RDNY.com Yelp Reviews they don't want you to see.

This service is very legitimate, I talked with a representative when I first setup my account and she helped me customize my search profile so that I could find the best apartments. Within one week I had found and secured a new apartment, and I couldn't have done it that fast without this service (and without a broker).

I highly recommend this to anyone looking to go the no-fee route on their next apartment search.

If you really want to go the no-boker-fee route, it might work for you.

I was a little skeptical about RDNY when they contacted me, however I had a long chat to a lady named Michelle on the phone and a few laughs with her. However, there are so many scams in the US, and the real estate industry is notoriously sketchy.

I was a little nervous committing to a sign up fee ($275? i think?) however, I took a chance, and I am happy I did. RDNY have NEVER called me again since signing up, and I am grateful for this non-intrusive method.

I think certain areas seem to have more apartments. I was looking at Upper West and Downtown with my search criteria. A daily flow of UWS apartments were available, however not as many downtown.

When you click on a result in your search you are given ample information and the real estate agencys contact AND the building supervisor contact. Many times you can just go to the building and call the super to come see you.

Apartment hunting F***ing sucks, especially in this city, however RDNY took a $6000 sour taste out of my mouth. Someone has to do a lot more than that to warrant that kind of brokers fee.

Avoid Craigslist like the plague. Nothing is ever as it seems.

A funny thing is that you contact people in the no-fee section of Craigslist, to find out that they are brokers trying to scavenge their fee from no-fee apartments on RDNY.

I give this 5 stars. There weren't thousands of apartments, but there were enough. And it is definitely the only REAL way to find no-fee apartments that I have experienced. Good on them for getting this going.

Apartment owners need to start paying RE Agents for their service like everywhere else in the world.....not the customer!!!

It is unfortunate that other people got hammered with phone calls and emails by other agents. I must have been lucky as Michelle who was calm, bubbly, and non-invasive.

Good luck!!

If anyone wants to see my email history with RDNY just message me and I will forward or answer any questions.

I appreciate their efforts on trying to work with us for several months.

Working along side their staff, I have to say, this was one of those comfortable experiences. Very unfortunate for many, as I've read the reviews on here. Not everyone will have the same experience. As for mines, absolutely no complaints.

I may need them for future reference comes the time someone else may need suggestions on moving. Overall, working with them was stress-free.

We were able to narrow down his search very quickly with their help, and he found the perfect place while I was there with him. It was fun shopping around a little bit, which made me want to think about relocating, but I can't right now with my current job. Eventually, they will let me move anywhere I want and work from home, but that's not for another 6 to 12 months, or so. When I am able to relocate, depending on how our relationship proceeds with my current boyfriend, then I probably will consider moving into this area. I just loved having a tour of all the places available!

If I ever move to New York, then I'll definitely use their services. They were very knowledgeable on the area, and showed my friend exactly what he described he was looking for. I can see first-hand how they treated him (and me) and how efficient their service was, so I'll definitely recommend them and use their services in the future, were I ever given a chance to do the same.

I was reluctant to pay the membership fee for RDNY, but when I did, I immediately found a dozen apartments in the location I was looking for that hadn't been listed on Craigslist. The representative, Jeff, was very helpful (not pushy at all), and did a good job of following up and making sure I got what I needed. Within a week I'd found an ideal apartment and signed the lease - problem solved.

I am recommending RDNY to several of my friends who are moving into the city or switching apartments in the near term. The small membership fee is nothing compared to a broker fee. Furthermore, I felt way more in control of the process than when I was dealing with brokers who were pushing apartments on me that didn't fit my needs/budget.

First, it seems to me alot of the complaints are not about the service, per se, but about the sales team. True, they are agressive, and they will call you alot of times (for a few days) to try and get you to sign up. But guess what, it's NYC; EVERY salesman out here is pushy.

Second, alot of complaints are misplaced because they are complaints about the nature of NYC real estate; signing up for RDNY is not going to get you a $1400 a month one bedroom apt in Greenwich Village.... it's not going to happen. No matter how you get your first NYC apt, you're going to end up paying major $$$$ for a tiny little place in an old building; you're probably going to have to walk up stairs, walk blocks from a train station, etc etc. You don't HAVE to live in NYC, you can always move to Orlando or Phoenix and get alot more for your money.... this is just the way the Manhattan market is.

