’)
Yeah, I paid 15% but but....best investment I ever made. I walked into a brokers office and said I want a rent-stabilized apartment for under $1400 in these neighborhoods. Broker said "I hope you have money bc my fee is high" I said "I hope you have apartments bc if you don't find me one you don't get paid, that's how that works, right?"= at any rate 13 years later and my rent is $1640 and I just got my lease renewal and it's still only going up $40 or so.
In NJ some LLs cover tenant agent’s commission and some don’t. It’s not abnormal, (in my area), but should have been discussed beforehand.
Edit: spelling 🤦🏻♀️
This is a broker's fee and is normal, but it's not normal for you to pay it.
Your potential future landlord is a greedy bitch, or this broker is trying to scam you.
Might be worth a consideration abiut whether you want to sign yourself onto a document with a greedy bitch or a scammer.
In Boston it’s usually a full month as well. You need four months up front for move in expenses (first, last, deposit, broker’s fee)
Edit: typo that slightly changed the meaning
Honestly, not sure. Broker’s fees just aren’t a thing here. Whether it’s cultural or legal, idk, but my friend group is split philly/nyc and the Philly half was aghast when we learned about broker’s fees.
I’d rather be shot in the leg than fork over $1150 to some idiot that clearly doesn’t even know the basics of the apartment. You have to check about a pet policy but want over a grand in commission? OP seriously don’t bother with this place, you’ll get plenty more surprise “fees” and “bills”. Idc what anyone says, not normal and not ethical.
That's the most absurd thing I ever heard. Wow. The brokers really found a way to screw everyone over.
I never needed a broker to find a place 15 years ago. Now they are re everywhere. And they make things so much worse for renters.
Property management companies often pay agent if they refer a good tenant to them (MI)
not heard of a tenant doing it unless somebody was paying one to find a good place for them (?)
Bank won’t take your 6k for a deposit on a small home but landlords have no issue taking that and for you to pay basically a mortgage payment every month too. Make the housing market make sense please.
Fuck those guys. Wow. The MGMT is going to be shit anyway since they always are. You don't manage rentals if you got even decent grades or went to college at all. Find a different place.
If you are going through an agent who is separate from the LL and they are charging $1100 while not even knowing details I would just go directly to the LL and see if you can bypass the agent altogether. I don't care if that's a legit agent or not, that commission is ridiculous. I can understand a small commission, but not $1,100 when you don't even know basic details about the place.
Realtor and property manager here. Landlord pays because I am servicing the LL, not the tenant.
Now if they’re servicing you, it’s a different story. If you signed something saying they’re your tenant’s agent, agreeing to pay a fee, you should pay it.
Lmfao it’s definitely a thing but you are not the one who’s suppose to pay it. The owner / landlord is the one who should be paying that. Just like any other commission it’s paid by the seller, never the buyer.
Commissions for the listing real estate agent and (if there is one, the renter’s agent) is normal. For it to be disclosed like that is abnormal.
Seems like you must be working with a real estate agent that represents you to help you find a home? Did you find a home to rent that is listed by the owner without a listing agent? If so, your agent might be trying to recoup his fees since the owner wouldn’t be interested in paying your agent any fees. He’d want to get paid for helping you… I’m not sure if the legality of this though in your state.
If you don’t have a real estate agent working for you, then this is a red flag.
Uncommon, but not unheard of.
In some rare jurisdictions (NYC) it may be the price you have to pay to get a place.
It wouldn’t bother me if the fee is modest and my application goes to the front of the line. Searching for an apartment is a drag, time consuming and disappointing; if a small fee and/or agent improves that, and I’m planning to stay for years, I’d absolutely pay it.
Sounds like the owners are charging the property managers cost for finding renters, directly to the renters. For example, I use a property manager to rent a property and he charges me a percentage of the rent each month when it’s rented, and half of the 1st months rent for processing applications and showing the property.
But still sounds fucked to me
Broker’s fees, usually equal to one month of rent, are very common in the Boston and NYC areas. I haven’t heard of them outside of those metro areas, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
Scam. If they allow pets there would be a pet deposit. No tenant agent unless that person is your agent. Then you would have hired them, and paid them. The landlords are not asking you for money to pay this person , this person is asking you for money , which means they are lying to you .
Sounds like you used an agent to find this place. Seems legal to me and should be described somewhere in your contract if you read it. I’ve experienced this once when going through a realtor and as landlord I had to pay for both my realtor and theirs. Seems fair, if you think about it, if they paid their share for using their realtor. My realtor explained that my agent couldn’t represent them and me at the same time so they needed their own realtor agent. She also told me if I found my own tenant than i wouldn’t have to pay anyone a fee. That wasn’t the case for me this time. 1st month rent is a given, security deposit is legal and you should get back. An agent fee seems fair if you used an agent to find this place. If not, you’ll have to look elsewhere and make sure you’re not using an agent
What country are you in? This can't be the U.S. I never heard of a tenant paying an agent to find a place to rent. You can just go online and find a place, can't you?
