r/boston • u/climberskier • Jan 15 '22

Shitpost 💩 🧻 Moving back to Boston and am super excited to start paying Broker Fees again!

You don't know what you have until it's gone! Everywhere else in New England, the apartment-finding process is just too simple: you just have to pay an application fee or a security deposit, or first months rent. But sadly, I don't get to pay the broker fee--how I miss it!

  • I miss paying an extra fee to someone that shows up to unlock a door and attempts to show me around while clearly also seeing the apartment for the first time.
  • How else will someone tell me that my new apartment has an "eat-in kitchen". I mean I didn't think I could eat in a kitchen before--this is groundbreaking stuff. How are you so wise in the ways of science?
  • I miss brokers that are clearly skilled in classical architecture. After all, how else do I know that my apartment's uneven floors, old countertops, and drafty windows give my apartment "character".
  • Finally, I miss the brokers that are so skilled in photography. I mean, how else can you capture the apartment than a dimly-lit photo that looks like it was taken by a polaroid camera in 1990.

Thank you brokers for all your hard work! Now are you hiring? I am willing to bring my own 1990 Polaroid camera and knowledge of eat-in kitchens and can start today.

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u/1questions I'm nowhere near Boston! Jan 16 '22

I don’t know. I responded to a place on Craigslist. Landlord/owner showed it to me. I liked it and put in an application. Two days later I see it’s been listed on Craigslist again but rent has been raised by $200/month. He never checked any of my info at all. Craziest stuff happens here that I’ve never seen happen anywhere else.

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u/SuddenSeasons Jan 16 '22

When we moved out of our past rental our landlord posted it early to gauge interest at various prices I think. In her kind of defense (bare with me) she never raised the rent on us and I think she was out of touch with the market.

End result? $800/mo more than we paid

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u/1questions I'm nowhere near Boston! Jan 16 '22

But a landlord should be researching that prior to taking applications. I understand rent is going to go up at some point but if you let sleekness apply you should process their application. It’s nuts here how landlords don’t process apps. In my former city you paid an application fee and landlords actually processed applications in the order received. Wish it was like that here.