The real question is, do I use a broker or not. Well, I tried very hard NOT to use a broker, but in the end, I went with one, simply because a good one has access to alot of properties and can help you through the application process. The "no broker" apts on RDNY are likely to be a little higher in the monthly rent for what you get, and in the end, I got a one bedroom in a great area for about the price of most of the studios advertised on RDNY, but I did have to pay a 12% commission to the agent.

If you are looking in the East Village, you can bypass RDNY and go directly to Jakobson, because he rents many units in this neighborhood broker free, and that's alot of what shows up on RDNY... But, if you're open to other areas, than RDNY has alot of listings...

Even though the service didn't help me land an apt, I did get alot of information off their site; the more apts you can look at, (virtually or in person) the better off you'll be pulling the trigger on your own place. Also, they have great tips on how to prepare your package, how to qualify, what landlords require, etc etc...

Apt hunting in NYC is like nothing I've experienced in any other city, and I feel it was worth the extra $$$ I paid just for the increased knowledge of the peculiarities of the NYC market.

I was searching for an apartment in NY and I wasn't being able to avoid broker fees. The "no fee" section of craigslist almost never turned out to be "no fee". When I came across http://RDNY.com I was extremely skeptical since they were charging $170 upfront. I decided to take the leap of faith and it worked out quite well for me. Luckily they had a lot of listings in the areas I was interested in (Manhattan: SoHo, East Village and some parts of Brooklyn) and I missed one awesome apartment but got another good one. So I am glad I tried it out.

My recommendation is to have 3 days, and get an unlimited train pass. Then use rent-direct and be your own broker. It really was amazing to find a great apartment basically on my own!

The experience of finding an apartment in the city can be overwhelming but Rent-direct made it as easy as it can be. Whenever I emailed the company with questions regarding available rentals, someone replied within hours - sometimes in as little as a few minutes (even on weekends). The staff was very curteous and helpful.

New no-fee rentals populate your inbox almost every day - and the site gives you a ton of information about each listing including how much the rent is, who the management company is, their contact information, what paperwork the application requires, and whether pets are allowed. Additionally (and this is a huge plus), photos are almost always included.

The fee that you pay to join the site is paltry compared to the cost of a broker. Moreover, the site offers almost the same thing as a broker - the new listings that come up are immediately sent to your email, and all of the information that you could want about the apartment on paper is at your fingertips.

We are all busy in the city and don't have a lot of time to parse through the internet looking for suitable listings. Rent-Direct has a great selection of apartments and definitely helped me to find a new home with as little stress as possible.

A special thanks to Amy Goldman for all her help! Thank you http://RDNY.com New York City here I come!

Ilissa J. Ft. Lauderdale, FL New York, NY (as of 11/5/2011!)

Anyways, we had about 3 pages of quality apartments from http://RDNY.com. Which is a relief after seeing about 30 apartments we either couldn't afford, or were the size of my closet in Cali. We had a pretty specific requirements (dog, 2 bedroom real or flex with real walls, a pretty low price range and in Manhattan) Some of the apartments were rented by the time we could see them , but we finally found an apartment that we liked and went in applied and got it!

The only down side to http://RDNY.com is the price, but then again it sure beats living on the street or paying a broker 10%+.

Finding an apartment is a lot of work, so I like the idea of a broker who will help you find the right apartment for you. Unfortunately, the market in New York means that the brokers work for the landlords, not you.

Craigslist is swamped with bait-and-switch ads by brokers who make posts in the "no fee" section in order to get your contact information, then they will try to show you whatever apartments they are trying to unload that week. Craigslist's community moderation can't filter for that sort of thing, so you're kind of on your own.

Rent Direct is a compromise between paying a broker fee or spending hours wading through junk craigslist posts. I think it's a pretty good deal: you can see all of their listings for free, without addresses. If you want the addresses, you pay a fixed amount (currently $105 or $135 depending on your price range) and then you can go apartment hunting, knowing that the listings you have are real apartments and there really will be no fee. (And if they're not, you can report them to Rent Direct.)

Rent Direct does not have exclusive agreements with landlords -- they can list other places, too -- so it is risky for Rent Direct to allow you to see any of their listings for free. With a little time, you could probably guess the addresses and contact the landlord directly, without paying Rent Direct at all.

That's why they ask for your contact info before you can search for free, and that's why they call you and encourage you to subscribe. I think this is preferable though, because you can find out if they have any listings in the range/location you want BEFORE you pay. And if they don't, you don't have to pay. That is great.

