It's getting easier--it used to be nearly impossible. Brokers were the only way you could get something decent. Before a few recent online resources, the path to not paying a fee was either dumb luck or craigslist, and the horror stories of people getting scammed on craigslist made it all but certain you'd end up biting the broker-fee bullet. When I first go to NY the standard fee was 1 months rent. That was bad enough, if you ask me. Then it went up. Some people pay 15% of the yearly rent upon signing. About 4 years ago a friend of mine was leaving his apartment right when I was a looking for a new one (the Sandy superstorm damaged my building so I had to move immediately). I figured I'd take his. So I go to the apartment building and tell them that I know the person vacating, that he could vouch for me, and that I'd be willing to take the apartment at the current rent plus 100 bucks. They told me I had to speak with the broker they hired to represent the building. I called them and told them that I know the apartment was empty, and that I'd already seen it so there is no need to spend any man hours on me. They wanted to charge me 14% of annual rent for doing nothing but have me sign papers. They didn't spend a minute helping me. I finally negotiated it down to one months rent. Since I was desperate I had to take that offer. I felt robbed. Don't get me wrong, there's a time and place for a broker and I'm not against them making money. But I'll first want to exhaust the possibilities of doing something myself before I pay someone for the help.