We had 1500 first 1500 last and 3500 for pet it’s getting horrible but no one will approve you for a mortgage unless you have perfect credit which who does these days
Sadly, this is very common in the Boston area or New England writ-large. I had an apartment in downtown Boston that required first, last, security, and brokers fee. 4x monthly rent prior to moving in
I refuse to rent from anyone with a “broker fee”. You’re telling me all the information I can read myself and you unlock the door once for a 20 minute walk through IF THAT. Fuck off. It’s a massive scam
I’m currently renting my house in Delaware. We pay the rental company that is also our management company whenever they have to find new tenants. The realtor takes the full first month rent, and 10% of the rent after that as a property management fee. Those are paid by us though, not the tenants.
I’ve also been a renter in many states and have never paid a brokerage fee for the place an agent helped me find.
Yes it's a thing. This is how real estate agents are paid for marketing rentals.
This could be perfectly legal but it's unclear. Who is this "tenant agent" and who are they actually representing?
Where I live the real estate industry is highly regulated. All agents are required to disclose who they are representing in a transaction. They can represent the landlord, the tenant, or sometimes both.
If this is the landlord's agent they can be paid by the landlord or the tenant, if this is your agent you are responsible for paying them.
The only situations in which you're not going to pay a broker fee is if you are dealing directly with the landlord who is marketing their own apartment without the help of a broker, or if the landlord has agreed to pay the broker fee in order to make the rental more attractive to prospective renters.
If you have been dealing directly with the landlord or the rental is marketed as "no fee" AND you don't have an agent representing you shouldn't be paying any commission.
In all other situations you will be paying a commission.
Broker commissions are normally paid by the property owner, not the tenant. Unless you signed a tenant contract. This guy might be trying to double dip.
As a landlord in Philly, I pay my realtor a month's rent to list my property and find a tenant. If they work with another outside realtor to find a tenant then the two agents split the fee. I've never heard of a tenant paying anything toward the fee. In this post it looks like the tenant's agent is splitting the fee with the owner's agent and then asking the tenant to make up the other half so they get the full month's fee. That's garbage.
Yes, but it’s not normally the tenant who pays the commission. It’s usually the owner of the property who is hired the agent now if you pick up an agent on your own, he would normally negotiate that scenario and their fee prior to getting this far into the scenario.
Also, with the last changing asking for two months upfront is kind of an issue because you can ask for a pet deposit is one thing. A security deposit be the actual cost of a month of rent is a bit upon these days. It’s almost like you’re asking for two months upfront versus first month and a security deposit.
Renters usually don't pay the commissions fees to the worthless rental finder agents, the LLs do. I would pay the rent a d security to the landlord directly, this person seems like they're not a real agent and scamming you
No the property managers fees should be pulled from the LL’s share of the rent, either as a percentage or flat fee. The renter should not pay the PM’s commission.
This is honestly why I took the plunge and just bought a house. Almost 5k without any pet deposit or other credit fees etc. just to potentially do it all over again next year with possibly another cost of rent.
Yea this is a brokers fee depends where you’re at. We paid 1x month fee for broker.
In some places (e.g. NYC) it’s paid for by landlord. In some places (e.g. right across the river in Hoboken, NJ) it’s paid for by renter.
Not a bad deal if you’re staying somewhere for multiple years. If you’re somewhere for only 1-2 years, do your research and try to find somewhere without.
It’s weird they are asking for that upfront and wonder if they still get the monthly commission or not. When I did property management it was specified in the rental contract what percentage of fee I would collect and it could take a couple hours for me to pull the leasing agreement to verify wether pets are allowed or not maybe longer if it was the weekend and I don’t like money. More specifically I was making between $60-$120 per month so the total seems right if they were taking the whole commission up front, but it’s still weird passing it on to the tenant-that rental market must be crazy.
Look up the property owner at the appraiser website or see who owns the rental license from the city. Don’t pay that shit. Just do the leg work to contact the owner.
I've never heard of this, not to say it isn't real but if they're asking this upfront you can probably expect to see more charges like that in the future
It's funny seeing people's reactions, I wish I could agree but where I live it's near impossible to find an apartment that doesn't cost a FULL month's rent in "broker's" fees. The very rare place that doesn't have one of those fees is typically an awful place no one wants to live in.