When I used Rent Direct, the woman who called me was very helpful and not nearly as pushy as the "Amy" mentioned in other reviews. (Honestly, if you didn't like the salesperson and did not sign up for the service, you should make it clear at the top of your review that you are not really reviewing the full service.) If you happen to get a rude salesperson on the phone, just hang up. You're not a customer yet, why are you still on the line?

In my experience, Rent Direct is an honest business operating in a crummy market. If you can find an apartment through a friend-of-a-friend, do it, it's much easier. And if you have the time to spend on craigslist, go for it, there are more apartments there (and more junk listings too).

But if you don't have a lot of time to waste, I wholeheartedly recommend Rent Direct.

In May, when leaving the dorms, I called RDNY after a brief google search. Glad I didn't read the reviews below first... but did talk to a pushy salesperson- must have been Amy. I tried to 'think about it' but I only had one day that I thought we could use constructively before leaving town. I remember she said- "what, so are you saying your son is making the decisions?" ouch. I signed up (she's good). Worse case, I would get fed info about apartments all summer and maybe help us make an educated decision later. Saw lots of apartment e-mails, but really didn't get serious til an actual return visit was planned. Talked to Larry several times and he was very helpful in getting me organized with paperwork, and what to look for and what to expect, and what to ask the landlords. I found their help pages very thorough and good. I made several sets of applications and copies of things, which may have been over-kill as we only used them as reference when filing out their application (but we only applied to one apartment and we got it, so I guess we were lucky.)

The first day of visits we blew through our RDNY possibles, especially after walking around some neighborhoods that we eliminated right away. If you don't know Brooklyn, the neighborhoods are very confusing, and nobody could tell you for certain where NOT to go. I got an education by immersion. Only then, were we able to narrow down our choices on our RDNY choices.

I started calling to set up appointments with the RDNY landlords a week before our trip, and all were helpful and courteous, mostly said call when we got to town. Our first day was lined up with RDNY appointments. Our favorite apartment was seen at a very busy Open House. Maybe fear of loss, but we applied for it. This landlord DID NOT want any of my copies of bank stmts, tax returns, credit report, etc etc - she said it is too easy for people to doctor those things up, and she'd rather do her own research. But I pushed the cover letters on her (Guarantor letter and Renter letter) and was glad we did. I think they set us apart from others, and she "got to know us" from the letters. FYI- she took NO money for an application, credit report, or anything. (maybe because it was an open house?) She reviewed our application and did the credit report, and we eventually met (4 nervous days later), signed the lease, and she just charged the basic 1st mo, last mo and one mo security. We got a winner.

If you are reading this- just for comparison- we panicked while waiting to hear back and continued to look, call, make appointments- looked at LOTS from Craigslist, NYTimes, Village Voice, and even paid sublet.com (sorry Larry) for phone #s. With these other sources, I didn't meet or talk to any landlords- mostly brokers, or 'no-fee brokers'. They know very little about the actual apartment, and they charged fees for everything--- app fee for each roommate, fee for guarantor, fee for application itself, $500 to take it off the market, and in some cases- a hefty broker fee. But we ended up with backups, just in case we needed them, but we didn't.

Thank you RDNY for the education, and the direction. Now I hope I don't have to use it again!!

Melissa - Spanish Harlem

I didn't require personal phone calls or a personalized service, I was fine with receiving the e-mails that I got, which was frequently. I have to disagree that this is a "ripoff" and a waste of money - the apartments I received in the e-mails were legitimate companies and landlords and we visited quite a few units. While we ultimately didn't get an apartment through RDNY, I wouldn't say it was a complete loss. Finding an apartment in NYC requires a lot of your own work - you have to see the units and sometimes it was a pain the butt to have to work with the super or whoever was showing the apartment to set up an appointment, but really, I don't have any complaints about what we got. And between forking over $200 and trying to scour the ads in Craigslist (and then trying to determine if a no-fee was really a no-fee or if a listing was a bait & switch), I'd say I got my money's worth.

As to to the other posts that say they got spammed with moving quotes and other items, that wasn't true for me. While my husband and I don't plan on moving again in the city, I'd have to say I'd give this website a chance again.

For anyone interested in finding an apartment on their own without the hassle and fees of a broker than RDNY is an excellent choice. The fee for accessing the site is nothing compared with having to pay for a broker. The only downside to RDNY is the volume of emails for listings and moving quotes. My one suggestion would be to set your email updates for a daily summary of new apartment listings as opposed to individual listings.

