I’ve got a couple of friends who live in New York City, and the one thing they complain about the most is the rental environment. It’s common knowledge that finding great (and affordable) apartments in NYC is practically impossible to begin with, so when you throw in all the extras, such as the insanely high brokerage fees and the amount of personal time you have to waste looking at unfit properties, it’s no wonder that people abhor the entire process of securing living quarters out there.
That’s why I’m sure my friends will be interested in a company called Innovative Apartments. Innovative Apartments is a service that specializes in helping renters find suitable NYC apartments without all the usual hassles that go along with that task. I spent some time browsing through the Innovative website, which is at www.inapts.com, and came away with the following impressions.
First, I really like how easy it is for users to set up their personal search parameters to help narrow down the list of available apartments. For example, you can specify any of the five boroughs, as well as a specific area within the boroughs, the price range you’re willing to pay, the number of bedrooms you require, and whether or not you want a furnished apartment. When the results come back, you can see the rent, the date the apartment will be available, the cross street to give you a general idea of the location, and a photo if there’s one in the database.
A second thing I like about Innovative Apartments is their Email Alert System. This is available to members and allows you to receive email notifications when an apartment matching your criteria gets listed on the site. This is a very convenient feature because it means that you don’t have to constantly search the site until you find what you want.
Finally, Innovative Apartments charge much lower fees than traditional brokers. You won’t have to worry about paying thousands of dollars or a high percentage of your first year’s rent in order to take advantage of Innovative’s comprehensive services.
Overall, I’d have to say that Innovative makes finding an apartment in NYC as painless as possible. So if you’re currently looking to rent in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, or the Bronx, then you really have to check out InApts.com first!
I am familiar with innovative apartments. It really is a novel idea for anyone searching for rentals in the 5 boroughs. For around $200 bucks you get all thse stuff a broker provides along with a credit check. Compared to the traditional broker fees (which dont even include credit checks), this is a bargain and a half. The staff is also very supportive when you have trouble finding a place that is within your means. Broker fees are for fools!!!!
Innovative apartments found me an apartment in no time. And for only $200.00, plus I received a credit check and a background check. I’m always working and I rarely have time to look for apartments, that’s why innovative apartments is such a great company. You can browse their website and the best thing is they send you apartments directly to your email saving you time. I was not going to pay a broker $3,000 just to take me around for a couple of weeks. I am a do-it-yourself kinda guy and innovative saved me a whole lot of money. Thanks a bunch to the innovative team!!!!
This place is a scam. They pull the majority of their listings from other no fee rental sites such as Jacobsen Properties and Sky Management and then lower the prices on their site so it looks like you’ll get a deal. But then call the super of the building and find you were misquoted the rental price. They also have listings on their site that are false or listings from buildings they do not work directly with. They will lie to your face. Stay away!
Whoever created the idea of paying $200 is amazing. Considering that you’d save thousands of dollars on broker fees, spending $200 is great for services, which find you an apartment.
There are a few companies out there that do the same thing and God bless all of them.
I need an apartment in New York, I’ve used every resource imaginable… how is inapts.com different from manhattan apartments?
I actually used them last year and considered taking legal action against them. I thought they acted just like a bait and switch–they advertised all of these great apartments and then when I signed up, none of them materialized. The apartments they did share with me were few and far between and not even close to the ones advertised. When I asked for the ones I would see advertised in the paper or craigs list, I would be told they were no longer available. Rent-Direct is a much more reliable company.
Buyer beware.
A friend of mine emailed me the link to this article, she knew I used inapts back in July. I happen to agree with Lisa HOWEVER after 2-3 days of dead ends one of their support agents pulled through and got me to see 4 units on a Saturday. I fell in love with one and took it. I am know writing this reply from that very apartment. I had signed up with rent-direct as well and not a bad company however seem more organized then innovative apartments. innovative is definitely more hands on, i would talk to people as opposed to automated emails with rent-direct.
Its all good I guess, I found my apt without a brokers fee and I’m happy. If you need an apartment and have already tried all other resources then innovative is not a bad way to go at all. Regardless Good Luck!
I think Lisa wants a Pent house for free…..They got a few well rounded apartments up for grabs….and the credit check and a background check they gave me helped me land a pretty nice spot in the Upper east Side….
Lisa why don’t u go deal with a broker who will not get u a credit check and a background check and end up milking u for 1000s of dollars.
Whats crazy is most Brokers wont even give you a copy of the credit check they do on you….At least Innovative apartments gives you a copy of that…I signed up for with them two days ago…They hooked me up to a nice open house for a place with a View other then a Brick wall…Hopefully I will sign the lease in a few days…
Hey Albert hopefully your application goes through and you will be on your way to an apartment. I know you will love the space more and more. Good Luck and we will keep in touch.
