Apartment Locators; they go by different names some of them using Realty in their names. They advertise in the real estate section of the paper. They offer you the opportunity to purchase a copy of their exclusive office listings. They have done the searchings for you all you have to do is call the owners.
No brokers or agents. No management companies. No fees.
And when they come under investigation they can vanish faster than smoke.
Not a Realty Company
Sounds good, doesn’t it. Well except for that last part. But it’s all lies and borderline legal. Calling yourself a realty company and not being registered with the state is illegal. But these guys do it. After all, if you’re going to play the con you got to go big or go home.
Making up a list of rentals by taking them from newspapers is unethical but not illegal.
Offering upwards of 400.00 for the list is again unethical but not illegal…at least not yet.
Every so often these vultures spread their wings and descend on the unsuspecting, gullible and lazy.
Apartment Locators: Nothing Special
Apartment locators don’t do anything that you don’t do when you’re searching for an apartment. Except for one thing. They compile the search into a list and then sell it.
These people are the scourge of the real estate industry. I realize that in some states they are somewhat regulated. But unlike other aspects of real estate, you can do this part yourself.
A Master Locator
Real estate offices have large whiteboards that have all the office listings on it. Some of the larger companies have several of these. We have these so the agents in the office can see the current office listings. It is there to help track the status of a listing.
In the office that I worked in, we had such a board. It was not in clear view, you had to know where it was. One day this person comes to the office to meet with the broker. He is known to the broker and they sit and talk for a while. He glances at our board comments about one of the listings then leaves.
Since he is a friend of the broker and not a rival agent or broker no effort is made to keep him from looking at the board.
His Scheme
Later we learned that this person made it his business to be a friend of all the brokers in the area. He would visit them and then memorize their listing boards. Seems he had an idyllic memory. For him memorizing the listings was a breeze.
Next, he would compile the listings and sell them.
This guy became so bold that he would make up a flyer about listings from one broker and hand it out to another one. All he would ask for was a finder’s fee when the rental went through.
This became his undoing. The broker I worked with recognized one of the listings as belonging to a rival broker who was also a friend. A phone call here and there and the scheme came undone.
Because of this, we made the listing board digital. Now agents log into the company computer to look at it.
Lesson Not Learned
Did you know that apartment locators don’t update their listings? Why would they? The whole idea is to get the maximum return on the least effort.
I met someone who purchased a list that turned out to be several months old. Every place called was rented or taken off the market.
The person asked me if I had heard of this type of list. I explained the whole thing to her.
When she confronted the locator she was told that an error had been made. She could get the new list for an additional fee. So desperate was this person that she paid for the list even after I told her how useless it was.
The Wrap Up
Apartment locators don’t do anything that you couldn’t do with the Sunday paper. They exist because searching is work. Some people want others to do the work. And for that “service” you pay a hefty fee.
Some apartment locators give the whole real estate profession a black eye. But the people who feed this useless industry perpetuate its existence. Thereby keeping the con alive.
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and nothing stated here is legal advice. This article applies to the five boroughs of New York. All information deemed accurate but not guaranteed. Always check the real estate laws in your part of the country.
Comments, Questions, Suggestions?
Was this article helpful? Did you learn anything new? I would like to hear your comments on this and any other article on this site. Take a moment, leave a comment or suggestion. Let’s start a conversation today.
Share This Post