The same day, a friend recommended RDNY, and sure enough, I found the very same apartment -- my dream apartment -- listed on their site! I signed up immediately and went around the broker, straight to the management company, and signed a year lease.

I love my current apartment even more knowing that I saved thousands in fees. I bet this broker had an RDNY account himself, and just tried to insert himself as a middleman.

I think RDNY is the happy medium between the crap shoot that is Craigslist, and the quality control you might get from a broker.

That being said, I ended up finding an awesome apartment in the west village through RDNY. The management company is wonderful, too.

If you have a really tight budget, RDNY might be more difficult for you. But if your budget is reasonable for what you're looking for, it's a good option. It's true that some buildings have a fee no matter what, but you'd be surprised what's out there without a fee.

http://RDNY.com had a list of direct rentals and would send me updates for the areas I selected. I found my place in only a few days.

My only criticism, is that there were not tons of listings. Spread the word and this will change!!!!!

Thanks to RDNY my roommate and I found the perfect apartment. The daily updates let us know first hand what apartments were available in the price range and exact location we were looking.

If you are new to the city I would definitely recommend RDNY.

Relocating to the USA after being outside the country for a number of years represents a big change for my family and I. I was attracted to the Rent Direct NY service, because of the direct dealing with the landlords and not paying out exhorbitant Realtor Agent fees. The RDNY representative that I communicated with, Amy, was very proactive in helping me to get the search underway even before we arrive in NYC. She also continued to update me through emails of other apartments coming on the market. The apartment options I reviewed at the RDNY site largely met the criteria I had proposed, however, not all were in the neighborhoods we prioritized. Nonetheless, we ultimately did settle on an apartment found through the RDNY service and the process with the landlord went quite well and today we are moved in to an apartment that we are generally happy with.

I have nothing but good things to say about http://www.RDNY.com. I moved to NYC from Texas in December of 2010. Having searched Craigslist previously only to find that many of those listings were frauds, and made a house hunting trip where I met with a realtor only to not be impressed with the options I was shown, I decided I needed to take matters into my own hand. I knew what I liked and what would/would not work for me. Somehow I stumbled across the RDNY website and decided it was worth the nominal fee they charged to search their listings. While there were certainly many listings of units in the same building, there was a healthy number of options in the neighborhoods where I was interested in living. Before I moved out here, I saw one listing and immediately fell in love with the apartment building. It is where I now live. Had it not been for the RDNY website, I'm not sure I would have stumbled across this building because from the outside, the sign indicates that it's a condo community. The fact that there are rentals available is missed on the average person who walks by. I was very fortunate to have found this place through RDNY! It's a great service, it saved me tons of money in broker's fees, and almost all of the units I liked the best, I found through RDNY. Thank you!

http://RDNY.com gave me "peace of mind" that the apartment listings they had on their site were legit and had plenty of information that helped me choose the one I wanted.

I love this service! I started using the site and found it easy and very up to date. I payed $185 [which is a real bargain] and 3 days later landed a fabulous, affordable apartment in a great neighborhood for my daughter and friend. The listing had just been posted so we acted immediately before someone else took it. We are all thrilled.

The personal attention was great and they encouraged us to negotiate the rent which we did and saved an additional $200 per month. A great deal all around

I am originally from New York, but left the Big Apple several years back for a stint in the military. In just a few years the entire process of obtaining, and let alone looking for an apartment, became an incredible hassle. As if giving someone pretty much full access to most things private isn't enough add on to that broker's fees and moving back to New York starts feeling like hardy worth the trouble. The first time I used RDNY I had 6 days to find a place, got it done in 5. This time around I had a little more time and their updated website provided me the vital information I required i.e. closeness to transportation and city map/pictures at the bottom of the ad. Not just that but their postings are current so you're not wasting you're time calling for apartments that are already off the market which is a HUGE problem with other sites. I HIGHLY recommend this website to anyone as the money is well worth it. I don't expect to be looking for a new place anytime soon, but if for some reason I have to I know exactly where to go first.

I've been living in my dream pad for the last 8 months thanks to RDNY. I just now realized that I could review them on yelp. I find myself now living in a scenario that simply wouldn't have been possible without RDNY. I prepared months ahead of time looking at Craig's List and any other website I could find that would help me locate an apartment. I was discouraged immediately because I knew I wanted to move to the Upper West Side, but found out that I really couldn't afford it. So, the choice was for me to move to some out of the way neighborhood or to give RDNY a shot.

