Not until I recently became a cat owner and fell in love with our two adopted kittens, did I ever lament the “no pet policy” of many coops. In general, anti-dog coops support this policy because dogs are perceived as a nuisance on elevators, and their barking may disturb other neighbors.

For more information about pet policies, Stephen Lasser of Stark & Stark wrote an interesting article “New York Pet Laws Affects Boards and Dog Owners in Cooperatives and Condominiums.”

No Comments »

Before you narrow down your search to a “No Fee” apartment, be sure you understand the Manhattan rental market. There are approximately 9000 available apartments for rent. About 50% of these apartments are available directly from landlords; the other 50% of apartments are rental apartments or coops and condos sublets represented by exclusive brokers.

When you rent directly from a landlord, the apartment is No Fee. If you rent a landlord apartment through a broker, the broker fee is generally 15% of the first year’s rent.

During slow markets, such as this past year, many landlords offer OP (“Owner Pays”) to brokers — this means that the landlord will pay the broker a month fee for bringing a renter who signs a lease. Therefore, brokers can offer these apartments as “No Fee.” Some landlords will offer one month OP to the broker or one month free rent to the renter.

Donn’t forget about the other half of the market: broker exclusives. Even though 95% of these apartment have a one month or 15% commission, the rent on these apartment may be lower than on landlord direct No Fee apartments.

My advice: renters should consider both landlord and broker exclusive apartments before deciding which apartment they want to rent.

No Comments »