With nearly 200 million views each month, Craigslist remains a hot spot for potential renters looking to secure a good deal. In New York City, where the market moves quickly, renters need to jump through a series of hoops to acquire the keys to their new homes. To start their home search process, many renters use the “apartment for rent” tab on Craiglist to search through thousands of listings. Especially in the busy summer season, renters must act quickly to find potentially appealing listings, view the unit, and then apply.
What is a Broker’s Fee?
Throughout the apartment-hunting process, renters may need to pay a broker’s fee on top of the first month’s rent and security deposit. A broker’s fee is a sum of money that a renter pays for their services, including showing the apartment and then handling and guiding renters through the application process. Many brokers work solely off commission; their broker fee is their source of income. Most New York City brokers charge between one month’s rent and 15% of the annual rent.
Should you decide to rent an apartment for $3,800 from a broker who charges a 15% fee, you will then pay $14,440 to secure the apartment ($6,840 broker fee + one month’s rent + an additional one month’s rent as the security deposit).
For this reason, many renters look for apartments where they do not have to pay a broker fee. These renters can look for apartments directly listed for rent by the owner and will search the term “for rent by owner” in a search engine. On Craiglist, renters can filter their results by selecting “real estate – by broker” or “real estate – by owner,”. Searching for “real estate – by owner” means the renter will not have to pay a broker fee for those apartments.
Renters on Craigslist can select “real estate – by broker” or “real estate – by owner.”
The downside of “for rent by owner” listings on Craigslist
While searching for apartments for rent by owner on Craiglist can produce beneficial results, there are potential pitfalls to using the site in this way.
High quantity of fake listings
It only costs $5 to put up a listing on Craiglist, creating a low entry barrier for potential scammers looking to put up fake listings. It takes a careful eye to maneuver the website to find seemingly legitimate listings, then go through the vetting process to ensure you do not fall victim to a scam.
Craiglist also does not use a verification system to ensure the users on the platform are actually who they claim to be. Meaning, that anyone can go onto Craigslist and put up a fake listing. There are no repercussions for fraudulent activity because there is no identity tied to who posted the listing. Scammers can get away with their misdoings, then come back onto the site the next day and do the exact same thing.
Sometimes brokers will also use this feature to bait and switch renters, mentioning their fees at the last second and hoping the renters are too involved in the process by that point that they justify paying. It can take experience and a firm demeanor to understand how to find the true hidden gems on Craiglist. Sometimes renters do not have the prior knowledge or the time to navigate the website successfully.
Filled with Lower Quality Listings
Even though a listing may be legitimate and not a scam, it still may not be of the highest quality and may even appear as a spam listing. Many brokers who use Craiglist know that due to the incredibly high volume of listings, they must constantly work to make their listings appear high in the search results. This activity creates a pattern where brokers continue to spam their listings to make them appear higher. They will also put keywords in the title of their listings, and sometimes these keywords indicate to renters that the listing looks illegitimate or off-putting, again adding to the amount of work they have to invest in distinguishing the good from the bad listings.
Inaccurate Listings
An accurate, high-quality listing could still have plenty of inaccurate information and create a false sense of hope for a potential renter. Since there is no check and balance system to ensure listings are accurate, brokers or owners can include any information on their listings to get renters to click on them. They may try to lure visitors in by lowering the rent price, creating elaborate descriptions of features that do not exist, etc.
While a broker or owner may not intentionally create an inaccurate listing, their listing could, over time, grow out of date with information that no longer applies. Should the rent, availability date, or other information change while the listing is on the site, most people will not go back and edit their older listings because they are focusing instead on spamming new versions of the same listing over and over again.
Lack of Gems (aka Great Listings)
Not all great listings live on Craiglist due to the above, coupled with the fact that the site hosts a high volume of listings at a given time. With so many listings on the site, real owners and brokers know that their listing may not get views and, therefore, may not be worth their time to list on Craiglist. They will take their listing to other websites with secure vetting processes as they know they can get more views from renters on those pages. Therefore, some people may never even post their high-quality listing on Craiglist, meaning renters will not know it exists unless they broaden their search to include other websites.
Alternative to Craigslist’s For Rent by Owner Search
Renters who want to view legitimate listings from unit owners can refer to RentHop and specifically check off the “By Owner” box when completing a search. Additionally, renters can also filter for “No Broker Fee” apartments.
The above image shows how renters can select the “By Owner” search filter. The below image displays an apartment in the search results with two tags, one labeled “No Fee” and another labeled “By Owner.” The “No Fee” tag indicates that the renter will not have to pay a broker fee should they move forward with acquiring the unit. The “By Owner” suggests that the unit is for rent by the owner. Both labels appear next to the price.
What is a “No-Fee” listing?
