# Ads for Apartments
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 26, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818 "2008-03-26T18:22:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818/1 "2008-03-26T18:22:23Z")
As I explained in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=460540) I am in the process of finding a new apartment or finding a new roommate. Since I do not want to put all of my eggs in one basket I am looking at both possible roommates and apartments in hopes that I will have a nice, affordable solution before my lease is set to renew on June 1st.
On Craigslist and [villagevoice.com](http://villagevoice.com) I keep finding ads for no-fee apartments that when I respond to them they send me a link to another site that charges you $45 for 60 days worth of searching and they say they will provide contact information for the landlords/management companies for all the properties listed on the site. Has anyone here ever used one of those services? Is it a scam or is it a pretty good way to find apartments in New York? Is it worth the $45 to have access to that information or would I be better off going with the much more expensive option of an apartment finder if I can’t find someone to room with in my current apartment?
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### Author:  [@noctilucent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noctilucent)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818/2 "2008-03-26T18:44:47Z")
Something that claims to be free, that then sends me to a site that costs money, is something I’d stay away from.
[Roommates.com](http://Roommates.com) runs you $29.99 for a 60-day membership (that lets you read messages from others; you can search for free). You can also try [rent.com](http://rent.com) for places to live. Since you have a bit of time and want to save money, I’d try those over a random Craigslist posting.
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### Author:  [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818/3 "2008-03-26T19:17:14Z")
The only reason I think this might be legit is because real estate and apartments in NYC are very different from anywhere else in the country. In Dallas or Ft Lauderdale or somewhere it would be laughable to expect to pay to find a place to live. Heck, in TX they give out manuals with apartment information for free in the entrance of sprawl-mart just begging you to please, please come look at the property, take a tour of the grounds, count the swimming pools! In NYC, though, there are more people looking than there are available apartments so the owners and landlords have scores of applications to search through and have no incentive to advertise their empty apartments because they will fill up with almost no effort on their part. They don’t release availability information outside of apartment finding agencies as best as I can tell.
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### Author:  [@noctilucent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noctilucent)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818/4 "2008-03-26T19:32:07Z")
I live in NYC, so I know what it’s like here. My advice still stands. There are a lot of con artists on Craigslist, and the bait and switch tactic stinks to me.
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### Author:  [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818/5 "2008-03-26T19:55:44Z")
When I was searching for an apartment here I would routinely come across those ads on Criagslist and in the Village Voice. Everything about them just screamed “scam” to me. Basically if it’s too good to be true, it’s a scam. They advertise “$900 apartments in the Village. Just pay our fee of $45 and you’ll have access to them.” Bull. They probably have one apartment to fulfill their ad (if that) and everything else is the same as you’ll find through brokers.
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### Author:  [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818/6 "2008-03-26T20:13:30Z")
Yeah, I am getting a scam vibe from them too but I would hate to have been the dork who ignored them thinking they were a scam if a few other people have used them and found them to be helpful. Places like [rent.com](http://rent.com) and [rent.net](http://rent.net) don’t show me any Manhattan, Brooklyn or Queens listings at all–just 2 apartments in the Bronx and about 50 places in NJ or Westchester County.
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### Author:  [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818/7 "2008-03-26T20:18:46Z")
[QUOTE=noctilucent]
Something that claims to be free, that then sends me to a site that costs money, is something I’d stay away from.
[Roommates.com](http://Roommates.com) runs you $29.99 for a 60-day membership (that lets you read messages from others; you can search for free). You can also try [rent.com](http://rent.com) for places to live. Since you have a bit of time and want to save money, I’d try those over a random Craigslist posting.
[/QUOTE]
Do [roommates.com](http://roommates.com) and/or [rent.com](http://rent.com) do a background check of their members? Otherwise, I fail to see the difference between Craigslist, or how they are less random.
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### Author:  [@noctilucent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noctilucent)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818/8 "2008-03-26T20:34:17Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger]
Do [roommates.com](http://roommates.com) and/or [rent.com](http://rent.com) do a background check of their members? Otherwise, I fail to see the difference between Craigslist, or how they are less random.
[/QUOTE]
They don’t run a background check, no, or you’d be paying a heckuva lot more than $29.99 for 60 days. They do allow you to search for compatible people, and you can contact prospective roomies via their web site rather than handing out personal contact info directly (a plus, in my book). Think of it being like [match.com](http://match.com) instead of hanging out in the local bar looking for someone.
The alternative of course is to go through a broker; some people will tell you that’s the only way to get a decent place. Of course, if you don’t mind paying 2-3 months security plus at least another month broker fee on a tiny apt. costing $2500/mo, it’s not problem. But the OP says she is trying to save money, so…
[QUOTE=pbbth]
Places like [rent.com](http://rent.com) and [rent.net](http://rent.net) don’t show me any Manhattan, Brooklyn or Queens listings at all–just 2 apartments in the Bronx and about 50 places in NJ or Westchester County.
[/quote]
I just did a search for studio+ apts in New York, NY, max rent $2000/mo., with June 1 availability on [rent.com](http://rent.com). I got 477 hits. What search criteria are you using?
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### Author:  [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ads-for-apartments/442818/9 "2008-03-26T21:10:23Z")
Ah, I see. $2000 a month rent would more than double what I am currently paying now. I was searching under $1200 a month. For $1500 a month I could stay where I am and have an office/library in my roommate’s room. I don’t need huge and I don’t need to live in midtown, and I know for a fact there are plenty of apartments in my area and Harlem and such where I could get a 1 bedroom or a studio for $900-$1000 a month. I looked at 6 of them when I first moved here.
Tonight when I get home I will check with my current apartment management company and see if they have any 1 bedrooms in my building.