* Tired of Craigslist rental scams or bait-and-switch from some real estate agent you met online? We are, too. Sharif Fakhr was so fed up he did something about it. He launched InsideDigs.com, a website that already has more than 7,000 members which helps renters meet other renters to find no-fee apartments. The “peer-to-peer community” lets prospective renters share information about their apartment (when the lease is up, details on the space), with people leaving apartments to get first dibs on potentially moving into the unit. So far, it’s working.

“We can save people thousands in fees by taking brokers out of the equation,” says Fakhr, who realized all the problems of renting a home in New York when he moved uptown to help his aging father. “Also, our listings are made by the renters themselves. If you like an apartment coming on the market in three months or less from now, you can try to place a hold on it with the renter and their landlord. Everything is so last-minute in New York. This helps avoid that or makes finding an apartment easier.”

The idea is growing. Inside Digs is based in New York City but is building a following in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago and San Francisco. Go to InsideDigs.com for more. Check out the tongue-in-cheek commercial Fakhr shot with his friends.