Fee vs. No Fee apartment?

I get this question all the time from clients, Fee vs. No Fee apartment? Why would anyone who is looking for an apartment wants to pay fee? This is why; Most of the apartments that are available in Manhattan are FEE apartments. Since for last year the vacancy in Manhattan dropped under 3%, And since New York City is an anomaly in this sense. As well Manhattan is not like another city, it’s the capital of New York City and one of the largest demanding city in the United States to live in. I personally believe it’s all about supply and demand.

What does Fee really mean? Fee is normally 15% of one year’s rent, for example if an apartment is $2,500 apartment a 15% Fee would be $4,500.  However, there are ways to not pay fees for an apartment but very limited. One is to go directly to the owner of the apartment. The other one is if an owner offers brokers an OP. OP is when owner payment for an apartment and OP is usually equal to one month of rent, or 8.33 % of a year’s rent. By reimbursing the broker, as a result the broker does not need to charge the tenant.