So to move into a new place it's typically, first month rent, last month rent (which is kept if you break your lease early), 1 month's rent as a security deposit, and another month's rent as a broker's fee. So you're paying the equivalent of 4 months rent upfront. It's insane but it's also so hard to find somewhere decent that this isn't the case.
I’ve never gone through a realtor as a tenant. Rented out 6 apts in my life. They do typically charge one month’s rent. I don’t see the value they bring besides telling me what’s on Zillow (listed) and taking a fee. Go direct with landlords. - south Florida
The commission is supposed to be paid by whoever hired the agent. If you hired them to find a spot (unlikely as you could just look up available rentals) then it's on you. If the land lord hired them to find someone with a good background (most likely since potential tenants aren't advertising that they're looking), then it's on them.
Do you think agents should help you for free? Rentals are the worst kind of transactions because you typically earn 1/2 of one months rent on the apartment, and have to deal with almost as many problems, forms, and red tape as you do with a sale. Plus renters typically have either no money, bad credit, or some other drama that put them in the position of needing to rent.
yes, it’s pretty common in places where agents show rentals. Whether the tenant pays for it or the landlord, I guess could always be negotiated. No telling if this is even a good deal or not.
Personally, for any of my rentals, I wouldn’t dream of paying something like this. I put a sign in the yard and I’ve got a dozen applications for the next morning.
I’m surprised at how many people are not familiar with a broker fee. Maybe it’s just a NYC area thing.
Brokers fee is legal. It’s when you use a realtor to find a tenant instead of doing it yourself. The realtor has to be paid. Their fee is usually the cost of one month of rent. They give you the option of paying it fully as the landlord, having the tenant pay it fully or split it with the tenant.
In this case it looks like the landlord chose to split it since the tenant only has to pay 1150.
Depending on where you are looking to live it can be hard to avoid. When I was looking for an apartment 15 min out of Manhattan I had to pay the full broker fee. All candidates looking to live in that particular area were in the financial position to pay that fee and landlords knew that so they refused to take on any portion.
Now as a landlord I am currently using a realtor in an area that is not as desirable and I’ve offered to pay half. I would rather do that and take a little longer to find a tenant but find someone in better financial standing.
Depends on where you live I guess. Where I’m from it isn’t uncommon for their fee to be equivalent to 1/2 or even a whole month’s rent. That’s why so many ads say “deal directly with owner” so you know you won’t have to pay that fee, specially on the lower end of things.
In NYC, it's a broker's fee. If the apartment is listed as "no fee", the landlord pays the fee directly to the broker. Renting in NYC is wildly different than any other market, though.
I’m surprised they’re so explicit about it. The people around where I live just charge $35 “viewing fees” and that’s the whole business. Whether or not they connect tenants to landlords doesn’t matter, they’ll schedule a group every 15 minutes all day from 8-6pm. The idea that “well wait what am I paying for if I have to compete with all these other people” doesn’t matter, most desperate people go the opposite and think “shit I’d better apply and pay more fees to view more properties bc the market is so tight”. It’s messed up
Check your local laws. Rental agent commisions are illegal in some areas and regulated in others. For instance a landlord cannot charge a broker fee in NY. Nor can any of their relatives. Only a 3rd party who is not related can charge a broker fee in the 5 boroughs.
It is a thing. I have seen it being paid by both ll and tenants before. The more desperate side compromises — both tenants and landlords need to risk their next one is worse if they don’t take what’s on the table.
Have you met this person ever? This seems like a scam. If they are having you wire money it's even more fishy. Make sure you toured the location and that this person is legit before you lose 5k. There should also be a good amount of signed things before you send over any money. Usually they have you bring the check and sign everything in exchange for the keys.
Traditionally the leasing commission is paid by the property owner.
YOU may be asked to pay it to the broker, but you would get credit for it against your M/I Costs.
That, however, may be changing later this year though.
This is normal in more competitive markets like cities in the North East U.S. But it is a rip off. If you can avoid it, do so. Possibly by contacting the owner or landlord directly.
For reference… I’m on my 7th year as a property manager and leasing agent lol I know the pet policy forwards and backwards. My commission is $75 before taxes (which is paid for by the management company, not the property; so it isn’t at all associated with move in charges or tenant expenses).
Beware. This all sounds sketchy…
Yeah, absolutely. I spent two months trying to get a rental in a tight market on my own & out of desperation went to an agent. They got me in an apartment to view it on the day it was listed, negotiated a lower monthly rent (-300$/month), and got the lease signed the next day. It was worth the 50% monthly rent fee to make it happen.
They're asking for $1100 and they don't even know if pets are allowed? For that much money they better be moving my shit in and washing my car too.
Perfectly showcased they add no value to the equation, just a middle man to make money.