Innovative is a scam. I think they are the ones posting their own damn comments.
Nice try Raichel, just so everyone knows Raichel is a disgruntle competitor, The brownstoner posts are from Raichel and know for a FACT it was started and commented by Raichel. I had one of them deleted as the Moderator saw the duplicate ip’s being posted. You stoop very very low Raichel.
I’m assuming you think all these were started by me as well ?
http://inapts.blogspot.com/2007/02/innovative-apartments-new-way-of.html
http://askjason.blogspot.com/2007/02/question-how-can-find-nyc-apartment.html
http://inaptsnobrokerfeeapartments.realtyblogging.com/
This is the only one started by us and we copied and posted the content, we were not the ones that even wrote it.
http://inapts.vox.com/library/post/innovative-apartments-new-way-of-finding-an-no-broker-fee-apartment.html
If you really knew what we were about and was a client Raichel I would have been able to pull you up on our database, you are more then welcome to “whiteboard” and see on my computer that you never even existed on any of our company records.
This all seems a bit fishy. I’dy own rather build my own house and leave it at that hehe.
I’m happy in Yonkers. Damn city folks.
Nothing wrong with that Roman. It’s just I don’t like when certain individuals make very very false claims without any concrete evidence of foul play. People need to hear both sides of the story sometimes and come to their own conclusion. -Inapts.com
According to the BBB and other sources including NY1 I guess it’s not that false of a claim. I like thiss.. How in the world is a site like this get’s indexed sooo quickly. I’ve been working SEO for number of years now and from the date it was posted, it’s already on Google.
Roman if you have been working SEO for years then you would know how its done, if you don’t I feel bad for your clients. In addition to that, i find it very funny you work SEO, your probably Rachiel of maybe another poser, not surprised. Best of luck in your SEO endeavors.
Disgruntled Competitor? How about a disgruntled client? You still have my $60.
$60, are you kidding? Innovative Charges $190, and always did. You may be confusing us with someone else.
Ok this is ridiculous…I also would not be surprised if they are writing these positive reviews themselves. I have noticed a lot of stuff like this popping up recently soo I guess they are doing damage control. I dealt with Innovative and they are a scam. They really do excel in the bait and switch and they lie to your face (Brooke). I was shown “listings” for great places before I gave them my money then all of a sudden the listings I was shown were crap. The good listings they did give were pulled directly from the Jacobsen and Sky sites and Innovative misquoted the prices to me too. The listings they post on Craigs List are just to lure you but believe me you’ll never see them! I am still waiting for my refund and any time I call to talk to the person in charge of refunds (Hassan) I get the runaround. Stay away.
Thought I would chime in as well. Signed up with them, initially got only 2 apts then the eekend after “registering” got 5 more units and signed a lease. Not the fastest group to repond to messages but got my apartments. If you have 24 hours to move then I wouldn’t use them. I guess you also have to be a little lucky when looking for an apartment. No one said it’s going to be easy. Good luck Jen in getting an apartment..if you really are looking,lol or like Innovative said maybe your a competitor, or maybe this is Innovative writing this message. Ok I’m confused, Good Luck to anyone looking for an apt in NYC, be ready for the ride of your life.
Jen, what is your last name? If you were requesting a refund you would have been speaking to Accounting not “Hassan” please shoot me over an email with your last name to see what the problem is with your case.
This is such a scam. My friend god scammed by them few weeks ago. Don’t go with them.
They post fake ads tu lure you in there. You will never see an apartment that was advertised.
Hello readers, let’s keep this discussion civil, please. In the interest of fairness, I’m allowing comments from both sides of the fence, but will start editing/deleting stuff that gets out of hand.
BTW, make no mistake about it: Reviews and More is a PERSONAL BLOG that is maintained by me (J.E.) — not by Innovative Apartments.
Thanks.
Hey Erick, your friend “god” scammed huh? Any proof? Why don’t you give me your friends First and Last name? I will be able to immediately pull up the info. Do not make false claims as if you know who we are!
After viewing your website I did not notice any apartments in the Kips Bay neighborhood?
Try searching Murray Hill, I just did a search and see plenty. Murrah Hill and Kips bay are very close if not the same neighborhoods. Go here for specifics on Manhattan neighborhoods
I used this service and found it to be terrible. Nothing was listed as advertised and I have been requesting a refund since March 19th, 5 days after I signed with them. As for the emails you are suppose to get..forget it..they send you something only after you call and ask. Even then probably about 90% of them are wrong in one way or another.
Dianne I would rather address your concerns in private however since you feel the need to make your “issues” public please allow me to respond.
1: You are NOT the client who registered, it was a relative of yours.
2: Your relative has logged and repeatedly logged on to the site and contacted our landlords/management companies.
