We highly recommend working with Peter McGuire of Smith Hanten Properties--and not just because…read morehe's probably the best-dressed real estate agent we've ever met. After our tenant of 15 years moved on, we turned to Peter, whose deep knowledge of the local market helped us price and position our newly renovated apartment perfectly. He created professional photos and an excellent video, then marketed them broadly, generating strong interest right away. Peter carefully screened candidates, met them in person, and kept us informed every step of the way. The result: a great tenant, a smooth process, and the confidence that we had a true professional (with great style) in our corner.

I'm finding myself difficult to write this as I know this will blemish the amazing 5 star record…read more But my experience is SOOOOO awful it should not go without telling. James Lola is a horrible individual. And when you recall stories of despicable brokers, he embodies ALLLL of that. This perspective comes from a renter interested in a home James has exclusive rights to. This apartment is located on Hoyt St and I feel terrible for the homeowners he represents. The one major issue was the ability to get into the home. Due to the fact that there were current tenants residing in the space, access was limited. This is very understandable to myself and all. I followed up with James for several days until he responded with an option that worked. Sidebar - I had to do all of the follow up. On my final attempt to confirm a time with James, he responded by asking if my partner is coming. Let's put a few things out there. 1) If you're a New Yorker, We all know how cut throat the real estate industry is. 2) It's preferable by brokers that all parties are in attendance for the viewing, but when it doesn't work due to limited access then it doesn't work. And my partner is a doctor with irregular hours. 3) It's not difficult to know right away if an apartment is a good fit or not. And if it is, a second visit is not unwarranted. Back to the story of James. James responds with "we require all adults who will occupy to view together, at least the first time. We can't rent an apartment to people who haven't seen it, and whom we haven't met." Now, I personally have seen an apartment without my partner. He has done the same. And we do understand this is a preferred option but given the difficulty of being able to get access because of the current tenants, the very limited viewing hours, attempting to see the place for a week, and the fact that my partner also has a hard schedule due to his career, I would have HOPED there would be some flexibility since I could see it on Wed and he could see it on Friday if I felt this would be a great fit. After James response, I decide to immediately call him and have a conversation. And THIS is where sh*t hits the fans!!

We are great fans of Realty Collective. Not only have they negotiated rentals for us over the…read moreyears, but have helped in other innumerable ways. The latest is helping us to save money on our house insurance. Thank you all at Realty Collective. You are truly an inspiration to honesty and caring about your clients. Liz Magnes

The broker who worked with me (Wayne) was very helpful, listened to what I wanted, and, despite not…read morehaving an apartment that fit my needs, made the experience if not fun, but at least stress-free. Unfortunately the owner, Victoria, was very pushy: she tried brow-beating me into looking at apartments I knew were not going to be the right fit for me (very close to BQE, for example, when I said that noise would make an apartment a no-go for me). When I pointed out the issue I had with those apartments, she became confrontational and told me that at my price range I will be unlikely to find what I want. The interaction was strange and unpleasant. P.S. Owner sent me a really strange message that was somewhat apologetic, but also basically stated that it's not she didn't care what I wanted, it was that she was too busy at the moment to actually pay attention. Thanks, I guess.

I found an awesome apartment listing on nakedapartments.com and contacted the broker listed - Eddie…read morefrom Brooklyn Blocks Real Estate. This was my very first time searching for apartments ever and I truly did not know what to expect and was nervous for the entire process up until the moment I confessed to Eddie that my roommates and I were not exactly sure what to look for in each apartment. As soon as I told Eddie that my roommates and I were new to the apartment-hunting world, he lit up and wholeheartedly took on the role of a trusted guide through this confusing process. He encouraged us to take our time to look through apartments in different neighborhoods. He answered every single one of our questions (and we had A LOT) even including ones about Real Estate in the city in general and the difference between pre-war and post-war apartments. He laughed and joked with us, he listened to all of our priorities and what we liked and didn't about each place, he made sure to stay at or below our price range for every apartment, and he even pointed us to a great bar to get a feel for the neighborhood after Day 1 of the search. I didn't end up renting through Eddie due to an unexpected roommate issue and, while I was so heartbroken that my plans in the gorgeous apartments that I viewed fell through, the aspect I was most upset about was not getting to rent through Eddie. I can't imagine a Real Estate Agent who I would've trusted more to get us in the best place possible. I could not have had a more enjoyable, stress-free, and just plain ol' fun experience. I will be recommending Eddie and Noah to everyone looking for an apartment in Brooklyn. Thanks so much for your patience, kindness, and help, Eddie!

Didn't even answer the door and was sitting at a desk by the window. Disgusting. Don't come here at…read moreall.

I cannot say enough good things about broker Choudry Akhtar!…read moreAfter look for an apartment for almost 9 months with no success, Choudry was so refreshing! He was friendly and personable and went above and beyond to help find an apartment that was better than we expected in a fantastic location! He was flexible with his schedule for us and he helped us understand application process and explained everything very clearly. He answered questions that we didn't even think to ask. I am grateful for his help and kindness as we now have the perfect apartment! Thank you, Choudry Akhtar!