Once you get in to RDNY, everything is so much easier with regards to moving. The fee is 100 % worth it. It's so much cheaper than dealing with broker fees and you actually get to deal one on one with the landlord and not with some slick salesman that you found on craigs list. I came up to New York 2 months ahead of my moving date and had appointments with people I found from Craigs List, RDNY, and some other website that was recommended to me which I can't remember.

Every craigs list person I met made me feel uncomfortable. They had that snake-oil salesman vibe to them that just makes you not want to trust them. On top of that, the apartments I found were no where near as attractive as the one I found with RDNY. The apartment I'm currently living at was the very first one I looked at when I visited NY. We were blown away when we saw it, and the deal was done once we realized how sweet the landlords were. They were extremely easy to deal with. I'm convinced that I have some of the greatest landlords possible in NYC now. I owe that to RDNY. I also owe to RDNY the fact that I have a beautiful brick wall in my living room, I'm living in prime Upper West Side area in the west 80s, my apartment is spacious, and the rent I'm paying here is so low for the area. The other apartments I saw that day were the same or more rent than this with half the space and in a worse location.

A guy I met on Craig's List wanted me to move to AVENUE C for Christ's sake for a tiny apartment for more than what I'm paying here. I would've been absolutely miserable all the way out in Avenue C with no public transportation. My advice to people out there looking for an apartment is to suck up the small fee you have to pay at RDNY in an effort to have the peace of mind that you're going to find a real apartment run by real people at real prices. You can avoid shady broker's fees or people trying to take advantage of you in any way. I'm definitely going to use RDNY next time I move up in the world and can upgrade to an even better apartment. Right now, I'm completely satisfied with where I live and the transition from Florida to NYC was so smooth thanks to RDNY.

The last thing I have to mention is that the landlords I found through RDNY were so nice and understandable about us moving in. The "credit check" was painless and they didn't probe too deep. They also only made me pay the deposit and the first month's rent while most of the Craig's List people I met wanted me to pay first month's rent, last month's rent, security deposit, and a broker's fee. I don't know what they were thinking. I don't know anybody who simply has $10,000 laying around to be spending on moving in alone. The landlords I have now put more faith in me and trusted that I would be able to pay every month on time without having to pay a whole slew of fees immediately just to move in.

I just found and rented an apartment in NYC for 3 college girls , broker- fee FREE, from http://www.RDNY.com!!

I am a happy customer, as I live in NJ, a 1 & 1/2 car drive away from NYC.

I started looking at the website in April, without paying a fee to join - and without landlord contact info. - to get a feeling for what was out there to rent. I spoke with people from RDNY on the phone who assured me that when I was ready to join and pay the small fee I would be able to see more apt.'s with actual contact info..I also used 'craig's list', and I decided that I did not want the headache of dealing with people who may or may not be truthful with the information you received from them in order to rent their place. After dealing with a few crazy situations, I realized the smartest thing to do was to go with http://RDNY.com because they have relationships with the landlords they work with so therefore you see actual apartments that are for rent!! I joined in late July and started looking at actual apartments in that first week. My only problem was actually MY problem.... my daughter's roommate situation changed throughout the entire time we looked for, and at, apartments! That left us looking at different apt. sizes and rental prices almost weekly - which was NOT a problem through RDNY. We found an apt. in our second week of looking - which involved 2 actual days of looking at apt's in Manhattan, but didn't sign the lease until our roommate situation settled - which was a week ago!

http://RDNY.com gives you all the info you need to contact the person who will show you the apartment, and give you any further details about their specific requirements to rent.

We all need to remember that all people are very different ! Every landlord as a person is different, so if they give you the current occupant of the apt. to speak to for rental info., that is their decision to do so - not RDNY's fault. If the apartment is rented already when you call, ask about any others they may have as a RDNY client! I happened to be lucky that the apt. I wanted to rent for my daughter was not already rented by the time I was ready to -- they tend to go fast! If you READ the rental info. that the RDNY website gives you, you will be prepared to handle anything!! I never rented a NYC apartment before, and I was prepared! Any questions I had or if I wasn't sure of a situation that came up, were answered by my assigned staff member, quickly and efficiently by e-mail or phone. Most of the complaints I read here were from not using common sense!