3: You claim to have requested a refund on 3/19, We have no record of this, HOWEVER I do have a record of your relative logging on to the site at LEAST 13 days after the “alleged” request for a refund. Please explain how you or the person who actually signed up requested a refund and then accessed our website with the provided user/password almost 2 weeks after supposedly requesting a refund.
I wont go into the details but if the account holder has a request for a refund please have the account holder contact service@inapts.com.
There is nothing to hide here.People get dissatisfied thats why companies have refund polices. We do our best in satisfying our clients needs, however some client “needs” are just next to impossible to satisfy.
Nice review. I registered with them to find an apt in the Upper East Side. Took 3 Days and I had a lease signed. Service was pretty upfront. You get what you pay for. You wont have a limo take you around to the apts but having direct access to the apartments was good enough for me. Credit check I must say was useful. I guess because I’ve never seen mine before. All in all Innovative Apartments worked. Thanks guys and keep up the good work, oh and get some fish. Cheers! -W.Solomon
I got scammed a year and a half ago. They produced mostly fake listings other than one or two that I had already found on craigslist. I asked for a refund. They refused. I fought tooth-and-nail with Innovative for a refund through my credit card company. I won but it took a lot of my time and made me hate looking for apartments in New York. If you haven’t figured out yet from the other postings that Innovative is not a good company, then check out the Better Business Bureau’s review http://search.bbb.org/Results.aspx?n=innovative+apartments&add=&c=New+York&st=&z=
And think, those are only the people who were angry enough to file. And why didn’t Innovative respond to the BBB’s correspondence sent to them in January 2007? Do they have something to hide? Maybe all of the ex-customers that are raging mad about their service, attitude, and prices. Not to mention that they got scammed.
Another attempt to hijack this blog by a competitor. “Josh” You are a blatant LAIR. You were never a client of ours. I’m sure if you were you would be on google looking for Innovative Apartments a year and a half after you supposedly signed up. It’s comical. “made me hate looking for apartments in new york” Nice touch. If you were ever a client yo would have received your refund as per our contract.
http://www.inapts.com/inthenews.asp
“Josh” Would you mind giving me your information, wouldn’t you want the people reading this to believe you?
I used InApt’s last year and they are a total scam. I’m not a real estate agent or broker of any sort. I’m in advertising. Brooke is a total liar, wicked person who must have trouble looking in the mirror. The operation is a complete scam from top to bottom. The listings were totally bogus, they don’t provide anything helpful for the fee they charge. Building Management LLC’s will run your credit report upon applying for an apartment, so what’s the point of InAPt’s.
Additionally, the listing I responded to from Craigslist was bogus listing, most of the apt’s they have on their site are not available and every management company I called said they had no relationship with InApt. I got my money back after harassing them for weeks.
Brooke lied to my face about the “bookkeeper” not being in the office-but he was totally standing at a desk in the background. I came in weeks later for my refund and it was that guy Hassan who was refunded my transaction. Hassan’s major cute, it was almost worth it just to meet with him. But Brooke is like the evil character on a soap opera. Don’t believe a word she says, run for you life. Just keep asking questions to her and everyone else and you’ll see them get nervous. How they haven’t been shut down is a complete mystery to me.
“Hassan’s major cute” .. real professional, I wont say your name but i know who you are, and for God sakes leave Innovative Apartments ALONE!.
Disclaimer: “S” is a former employee of Inapts and we have proof, this person wrote the same letter to us MONTHS ago and just keep reposting is everywhere. Its a total LIE and quite frankly a very low blow. You my friend are the complete liar , grow up.
lol, I completely have never worked for InApt’s. What the hell are you talking about? YOu definitely have me confused with someone who may have worked for you. But I assure you and everyone reading here-I have never worked for InApt. I was just a regular citizen looking for an apartment. But tell me something? If InApt’s is such a great law abiding non-reported to the Better Business Bureau type business–than tell me, why would people bother following up on these blogs to warn other potential victims of your scam? And, if I was a previous employee-which I assure you I am not-what could have gone down at InApt’s that would cause a person to post nasty stuff all over the internet about this company—–if there wasn’t something shadey and deceitful about the nature of the business and the people (brooke) who work there? And Hassan is major cute, what is such a low blow about that? It seems so many people have been burnt by InAPt’s that the people who work there can’t even keep track of who would be angry enough at them to bother taking time out of there day to reply to a stupid blog. You don’t know who I am, but trust me, I came to you guys for an apartment and realized the minute I got back to my desk at my job that I had been scammed. In fact, I felt it while I was there filling out the forms, but didn’t have the confidence to just put a stop to it and leave. And what’s with that secret room off to the side that Brooke kept going in and out of and closing the door. That place is totally wrong.
