MA Apartment Rebates 101

Before you start looking for an apartment you should find yourself a rebate to save some money after signing your lease. There are a few options out there thanks to the internet, and we're going to try to explain the benefits of each.

First things first: what is a rebate (in rental terms)?

A rebate is money back to you, the renter, once you have signed a lease. It can come from a variety of places. For instance, you found an apartment on Craigslist.org and it is under the category "For Rent by Broker: FEE." This means that when you sign your lease you will owe one month's rent to the broker listing the apartment. Now if you are to take a locator like Eleven Park Realty with you, they will split that month's rent with the listing broker and will give you back $200 for your business. Sounds like a good deal right? Well it gets better.

If the apartment is listed as "For Rent by Broker: No Fee" the same scenerio will happen except that the landlord will pay the fee for you and your locator will pay you for your business, in which case it is free money. And even better:

If you choose a luxury apartment complex like Archstone, Park Lane Seaport, Dexter Park, or virtually any complex in Boston; you can use a locator/agent/or referring website to get paid even more for your business. You should seek the most lucrative deals in these situations because your locator/agent/or referring website is paid directly by the apartment complex for your business and does not have to share this with a "listing broker" like in the previous examples.

Typically you will be paid 30 days after moving in to your new pad because landlords and luxury apartment complexes want to be sure that you will continue to pay the rent before they pay your locator/agent/referring website for your business.

Where can you find rebates?

You could start by trying a website like rent.com which offers you $100 on any apartment found from their website. All they want you to do is tell whoever you go to when you view the apartment that you found it on Rent.com and they will send you a check (or gift certificate in some states) 30 days or so after moving in.

Or you could use a new apartment locator service from Eleven Park Realty, where you fill out their form found here, and they will go on appointments with you to view apartments and offer you $500 on all luxury buildings and $200 on any other rental ("fee" or "no fee"). This is a useful service because not only do you get a generous rebate that is unmatched by anyone else in the business, but you get face-to-face help from an experienced real estate agent.

One word of caution, whoever it is that you choose, be sure that the rebate agreement is in writing so that you are sure how much you will be paid and when. Good luck apartment hunting!