I liked seeing photos of the apartments - they were true to the actual apartments. I would agree that if I could eliminate the apartments from view that were not right for me, while I was scrolling through them on the website, would be helpful.

I would definitely recommend using http://RDNY.com to find and apartment! For the small fee, it made my life alot easier!!

And I did not pay a broker to find my apartment - I did it myself with the help and guidance through http://RDNY.com - a savings of at least $2000.00 !!! Once again, thank you, Marcella

I've used Rent Direct 3 times now, and each time it was money well spent.

First time was in the summer of 2008. I was moving from St. Louis to NYC, I had no plans to visit NYC to look at apartments before my move and was dead set against paying a $2000+ broker fee. I lurked on RDNY for about a month before I actually signed up for an account (you can see listings, just not the full details; address, etc). I wanted to make sure that they had good listings before paying the fee. I wasn't let down, a couple weeks before my move I signed up for a full account. I Narrowed my search down to 3 apartments, then packed up and drove to NYC. The first apartment I looked at, found on RDNY, was exactly what I needed. 1 bedroom, in my price range, close enough to the 6 train. It was in the UES, which worked for me because I didn't know anything about Manhattan neighborhoods anyway. I Filled out an application, got approved the next day, moved in the following. Done, $179 well spent. (RDNY was a bit cheaper then)

Second time with RDNY. One year later, more experienced in NYC.Now knew that I wanted to live in the East Village. This time I decided I did not want to spend money on RDNY and definitely not a broker. I started my search through Craigslist. It did not go well. Bait and switch, crazy landlords trying to scam me into ratty, over-priced apartments. Not happening. So, with 4 days until my UES lease was up and had to be out of the apartment I once again signed up for RDNY. On a Wednesday night I found 4 listings that were in the EV and in my price range. On Thursday after work I went to look at the listings found on RDNY the night before. 1 wasn't so good. 2 were both really nice and I could have definitely moved into either of them and been happy. The 4th was amazing. On 14th St and Ave A, true 1 bedroom, exposed brick, stainless steel appliances, and a damned washer and dryer IN the apartment. I actually said to the guy from the property management company, "you've got to shitting me? Is this the actual listing?" It was. Between Thursday at about 6:00pm and the next morning at 10:00am I completed my application and organized all my paperwork and deposits and rushed it to the leasing office. I got the approval call on Saturday afternoon. Signed the lease and moved in on Monday. Again, without RDNY I would not have found that really awesome apartment.

Third time. One year later, Summer 2010. This time I was not planning to move. The last apartment I found was perfect. But, I got it at a very low price because in the Summer of 2009 the market was not doing as well as it was this year. With that, my rent was raised substantially. I decided I didn't want to pay it, signed up for RDNY once again. This time, the listings weren't as good as they had been in the past. This was not RDNY's fault. It's just the way the NYC market goes, sometimes you find a ton of really good, cheap, in-the-area-you-want apartments and sometimes you don't. I decided I wanted to move to the Financial District. RDNY does not get a lot of Fidi listings. I'm not an expert on Manhattan apartment rentals, but I'm pretty sure that's because the buildings in Fidi either handle renting themselves or deal with a select number of brokerage firms. With a short time to move, and just being lazy I went with a broker to find my current, awesome place right across from Battery Park. So, I didn't find my third NYC apartment through RDNY, but I was able to see a large number of good listings to help me narrow down my search.

RDNY will not find an apartment for you. YOU have to put in the leg work. YOU have to know where you want to move. YOU have to do your research on neighborhoods and prices to find the best place for you. If you want someone to do all the work for you, bite the bullet and pay a broker.

I'm a fan of RDNY. They have good listings, they make constant improvements to their web site and they have responsive customer service. Hell, you can even go to their office to use their computers and printers if you need to. (I did on my first move)

If I want to move again next year, and probably will. The first thing I'll do is sign up for RDNY again. For me it's most definitely worth the money, and I'd recommend it to anyone who asked.

I signed up with http://RDNY.com a few months back. Despite the cost ($100+) I did find that I received a good deal of listings in the areas where I was looking and, a lot more in my price range (about $900 for a 1-bedroom) than I would have found on my own via craigslist or elsewhere--plus that I was able to confirm the listings here as legit. The agent, Amy, was very helpful and checked up to see how the hunt was going. I ended up getting a very big 1-bedroom apartment for under $900 a month and a long-term lease. All of my dealings with the management company were exactly as the website indicated they would be and it was a great help.

