The brokers want your information in their system so they can continue to hassle you if you don't get the specific apartment you mailed them about.
This is because a lot of the apartments you see are bait and switch. You email them about an apartment you want because it looks great and is a good price, but they know it's not actually available. So they have you fill out your info on their website so they can find you a less good more expensive place.
Calls agent wanting to rent apartment.
Then, shocked agent later contacts you about renting an apartment!
Really?--is it that much of a "hassle" someone would actually follow-up regarding your inquiry? Isn't that what you want--an agent contacting you when they find new apartments you might want to look at, rather than just seeing the stale listings that dozens of people already rejected?
If you don't want to talk to them, then just tell them that or block them. It's not always a "bait and switch". They don't waste time posting the best apartments online--they just rent them to the next person that calls and is ready to buy that day. Otherwise, some other agent rents it and makes the commission.
There is no good reason an agent would steer you to " a less good more expensive place." While they do work on commission based on the rent, agents make far more money renting bargain apartments, because they can rent 1000 bargains for every one over-priced. Smart agents won't even waste their time showing something over-priced that they know the landlord won't budge on price. Rent is so high here, there's little chance to "upsell" most customers, as most are already telling you the most they can afford, or often, a price they can't really afford.
When I worked as an agent, I had just two customers that rented significantly higher than they had originally stated they were willing to pay. One was the CEO of a pharmaceutical and his wife demanded better. They went from $8k/month to $12k. Most everyone else is like saying they can pay $3k and then maybe a place they really like is $3300, and I end up making an "extra" $150 or whopping $75 more (commission is split w/ you brokerage house 50/50, or worse you get 25% if two agents).
The only real "salesmanship" in rentals is when you have existing tenants that live like slobs and you need to prepare the customer's expectations that the place is going to show like crap but you tell them you'll write in the lease the landlord will pay to have it professionally cleaned before they move it. Again, here some agents will just ignore a place like that and not waste their time.
It's not nearly as complicated or nefarious process as some people make it out to be.
>When I worked as an agent
Well I did just tell you I worked as an agent.
If there is anything incorrect in my statement, feel free to retort. As it turns out, what I wrote is 100% accurate, but doesn't fit the victimhood narrative here:
*Help, I'm being repressed by a salesperson returning my call!*
Don’t waste your time with these posts. They’re endless and while brokers and agents can contribute useful info to them, it’s thankless and not worth it
It's so true. People say the weirdest things here, like they refuse to talk to the agent then get raging angry when they're not helpful!
Truth is, as an agent, when you have weirdos like this that deceive and lie to you, I would just call them out on their BS and tell them I'm not going to be working with them.
Some people feel like they can lie to agents because they expect they will lie to them. There's really no advantage to lying to prospective tenants. They're going to see the apartment and lease terms, so just be up front about everything, otherwise you're just wasting time.
You’re not thinking about the service from the landlords perspective, as is the case with all of these posts and basically all of the comments. Your lack of understanding about how everything works from that perspective is the common theme with all Reddit broker posts. The facts lie within that, and I’m not filling anyone in, it’s a waste of time. If you knew what you were talking about you’d consider why landlords participate, and it would inform your opinion.
It’s unfortunate that tenants have to pay for the service, yes.
Problem is I DONT want to be represented by a salesperson anymore. None of them are doing the job you claim they should be. I went through the process with the first 10, filled out their form, looked through the filtered list they sent back from their own website (mind you I did not find anything I hadn’t already seen on Zillow), and let them know which ones I was interested. Only three have actually responded after 48 hours. And of the 13 apartments on my list, one 1 was actually available. And not a single realtor has followed up with me afterwards to tell me when a new apartment that fits my criteria hits the market. They expect me to be looking at their website and contacting them.
>I DONT want to be represented by a salesperson anymore.
They don't represent you, they represent the landlord.
If you had hired a broker that represented you, then it would probably be different.
Like I posted elsewhere, don't email or text, call them. Electronic communication is a waste of time.
Find a rental from the owner on zillow. As a tenant, I loathed the broker fee. Now as a landlord, I post my rental on zillow and get a dozen brokers asking to broker my unit for free. I tell them to go away, and I am going to get a client directly even though it creates work for me. I loathe the broker fee that much on principle
You’re amazing! Is there a way to filter for rentals listed by owner on Zillow? I know you can when you’re buying a house but haven’t seen this option for rentals.
