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Jūratė, who is looking for an apartment in Vilnius to rent, complained that he has to pay almost 1000 euros for the first month.
“Most brokers and landlords ask to pay their rent in advance. The rent for the apartment is now 350 – 400 euros. Then you still have to pay the deposit, the amount of which is usually equal to the rent. It is true that some owners ask to pay more. For example, the rent for an apartment was 370 euros and the deposit was 400 euros.
Also, almost everywhere you have to pay a brokerage fee. It is not only when the owner rents the apartment, but there are very few such ads. Typically, brokers ask you to pay a fee of 150 euros or 200 euros. It turns out that I need to have almost 1000 euros for the first month of rent, ”said the girl.
She believes that the brokerage fee is unnecessary.
“I don’t know why he has to pay for it, but it appears in a lot of ads, I asked him what service I have to pay for, he suggested offering to look for an apartment elsewhere if I didn’t want to pay a brokerage fee.
I don’t want to pay money for anything, but I have no choice. If I don’t pay, there will be another tenant who will pay, “complained Jūratė.
Brokerage fees are not prohibited
Artūras Daubaras, President of the Lithuanian Association of Realtors, stated that in some cases, brokerage fees are understandable and necessary.
“For example, if a foreign student comes to Vilnius to study in an exchange program and wants to rent an apartment, why can’t a broker sign a contract with him and charge a fee?
The fee is charged for the service, regardless of who uses it: the tenant or the owner. If the service is provided to the owner, the brokers charge commissions, and if the tenant pays the broker ”, commented the president of the association.
According to him, it is unethical to charge a commission to both sides, both the tenant and the owner.
“However, if a broker offers an apartment to tenants on the real estate listing portal, it means that he has found it, exhibits it and charges a fee for it. If it wasn’t that broker and not that publicist, the apartment on display wouldn’t even be seen. In addition, the broker pays for the publication of the advertisement and the photos taken of the apartment.
Therefore, the tenant has the option of not taking the apartment or paying a brokerage fee and renting it. This is not a crime. And each tenant chooses whether it is acceptable to him or not. Such market laws, mediation is not prohibited, ”said A. Daubaras.
Still, according to him, if there were two ads on the ad portal, one for the broker with a brokerage fee and the owner, without it, it would already be illegal.
Steal ads and ask for an illegal fee?
However, real estate broker Mantas Mikočiūnas is convinced that brokers who charge brokerage fees in the rental market shouldn’t even be called real brokers.
“They have no experience and cannot sell their services to a landlord they would represent who would have to pay to find a tenant. Such brokers simply post in the ad that a brokerage fee applies. They often don’t even coordinate it with the landlord, who often doesn’t even know that someone else is listing their home.
These brokers take photos of the owner’s listing, place them in their new listing, and write about the brokerage fee. They call him clients who want to rent a house. So the broker already calls the actual owner of the apartment and tells him that he has a client whose find will not cost the owner anything, ”said M. Mikočiūnas.
According to him, with the client, such a broker first comes to the apartment and, if everything suits him, asks for a brokerage fee in exchange for nothing.
“After all, a person has found an advertisement, which is often stolen by a mediator.
However, serious brokers usually do not even work with the numerical market due to the low commissions. Therefore, there are often different ways to work with this market share. Sharhkin’s office“, Assured M. Mikočiūnas.
Offers to negotiate with the apartment owner, not with a broker.
According to the interlocutor, it is important to note that as long as people pay, there will be intermediation commissions.
“The tenants also have to take responsibility. They should not have to pay this tax because it is illegal. No one can request it, this fee is not defined in any contract. It is just psychological terror.
The broker is afraid that otherwise he will not rent the apartment, but, in fact, rent to the owner, for whom this tax is not important. And the tenants are scared or shake hands, they are lazy to argue and fight for their money, that’s why they pay, ”commented M. Mikočiūnas.
According to him, everyone is angry, but still pays a brokerage fee.
“In fact, tenants should look for ads that are represented by the apartment owners themselves. Usually brokers using mediation are stealing photos of ads or asking for help finding tenants,” advised M. Mikočiūnas.
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