purplepineapple21 t1_jad52uz wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:10 PM

Reply to comment by psyrag in Is this normal? Agent asking for $3,455 brokers fee before signing lease by psyrag

It's perfectly normal to require such a high amount upfront regardless of being a student or not. But "up front" means at the time of signing the lease or just before. It is not normal at all to be asked for rent & brokers fees before they even look at your application.

I'm not sure about the exact laws on application fees, but reputable landlords tend not to use them. It is definitely illegal for them to charge you a fee that they would keep even if you don't get the apartment. I'm not sure if it's okay for them to charge a fee if they would refund it if you don't get the place. Regardless, if every place you're looking at has an application fee (NOT a brokers fee--those are different, much more common and legal), you're probably not looking in the best places. A lot of online listings with application fees are scams.

psyrag OP t1_jad6gxn wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:19 PM

Ok, that makes sense. I thought it was strange to have to pay the brokers fee before signing the lease...

As for the listings and application fees, I feel like it's normal for housing available to students to ask for application fees... Maybe this isn't the case for apartments that do not allow students, but all my friends who have already moved off campus have paid application fees of ~$50.

Thanks for the info!

Mountain_Resolve1407 t1_jad93ee wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:36 PM

My understanding is brokers can charge app fees but landlords can’t. Could be wrong though

Master_Dogs t1_jae264a wrote on February 28, 2023 at 7:39 PM

> Ok, that makes sense. I thought it was strange to have to pay the brokers fee before signing the lease...

It's uncommon, but allowed. I would:

verify the agent is who they say they are
verify they actually work for the given agency
verify they want the check written out to the agency and not themselves
decide if you're willing to risk $80/person, or if you want to push back on those fees. you can negotiate, but if you do so, you may lose out on the apartment. flexibility is unfortunately required in this market. discuss with your roommate(s) on what you folks feel comfortable with.

> As for the listings and application fees, I feel like it's normal for housing available to students to ask for application fees... Maybe this isn't the case for apartments that do not allow students, but all my friends who have already moved off campus have paid application fees of ~$50.

Within MA you should be aware that application fees charged by a landlord are illegal.

Brokers can however charge them. I'd still say it's fairly uncommon in my experience to see them actually charge you for that. Typically they just lump it into the broker fee, since it's already $2000+ anyway and additional charges for $50/person or whatever just adds more paperwork for the broker to deal with.

It may be more common for students working with a real estate agent to pay these fees though. You guys have less credit, less or no income, and are typically higher risk due to being young and all. It may make sense for brokers to charge these fees in order to cover their asses or because landlords in college areas have higher standards and want to know the person renting from them has jumped through enough hoops to make it less "risky" for them.

Ultimately it's up to you whether you pay the fee or not. You can negotiate or find another broker who isn't charging these fees. You could also negotiate that the upfront payment only be required if your application is accepted first. Really depends on what you're comfortable with. As long as you've verified they're a legit broker, it's unlikely they run off with your money. It may be tied up for a bit though, so you should be fairly serious about this apartment and leave plenty of time to find other options if this one falls through.

Good luck! 🤞

purplepineapple21 t1_jad94bg wrote on February 28, 2023 at 4:36 PM

It's not normal. I'm sorry but you guys must be looking at predatory management companies that take advantage of students who don't know about the rental market. I rented as a student in the area and never paid an "application fee," and I know many people who were students after me and also didn't have these fees. But we were looking at crappy apartments in triple deckers and stuff, not corporate-managed buildings that advertise to students.