AM New York has a nice piece about how renters are getting deals lately. For the most part it's accurate. Large landlords and new buildings are giving perks like making apartments no fee and offering free rent. They do this to fill up the building. And it's true -- small landlords are less likely to offer incentives, msotly because they have no need to.
One beef that I have with this piece is that they use the example of the people who got a great deal at The Chesapeake for $3,300. It's a new building, and it's on 94th Street and First Avenue, which isn't exactly the hottest part of the Upper East Side, which is why they're have a hard time filling it up. (I live on 94th and 2nd for several years and know the area well.)Perhaps a little disclosure about that would have been helpful.
But I did like that they recommended using a broker, because as anyone who's tried to go the Craigslist route knows, sometimes it's easier using someone who knows the terrain and can actucally get you into places.
