[thinkalone]

> The prices on craiglist are borderline fraudulent

The most attractively priced apartments advertised on CL are on there because they are great deals. There are thousands of people looking for the cheapest apartments, and when someone rents it, that means 999 other people get to hear "I'm sorry, that apartment is gone." Obviously I understand the frustration, since I've been on both sides of those conversations, and there are some brokerages that put out shady ads, but nearly all rentals are on the market less than a week, and smart landlords price their apartments so well they are rented within a day - just because apartments get rented is not evidence of a mass conspiracy.

[maxawaytoolong]

I've actually had "ok" experiences finding apartments on Craigslist. However, here are practices that bug me:

- brokers and rental companies ALWAYS post in the "by owner" section. I've had agents from Citiapartments actually pretend to be the "owner!"

- brokers post in the "no fee" section but there are always fees.

- no photos... because everything that's a decent deal is also a dump.

- "Net Effective" rent prices in the listing. It's listed at $1700 but that's the "Net Effective" rent not taking into account your 2 months free after 14 months and waiving the fee we didn't tell you about which means that you're really sending us a check for $2150 every month but really, trust us, it's only $1700.

[thinkalone]

Brokers advertising as "by owner" should be reported, and if fee apartments are advertised in "no fee," those should also be reported. (Honestly, management companies are allowed to split off and have their own brokerage, so that they collect fees by renting the apartments they already own, and in that case they would advertise in "by owner," but it sounds like you were speaking of something different.)

Not having pictures is directly related to how fast apartments are rented - sometimes it's simply not reasonable or possible to gain access and go take pictures of an apartment before it is rented.

Net effective is slimy, but not prohibited, as long as it's labeled properly.

For what it's worth, I never advertise without photos and have never used net effective prices, which is my personal decision, but it still bothers me when people extrapolate from a few bad ads or ads they think are misleading and then disparage the entire industry. The real CL scams are much worse than what people are typically paranoid about real estate agents doing behind the scenes.

[maxawaytoolong]

It's not a few bad ads, it's like every third ad. I went through 15 experiences like what I described above and gave up and found my current place through a friend. I don't find it that "slimy." I just figure this is New York and that's how everything works... there's always some middleman trying to screw you. It's what the entire economy of the city is based upon.

As far as I can tell, almost every price listed by a management company for an apartment in a new development is "net effective," whether they list it as such or not.

[thinkalone]

It's disappointing to hear that you had such a bad experience, and if you're searching at certain price points I can see how you'd hit a bunch of brick walls when trying to find an apartment - having inside knowledge, whether it's through a friend, working directly with a management companies, or having a broker who knows what you are looking for, is always the best way to find a place.

> As far as I can tell, almost every price listed by a management company for an apartment in a new development is "net effective," whether they list it as such or not.

You're right - new developments and management companies are the ones who thrive on advertising net effective prices. They are not officially "brokers," so they are not held to the same guidelines and restrictions that brokers are, and they operate in an uncomfortable gray area when it comes to advertising on CL.