7 Responses to “Finding an apartment: an unpleasant, miserable experience for all involved” »»

1. DaveL
   Comment by DaveL | 08/29/06 at 9:34 pm

   My problem is it’s these same guys that are going

   into Craiglist and posting their 1/2 fee or full fee apartments in the No Fee section of the

   website.

   It’s often the “for fee” brokers that have some of the worst most misleading ads.

   Every fee broker that I’ve ever worked with has also shown me some of the most disgusting dingy

   apartments and tried to sell them as something wonderful that I should waste thousands a month on.

   No thanks.

   My last 3 apartments have all been found via Craigslist or classifieds in the

   paper, and all have been dealing directly with the owner. Rental brokers are a dying breed, and

   that’s probably what this guy is so pissed about.

2. Reality
   Comment by Reality | 08/30/06 at 2:56 am

   I own three rental units.

   Currently I rent them out myself through Craigslist as I have extra time, but it’s a lot of work.

   In the future, I may get tired of doing this and use an agent. They are not a dying breed. There

   may be too many of them, I don’t know. They provide a very nice service for landlords. Also a

   lot of landlords do not live close to the units they rent, so they have to use an agent. They are

   salespeople and for the most part are working for the landlord in that they want to make the

   sale.

   No one likes a salesman. Maybe that’s why the author of this blog is a buyer’s

   agent.

3. NoSympathy
   Comment by NoSympathy | 08/30/06 at 1:24 pm

   Aw. Poor baby realtor has to answer a phone call.

   Awww. I feel so sowwy for him! And if he can lie, cheat, and swindle his way into a commission,

   he’ll make off pretty well for answering that call.

   How many times a day do I get a

   prerecorded message as a phone call from someone in the realestate industry (most often lenders)?

   About a dozen. So, my feeling is: “karma’s a bitch.” If you the industry has no respect for its

   clients, why should clients have any respect for the industry?

4. Brian Carter
   Comment by Brian Carter | 08/30/06 at 8:48 pm

   I write the column that this “boston-buyer’s-broker” has posted here. The

   column is an honest look at real estate from agent’s point of view. It’s not always attracive,

   but that’s the point. I’m not trying to drum up business for myself with a transparent blog, but

   reporting what actually goes on inside the business.

5. John A Keith
   Comment by John A Keith | 08/30/06 at 11:45 pm

   Brian, I’m glad you left a comment. How’d you find out I had linked to your story?

   You guys move fast.

   I’m not surprised by people’s reactions, you know how some people are

   about rental agents. I know, as well, having done it for several years, myself.

   Regarding

   the comments, the first person (who has commented here, before) seems more unhappy about how

   rentals are advertised, and about the rental companies.

   The second, from the landlord,

   supports the idea of using an agent, because he is an absentee landlord. Obviously, he needs an

   agent, proving there is a need (who should be paying the agent’s fee is another question,

   altogether …).

   The third person just sounds like someone who complains about

   everything.

   I think the points you make in your article are valid (which means people think

   I’m just like you). It makes perfect sense that if someone calls an agency, they should assume

   there’s a fee involved. Your analogy to a bartender and barber, were spot on.

   I’ve read

   the column before (you write it, each week?) and find it very amusing.

   Actually, I don’t

   even know what the third commenter is talking about. Has he/she ever heard of the do-not-call

   list? Jeepers. “Lie cheat or swindle”? I can’t imagine what this person thinks about the

   Internal Revenue Service.

   Renting sucks for just about everyone, because of the low vacancy

   rate in Boston (and, worse, in Manhattan) so no one can afford to live in the nice apartment they

   want / think they deserve. I know this too well, myself. It’s totally depressing to be a renter,

   in big cities such as ours.

   Good luck.

6. Brian Carter
   Comment by Brian Carter | 08/31/06 at 8:03 am

   Dude…much love…and finally someone gets it.

7. DaveL
   Comment by DaveL | 08/31/06 at 4:22 pm

   John,

   You’re right that my annoyance isn’t necessarily

   with Brian or his article, but rather with practices by other rental agents that are purposefully

   misleading.

   I also as stated have had numerous bad experiences with rental agents, and

   mainly positive experiences going the direct from landlord route.

   I agree that rental agents

   will have a place for landlords that are either too busy, own too many properties or who live out

   of state. However, I think that a lot more people in Boston are renting without the use of rental

   agents now than was possible 5 or 10 years ago, and I think that trend will continue.

   That

   being said I don’t think it’s unreasonable for a person to call a rental agent and ask if they

   have any listings where the fee is paid by the landlord (who in my opinion should be paying 100%

   since the agent is working to show the apt and handle the paperwork for the landlord not for me -

   after all as a person purchasing a home I’m not expected to pay a commission to the listing agent,

   so why should it work differently for renting)? Of course the understanding of the caller should

   be that the likely answer is no and they should be checking the internet and local papers for

   listings first.

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