<p>I live in an off campus housing apt. right now. My roomates(3 of them) knew each other before and used a realtor to find the apt. They then decided to find another roomate(me)to lower the amount they would each have to pay. I am not on the lease. They want me to pay them a portion of the realtor's fee. Their reasoning is that it is part of getting the apt. I don't think its right...but want to to know other opinions. Any advice would be awesome!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t do anything without getting an official sub-lease contract. They could just take the portion of the realtor’s fee from you and then kick you out after a month and claim they didn’t know you. Alternatively, you could have them build it into your monthly rent.</p>
<p>How much are they asking for? If it’s something small, then just pay it to avoid burning bridges with people you have to eventually live with. If it’s a large amount then I would definitely question it.
You should also make sure you get these things in writing.</p>
<p>I would have to pay 700. The thing is im already living with them and have been since sept. and not on good terms with one of the roomates, so i dont want to pay and then find myself wanting to move out in like a month. Also, is it wierd that they never asked me to pay a security deposit?</p>
<p>$700? That is your 1/4 ‘share’ of a realtor’s fee for finding a rental apartment? So are saying a realtor charged them $2800 to find an apartment? Sounds very fishy to me. I would not pay it.</p>
<p>well 2800 is the monthy rent…so i wouldnt doubt that they paid that</p>
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<p>So definitely get EVERYTHING done officially in writing. From what you said, I think they could be telling the truth about the realtor fee, but in any case don’t trust people. In this kind of circumstance, anyway ;)</p>
<p>Where I’m at, they do charge a one month’s rent fee–which is why I always go for no-fee or find a place on my own. </p>
<p>I don’t think you should have to pay it since you didn’t exactly have a say on using a Realtor. That was their choice. It sounds like they’re just being cheap.</p>
<p>no, they did not pay 2800 for a realtor, to rent an apartment.</p>
<p>besides, they can kick you out at any time…leaving you with nothing.
they have rights that you don’t, yet they expect you to pay the same amount.</p>
<p>Sounds like the three of them decided to live together and decided on this particular apartment. They are responsible for the realtor’s fee. You were an after-thought. They wanted you to move in so their monthly fees would be divided among 4 rather than 3. Unless they were upfront with you and told you that you would have to pay for a share of the realtor’s fee from day 1, it’s not your responsibility. If your name is not on the lease, you should not have to pay. If I were you, I would seriously consider moving into an apartment where you are officially listed on the lease. The way it stands now, they can toss you out any time they want.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Demand that your name be put on the lease. </p>
<pre><code> OR
</code></pre></li>
<li><p>Find another apartment and put your name on the lease.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Many of the apartments that I’ve looked at do charge a 1 months fee in addition to 2 months security deposit, which would’ve been $12k right off the bat for my roommates and I.</p>
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<p>You can also look at it the other way as well. The OP can leave at any time and not be stuck with the consequences of breaking the lease (especially with no security deposit).</p>
<p>If you pay it and move out soon, it doesn’t work well for you. If you don’t pay it, well that would obviously strain the relationships immensely. I guess the safest bet would be to try to negotiate spreading that fee out over you intended stay.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your input. I have decided I am not going to pay it. We’ll see how this conversation goes on whether I move out or not</p>