Argh, the stress of searching for an apartment!! Well I got lucky after literally losing about 10 lbs revolving around my anticipated apartment search. A friend told me about Kirby Sommers and her Aptstar service. She seems to have offered it (might still offer it through landlordlinks.net) and now has a new website at https://aptstar.com) In any event, I contacted her and was immediately relieved to speak to someone who listened to me. None of the brokers I spoke with were nearly as professional or knowledgeable as she is. I decided during that first conversation to say "Yes, I want in, please accept me as your client!" She did. Just so you know she covers every single thing involved with renting an apartment. It's a lot (more than I ever even imagined the last time I rented) so am going to just list here what she did for me: 1. She helped me figure out what financial documents to show a landlord. This part is much more complicated than I thought it would be. But she taught me (without ever seeing my financial documents) how to properly prepare a package that pretty much got me a yes on the spot from the landlord at the time I applied for an apartment. 2. She selected best apartments based on what I told her I was searching for. I'm really busy. I guess we all are. I didn't have it in me to trail after a bunch of seedy brokers who weren't listening to me. What Kirby did was truly impressive. She narrowed down best picks into 4 apartments. Each one was literally perfect. (I rented the second one I saw). 3. Kirby is sort of the person in the background. She guided me into getting a landlord (who by the way had a broker showing his apartment for a fat 15% broker fee); anyway, she instructed me in what to say to him so that he forgot he had a broker and met me that same evening at the apartment (where I bumped into his broker who was also showing the apartment). 4. With her guidance I beat out the broker's client by presenting my full set of documents to the landlord on the spot. I also used some KEY words Kirby told me would get the attention of the landlord. (THEY WORKED)! 5. Kirby then guided me on how to properly inspect both the apartment and what to ask the landlord before signing the lease. 6. It didn't stop there. She then helped me even more, this is like the best help I've ever received, because she gave me advice on the steps I needed to take to make sure I get my security deposit back after I move. 7. Wait there is more, she also continued to give me advice and tips on how to stay secure in that apartment and what the renters rights are and a bevy of things that I am ashamed to say I didn't know. Who knows all this stuff? I am beyond happy to have paid this incredible person to help me with my apartment search and that she did above and beyond what anyone else has ever done. So did I mention she does a complete background check on both the building, the owner, the manager, pretty much anyone that I will have to deal with going forward. It's truly amazing! Wholehearted endorsement here. The modest cost for Kirby's aptstar program truly lives up to its reputation and more. Would have paid twice the amount. read more

Alexandra (Alex) Rooney, In response to your fake yelp review -- you contacted me via two forums pleading for my "help" on a Sunday. Although I take time off from time to time: weekends are one of these preferences - I went out of my way to respond to you promptly and professionally. During our first conversation, as you point out in your review (the only thing that is accurate), I told you that what you were looking for in your $2250 price range was unrealistic. You want 400 square feet within walking distance to your office with enough space for a bed and sofa for $2250? Try getting a place in New Jersey or better yet you should have stayed in Virginia. I pointed out to you that your apartment needs would be more in line with a price range of $2500. You agreed and only after you told me that your salary includes "bonuses" and that you could pay this - only at this point did I agree to accept you as a client. I charge for my time. It's worked since 2006 and whether you paid $2250 or $2500 for an apartment it would not have changed my one-time fee. And then, boy, instead of charging you an additional $250 for a rush job - rush because as it turns out you were coming into town on Tuesday. Two days after you contacted me and one day after we initially spoke. Even then even though it states clearly on my website that my time needs to be reserved 30-45 days *before* a requested move in date - you still expected me to jump through hoops to accommodate you. And silly me, I like helping people, so I naively jumped in hoping you would be appreciative and instead I got a spoiled brat who: 1) received 5 apartments from me (email screen images) - however you state here you received two. FYI: It only takes one. 2) did not believe me when I told you a link you emailed me had a fake price on an apartment for which I sent you the real price with a link to where the actual owner listed it; FYI brokers do this all the time and that ad, btw, is still there. 3) Threw a tantrum refusing to contact landlords as per our agreement. 4) Told me at the end of my very long day searching through over 100 apartments for you that you weren't coming into New York the next day after all. Add to this: you also informed me after the fact that your calendar was "full with travel plans". Seriously? Alex, Alexandra, no problem: you needed an apartment - my job was to find a decent one for you. I did this. I can't say you kept your end of the deal. But don't slam me with inaccurate statements for doing so. Write reviews. But write them honestly. Kirby Sommers, CEO/President LandlordLinks.Net / AptStar.com read more