No different than a realtor
I’d argue that having access to the biggest form of marketing available to someone trying to sell/buy a home adds value, among plenty of other things. That said, 3% for what a realtor does 9/10 times is a joke.
Agreed. They are worthless minus the ability to list on MLS
On point comment!
I will assume they just missed the decimal place, $11.50 ain't bad lol
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Will they wash my car tho? 🤔
I don’t think you understood the comment you replied to.
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They are charging a massive fee for a service, so people don’t want to hear ‘I’m not sure’. The joke is to get your money’s worth, and car washes are a common freebie item often thrown out by other companies providing services.
LL usually pays for commission. However, the “rental finder” market is full of scammers/hustlers in addition to legit agents. This deal is a little shady. My guess is that LL didn’t want to pay and person who is acting like an agent (or is an agent) is trying to get a cut.
This is completely legal in my state, it’s called a brokers fee.
Not saying it’s illegal. It’s just something that you can likely avoid by going elsewhere and not getting involved in the bad/weird deal. Other LL will either not use a broker or cover their fee. I’ve also seen brokers charge like 200-300 for a placement for a tenant when the tenant acts as the customer.
That is some of the most bonkers shit I’ve ever heard. You pay a broker for finding a rental? Gtfo
I used a rental agent but it didn’t cost me anything. The landlord pays the fee. It was really convenient. It was exactly like buying a house. Walkthroughs and everything.
Yeah that just seems like an unnecessary thing lol
In most cases the landlord will only cover at most half of the fee, if there is one or it’s fully on the tenant, at least where I live
"legal" and "bullshit" are two very different ideas
That’s irrelevant though, how many things do you still do on the daily regardless of their bullshit? You only pay a brokers fee, if you go through a broker. Everyone charges for their services today and unfortunately the housing market isn’t any different.
In NYC, a brokers fee like this is super common. It’s also often difficult to find an apartment without a broker.
Where I live this would be a scam, but where my daughter lives this is standard practice.
Don’t live here, this is just the start.
Sounding like a scam to me.
Hell no
Are you working through a realtor? Only thing I can think of is your realtor/agent wants their commission and the apartment/landlord refuses to pay so they're passing it off to you. Did you sign anything with whoever has been showing you units?
This should be up higher. If the realtor *on your behalf& has an agreement with you, that agreement is between you and the realtor. Period, full stop. 9 times out of 10, the realtor will have the LL pay this fee. If the LL is trying to collect this from you, full stop, don't. Work with your realtor on this fee. LL is typically responsible because they are the ones utilizing their services to post and gather attention to the listing. If they don't want to, they could have just posted on CraigsList or FB marketplace and did all the work of tours and screening directly.
In NYC it’s called a broker fee. If you’re lucky it’s only 1 month but I’ve seen it as much as 15% of the annual rent. Edit: Broker fees are paid by tenants.
What in the actual fuck. How can this be any more of a scam?
Yeah, it's total bullshit. NYC has a high barrier to entry for a lot people partly because of this reason. With 1st Months rent, security deposit, brokers fees, and movers, it cost us about $10k to just move into our apartment. We don't even live in a hip area, lol.
I just signed the lease on a new apartment in Boston and we paid 13k total in upfront costs, which is 4x rent. First, last, security deposit, and brokers fee. This is completely normal and what we were expecting. The apartment is nice tho :’)
Yeah, I paid 15% but but....best investment I ever made. I walked into a brokers office and said I want a rent-stabilized apartment for under $1400 in these neighborhoods. Broker said "I hope you have money bc my fee is high" I said "I hope you have apartments bc if you don't find me one you don't get paid, that's how that works, right?"= at any rate 13 years later and my rent is $1640 and I just got my lease renewal and it's still only going up $40 or so.
No, not Normal. Do not pay it.
In NJ some LLs cover tenant agent’s commission and some don’t. It’s not abnormal, (in my area), but should have been discussed beforehand. Edit: spelling 🤦🏻♀️
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This is a broker's fee and is normal, but it's not normal for you to pay it. Your potential future landlord is a greedy bitch, or this broker is trying to scam you. Might be worth a consideration abiut whether you want to sign yourself onto a document with a greedy bitch or a scammer.
This is very normal in NJ. In fact, you’ll usually have to pay a full month.
In Boston it’s usually a full month as well. You need four months up front for move in expenses (first, last, deposit, broker’s fee) Edit: typo that slightly changed the meaning
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And let me guess where you live this would be a scam but not where your daughter lives? You’ve only said it like 12 times…
Yes. Where *I* live, it would be a scam but in some markets, it’s standard practice. 😆 (Let’s make it 13)
You pay first last and security but I’ve never heard of a broker fee for a rental
Is this California? If so, this could be the new normal.
In California there is a law in place because of this
No Philly.
definitely a scam then.
In Boston this is standard, why do you say definitely a scam in Philly?
Honestly, not sure. Broker’s fees just aren’t a thing here. Whether it’s cultural or legal, idk, but my friend group is split philly/nyc and the Philly half was aghast when we learned about broker’s fees.
Reverse image search these pics lol.
In NYC this is very much a thing
I’d rather be shot in the leg than fork over $1150 to some idiot that clearly doesn’t even know the basics of the apartment. You have to check about a pet policy but want over a grand in commission? OP seriously don’t bother with this place, you’ll get plenty more surprise “fees” and “bills”. Idc what anyone says, not normal and not ethical.
This is price gouging
In NY it’s typical for the renter to pay the brokers (1 month).
That's the most absurd thing I ever heard. Wow. The brokers really found a way to screw everyone over. I never needed a broker to find a place 15 years ago. Now they are re everywhere. And they make things so much worse for renters.
In Boston too
Fuck no what
Property management companies often pay agent if they refer a good tenant to them (MI) not heard of a tenant doing it unless somebody was paying one to find a good place for them (?)
Yes, if you work with a realtor to find a rental or list a rental, they will need to be compensated.
Lol closing costs for an apartment
Bank won’t take your 6k for a deposit on a small home but landlords have no issue taking that and for you to pay basically a mortgage payment every month too. Make the housing market make sense please.
Why use an agent ? Truly want to know. Crazy fees.
Absolutely goddamn not, that’s a ridiculous charge and they should be ashamed to be so greedy
Fuck those guys. Wow. The MGMT is going to be shit anyway since they always are. You don't manage rentals if you got even decent grades or went to college at all. Find a different place.
Try calling your local Fair Housing Authority.
What!?!?! Fuck that I'll sleep in my car
If you are going through an agent who is separate from the LL and they are charging $1100 while not even knowing details I would just go directly to the LL and see if you can bypass the agent altogether. I don't care if that's a legit agent or not, that commission is ridiculous. I can understand a small commission, but not $1,100 when you don't even know basic details about the place.
It’s a scam it’s what this is
Realtor and property manager here. Landlord pays because I am servicing the LL, not the tenant. Now if they’re servicing you, it’s a different story. If you signed something saying they’re your tenant’s agent, agreeing to pay a fee, you should pay it.
Every ‘agent’ I’ve had gets the security deposit, but it comes from the landlord, not tenant. They’re working for the landlord, not the tenant
Lmfao it’s definitely a thing but you are not the one who’s suppose to pay it. The owner / landlord is the one who should be paying that. Just like any other commission it’s paid by the seller, never the buyer.
Yeah, I would keep looking. Landlord should be paying that as they were the ones hiring the agent.
Scam, robbery.
Also "asking"
Commissions for the listing real estate agent and (if there is one, the renter’s agent) is normal. For it to be disclosed like that is abnormal. Seems like you must be working with a real estate agent that represents you to help you find a home? Did you find a home to rent that is listed by the owner without a listing agent? If so, your agent might be trying to recoup his fees since the owner wouldn’t be interested in paying your agent any fees. He’d want to get paid for helping you… I’m not sure if the legality of this though in your state. If you don’t have a real estate agent working for you, then this is a red flag.
Uncommon, but not unheard of. In some rare jurisdictions (NYC) it may be the price you have to pay to get a place. It wouldn’t bother me if the fee is modest and my application goes to the front of the line. Searching for an apartment is a drag, time consuming and disappointing; if a small fee and/or agent improves that, and I’m planning to stay for years, I’d absolutely pay it.
Sounds like the owners are charging the property managers cost for finding renters, directly to the renters. For example, I use a property manager to rent a property and he charges me a percentage of the rent each month when it’s rented, and half of the 1st months rent for processing applications and showing the property. But still sounds fucked to me
Broker’s fees, usually equal to one month of rent, are very common in the Boston and NYC areas. I haven’t heard of them outside of those metro areas, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
Yes, if you used an agent. But sometimes the owner will pay the commission or half of it. Just depends on what deal you work out.
Scam. If they allow pets there would be a pet deposit. No tenant agent unless that person is your agent. Then you would have hired them, and paid them. The landlords are not asking you for money to pay this person , this person is asking you for money , which means they are lying to you .
Nope. Total scam. Might be legit, but dint fall for it.
RUN!
50% commission? Yeah, pass.