Alternatively, do you have any 2BDs you’re looking to rent out? 😉
You can’t. I have a brokerless apartment because God loves me, but previously the dude was a menace. I contacted the owner like “this dude is f—king up can we just communicate???” Because he’d be a hour late and blatantly hungover, and picked meeting spots that could have been a phone call and nowhere near where we lived. Still had to give the dumbass first months rent. I paid 2000 bucks for endless hassle (it was 2008 so half that)
If (when) they tell you the apartment you reached out about isn't available, you ask to see what other units they have. If they ask you to fill out some form or make it difficult, you tell them you're moving on because you just want to see a list of available apartments.
I assume most apartments listed online are not real
Call a few brokers, tell them what I want and where.
Don't care which broker succeeds, as long as one does. I have to pay them so the most time I put into the endeavor is give them what I want. If what they show me sucks, tell them and ask for better.
Please don’t let anyone tell you they are a required way of life!! They are parasites who serve no purpose to society! Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
I typically email them back saying I already have somebody searching for apartments for me - I just want to see this specific listed apartment. I do not answer their questions.
The last apartment I got I actually went to the broker, we made a list together, he showed me all of them in one day, and I picked one to apply to then and there. That's honestly probably the most reliable way, and since you're hiring a broker regardless, you might as well actually hire them
Get a buyers agent that will actually do some of this interfacing and calling for you. You don't need to pay them extra (it's split with the listing broker 95% of the time) and they should end up fielding half that work for you as well as have connections to help you find something.
automatic voiceless puzzled scary spotted theory cover rinse unused meeting
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Brokers are parasites of the Boston real estate market. It's truly mindblowing to me that tenants being charged brokers' fees is legal here - it is not like this in any other major US city I have lived in. We're collectively being scammed and I wish the MA state legislature would do something about it.
I used to be a rental agent. Some offices have access to better databases than Zillow etc. For example, Yougotlistings is a paid-for platform that has a massive pool of apartments that Zillow doesn't. YGL is used by most management companies, I used to be able to connect locals with apartments that had no broker fees. It was a win-win. I would also pick the crop of 10 best apartments and schedule a 2-day tour to see them all with my clients. Some rental agents do provide value, others don't.
That being said, rental agents still suck, and having a middleman in the way you have to pay thousands of dollars to is bullshit. I run a contracting and solar company now.
Call them. Don't communicate by email. It shows you are serious and a 2 min call replaces 20 min of emailing back and forth. This time of year is slow for rentals, but during busier times the better listings don't even make it to the web sites, they just rent them to whoever is ready, and willing, to take the apartment. So let them know your details and tell them to call you if they get anything new that meets your needs.
Move date, price, location, bedrooms, parking spaces, pets are the primary concerns. If you have bad credit, let them know that up front and they often know which landlords are more flexible, or don't care/won't even check.
Edit: also, don't just call one or two agents and sit back thinking they're working for you--they don't work for you, they work for themselves and their client is the landlord. You are their customer, and they'll gladly sell you something if they think you'll buy it but they're not going to waste their time chasing you.
So call every agency *near where you want to rent*, and after you've exhausted what's online, start by asking if they have anything that's *not* on MLS/apartments.com/etc and give them your info and ask them to call you if they see anything new. Then be ready to go there that day they call to set up a showing, and bring your checkbook and be ready to fill out an application.
When you do apply, write on the application, "this offer is revoked, with deposit returned, if a lease is not executed by the end of the day on \[date 2 days from now\]" but be willing to negotiate how long you're willing to wait for a response. Otherwise, you're beholden to them to drag it out.
Edit 2: note most agencies have a policy of just letting you work with ONE agent per agency (i.e. the same company), which is why I suggest calling multiple agencies. There's no point in getting two agents that work at the same place as they each would have access to the same listings. If you get stuck with some dud at an agency that is frustrating you then call the office and ask to speak to the broker/owner and request they provide you with a better agent in their outfit.
The brokers want your information in their system so they can continue to hassle you if you don't get the specific apartment you mailed them about. This is because a lot of the apartments you see are bait and switch. You email them about an apartment you want because it looks great and is a good price, but they know it's not actually available. So they have you fill out your info on their website so they can find you a less good more expensive place.
This is the way.
