To Quentin,
My partner and I are renting out a room in New York City.
The current renter is leaving soon and wanted to get in touch with the person who cleaned the apartment for them when they moved in. “Barbara,” the real estate agent who helped me find the present tenant, told me about this cleaner. Barbara paid for this first cleaning so that we could get our ad. We did not agree to work with her exclusively as a real estate agent, but she did show us the place first and got paid for it.
I told Barbara that we were looking for a new roommate right away and asked for the cleaning person’s phone number so that I could give it to them. The cleaning will be paid for by the present tenant. We didn’t make Barbara the only person who could list our house. Other real estate agents now want to show our place because they know it’s for rent. Do we need to do something for Barbara?
She had said she might put an ad in a newspaper for our flat. That sounds fine. Let me call her right now and let her know that other agents are showing too, so she doesn’t need to put out an ad. Maybe I should treat her like our only selling agent, even though we didn’t sign anything with her? That looks and feels more official. I did get the cleaning person’s number from her, and I don’t want her to lose money if she already put an ad out there.
Store Landlord
To the Landlord,
It’s Edvard Munch time.
It would have been easier on everyone if someone had just spoken up right then. Your letter makes me think of the picture “The Scream,” which sends out waves of anxiety. Get in touch with Barbara and ask her if she’s already paid for an ad. If she did, let her find a renter for two weeks before letting other agents look at it.
That seems like the easiest thing to do since you’ve worked with her before and she went above and beyond to find you a roommate, even hiring a cleaner. If she hasn’t already, tell her that the unit is also being shown by other real estate agents and that you’re sorry you weren’t more clear when you first talked.
Do not email. Do not text. Carry a note, but don’t use a bird. And don’t use smoke signs to get your point across.
The more important question is why you didn’t tell her you had other managers when she suggested you put up an ad? Do you worry that you’ll let people down or make them mad? Are you afraid that she won’t like you if you speak up?
You are giving her first choice on your empty apartment in New York City, which is a very competitive market, by giving her two weeks to find a tenant. However, you are not keeping it as an exclusive listing for her forever. However, you do have a business relationship with Barbara, so you are within your rights to give other managers the nod.
New York City rents
It shouldn’t be hard for you to rent this flat. Many people want to live in New York City, so rents have gone through the roof. Realtor.com released a study last month that said the median asking rent for an apartment in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx was $3,425 in August 2024. This was up 2.3%, or $76, from the same time last year.
More than twice as much in New York as it is across the country ($1,753 per month). According to a report from Realtor.com, Jiayi Xu and Danielle Hale, the median asking rent in New York City keeps going up every year, while the general trend in the top 50 markets is going down. “The median rent being asked in New York City in August 2024 was $359, which is 11.7% more than the same time in 2019.”
When you look ahead, be clear about what you want to do. Someone else would have rented out your apartment if Barbara or her firm had paid for an ad. That would have been a waste of both Barbara’s money and time. Some might say that the second one is more important. You could also be very mean and tell all the officers that the game is open.
In this case, it’s not about Barbara; it’s about you taking responsibility for your words and deeds. Barbara may or may not care. “Woman Looking in the Mirror” is the name of another picture by Munch. You should be happy with what you see when you look into yours.
