If you are a college student like I am, or just starting a new job, looking for an apartment to rent in Boston can be a daunting task. If it is your first time looking for an apartment by yourself you may not be aware of the luring scams that you can get sucked into by paying unwanted fees or living in a place you didn’t originally sign up for.

Here are a few tips to follow in order to avoid the slumlords and tricky realtors in the Allston/Brighton Area:

1. Make sure all of the money is accounted for

Before you start looking for an apartment make sure that everyone you are living with is 100% committed and has enough money to pay the first month’s rent. Don’t get your hopes up if you are not willing fork over the money to buy a nice place. Most of the apartments in Allston-Brighton and Brookline areas are old, and landlords are just starting to renovate. Subsequently prices are surging upwards, correlating with more aesthetically-pleasing neighborhoods and living spaces.

2. Be prepared to pay a brokers fee

It is common to find that in order to move into an apartment you have to pay real estate brokerages. Even if the apartment is a “no fee” apartment, such a label only means that the landlord paid the fee for you, which is then reflected in your cost of rent, stated Dave Monheit from Encore Realty. Either you pay the brokerage fee up front or you pay it over time through rent. Since Boston has a 99 percent occupancy rate, landlords no longer have an incentive to pay the fee because even if it is a rat invested apartment, it will rent.

3. Utilize your friends

So now that you are ready to look for an apartment, friends are always a good source to finding good realtors. Hearing first hand experiences on the good and bad landlords may prove to be a wealth of tips on students planning to move out. But if all of your friends had awful experiences or you don’t have any friends, you will find yourself on websites such as  Craigslist, Zillow and Trulia. Walking into a realtor’s office can work but if you want to go in with some background information these websites can help.

Craigslist can be overwhelming so make sure when you find a place you want look to see that the agent has his or her name up and is part of a reputable organization. Be cautious of agents who aren’t willing to put their name to the apartment they want to rent. If you are still unsure about the agent, type their name into Yelp. Most agents have about a 3-star rating but anything lower is a big red flag.

4. Pick up the phone

If you find an apartment you want to view make sure to call the agent and not e-mail them. Anyone can sound professional over an e-mail. By calling the agent up you can tell through their voice if they are trying to push the apartment on you, bullshitting you or if they are calm and relaxed and sound like they are knowledgeable.

5. Speak up and ask questions

Once you find your agent make sure you ask these questions: Can I get information about the landlord? Can I meet the landlord? Is this a privately-owned space or one being rented by big company? Make sure that the agent has a good relationship with the realtor and avoid big landlord companies because they tend to neglect their renters. Be wary of Alpha Management, Samia Company, and Fineberg Company because there are a lot of horror stories circulating them. You can also double-check the landlords on Yelp.

6. Don’t be afraid to leave it all behind

Lastly, if your agent is pushing you to rent a place you don’t like or tells you don’t have any other options they are wasting your time. Leave them and find someone else.

Most apartments in Boston are for rent starting on September 1. Now is the time to look before the good deals get swallowed up by students and young workers begin look in the Spring.

For more information visit this post from Reddit, a first hand experience on how to deal with realtors from a realtor.