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"Play the game, but play according to your rules."
Apartment hunting is far from simple. You can go about the process one of two ways: through a broker - who acts as a middleman between you and the landlord - or you can work directly with the landlord.
While most people shy away from dealing with a broker in hopes of keeping costs down, working directly with the landlord is not always an option, especially in broker-heavy areas such as New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Miami.
These broker-controlled cities do offer "no-fee" apartments, but those listings are harder to come by, and not necessarily a better deal.
"If the name of the game in a market is it's a broker-market, then play the game, but play according to your rules," says Taylor Glass-Moore, who worked as a real estate broker before co-founding Zumper, a San Francisco-based startup that aims to simplify the house and apartment rental process.
"You set the budget that you're willing to spend, and you find the type of person that you're wanting to work with," he emphasizes. "Identify the broker who's going to do the best job - one who knows the neighborhoods you're interested in, and who has a great relationship with the landlords they're representing."
To ensure you're getting a good deal, look out for these common tricks real estate brokers like to employ: