- Shadé Smith signed her Manhattan lease before seeing her unit in person — now she regrets it.
- Spotting red flags early is a important way to weed out suspicious listings.
Event coordinator Shadé Smith had a harsh introduction to New York City's cutthroat rental market after spending 12 months in an apartment she describes as a "nightmare."
In a competitive rental market, apartment hunters must be weary of the lengths agents and brokers may go to to sell their listings — a keen eye can separate the diamonds from the duds.
Smith — who rented her apartment unseen before a cross-country move from Texas — told Insider she fell victim to misleading photos and an inaccurate description of her Manhattan apartment on a popular apartment hunting site.
Still, she decided to trust the words of her future landlord, and "take a leap of faith" by virtually signing a lease before her big move.
After experiencing a year of miscommunication from her landlord, including a lack of responsiveness on maintenance requests, she said she's learned to spot the warning signs before signing a lease.
With Smith's story in mind, here are some key red flags to avoid during your search.
Signing a lease sight unseen
Smith learned this lesson the hard way after opting to sign her lease without so much as participating in a virtual tour of her apartment. After her requests for more photos and videos went unanswered, she says she felt pressured to sign the lease for "a great deal."
"There were so many things that they neglected to tell us about the building," Smith said. "They lied about having an elevator, the location, and most of my maintenance requests have been disregarded."
"If you aren't able tour a unit in person, there are people in larger cities who tour apartments as a side gig," Smith added.
New York real estate agent Rachel Dunn offers this service for those who are unable to see an apartment in person, according to an Insider report.
"I know how hard it is to move from out of state. I tell people all the time to run it by me for free if a listing feels strange," Dunn said.
Claims of 'no fee' or pro-rated rent
Manhattan real estate broker Keyan Sanai, who admitted his own role in once luring unsuspecting potential renters, told The Guardian renters should be especially cautious of potentially false claims like "no broker's fee."
"The script is basically to lie to people: Put up [an ad] that says 'no fee,' and once you get 'em in, say, 'Oh, that's rented, but I have something else,'" he said of his managers' attitudes towards making more money.
The goal, according to Sanai, is to "pump the fear and pressure" prospective renters into signing a lease.
Sanai said he has since adopted a more ethical strategy to bring in clients, but warned that other brokers are taking advantage of anxious residents struggling to find housing in a volatile market.
"People are more desperate. There's very little regulation," Sanai told The Guardian. "I've heard stories of people saying, 'We really wanted this place, but we're pretty sure the broker took cash on the side from someone.'"
Negative or no reviews from past or current tenants
"I always try to speak to a past tenant or someone living in the building, so I can get a real sense of how the landlords engage with their tenants," Smith told Insider.
In her current apartment, maintenance requests went months without being addressed. Smith said she and her roommates experienced broken appliances and pests for weeks with no response from her landlord.
Poor communication from a building manager or landlord
Most times, a landlord's communication skills before signing your lease can be indicative of how they will respond to issues you may face as a tenant.
A landlord who is hard to get ahold of before you've finalized any paperwork could prove even more elusive once you're bound by lease.
Excessive pressure to submit an application during a tour
Apartment tours are the best way to find out if a unit will be a good fit for you, but the real estate blog Rentable says to beware of tours that feel rushed or pressured.
Just because an apartment looks good at first glance doesn't mean you should submit an application right away. Take your time, ask questions, and look around.
"You don't want to end up in a situation where you're tied to these people who're looking for any opportunity to get more money out of you," Smith told Insider.