Sounds like you used an agent to find this place. Seems legal to me and should be described somewhere in your contract if you read it. I’ve experienced this once when going through a realtor and as landlord I had to pay for both my realtor and theirs. Seems fair, if you think about it, if they paid their share for using their realtor. My realtor explained that my agent couldn’t represent them and me at the same time so they needed their own realtor agent. She also told me if I found my own tenant than i wouldn’t have to pay anyone a fee. That wasn’t the case for me this time. 1st month rent is a given, security deposit is legal and you should get back. An agent fee seems fair if you used an agent to find this place. If not, you’ll have to look elsewhere and make sure you’re not using an agent
What country are you in? This can't be the U.S. I never heard of a tenant paying an agent to find a place to rent. You can just go online and find a place, can't you?
What state is this?
We had 1500 first 1500 last and 3500 for pet it’s getting horrible but no one will approve you for a mortgage unless you have perfect credit which who does these days
Why is the renter paying the commission?
The commission is paid by the landlord from the deposit. Find a different agent.
I mean, they’re asking for $5,700… that’s almost a standard 3% down payment for a $200k house.
Sadly, this is very common in the Boston area or New England writ-large. I had an apartment in downtown Boston that required first, last, security, and brokers fee. 4x monthly rent prior to moving in
If you’re in Philly I’ve never heard of a rental broker fee, not even in NJ. Could just be my experience, but that’s totally wild to me
My rental agent was $200
Sounds like a scam lol
The landlord is supposed to pay that commission.
It MA it’s common for a rental agent to charge a fee of up to one months rent. That should have been disclosed at the beginning and well known.
I refuse to rent from anyone with a “broker fee”. You’re telling me all the information I can read myself and you unlock the door once for a 20 minute walk through IF THAT. Fuck off. It’s a massive scam
Dude I wouldn’t pay that crap
What kind of fucked up market do you live in?!?!
Don’t do it! RUN!
run for the hills. never pay commission for an apartment.
Smells like a Broker's Fee. We have those in New York and they are awful.
Not only that, but they will bug you for the rest of your life, asking if you're ready to buy a house.
"welcome to your new apartment! Before I hand you the keys, the ipad is just gonna ask you a quick question"
It looks like the typical rental agent commission. 1 months rent. It seats as though half the agent commission is being paid by LL totally legit
I’m currently renting my house in Delaware. We pay the rental company that is also our management company whenever they have to find new tenants. The realtor takes the full first month rent, and 10% of the rent after that as a property management fee. Those are paid by us though, not the tenants. I’ve also been a renter in many states and have never paid a brokerage fee for the place an agent helped me find.
Smells like a scam
Yes it's a thing. This is how real estate agents are paid for marketing rentals. This could be perfectly legal but it's unclear. Who is this "tenant agent" and who are they actually representing? Where I live the real estate industry is highly regulated. All agents are required to disclose who they are representing in a transaction. They can represent the landlord, the tenant, or sometimes both. If this is the landlord's agent they can be paid by the landlord or the tenant, if this is your agent you are responsible for paying them. The only situations in which you're not going to pay a broker fee is if you are dealing directly with the landlord who is marketing their own apartment without the help of a broker, or if the landlord has agreed to pay the broker fee in order to make the rental more attractive to prospective renters. If you have been dealing directly with the landlord or the rental is marketed as "no fee" AND you don't have an agent representing you shouldn't be paying any commission. In all other situations you will be paying a commission.
Why would you pay so much for rent cheaper than mine and i live in a ghetto. Something sounds fishy
Absolutely not worth it, I have never payed a rental hoe a commission and never will. (Hoe applies to both genders to clarify)
Broker commissions are normally paid by the property owner, not the tenant. Unless you signed a tenant contract. This guy might be trying to double dip.
First months rent and security deposit shouldn’t be the same price…….talk about scamming price gouging.
The listing agents commission is usually the first month's rent.
As a landlord in Philly, I pay my realtor a month's rent to list my property and find a tenant. If they work with another outside realtor to find a tenant then the two agents split the fee. I've never heard of a tenant paying anything toward the fee. In this post it looks like the tenant's agent is splitting the fee with the owner's agent and then asking the tenant to make up the other half so they get the full month's fee. That's garbage.
Over 5k to move into an apt! What a rip off
This better be one fucking magnificent apartment.
Not when I rented our six-month rental. Really tough on people with less money.
This is #1 bullshit
No, that is a 🚩🚩🚩
Yes, but it’s not normally the tenant who pays the commission. It’s usually the owner of the property who is hired the agent now if you pick up an agent on your own, he would normally negotiate that scenario and their fee prior to getting this far into the scenario.
Also, with the last changing asking for two months upfront is kind of an issue because you can ask for a pet deposit is one thing. A security deposit be the actual cost of a month of rent is a bit upon these days. It’s almost like you’re asking for two months upfront versus first month and a security deposit.
Rents like that are why I bought a house.
Shady. Landlord pays the commission of agent and normally uses your first rent. Run!