A “No-Fee” listing is one in which the renter does not have to pay a broker fee to rent the apartment successfully. A no-fee listing means that at the lease signing, they will only submit payment for their first month of rent and a security deposit if required.
While “No-Fee” listings commonly come from those the owner lists, there are instances where an owner may pay the broker fee themselves in turn for quickly renting the apartment, meaning that the unit then becomes “No Fee” for the renter.
View no-fee apartments through RentHop’s No-Fee Apartment search page.
Why search on RentHop?
Listings on RentHop and the owner or broker who lists them go through a verification process and remain under constant review to ensure that renters have a positive experience. Renter satisfaction is a priority, and the site maintains several checks and balances, which contribute to a large volume of high-quality listings. Renters on the site have access to over 20,000 listings in the New York City area.
Only Verified Owners and Brokers Post Listings
The owners and brokers who list apartments on RentHop must complete a verification process for their listing to go live, meaning that renters can trust those they engage with on the site. Renters are satisfied knowing that the listings they view on RentHop are of high quality, are fresh to the market, and do not have broker fees if they select the appropriate search criteria.
When an owner or broker first tries to put up a listing on the site, they must first complete the verification process. This process entails submitting photo identification that compares to photographs taken in real-time. A RentHop team member reviews the verification analysis and gathers more information if needed. Agent must submit their license number to prove they are eligible to conduct real estate transactions.
An owner who does not have a real estate license will pay $20 to create a listing on the site, a price point four times greater than Craigslist’s requirement. This listing price establishes a fair set of circumstances for all involved parties, ensuring that owners can effectively list multiple units at a price that does not break the bank. It creates a higher barrier of entry for scammers and fake listing creators as they likely will not spend $20 to attempt to put up a fake listing.
Consistent Listing Checks
While members of the RentHop team consistently look at the site and remove any listings if needed, other site users also have the option to flag any listing they find potentially misleading or believe to be a scam.
A user can scroll to the bottom of the listing and click on “Report this listing here” to send a report to the RentHop support team, who will review the listing promptly. If the support team agrees with the report, they will remove the listing from the site and take further action against the person who posted the listing if necessary. The RentHop support team monitors their email every day of the year, so renters can take satisfaction in knowing that someone is always around to check site activity and ensure fake listings get removed.
A System Which Rewards Accuracy
On a site like Craiglist, listings appear in the search results based on their posting order, where the most recently posted ad shows up higher. On RentHop, owners and brokers must completely and accurately complete their listings, have a good reputation on the site, and have a new listing to appear high in the search results. The website uses a “HopScore,” which evaluates all the points above and then generates a score for each listing, where the higher scored listings appear higher in the search results.
Since RentHop’s inception in 2009, the site has constantly compiled rental data that determines the accuracy of current listings. If an owner or broker inaccurately lists the price for the unit, their Hopscore decreases. For factual inaccuracies, that listing will decrease in Hopscore and show up further down in the search results. This more than a decades’ worth of data means renters can safely look through listings pages, knowing that the information is up to date and accurate.
Furthermore, owners and brokers must have a strong reputation on the website to have high hop scores. This high reputation comes from filling out a complete profile, acquiring reviews from other renters, and responding to inquiries promptly. Site members who do all three will boost their Hopscore, while those who do not successfully meet expectations will witness a decreased score on their listings.
This ranking system incentives good behavior, as a lousy listing or a high-quality listing from a manager with a poor reputation will immediately display significantly lower in the search results, defeating the purpose of listing in the first place.
Furthermore, renters using the site have the option to view a Hopscore breakdown, which explains why a listing appears where it does in the search results. The below image showcases a listing with a great Hopscore. Each line item shows in green, indicating that the listing receives a boost for that factor. In this specific example, RentHop has data for the building which matches what the owner inputted in the listing. The owner also completed their profile page, logs onto the site regularly, and has several high-quality listings.
The following is an example of a breakdown for a listing with a low Hopscore. In this case, the listing is accurate and matches RentHop’s data, but the owner who posted the listing does not have user reviews, takes a while to respond to inquiries, and has only replied to a set number of inquiries in the past 30 days. Renters have access to this information to make informed decisions on whether or not they would like to move forward with inquiring about the unit.
Through the Hopscore, owners and brokers remain highly incentivized to create high-quality listings and develop a strong reputation on the site, developing a better user experience for renters.
Conclusion
“For rent by owner” listings on Craiglist return plenty of search results, but most of them may not be legitimate, correct, and not asking for a broker fee. Renters who seek accurate listings on an easy-to-navigate platform can turn to RentHop to select “by owner” or “no fee” in their search criteria to yield results that the website regularly checks to create an environment of high quality and safe to browse listings.
Through the Hopscore, owners and brokers remain highly incentivized to create high-quality listings and develop a strong reputation on the site, developing a better user experience for renters.
