Rodolfo Delgado is the Co-Founder & CEO of Replay Listings, the first platform to find apartments for rent in NYC focused on unedited videos
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Isn’t it backward that nowadays, many companies require you to install an installer for you to use their software service?
Renting an apartment is kind of similar – the first step toward finding your next rental apartment is to find the best apartment finder.
As redundant as this may sound, it is true – there are many avenues that a person could use to find their next home. Here are the most popular options used today:
Focused Listings Platforms
One of the more common ways to find an apartment is for you to start your search online. Find a reliable, focused listings platform with availabilities in your area and take it from there. Zillow and Redfin are just a few examples.
Advantage: They are laser-focused, so finding available apartments with the characteristics you want is more straightforward and can be done at your own pace.
Disadvantage: Many listings platforms often have duplicate listings or use pictures that may be misleading.
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Recommendation for apartment hunters: When using this avenue, ask the apartment representative for unedited content or a real-time video tour of the property so that you can rely on that information.
Recommendation for real estate professionals: Focused listings platforms often yield the best results, as they are the most popular way people find a home today. Get in the game.
Social Media Groups
Companies embedded in social media platforms have grown to be a trendy alternative to finding a home. Just search for a specific term, such as “apartments for rent in New York,” and you’ll see many social media groups dedicated to that. A few examples include Alpaca, Gypsy Housing and ApartmentsNYC.
Advantage: Community. People posting availabilities are often in touch with each other and can invite other people interested.
Disadvantage: Not every social media group is well-monitored, so there is room for repetitive or spam-like posts.
Recommendation for apartment hunters: When using this avenue, pay close attention to the level of monitoring the group has. The higher the monitoring, the better organized the information.
Recommendation for real estate professionals: Get in the habit of posting in social media groups, but make sure to respond to inquiries and offer guidance as well quickly. Earn people’s trust if you want them to give you their business.
Social Media Influencers
Users with established credibility in the real estate industry have a big following and an even bigger persuasion power.
Advantage: Trust. Finding an influencer you trust is hard, but it yields excellent results.
Disadvantage: They can only cover so much territory. An influencer can’t post a thousand apartment availabilities, so their reach is often limited to the properties they are showing. While locations vary, a few influencer examples include Ryan Serhant, Alexander Zakharin and Jordan Cash.
Recommendation for apartment hunters: If you find an influencer you trust, reach out to them shamelessly – it doesn’t matter how famous they are. Their business relies on people like you, so ask them questions and learn from what they have to say.
Recommendation for real estate professionals: An influencer’s persuasion and personality paired with a focused audience can yield great results for many. Especially if you catch the influencer at the early stage of fame. If you find an early-stage influencer, you can choose them for brand awareness or important news. Remember that their price-point may go higher as their following grows.
Tenant Communities
Innovative startups have sprouted with a core focus on tenant reviews and the free exchange of information. A few examples include RentCity (a current partner of Replay Listings), bitResi and Openigloo.
Advantage: Real tenant reviews can help validate the credibility of the company you’re about to sign a lease with. Verifying with existing tenants can help you avoid getting renters’ remorse.
Disadvantage: Often, tenant-reviews platforms can end up being a platform to complain for some users.
Recommendation for apartment hunters: Explore any website and make sure you see good reviews as well as bad ones. It is important to take context into account, so websites with only negative reviews are of little use.
Customer To Customer (C2C) Platforms
With Craigslist as ‘king’ for finding just about anything online, many have found roommates, rooms or whole properties listed on consumer-to-consumer platforms. With a business model that enables customers to trade with each other, many prefer this method to save money. But beware – scams exist on these sites, so you have to navigate carefully.
Advantage: Avoiding fees. Many C2C platforms tend to be free for the end-user, making space for some savings.
Disadvantage: Scams. Many have paid in advance, only to find out the property they inquired about did not exist. Be careful when using such services, and always verify the listings’ authenticity before making any payments.
Chatbots
Computer programs designed to simulate conversations are becoming increasingly popular when it comes to finding homes.
Advantage: Algorithms process information quickly and with less error, so if your search is a very standard one, bots may be able to offer available listings tailored to your preferences efficiently.
Disadvantage: Lack of customization. I was an agent for many years, and almost every client I helped had a particular need – lack of credit score, international student, no guarantor, owner of a startup, etc. Any tiny change in the standard search might pose an issue when dealing with a bot, who, more often than not, won’t be able to manage the customization each of us might need.
A Preferred Broker
For those with little time, a real estate professional who is in charge of finding the best options out there can do wonders.
Advantage: Efficiency. Arguably, the quickest way to find a new home may be to have a thorough conversation with a professional and let them do the rest.
Disadvantage: Cost and sometimes trust. Many professionals charge a fee for their services. When they don’t, it often means the landlord is compensating them, indicating they may be biased.
Recommendation for apartment hunters: Ask the real estate agent/broker for testimonials from similar experiences to yours.
Honorable Mention: Newspapers
Not many find their next home through printed papers anymore, but you never know!
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