“S” Brooke doesn’t work here anymore. Email me your first and last name so I cant handle your case and get you a refund ASAP, if you really were a client.
I signed up with Innovative a few days ago, after being lured in by what seemed like an owner-posted ad for an aparmtment on craigslist. That same day, I was called back immediately, and was assured that the apartment was still available. After signing up and giving them my money, low and behold that apartment, and nothing even in my 1650 price range, was anywhere on their site! After checking them out with the BBB, they have a terrible reputation, and nothing on their site is remotely what we were looking for, though they take an exact profile of what you want when you sign up. It has been two days since I requested my refund, when I was told by a frightened sounding receptionist that they would “email me a link that I would then send them something back that would start my refund, or something like that- sorry I’m not too sure, I don’t work in the customer service department.” If you are so legit, Innovative, prove it to all these people by getting my refund back to me in a timely manner. I meet the requirements, and am signing another lease for an apartment not found through your site. And don’t even try to pull the- oh she used to work for us crap- because I will gladly post my full identity and work address as proof. Maybe then we can all believe you aren’t a company that scams.
Nicole, did you receive your link?
You have to love Innovative Apartment’s fake “blogs.” Give me a break, do you really think people are that stupid? I guess so; you are still in business after I visited you over a year ago. Is it possible for you to get a written review from a credible source? Probably not since your service is unethical and wrong. How can you look yourself in the mirror knowing that you are scamming hard working people new to New York City out of $190?
This comment is directed at “Joe” above.
Hey dumbass, what makes you think this blog belongs to Innovative Apartments? You think someone from that company reviews movies, TV shows, and other products and services in their spare time? Do you think if this was an Innovative blog, they’d allow all these negative comments???
This is a privately owned and operated blog. Got it?
The ones who are praising Innovative Apartments are definitely employees. I signed up for Innovative Apartments to find that the ads they were posting on Craigslist were fraudulent. AFTER signing up with Innovative, I would notice ads they had posted on Craigslist and inquire about THOSE apartments to find out that they didn�t exist. During the entire time I was using their service, and their site was never updated. I filed a complaint with the BBB and demanded a refund. I was promised my refund within two weeks and didn�t receive it. Because of the terms of use, I expected I�d get it within 60 days (though I called or emailed nearly everyday to remind them). After 60 days, NO REFUND. I continued to complain. After 90 days, NO REFUND. Finally, I went into the office and DEMANDED my refund check. Guess what? THEIR CHECK BOUNCED! What sound business would have a check bounce?! So, I threatened legal action and was promised a money order. When I went in to get the money order, they didn�t have one. They wrote another check. However, I took it straight to THEIR bank to cash it. Check out their report with the Better Business Bureau, and don�t believe anything Innovative Apartments tells you (or Hassan Abood).
Our check didn’t bounce, why not tell the truth? You checking account was closed due to inactivity. My only conclusion to why you are posting this utter crap is because you are blaming us for YOU paying a brokers fee. We gladly gave you another check to cash/deposit ASAP. We did our part and kept our promises. We are sorry we couldn’t get you into a 1 bedroom in the prime neighborhoods of Manhattan for under $1400 as your profile stated. Good Luck
If you are a client and upset just come and see Hassan and he will issue you a full refund.
I also think innovative apt is a scam. They emailed my listings for the first couple of days, then I never got an email from them again. You will have better luck finding something on craigslist’s no fee apts, and its FREE!
Want to clear some of this up on behalf of Inapts.com. I signed up with them 1 month ago and now just moved into an apartment I never thought possible. The place is large and sunny and got it without a broker fee as promised. best $250 i spent. Alot of you naysayers dont have any facts are maybe are too unrealistic. Learn the market before you start searching. Innovative Apartments found me the right apartment and will use them again.
These people flat out stole my money and provided no service. The promised and have continued to promise refunds for months now. Finally they did send me a check, 3 months later, which BOUNCED! These people are criminals and I have the email documentation and scan of bounced check to prove it. If you need proof I will be happy to email to you.
Trust me, you can find an apartment without these people. All they do is search craigslist for no fee apartments and then leave them on their list. When they provided a list to me I actually remembered some of the addresses as places I had already looked at (and were posted on craigs list). 3 of the 12 total apartments they sent over on the list had already been leased the previous month and none of the other ones were even in the neighborhood I wanted. TERRIBLE.
Do not be a fool and get scammed like I did.
UPDATE: 9/18/07
I am closing comments for the time being because someone keeps leaving stuff that’s completely inaccurate, posing as InApts staff, etc.
I will re-open once things get sorted out.
For now, you can direct comments to admin[at]reviewsandmore(dot)net and I’ll try to post them manually.
Ok, I think it’s time to re-open comments, as I’ve received many email requests to do so.