Expired Listings / Bait and Switch
Expired listings
When you start your search you will often run into situations where an apartment listed online is no longer available.
Why? There's no central database for listings and apartments can be on and off the market within hours. Welcome to Cambridge.
Why? There's no central database for listings and apartments can be on and off the market within hours. Welcome to Cambridge.
Rented by the time you show up
Landlords can't immediately notify all the agencies when an apartment has been rented. Even worse, an agent might find out that an apartment has been rented when he or she calls the landlord to let them know their client wants to rent the apartment. Because there are so many agents showing the same apartments, they can't always prevent this from happening. However, if this happens repeatedly to your agent it's time to find a new one!
The bait and switch
Some agents advertise apartments that simply do not exist. When you call to inquire about the listing, they make up a story about what happened to the make-believe apartment and offer to show you real apartments instead. This is called bait and switch; it's illegal. If you see this you can report them to the Massachusetts Real Estate Board.
Why won't an agent tell me the exact address?
If an agent were to disclose the address of a listing the renter might bypass the agent to avoid paying the fee. Or even worse, go see the apartment with another agent. For a hard-working agent, this would be the equivalent of working for free. You should expect to see the general location on the listing. Only when you meet the agent for the first time will he or she tell you the address of the apartment.