rebroc

Anyone heard of "athomeus.com"?

mclaurie

Yes. It's the same as dozens of other websites that allow "owners" to list apartments for a fee. Some are scams, some are illegal and a few may be ok.

nytraveler

This is VERY risky. You need to be sure that your rental is legal (that is the on-site super or whatever knows you are there and will cope with any problems that may arise with plumbing etc)

Also - you need to check out

Type of buildings (some are 5 floor walk-ups
Type of security - doorman? locked door? electronic fob door? unlocked door?

And be sure you get references - and check them - for previous renters - and you have a local 24 hour phone number to call in case of problems.

rebroc

Thanks everyone. As usual, you've been quite informative. See most recent comment on this at "West Side Info" post.

bugswife1

When I was renting in NYC I would go up and down the blocks where I wanted to live and look at all the buildings. If there was a doorman, I would give him a bunch of cards with my information: Name, phone, email, size of apartment I hoped to rent, and the maximum I could pay. I also let him know that I would take care of him for helping me. Needless to say, it worked every time. They would tip off the person looking to rent before they even contacted a broker and I got away without a fee. I gave the doorman $1,000 for his trouble. I also always had my paperwork in order to move quickly--current bank statement, current credit report, resume, contact info for employer, etc.

NeoPatrick

Clever idea.

MediaHen

From my own experience, there are definitely scams on no fee apartments in NYC, but not all are illegal. I realize this is an older conversation thread, but I found it through my own apartment web search and want to clear up a few things for others who may find it the same way.

Technically a no fee apartment is offered directly to a renter by the owner (cutting out the broker eliminates the fee), and there are many reputable building owners and managers that market and rent their own units.

I had excellent experience with and am renting my apartment from Pine Management: www.pinemanagement.com

Several neighborhoods were listed in this forum as good values, and Pine Management has buildings in most. They have no fee apartments in the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights, Washington Heights, Boerum Hill, and Prospect Heights.

Hope this helps any new readers!

nytraveler

Know nothing about this company - but have briefly checked the web site. They give no floorplans or sizes for the apartments - which typically means that they are very tiny - and many apts seem to be 5th floor walk-ups. (In a brownstone building this will often mean climbing 8 flights of stairs due to high ceilings.)