My experience was pretty good. This was the first time I used a service like this and it worked out for the best. If your willing to put in the time to check the listings and call the management companies, etc., the site will be worth the cost. It was for me!

This is the 3rd time I've used RDNY, and guess what I found an apartment in the neighborhood that I was looking and in the price range I wanted, that is what it is all about. The membership fee was nothing compared to burning $3-4K to a broker to open a door for me. Please.

My contact, Liz, was professional and helpful and provided me with the information and guidance I needed to find my apt.

next move, I will call on them again.

My wife and I couldn't be more please with RDNY. We looked for an apartment for three weeks with no success. After signing up for RDNY, we found our new apartment in 15 minutes. The information on RDNY's website was clear and accurate, and RDNY's staff was very helpful. We will use RDNY again when we look for our next apartment.

I will like to thank rental direct for all the support for me and my family to helped us to find an apartment here in Manhattan. It was very easily and quick and in one week I had what I was looking for almost one month in others companies and web sites. Thanks again for your kindness. Also, I can tell that it is safe and you dont have to worry for lost your money in a fake money transaction

Josias Juanta

My experience with RDNY was the most positive I have ever had in looking for an apartment. Their listings were clear and helpful, with the right contact information, good photos, and neighborhood details. In addition, the site had useful information on the entire rental process. When I phoned RDNY, I connected with people who gave me time and attention, and couldn't have been more pleasant.

I found an apartment almost immediately, and did not have to pay 15% of the yearly rent to a broker. On the other hand, I also did not have to "work" the classified listings, wasting my time looking at places I would not even consider living in, or waiting for people who never showed up.

I give RDNY my highest recommendation.

Within about 2 weeks of joining RDNY I had checked out several apartments (a total of 4) and am signing the lease with the second place I visited (which was the best 1 bedroom I had seen in NYC). RDNY was definitely better than going through the questionable Craigslist system or paying the unnecessary brokers fee in this economy. Thanks RDNY and Amy Goldman for all the help!!

RDNY was a huge help in finding an apartment in Manhattan. Amy even helped break down which areas I wanted to be in for transportation and safety purposes, an even bigger help being from out of state and never having visited NYC. It is definitely a lot of work to find a good deal in New York, but RDNY helped me organize things so that the information was in front of me to minimize the hassle. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for an apartment in or nearby the city.

We are moving back to New York and chose Rent Direct rather than pay a large brokers fee. The agent (Liz) we worked with was professional and pleasant. The information they provided was accurate in every way and more informative than brokers we have used in the past. We found a great apartment with ease in a matter of days. We were also treated with respect at every building we contacted when we mentioned RDNY. When we needed assistance in negoiating our lease not only Liz but Larry Rosenberg (pres) got involved and resolved the issue promptly with excellent results. We couldn't be more satisfied with Rent Direct.

Trying to find my first apartment was a difficult task before I found Rent Direct.

RDNY was the best choice I could have possibly made when I decided to move out. At first I couldn't believe how simple it was to try and find a place without a broker. I saved a ton of money, the process was made painless thanks to an excellent rep, and the management company even cut me a deal on rent because of my association with RDNY. This service almost seems like a hidden treasure. I will continue to use RDNY for my future apartment searches and I would definitely recommend RDNY to everyone I know.

After signing up with this service we found an apartment from one of their listings on the first day and are moving in next week. The website made it easy for reviewing apartments and gave the proper information in an easy to read format. We were spending hours on Craigslist trying to find something and trying to filter out the nonsense. It was so overwhelming and frustrating. After talking with Elizabeth at Rent Direct, she was able to walk me through the steps and basically just told me to get out there and make appointments and start looking. She explained landlord requirements and other points that gave me the confidence to start my search. As a business owner I appreciate the professional and corteous service I received. I will use them again when I get ready to move. Thanks Elizabeth !!

My experience with Rent Direct was a wholly positive one! I received personalized service and the agent was very patient with me. This was the first move for me in many years. I was treated respectfully and when my agent wasn't available there was always someone available to help me through the rough spots in my apartment search.

The listings were very helpful and included pictures and floor plans in many cases. The agent changed my profiles to suit my search whenever I needed. This narrowed my search as I continued to look at apartments.

After a short time (about a month) I found the perfect apartment on Roosevelt Island.

