For renters, honest brokers trump those with access and local neighborhood knowledge

When looking for an apartment, renters value a brokers honesty over his or her connections and local real estate knowledge, according to an 150-person rental preferences survey conducted by national real estate listings site RentJuice and released today.

For three out of five renters, it does not matter whether the real estate agent with whom they work has an office. Nearly all of those surveyed preferred to connect with rental professionals via email, while only four in five talked to their agent on the phone.

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New Yorkers indicated that apartment size is the most important feature in a prospective apartment, followed by layout and natural light. The quality of the bathroom ranked lowest among a list of seven priorities compiled by RentJuice.

Nearly nine in 10 apartment hunters depend on Craigslist, the survey shows, while 36.7 percent search via Apartments.com, 28 percent go to Rent.com, and 22 percent use Facebook. — Katherine Clarke