My friend is moving out of his apartment at the end of his lease, and my partner and I are talking to his landlord about moving in. She's asking for the full broker fee which just seems weird to me- the apartment wasn't listed anywhere, if anyone acted as a broker here, it was my friend. Who am I paying a broker fee to? Is this normal?

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riski_click t1_jea2ifd wrote on March 30, 2023 at 2:48 PM

Just tell them your accountant is a real paper-pusher, so you need their real estate license number to provide them. They might not even have one (which I believe is required to charge a broker's fee). If they do have one, complain to the AG's office

-CalicoKitty- t1_je9yorr wrote on March 30, 2023 at 2:19 PM

Sounds like BS to me. Landlords can't charge a broker fee unless they are actually a broker. Even if they are a broker, this situation shouldn't call for a fee. I would push back on that. You should only be paying first, last, and security.

snorkeling_moose t1_jeaa6go wrote on March 30, 2023 at 3:42 PM

Yeah this is complete tomfoolery. Kind of a red flag from the landlord - if they're looking to screw OP this way, what else can they expect down the road? Probably not much, but worth considering.

subaruforesters OP t1_jeadxf9 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:06 PM

My friend has lived there for many years and has had a great experience with her, part of why we wanted to move in. So it's very weird that this is coming up, and I'm not sure how worried I should be

therealcmj t1_jeap9sp wrote on March 30, 2023 at 5:19 PM

The owner figures they can get a few extra bucks so no harm in asking for it. Even though it’s technically illegal (unless he has a license).

corned_beef_balls t1_jec6d85 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 11:04 PM

A few thousand extra bucks

[deleted] t1_jecqj0f wrote on March 31, 2023 at 1:34 AM

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snorkeling_moose t1_jebnevl wrote on March 30, 2023 at 8:55 PM

I mean if she's been good to your friend for years, then that's probably a pretty good sign. Trying to squeeze you for a broker's fee in a possibly illegal manner is just fucking weird though.

QueenOfBrews t1_jeapc8n wrote on March 30, 2023 at 5:19 PM

It’s absolute bs. But with the way things are lately, if OP pushes back, the landlord can just shrug, list the apartment, and find someone else to live there that won’t blink at paying it. It’s absurd.

[deleted] t1_jecq8fm wrote on March 31, 2023 at 1:31 AM

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pwmg t1_jeaslax wrote on March 30, 2023 at 5:40 PM

Is it to them, or to a separate broker? It could be that they have an exclusive agreement with a broker, so that even if they didn't help with a particular tenant they're required to pay. I don't think there's anything wrong with asking this question to the landlord.

shitz_brickz t1_je9yw4j wrote on March 30, 2023 at 2:21 PM

Probably illegal.

Not a lot you can do about it if you want the apartment.

Nothing you can do about it if you want the landlord to suffer consequences.

Lopsided_Cow_1013 t1_jebgzuc wrote on March 30, 2023 at 8:15 PM

We were in this situation. We ended up having to pay half the broker fee because the broker is the one typically running background and credit checks. We settled on half because they never listed it so they conceded that piece of the fee.

AWalker17 t1_jeb7qve wrote on March 30, 2023 at 7:16 PM

The broker would be the one to request the fee. Maybe they are just confused?

Randoman98 t1_jef7xub wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:02 PM

Some landlords hire people to handle all of the paperwork and bookkeeping for the their units. If your friends are moving in then they still will get charged for credit and background checks done by someone who isn’t the landlord. It’s definitely overpriced but the tenants are responsible for covering that cost.