I am very grateful to the help and listings I received from http://rdny.com. I would recommend their service to anyone who is looking for an apartment. Getting complete listings along with personalized assistance makes all the difference in finding the apartment of your dreams.

I am new to New York. Iam a young women from China. My English is not too good yet. But i used Rent Direct to find an apartment. I called lots of times because I did not understand very much how to find an apartment in new York. They always help me. When landlord wanted guarantor on lease, they explain to me all about guarantor. Now I am very happy in my apartment.

When I went to Rent Direct's website (http://rdny.com), I saw tons of testimonials. Being the total NY cynic I am, I figured they are all made up. Ok, so they must have spent a LOT of time making them up, because there were pages and pages of testimonials. So I figured I'd give them a try, cause I was getting sick of bait and switches on craigslist. (How come every apartment I called on was "just rented", but they had another for slightly more money?)

I wasn't expecting much. I spoke to one of their agents who was really helpful. First, they set up a search profile for me, looking for a studio in the East Village and LES. Then, they set up another profile looking for a two BR apt. that I could share. Finally, they set up a third profile so I could also look for a studio in Ft. Greene and Clinton Hill and Williamsburg. All for the same price.

The first apartment I called on was already rented, so I figured this was going to be another wild goose chase. But the next call was great and I made an appointment to see the apartment. A few more calls and a few more appointments. A few of the landlords I spoke to said they really like the Rent Direct people, because having paid a little for find their apartments, meant they were more motivated and real. I saw some good stuff and most of those landlords said they gave up using craigslist a long time ago, cause so many of the people were a total waste of time.

So anyhow, I found a great studio and I've actually become pretty friendly with the owner, who lives in the building. I give those people at Rent Direct pretty high marks. They did everything they said they would. Gave me decent listings. I didn't waste too much time at all and saved myself a lot to time running around because they had a lot of apartment pictures for the apartments I was interested in. They weren't perfect, but it's a lot better than it used to be and I'd never give a nickel to a broker!

So I recently replied to a Yelp thread in which someone was planning a move to New York. I mentioned that I had used Rent Direct (in April of 2009) and been very happy with the experience, and it was brought to my attention that I never reviewed the site. So here I am. I have to admit, I was very surprised to read some of the other reviews here, as I was very happy with my experience with the site.

I was going to just paste my comments from the talk thread that Rent Direct came up in, but from what I read here, I feel like I should maybe address why my experiences might have been different than the other reviews here.

First, I am a real person. (If you don't believe me, you can certainly go back and look that the plethora of reviews, comments, etc. that I have made since moving to Manhattan in April of 2009. That would be a lot of prep work just to write a fake review. Also, I attended a Yelp event once. So other Yelpers can verify my existence.) I feel the need to mention this because someone referenced fake positive reviews.

Second, it seems like a lot of the dissatisfaction that I'm seeing is related to how refunds are / are not granted. I found an apartment. So I didn't need a refund. As a result, I really can't comment on whether they pay refunds to people who don't find apartments.

Third, it seemed like one of the comments here was from someone who used the site before you pay the $200. To me, that's kind of like watching the Pay-Per-View preview channel, not paying for the movie, and then complaining that they never showed you the movie.

Fourth, someone mentioned not being able to search by neighborhood in Brooklyn. I was only looking at places in Manhattan. So I don't know about Brooklyn, but I was certainly able to search by neighborhood. Also, since I hadn't spent much time in New York, and didn't really know too much about the neighborhoods, I actually made a number of calls to my contact, who helped me out a lot with customizing the search. (The Rent Direct employees can build and save a search under your log-in for you, or at least they could back in April of 2009 when I used the site to find the apartment that I am happily living in right now.)

Anyway, now that I just wrote an essay as an introduction to a paragraph, here is the comment that I had posted in the talk thread:

"I know that someone mentioned http://www.rdny.com above, but said that they had never used it. If it helps, I used it. I think that it was a little more than the $100 referenced above, but whatever the cost was they told you pretty clearly. You can actually browse the listings without paying the money, but the phone numbers and addresses aren't real. When you pay the money, it gives you the real information for the listings. Overall, I would say that my rdny experience was very positive, and the service person that they assigned to me was very helpful. The only negative that I recall was that at least one of the landlords tried to claim that he didn't post the ad on rdny (because the ad referenced 1 month free). That's really just the first step in the negotiation, though."