I found a property in Port Washington on Long Island, listed on Zillow. The contact associated with the listing was a Realtor. I reached out and asked to see the unit. We didn't sign anything with anyone.
I had questions and the Realtor gave me the Landlord's contact info. We subsequently reached an agreement and were ready to sign the lease with the Landlord. I just got a text from the Realtor that I should bring a check for one month's rent to the signing for her commission (not that it matters but this is in addition to 2 months security and 1st months rent).
As far as I'm concerned, I haven't used a Realtor in this process. The Realtor that listed the property is a fiduciary for the landlord - why would I pay for the listing agent's commission?
What would have happened if I had my own realtor? Would I have had to pay the listing agent AND my realtor? I specifically didn't use a realtor to avoid paying.
Has anyone heard this before? I currently rent in NYC and we DID use a realtor to find this property - we paid him one month rent to OUR realtor but we didn't pay the listing agent.