Lack of photos and communication: Five red flags to look for when renting an apartment

Looking for a new apartment never gets easier or more enjoyable, no matter how many times you’ve done it.

Although prior experience can sometimes be useful when apartment hunting, most instances a fair share of skepticism is a good thing - especially when it comes to avoiding scams, unresponsive landlords, or other unfavorable tenant pitfalls.

In New York City, where the average price of monthly rent for a studio apartment is $3,501, breaking down to $7.64 per square foot , it means every dollar should go towards a place that you’d love to come home to.

If you’re currently on the search for the perfect abode, these are some useful red flags to keep in mind when scrolling through apartment listings and throughout the general apartment hunting process.

Lack of photos of the apartment

Normally, the apartment hunting process begins by looking online at units and deciding whether or not they’re worth seeing in person. When looking at the listings online, you should look to see if there are at least two pictures. Sellers sometimes avoid showing certain areas of the apartment, such as the kitchen and bathroom, if they are not in decent condition, or because they don’t exist at all, such as one viral apartment in New York City that is missing both a bathroom and kitchen.

Another photo concern is whether or not they appear digitally altered. To make an apartment look better in the online photos, real estate agents or landlords may insert clip-art of a couch or chairs, so it appears like larger items are capable of fitting inside the unit. If possible, ask the seller for live photos or a video of the unit that isn’t attached to the listing.

Paying for a credit check before seeing the apartment in-person

Before you’re approved for an apartment, the landlord or leasing office may conduct a credit check to make sure you, and your roommates if you have any, are capable of making the monthly rent payments on time.

To do this, they will typically hire an outside company to run the check, or they will do it themselves. If the leasing office is using an outside company, they’ll normally charge the applicant a small fee, often $20 or less. However, if the leasing office or landlord is trying to charge this amount before you are able to see the apartment, it can be a warning sign not to proceed.

Lack of Communication

Throughout the apartment hunting process, you will typically be in contact with various people, whether it be your broker, the leasing office, or the landlord themselves. If you are not receiving any kind of response within a few days, it could be an indication of what type of landlord you’ll be dealing with as a tenant.

If something is damaged in your apartment or your landlord is needed for any reason, you can possibly expect the same lack of communication you’ve experienced from them before signing a lease, which can quickly become a problem if you need to handle anything immediately such as a leak or any pests.

Bad Reviews

In some cases, it is possible to simply look up the name of your building and landlord. If there are one or two bad reviews out of dozens, it may be the case of a rare unhappy tenant. But if the reviews are primarily negative, it may be an indication that you should avoid living there.

Specifically in New York City, there are websites that are dedicated just to complaints against landlords.

Unusually Low Rent

Apartment listings can sometimes fall into the category of “too good to be true,” where it might fall within your allotted budget but have one more bedroom than you were originally looking for or even be located in an area that is normally more expensive.

Normally, the rent is lower than average for a reason - whether that be complaints about the landlord or if the apartment has characteristics that aren’t ideal, such as a location above a rowdy bar or a loud construction site.

In other cases, the rent is low because it is net effective, which means there is a free month or two factored into your rent. To make up for that free month, you’ll need to pay a higher amount in the other 11 months of the lease.

Honorable mention: broker fees

Although not necessarily a deal-breaker, a broker fee should be avoided if possible. A broker fee is a sum of money which a broker charges tenants in return for assistance in finding their future rental home. The broker is essentially being paid to show you the apartment if it ends up being the specific one you sign a lease with. The fee must be paid prior to moving in and can range from one month’s rent to 15 percent of the annual rent.

In one viral TikTok , which showed the individual touring a New York City apartment, they were initially told it was no fee only to be told there was a “$4,000 broker’s fee.”

Simply because of hefty costs associated with broker fees, it is recommended to go through the landlord if possible.