Asif Malik of New York Dwellings is one of the best brokers I have worked with. I saw a listing the…read moresame day that I reached out to him and he made the application process seamless and very easy to navigate. I signed my lease 3 days after submitting the application! I highly recommend him for all your real estate needs!

I had a great experience renting with Richard made everything seamless A++ and very professionalread more

Absolutely shady people to work with. Rude over the phone, and tried to pull a bait and switch on…read morean advertised apartment that was removed and up again a few weeks later. Businesses like this are exactly why NYC home hunting is a total nightmare. Edit: look at the responses to all the negative reviews from this clown. Maybe if he actually took the time to be honest with clients and do good business rather than trying to dismiss all his negative reviews "fake" he'd actually be successful. AVOID at all costs.

very rude! wouldn't recommend. not professional at all their units don't even come with air…read moreconditioning (basic human right)

Inhumane bunch of people. Berman Realty is a multigenerational family business (patriarch Joe &…read moresons Marc and Stephen) who seem to have lost sight of what it means to interact with humans. (Stephen is friendly. The other two are deeply unpleasant and tyrannical.) They're very nice when they're getting you to sign, but this pivots quickly once you're a tenant. Unless you walk on needles around them (or even if you do), they'll easily get nasty with you in a totally unwarranted way. The apartments themselves are really not great - prewar and dated with minimal amenities. The heat was uncontrollably hot and uncomfortable (85 degrees in the winter with all my windows open) and very loudly hissing radiators. The tenant below me had a ceiling fan that made my bedroom sound like a washing machine. They took months to repair a very bad leak in my wall (the walls across the length of my entire apartment looked like they had shingles) because the building is on a single boiler. There was no laundry in the building, and I used the coin-operated laundry in the basement of another unit a block away. They offered and then rescinded my lease renewal and hounded me out of the apartment when I took too long to get my shoes out of the hallway. I look back and can't believe I paid that much to live in that dusty, moldy shoebox of an apartment. SO MUCH DUST even though I vacuumed every week. When I moved into the apartment I had serious allergies, and later on the allergies subsided but I would get sick much more frequently than I ever had in my life. For the amount of rent they charge, you shouldn't be living in a health hazard.

I worked with Matthew Ruggiero who helped me find an apartment in red Hook. he was very…read moreprofessional, incredibly easy to work with, and super friendly. He made the process of applying for and securing the apartment easy. He was always very prompt with replying to any queries and generally went above and beyond to make a potentially stressful process incredibly simple. I would highly recommending working with matthew at brownstone real estate for any of your real estate needs!

I found these guys on yelp about a year ago, and boy did they ever deliver…read more My wife and I were looking for agents to list our co-op in Kensington, and we happened upon Arny Cohen. He and Robert Bryan came by to check out the place and immediately struck us as honest, hardworking guys with lots of personality. Our cat also approved, so we decided to give them the listing. We got an above asking, all cash offer about two weeks in and were ready to close. Robert, being the scrupulous and well informed gentleman that he is, caught that we hadn't owned it long enough to avoid paying capital gains tax, so dissuaded us from the deal, instead encouraging us to wait. In this type of market it is VERY rare to have anyone remotely involved in your deal not pushing you to close as quick as you can - I'm sure it was difficult for Robert and Arny to walk away from a sure thing, but they did have our best interests at heart. We relisted with them with the intention of buying another place. They quickly got another (much higher) all cash offer that unfortunately didn't pan out, but that didn't stop them from tirelessly showing us open houses in the far corners of Brooklyn every single weekend of the past cold winter. Sure enough, another offer came in that they negotiated up close to asking from a lowball initial offer and we got into contract. We closed yesterday. Thank you, Robert Bryan and Arny Cohen for working so hard for us and having a good time while doing it, too. We really appreciate it! John, Mir, Zelda and Timber

Landlords &/or tenants if you're not using John O'keefe from Devoted Real Estate you're making a…read moremistake! After a long search filled with viewing crappy apts & dealing with unproffesional brokers i was losing hope. Thats when i sent the "id like to request a tour" message to one of Devoted's properties and all my troubles went away. That was on a Tuesday morning. I met with John to view it just a few hours later that day. Applied on Wednesday. Approved on Thursday! I could of signed my lease same day or next day too if I wanted but I opted for that Saturday. John answered every one of my concerns, gave me his advice & opinion on questions I had that wasn't even part of his job to answer he's just a good guy on top of good at his job! He may be a little late to your meeting or miss a text because he's juggling so much getting us into our new homes but i'm telling you do not let it deter you from working with one of the best agents out here! Oh and dont hesitate to provide whatever is needed to submit your application. Just think about all those apartments you reached out to on zillow or street easy but then didnt respond after. Devoted wants to protect their time spent, show you're serious and also make sure you dont back out last minute of a property another potential tenant could have its only fair! I can confirm all agreements were honored with no issue! I could go on and on because I'm so shocked at how seamless the whole process was but i'll end it with John you're the best! It was a pleasure and thank you a million times over!

I used this real estate agency as a landlord to fill some vacancies I had. Over the course of 2-3…read moreyears I started having issues with all 4 tenants they brought me. Different issues all at different times. They brought me two tenants who should have never passed a background check. One tenant had multiple criminal charges in a different state and the other had stopped paying after moving in. Stay far away from them. They are not thorough and just care about making money.