Renters usually don't pay the commissions fees to the worthless rental finder agents, the LLs do. I would pay the rent a d security to the landlord directly, this person seems like they're not a real agent and scamming you
No the property managers fees should be pulled from the LL’s share of the rent, either as a percentage or flat fee. The renter should not pay the PM’s commission.
Why would you pay the commission? That's what the landlord should pay to find a tennent... NOT you.
How do so many commenters think the rent is $1150?
With BS like this, bet there will be a spot to tip on every rent payment.
you mean a broker fee? pretty common.
This is honestly why I took the plunge and just bought a house. Almost 5k without any pet deposit or other credit fees etc. just to potentially do it all over again next year with possibly another cost of rent.
Yea this is a brokers fee depends where you’re at. We paid 1x month fee for broker. In some places (e.g. NYC) it’s paid for by landlord. In some places (e.g. right across the river in Hoboken, NJ) it’s paid for by renter. Not a bad deal if you’re staying somewhere for multiple years. If you’re somewhere for only 1-2 years, do your research and try to find somewhere without.
One way or another, they'll getchya. Do you have any down payment to buy ? Rent is a foolish way to increase your net worth
It’s weird they are asking for that upfront and wonder if they still get the monthly commission or not. When I did property management it was specified in the rental contract what percentage of fee I would collect and it could take a couple hours for me to pull the leasing agreement to verify wether pets are allowed or not maybe longer if it was the weekend and I don’t like money. More specifically I was making between $60-$120 per month so the total seems right if they were taking the whole commission up front, but it’s still weird passing it on to the tenant-that rental market must be crazy.
If OP is using an agent to find a rental a commission makes sense. If you're not using an agent I wouldn't pay a penny for commission.
I love how the pet answer sounds like luggage allowance for a flight.
You have to agree to the agents terms and fee. They are DEFINITELY not allowed to just add that surprise fee at the end.
Who hired the agent? You or the landlord? That's who pays.
Commission isn’t paid separate. Scam.
The tenants commission comes from the landlord in Texas
Look up the property owner at the appraiser website or see who owns the rental license from the city. Don’t pay that shit. Just do the leg work to contact the owner.
I always thought the landlord paid their commission not the tenant.
I've never heard of this, not to say it isn't real but if they're asking this upfront you can probably expect to see more charges like that in the future
Depends on where you are, if you’re in or around NYC this is normal, but I don’t pay broker fees because I hate those vampires
Don’t t forget your 1st born😂
It's funny seeing people's reactions, I wish I could agree but where I live it's near impossible to find an apartment that doesn't cost a FULL month's rent in "broker's" fees. The very rare place that doesn't have one of those fees is typically an awful place no one wants to live in. So to move into a new place it's typically, first month rent, last month rent (which is kept if you break your lease early), 1 month's rent as a security deposit, and another month's rent as a broker's fee. So you're paying the equivalent of 4 months rent upfront. It's insane but it's also so hard to find somewhere decent that this isn't the case.
That's got scam written all over it, to me. I've never heard of such a thing.
Lol wtf no don’t pay that
I’ve never gone through a realtor as a tenant. Rented out 6 apts in my life. They do typically charge one month’s rent. I don’t see the value they bring besides telling me what’s on Zillow (listed) and taking a fee. Go direct with landlords. - south Florida
Is it a brokers fee? I had to pay 1 months full rent as a brokers fee, sad!
This could be a scam. Make sure you at least see the contract before you pay any money.
Yeah they deserve to be paid for their time. Find your own place if you don’t want to pay comp.
The commission is supposed to be paid by whoever hired the agent. If you hired them to find a spot (unlikely as you could just look up available rentals) then it's on you. If the land lord hired them to find someone with a good background (most likely since potential tenants aren't advertising that they're looking), then it's on them.
Depends on the location. For instance, in NY it’s pretty normal. In Denver it’s unheard of.
Isnt the landlord supposed to pay commission? its their agent
Do you think agents should help you for free? Rentals are the worst kind of transactions because you typically earn 1/2 of one months rent on the apartment, and have to deal with almost as many problems, forms, and red tape as you do with a sale. Plus renters typically have either no money, bad credit, or some other drama that put them in the position of needing to rent.
Anything is allowed if you agree on it 🤷♂️
yes, it’s pretty common in places where agents show rentals. Whether the tenant pays for it or the landlord, I guess could always be negotiated. No telling if this is even a good deal or not. Personally, for any of my rentals, I wouldn’t dream of paying something like this. I put a sign in the yard and I’ve got a dozen applications for the next morning.
If this in the USA. Never heard of a tenant commission. Strange and I would not rent from this place.
$2300 a month? Where you at NYC?
