Usually see a lot of good advice here. I have offered to help DD find a new apt to rent in Cambridge, MA for 9/1. Plans to live with 2 friends moving to area. We have looked on web but some posts don’t seem legit, most are for immediate rental and no one has time to make all the calls and visits to look at places. I will be up there visiting for only a few days. I’m thinking we will need a broker but have no knowledge in this area. Found only apt I lived in through classmate and house of 28yrs through friends. And not in a rental market like Cambridge. I have broker list from school housing office (and DD keeping eye on rentals there) but not sure of what questions to ask when interviewing a broker. Under what circumstances can one negotiate for 1/2 fee? Any tips or recommendations would be appreciated.
I would suggest finding a broker with a fee you feel you can pay. I would not try to get the broker to reduce the fee.
It’s a very tight housing market. Are they willing to live in neighboring towns or does it have to be IN Cambridge?
Fees are pretty much standard in Cambridge, Brookline, etc. and really are based on the tightness of the market, meaning they go away when there’s slack.
Will all use public transport and commutes can be minimized for all by living in Cambridge. Seems like all the fees are one month’s rent. If they find a great place that works for a few years I suppose it would be worth it.
The public transportation in Boston is not exclusive to Cambridge. The T connects a good chunk of Boston and the surrounding areas. You do not have to reside in Cambridge to be able to take public transportation to almost anywhere in the greater Boston area.
May look at JP area too, or out a bit on Mass Ave but Cambridge keeps everyone’s commute less than 30 min. DD loves living in Cambridge too, so they want to start looking there.