I had high hopes for working with Paulette and Adam. They are a small, boutique firm that has access to some great properties in a very popular area of Brooklyn. We went through the application process on a rental with them that ended in a lot of stress, frustration and no apartment for us. They showed us a great place (a sort of grimy but decent place that was expensive for us but worth the budget stretch and broker's fee because of location). We applied immediately, put down a deposit, were approved and made an appointment to sign a lease.
Both Paulette and Adam said several times that we would be signing a year lease at a set rate that was $400 less than advertised in the online listings. The day after we get approved, I get a call from Paulette that the landlord does not do leases or any paperwork for his tenants but we should trust him and just do a handshake deal. This was unacceptable. Our years of living in New York had taught us to not trust this, fearing that, after a month, we would get a call saying our rent was being raised to the original rate. And she somehow didn't know about this till after we had done all the work and stopped looking for other apartments.
Her solution was for us to come to the "lease" meeting and convince/charm him (alluding to both our ethnic backgrounds) into giving us some kind of written agreement. I can appreciate how sometimes you have to just play a part to get what you need but this just frustrated me more as I thought about how much money we would be giving Accent for their broker's fee.
At the meeting, the landlord was obstinate, disrespectful and condescending, especially to me. Paulette did make efforts to mediate and had even drawn up a very simple agreement. But even in that - she had details wrong. The landlord hadn't told her many things and/or she hadn't asked. It was a parade of errors and missteps.
She refunded our deposit and we walked away but worse for wear. I believe this was an exception of a situation for them. But there were a lot of basics that were missed. Their access and intel on the neighborhood are their best assets, making it worth working with them if you are very careful. But we will not be working with them again or recommending to any friends. read more