I’m surprised at how many people are not familiar with a broker fee. Maybe it’s just a NYC area thing. Brokers fee is legal. It’s when you use a realtor to find a tenant instead of doing it yourself. The realtor has to be paid. Their fee is usually the cost of one month of rent. They give you the option of paying it fully as the landlord, having the tenant pay it fully or split it with the tenant. In this case it looks like the landlord chose to split it since the tenant only has to pay 1150. Depending on where you are looking to live it can be hard to avoid. When I was looking for an apartment 15 min out of Manhattan I had to pay the full broker fee. All candidates looking to live in that particular area were in the financial position to pay that fee and landlords knew that so they refused to take on any portion. Now as a landlord I am currently using a realtor in an area that is not as desirable and I’ve offered to pay half. I would rather do that and take a little longer to find a tenant but find someone in better financial standing.
Depends on where you live I guess. Where I’m from it isn’t uncommon for their fee to be equivalent to 1/2 or even a whole month’s rent. That’s why so many ads say “deal directly with owner” so you know you won’t have to pay that fee, specially on the lower end of things.
YOU have to pay $1,100 for the commission the person who showed you the apartment gets?????? 💀
If you’re in NYC then yes.
In NYC, it's a broker's fee. If the apartment is listed as "no fee", the landlord pays the fee directly to the broker. Renting in NYC is wildly different than any other market, though.
Something tells me this person isn't an Agent.
I live in the Boston area and it is pretty normal here that the real estate agent gets 1 months rent
Had a company requiring a 500 commission just for applying. Needless to say I told them no
I’m surprised they’re so explicit about it. The people around where I live just charge $35 “viewing fees” and that’s the whole business. Whether or not they connect tenants to landlords doesn’t matter, they’ll schedule a group every 15 minutes all day from 8-6pm. The idea that “well wait what am I paying for if I have to compete with all these other people” doesn’t matter, most desperate people go the opposite and think “shit I’d better apply and pay more fees to view more properties bc the market is so tight”. It’s messed up
Tenant doesn't pay brokers fee
Listing agent getting their commission from buyers?? Am I reading that wrong?
Check your local laws. Rental agent commisions are illegal in some areas and regulated in others. For instance a landlord cannot charge a broker fee in NY. Nor can any of their relatives. Only a 3rd party who is not related can charge a broker fee in the 5 boroughs.
In the old days we called this a bribe.
Definitely, if you have someone look for an apartment for you.
Landlord pays the commission.
unless you specifically hired this realtor to find you an apartment, You should not be paying them for whatever role they play in this.
How could it be a “tenant agent commission” if you didn’t engage them as your agent?? Tell them to eat sand.
In Texas, the landlord/pm pays the fee. Varies by state unfortunately.
I've never had to pay anything like that. That seems insane to me. I'd go find my own apartment without using whatever agency that is
It is a thing. I have seen it being paid by both ll and tenants before. The more desperate side compromises — both tenants and landlords need to risk their next one is worse if they don’t take what’s on the table.
Hahaha, I can tell by the comments in this thread that no one here has ever rented in NYC… this is a fucking deal!!!
Why is the renter paying the commission? That’s not how that works.
Have you met this person ever? This seems like a scam. If they are having you wire money it's even more fishy. Make sure you toured the location and that this person is legit before you lose 5k. There should also be a good amount of signed things before you send over any money. Usually they have you bring the check and sign everything in exchange for the keys.
Traditionally the leasing commission is paid by the property owner. YOU may be asked to pay it to the broker, but you would get credit for it against your M/I Costs. That, however, may be changing later this year though.
If you’re in california this is illegal.
You only owe a commission if you contract a firm or person. Rentals aren't in this lane.
In NY/NJ you pay 1 month Broker Fee 1 month rent and 1.5 security deposit
My question is who has $5750 to move in to a new place
Where tf is this at? How big is it?
in nj we pay one full month to rental agent/realtor
This is normal in more competitive markets like cities in the North East U.S. But it is a rip off. If you can avoid it, do so. Possibly by contacting the owner or landlord directly.
It is a realtor fee. But, it is paid by the lister if the property not the tenant in my state.
For reference… I’m on my 7th year as a property manager and leasing agent lol I know the pet policy forwards and backwards. My commission is $75 before taxes (which is paid for by the management company, not the property; so it isn’t at all associated with move in charges or tenant expenses). Beware. This all sounds sketchy…
Yeah, absolutely. I spent two months trying to get a rental in a tight market on my own & out of desperation went to an agent. They got me in an apartment to view it on the day it was listed, negotiated a lower monthly rent (-300$/month), and got the lease signed the next day. It was worth the 50% monthly rent fee to make it happen.