Should I work with one or multiple agents when searching for a rental apartment?

If you start early (4-6 weeks prior to your intended move-in) and find an agent who demonstrates trustworthiness, knowledge about the rental market and provides you with quality listings, then working with that one agent will potentially benefit you.

Showing loyalty to a real estate agent can go a long way, as it could help you reduce a broker fee (some agents may lower their fee if they are exclusively working with a client), allow you to develop a relationship with the individual advising you on finding a home and save you countless headaches of working with multiple agents at once.

However, if you cannot locate an agent who you trust, has the capacity to find your next home and can advise you intelligently throughout the process, then searching for available listings on various rental websites and contacting those agents may be your only option.

The bottom line: Which scenario would you prefer?

• Developing a relationship with one agent who gets to know your preferences, takes the time to advise you and shows you at least several options that meet your criteria
• 3-8 agents contacting you, meeting you for 1-2 hours at a time and trying to close a deal by showing you 2-3 apartments each with no incentive to build up a rapport

Note: Rental agents in NYC do not always have access to every available apartment listing or management company.  Some of the largest management companies / landlords only work with select brokerage firms and agents, so your agent may not be able to get you into every building.  Regardless, a quality, experienced agent will have access to enough listings where this should not negatively impact his or her ability to find you a suitable home.