I have lived in the city for over a decade and found landlordlinks.net through a search query which led me to quora.com reviews. I tried finding an apartment for close to 3 weeks prior to this and all I found were brokers who never heard a word I said about what it was specifically that I was looking for. So I went to Landlord Links and purchased 2 of their guides. AMAZING INFO!!! I then felt confident enough in the information that I contacted Kirby Sommers and requested her help (AptStar). I have to say here that in order to get Kirby to help you it's really BEST to contact her well in advance of your desired move in date. I was lucky because I was looking for a September 1st move in date and found Kirby in mid July. Am very happy she accepted me as a client. I paid a reasonable one time price (which saved me over $6,000 in broker fees), and the first thing she did was to send me a personalized list of documents to prepare (I have rented before and I have lost apartments before and didn't know there was a way to vamp up my docs - which Kirby helped me do). This took me about one week to accomplish and it was well worth the effort. The next step was me going to see apartments which I was able to do in ONE DAY!! She sent me out during the first week in August and only sent me 4 apartments. BUT they were all GREAT. I applied for the first one I saw and because I was so thoroughly prepared I got accepted on the spot!! I then went back to the landlord's office before the end of that one day and signed my lease. I cannot emphasize what a great resource Landlord Links are; and what a phenomenal service (really MUCH better than any top notch brokerage and cheaper) I received from Kirby's AptStar program. So, don't hesitate as I did initially because I wasted time. Just go!! PS I don't usually write reviews, I probably would review something if I was really upset, but I took my time to do this because I am really happy - which is what I would like if I were a small business owner. Happy customers rarely write reviews. But I aim to do this more often! read more

If you want to go through the troublesome often disappointing process of looking for a rental in New York but want to save on $$$ broker fees, Kirby Sommers AptStar program is a no brainer. It is also a lot better than navigating the vast minefield on your own. It is a great program, very reasonably priced for the value you are getting. Kirby is incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and personable. Kirby is not a typical real estate broker agent. She works more like a "house search consultant/ advisor" being your conscience as you wade the process. She is truly proficient in all phases of the house hunt - finding the houses, appraising their price, inspecting the house and negotiating with landlords/agents. She can also provide you insider information on the landlords' reputation to help you with the decision making. Since she remains completely invisible to the landlord, she bats only for you. In fact, you rarely see her in person since she advises you completely on the phone. The caveats I think are entirely reasonable. You have to be very clear on the criteria and align on them with her before you sign up for the program. You also have to be available when you say you will be and do exactly as she tells you to do. It takes about 1-2 days of working with her to see results. If she is unable to find you any apartment but has agreed to your criteria earlier, she returns your money. Given her business model, if you end up changing criteria midway or at the end, I think it is reasonable that it should be considered another search and another "consulting project." read more

For anyone who has to go through the process of renting an apt in NYC, I would like to give you the best piece of advice possible. Hire Kirby Sommers for her AptStar Service!! I assume if you are on this site you have the same revulsion of paying a 15% brokers fee simply because someone opened a door for you. Based on NYC rents, this can be an awful lot of money!! Therefore, I decided that I would dedicate myself to the search process and felt quite confident that I would be able to find a good no-fee apt in a brief period of time. Simply put...I was wrong. After spending numerous weeks of wasting my time with bait and switch broker tactics, no show meetings and discovering that certain landlords have notoriously bad reputations it became obvious that I needed help. I reached out to Kirby and am so grateful that I did. She was professional, knowledgeable and focused on finding the right space for me. As she promised, Kirby identified an apt for me that was literally perfect!! Seriously. This took only 1 day to view listings as opposed to a constant scramble of phone calls, texts, e-mails and meetings. The time that I saved was in itself worth her fee. But the fact that I now have a beautiful, no-fee apt from a solid landlord confirmed that hiring Kirby was one of the best investments I could make. Thanks Kirby Chris read more

I want to add my experience with Kirby and her personalized AptStar service to this. First, the difference between what she offers renters; and myself is that she short-lists apartments. Basically, she is a consultant and is not commission based. Brokers are commission based. I found Kirby to be easy to communicate with. Having someone listen to your needs and then point out what to realistically expect was highly efficient. I didn't have to go from one ad or one broker to another and be disappointed. Instead Kirby selected for me apartments that matched my request. Sometimes when I pointed out to her an apartment I might have seen on Streeteasy or elsewhere she would be kind enough to let me know that it was either a fake listing (and there are plenty out there) or that the landlord wasn't particularly responsive. Fake listings lead to expectations that cannot be realistically met - unless you have unlimited funds. This is probably the biggest take-away for me during my experience with Kirby and AptStar. If you want someone who is a true advocate for you and not the landlord then you will want Kirby on your side. read more

I have successfully avoided brokers and their fees ever since I found Landlord Links before this move. (Kirby Sommers if the founder). Am a big fan of the Landlord Links guides which are simply just that: amazing guides with great advice and a list of all landlords with their contact information as well as a way to access their listings. I wanted to move downtown and paid a very small one time cost to acquire the Landlord Links for my new neighborhood. It took me one day of searching and it's easy. Adam here says it correctly: landlords do post their apartments early on and the one I found hadn't even been advertised. Happy to be cutting out brokers again. Thank you! PS Most of Kirby's reviews go all the way back to 2005 and can be found on the Kannekt website. Posting a link here b/c she has been helping renters via a variety of ways for a very long time. Thanks again, Kirby! http://www.kannekt.com/cgi-bin/r.pl?ID=4225&&City=Manhattan&&FullCity=Manhattan%20Real%20Estate read more