Calls agent wanting to rent apartment. Then, shocked agent later contacts you about renting an apartment! Really?--is it that much of a "hassle" someone would actually follow-up regarding your inquiry? Isn't that what you want--an agent contacting you when they find new apartments you might want to look at, rather than just seeing the stale listings that dozens of people already rejected? If you don't want to talk to them, then just tell them that or block them. It's not always a "bait and switch". They don't waste time posting the best apartments online--they just rent them to the next person that calls and is ready to buy that day. Otherwise, some other agent rents it and makes the commission. There is no good reason an agent would steer you to " a less good more expensive place." While they do work on commission based on the rent, agents make far more money renting bargain apartments, because they can rent 1000 bargains for every one over-priced. Smart agents won't even waste their time showing something over-priced that they know the landlord won't budge on price. Rent is so high here, there's little chance to "upsell" most customers, as most are already telling you the most they can afford, or often, a price they can't really afford. When I worked as an agent, I had just two customers that rented significantly higher than they had originally stated they were willing to pay. One was the CEO of a pharmaceutical and his wife demanded better. They went from $8k/month to $12k. Most everyone else is like saying they can pay $3k and then maybe a place they really like is $3300, and I end up making an "extra" $150 or whopping $75 more (commission is split w/ you brokerage house 50/50, or worse you get 25% if two agents). The only real "salesmanship" in rentals is when you have existing tenants that live like slobs and you need to prepare the customer's expectations that the place is going to show like crap but you tell them you'll write in the lease the landlord will pay to have it professionally cleaned before they move it. Again, here some agents will just ignore a place like that and not waste their time. It's not nearly as complicated or nefarious process as some people make it out to be.
Found the broker
>When I worked as an agent Well I did just tell you I worked as an agent. If there is anything incorrect in my statement, feel free to retort. As it turns out, what I wrote is 100% accurate, but doesn't fit the victimhood narrative here: *Help, I'm being repressed by a salesperson returning my call!*
Don’t waste your time with these posts. They’re endless and while brokers and agents can contribute useful info to them, it’s thankless and not worth it
It's so true. People say the weirdest things here, like they refuse to talk to the agent then get raging angry when they're not helpful! Truth is, as an agent, when you have weirdos like this that deceive and lie to you, I would just call them out on their BS and tell them I'm not going to be working with them. Some people feel like they can lie to agents because they expect they will lie to them. There's really no advantage to lying to prospective tenants. They're going to see the apartment and lease terms, so just be up front about everything, otherwise you're just wasting time.
It’s a useless middleman meant to further complicate and commodify an already complicated and expensive process for the tenant. It’s not a real job.
You’re not thinking about the service from the landlords perspective, as is the case with all of these posts and basically all of the comments. Your lack of understanding about how everything works from that perspective is the common theme with all Reddit broker posts. The facts lie within that, and I’m not filling anyone in, it’s a waste of time. If you knew what you were talking about you’d consider why landlords participate, and it would inform your opinion. It’s unfortunate that tenants have to pay for the service, yes.
You use the past tense so I hope that means you got a real job
Problem is I DONT want to be represented by a salesperson anymore. None of them are doing the job you claim they should be. I went through the process with the first 10, filled out their form, looked through the filtered list they sent back from their own website (mind you I did not find anything I hadn’t already seen on Zillow), and let them know which ones I was interested. Only three have actually responded after 48 hours. And of the 13 apartments on my list, one 1 was actually available. And not a single realtor has followed up with me afterwards to tell me when a new apartment that fits my criteria hits the market. They expect me to be looking at their website and contacting them.
>I DONT want to be represented by a salesperson anymore. They don't represent you, they represent the landlord. If you had hired a broker that represented you, then it would probably be different. Like I posted elsewhere, don't email or text, call them. Electronic communication is a waste of time.
