Is rent-direct.com a scam?

May 30, 2007 10:45 AM

Has anyone used rent-direct.com to get a list of apartments in Manhattan?

It's $249, but they say you don't have to pay a broker's fee and that you talk directly to landlords. My scam sensors went off big time.

posted by Frank Grimes to home & garden (11 comments total)

I used it several years ago when looking for an apartment (it was cheaper then, I think). My recollection is that it was largely a waste of money because (i) most of the free listings were available elsewhere, (ii) a huge portion of the apartments were all in the same small handful of very large buildings, and (iii) I ended up using a broker anyway because the brokers had better listings. I'm not sure what the service is like today, although in the age of Craigslist I would guess it's not worth $249.
posted by brain_drain at 10:53 AM on May 30, 2007

Don't do it!
posted by milarepa at 10:56 AM on May 30, 2007

I've never heard any real, live success story from
rent-direct or any similar service. Supposedly, apartments in Manhattan go so fast that the list is definitively obsolete by the time you even receive it. To any extent that is somewhat of an exaggeration, I echo brain_drain's thoughts.
posted by bunnycup at 11:08 AM on May 30, 2007

This thread contains a lot of comments from people who mostly seem none-too-happy with their rentdirect experience.
posted by veronica sawyer at 11:42 AM on May 30, 2007

Yes, per several friends who've been suckered by this service (or similar ones), it's a definite scam, run away.
posted by saladin at 11:50 AM on May 30, 2007

Can happily confirm that they are a complete waste of time and money. Call management companies directly...
posted by lovejones at 11:59 AM on May 30, 2007

Don't do it. Waste of money. I did it back when it was only around $100.00 bucks.
posted by zackola at 12:17 PM on May 30, 2007

Whew! I almost got a job a sales guy there!
posted by josher71 at 12:29 PM on May 30, 2007

Thanks everyone.
posted by Frank Grimes at 12:32 PM on May 30, 2007

Relatedly, I used it when looking in Queens and Brooklyn, and it was pretty much a bust.
posted by doift at 12:53 PM on May 30, 2007

I used it for Bklyn when it was cheaper. Not enough listings to make it worth the cost, since you'll probably end up going through a broker anyway, as I did.
posted by sonofslim at 2:35 PM on May 30, 2007