I was completely stressed out over my move and trying to find apartments going the regular way of trying streeteasy, craigslist, and the slew of new services where seriously all you get are brokers and broker fees. A family member who had been helped by Kirby through her AptStar before told us to give ourselves a break and call her. I am happy to say we did and it was the perfect solution. She made sure that our documents were top notch and sent us the best apartment picks as promised. What made this experience even better than the great apartment we found on the first day was how smooth it all was. She is a great listener. Heard all our needs. Made sure to let us know when we were trying to find something that wasn't realistic. Helped us align our expectations to the rental market and then wham she found us our dream home. I can't thank her enough for the wonderful job she has done for us! read more

I was expecting to lose $20 on an internet scam. Instead, I actually received a list of landlords, happy to cut out the brokers, with updated notes and addresses. The small fee you pay for the list saves thousands of dollars. Brokers make it sound like you can't do it on your own. Trying to use traditional search engines or craigslist just ends with a link to contact a high-priced broker. But the landlord links service is a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers. Thanks to this I was able to find a great apartment with no brokers in just a few weeks. Also, the landlords that are listed are generally sensible people who post availabilities 30 days or more in advance, rather than the brokers who make it sound like you can't start searching until the week before you move and you have to decide on their pre-selected listing then and there. Thank you! read more

I purchased the landlord links list of landlords in queens. After purchasing Charles reached out to me via email to know more specifics so that he could customize my list for me. After telling him details of what I was looking for unfortunately he was unable to find anything in my price range. HOWEVER he then offered to either refund the service or to help me find the landlords of 3 apts I found on street easy/zillow and still send me their guide. I thought that was extremely helpful and thoughtful of them since they were unable to help me find listings. Many companies would not do that they would simply say oh well too bad for you. I highly recommend landlord links as a service as they are professional and truly do everything they can to help you! read more

The value add that Kirby gave me with her help during my apartment search were many. Aside from helping me find the right apartment she provided critical and valuable insights during the entire process. Her experience was built over two decades and it showed. At every stage from calling, viewing, lease signing and negotiating she offered solid advice and even helped me with some issues I had with my previous rental that were stressing me out. I do not think anyone with her level of experience and with her level of service would do what she does for the modest cost of her service. It is here where she differentiates herself from brokers. Kirby has an eagle eye for details that only comes with years of experience. Thanks again! read more

5 star HOORAY for landlordlinks.net. I never write reviews. Never. But I am so grateful that I am sitting here and writing this up because I would rent via LandlordLinks again in a heartbeat. Every single ad I clicked on via CL was ended up with a broker hungry for a fat fee from me. So I decided to drop some small change and purchased Landlord Links and I can say that this was the best vehicle for me. It did exactly what it promised by delivering me to see listings by landlords and mangement companies (where I probably would have paid a fee for). BUT I lined up a few appts and maybe I am the exception but my new apartment (NO FEE) was my second lined up appt. Thank you and thanks again! read more

I was really frustrated using other methods to find an apartment. Every ad on either craigslist or anywhere else had brokers. Landlord Links service is a great resource with list of names and contact info with links to listings by landlords. Landlords do post apartment availability way ahead of the time brokers let on to (since they're asking for a huge amt of commission fee. The very modest cost you pay for the list saves thousands of dollars. Def recommend. read more

I hired LandlordLinks.Net with an out the way request for some research about the Tri State area to assist a new employee find a new home for his family. The owner, Kirby Sommers, came through for me with better than anticipated results, she was very professional, very knowledgeable and delivered the information in an expeditious manner. Would highly recommend Kirby and her company to anyone looking for alternative ways to save on broker fees. read more

The information included in Landlord Links is stuff neither myself or my roommate would have known about. Kirby Sommers is very knowledgeable (we ended up getting both Landlord Links and working with Kirby directly). If you want to avoid broker lies and wasted days definitely go with Landlord Links service. Thank you Kirby for all your help! The Landlord Links website is: http://LandlordLinks.Net read more

I had been on their website before and took another look and wow they've been busy updating it. Kirby's advice in places like reddit is amazing. I took the small plunge and purchased one of the ebooks. Tons of good solid advice and landlord listing access. This is a landlord directory that every renter thinking about living in New York City should have. read more

I picked up a copy of their Landlord Links and it was very informative. True to what if promises I was able to see the same apartment listings brokers advertise except that I was able to contact the landlord directly. Great resource for anyone looking for a new apartment. Kirby's advice is invaluable! read more

63 S Mine Ledge Rd., Surry, NH 03431 DO NOT RENT THIS PROPERTY!!! Landlord is one of the creepiest people we have ever met. Always on the property, had to keep our blinds drawn all the time. Was is our house when we went away for a weekend. Stay away from this property read more

This is an amazing service !!! Kirby is very helpful and really cares. She gets pleasure out of helping complete strangers save a ton of money. And I have already recommended her to my friends who are llooking for apartments in Manhattan. read more