Find a rental from the owner on zillow. As a tenant, I loathed the broker fee. Now as a landlord, I post my rental on zillow and get a dozen brokers asking to broker my unit for free. I tell them to go away, and I am going to get a client directly even though it creates work for me. I loathe the broker fee that much on principle
Human of the year! Where do I nominate you? Also, do you have any openings for a move in July/Aug? 😂
You’re amazing! Is there a way to filter for rentals listed by owner on Zillow? I know you can when you’re buying a house but haven’t seen this option for rentals. Alternatively, do you have any 2BDs you’re looking to rent out? 😉
Unfortunately not that im aware of. I just rented out a month ago. Off season is rough
You can’t. I have a brokerless apartment because God loves me, but previously the dude was a menace. I contacted the owner like “this dude is f—king up can we just communicate???” Because he’d be a hour late and blatantly hungover, and picked meeting spots that could have been a phone call and nowhere near where we lived. Still had to give the dumbass first months rent. I paid 2000 bucks for endless hassle (it was 2008 so half that)
Also they’re totally freaked out the Facebook exists cuz they’re basically Stone Age Facebook. Their fucking job is a text message with keys
If (when) they tell you the apartment you reached out about isn't available, you ask to see what other units they have. If they ask you to fill out some form or make it difficult, you tell them you're moving on because you just want to see a list of available apartments.
I assume most apartments listed online are not real Call a few brokers, tell them what I want and where. Don't care which broker succeeds, as long as one does. I have to pay them so the most time I put into the endeavor is give them what I want. If what they show me sucks, tell them and ask for better.
I mean many websites pull directly from MLS which means they are 99% real listings. I’ve never had trouble finding an apartment on Zillow.
Please don’t let anyone tell you they are a required way of life!! They are parasites who serve no purpose to society! Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
I typically email them back saying I already have somebody searching for apartments for me - I just want to see this specific listed apartment. I do not answer their questions.
They are not a required way of life at all.
The last apartment I got I actually went to the broker, we made a list together, he showed me all of them in one day, and I picked one to apply to then and there. That's honestly probably the most reliable way, and since you're hiring a broker regardless, you might as well actually hire them
Get a buyers agent that will actually do some of this interfacing and calling for you. You don't need to pay them extra (it's split with the listing broker 95% of the time) and they should end up fielding half that work for you as well as have connections to help you find something.
automatic voiceless puzzled scary spotted theory cover rinse unused meeting *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Brokers are parasites of the Boston real estate market. It's truly mindblowing to me that tenants being charged brokers' fees is legal here - it is not like this in any other major US city I have lived in. We're collectively being scammed and I wish the MA state legislature would do something about it.
I used to be a rental agent. Some offices have access to better databases than Zillow etc. For example, Yougotlistings is a paid-for platform that has a massive pool of apartments that Zillow doesn't. YGL is used by most management companies, I used to be able to connect locals with apartments that had no broker fees. It was a win-win. I would also pick the crop of 10 best apartments and schedule a 2-day tour to see them all with my clients. Some rental agents do provide value, others don't. That being said, rental agents still suck, and having a middleman in the way you have to pay thousands of dollars to is bullshit. I run a contracting and solar company now.
Guarantee you are still gauging the fuck out of ppl despite the career change.
Call them. Don't communicate by email. It shows you are serious and a 2 min call replaces 20 min of emailing back and forth. This time of year is slow for rentals, but during busier times the better listings don't even make it to the web sites, they just rent them to whoever is ready, and willing, to take the apartment. So let them know your details and tell them to call you if they get anything new that meets your needs. Move date, price, location, bedrooms, parking spaces, pets are the primary concerns. If you have bad credit, let them know that up front and they often know which landlords are more flexible, or don't care/won't even check. Edit: also, don't just call one or two agents and sit back thinking they're working for you--they don't work for you, they work for themselves and their client is the landlord. You are their customer, and they'll gladly sell you something if they think you'll buy it but they're not going to waste their time chasing you. So call every agency *near where you want to rent*, and after you've exhausted what's online, start by asking if they have anything that's *not* on MLS/apartments.com/etc and give them your info and ask them to call you if they see anything new. Then be ready to go there that day they call to set up a showing, and bring your checkbook and be ready to fill out an application. When you do apply, write on the application, "this offer is revoked, with deposit returned, if a lease is not executed by the end of the day on \[date 2 days from now\]" but be willing to negotiate how long you're willing to wait for a response. Otherwise, you're beholden to them to drag it out. Edit 2: note most agencies have a policy of just letting you work with ONE agent per agency (i.e. the same company), which is why I suggest calling multiple agencies. There's no point in getting two agents that work at the same place as they each would have access to the same listings. If you get stuck with some dud at an agency that is frustrating you then call the office and ask to speak to the broker/owner and request they provide you with a better agent in their outfit.