Wow, the horror stories of NYC apartment brokers are true. I met several of them. Absolute nightmares, shady-as-all-get-out folks with no regard for common decency, truth or morals. AHEM, looking at you RapidNYC (AVOID!) and Level Group. And then, the apartment fairies took pity on my poor homeless soul, and led me to Eric Iannuzzi at Urban Spaces Realty. I was leery at first (after said experiences) but Eric's professionalism, honesty and credibility shined quickly. I found the posting on Craigslist (which was articulate, TRUTHFUL, with correct photos, etc) and I contacted Eric. He emailed me back right away, and we set up a time for me to view the 1.5BR in Park Slope/Gowanus. I trekked to his office at the end of a grueling day (and after shaking aforementioned RapidNYC broker after 5 failed attempts at seeing legit apartments). I was at my wit's end. I had 24 hours to find an apartment, and the only ones I was seeing were falling apart, creepy, basements, and the brokers were telling me "this is as good as it gets" and "we need to know right now, you should put $500 down to secure it." No thanks, losers. ANYWAY...we pop over to the apartment, and magic: It's everything it's supposed to be. Gutted and renovated bathroom (and a skylight!) and kitchen. 4 inch plank hardwood floors refinished. Decorative fireplace. Tons of light. Second floor walk-up. Bike storage in hallway. Cute street in close approximation to transit options. Clean, nice building. 1.5BR! (I don't really know what a half bedroom means to you, but to me it means WALK-IN HUGE M'F'in CLOSET!!!). Clean. Clean. Clean. New fixtures throughout. $1650. (At least $200 cheaper than ANYTHING I was shown prior, and all of which frankly...sucked). Hmmm, what's the catch? Nothing. Oh, a broker's fee of 10 percent? Worthwhile, he handled EVERYTHING. Hardly a catch. You can even put it on a credit card, which for lack of better term is MONEY because your cash is going to get sucked up for a security deposit and 1'st month's rent, as you well know if you are looking for an apartment. I need to move in a week, let's do this. A $35 credit check (reasonable) which I did on the spot at his office. I emailed him later that evening to let him know I wanted the apartment. Eric went to work and I had the lease, disclosures and all relevant info emailed to me the next morning. I printed, secured the cashiers check, and overnighted back to him. He confirmed all steps of the process and stayed in communication, assuring me all would be ready. And then a mere 5 days later, I picked up the keys (from Eric!) and moved into my new home in Brooklyn. He dropped off the countersigned lease himself, and has overall just been an awesome dude to work with...which I am beginning to think is a rarity. Need an apartment broker? Do your homework and don't waste time with hosers. Call Eric, or if you are checking out one of his listings...have no fear, this guy is legit, and so are the listings. Eric started this company a few months ago, but is experienced in the business. Small shop means personal attention, and when you are dealing with a move...best to have some good folks on your side. Home sweet home. read more

I am absolutely FLABBERGASTED by Sarah S.'s review......like Eric replied to her - that could NOT have been him. I am in 100% agreement with the other reviewer's on yelp so far (I read all of them). I have had zero problems at all with Eric. In fact, like Colleen C. has said, compared to other brokers (which Eric acted as a Landlord Agent --- so he collected $0 in fees from me) and shady real estate, realty, renters, or whatever scum I met with - Eric was a godsend. I spent 5 days throughout Brooklyn (driving in daily from Bergen County, NJ) to look at places all over - my girlfriend and I looked everywhere - Crown Heights, Williamsburg, Prospect Heights, East Wiliamsburg, Bushwick, Dyker Heights, DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights. You name it, we looked. After the first four days we were extremely discouraged, would we ever find a nice place, where we trusted who showed us around? We thought that was a no. Most meetings went like this "hi, we are a young couple looking for a place for around $1700-1800, we want to live close to the bridges, as I will commute to the city in my car, and closer is better." ---- agent: "oh ok, well i have this amazing, cute, spacious, little apartment on St Marks and and Bedford - its a stone's throw from the bridge and the area is extremely safe and gentrifying....this kitchen is adorable i can see you doing so much with it." .... riggggght - if you've been to that area - you know what I mean. I wanted a place to feel safe, especially for my girlfriend coming home from the metro. These places, and people, were not welcoming or trusting. On the 5th day of searching we called Eric. Now...I will say, earlier that day I spent my time looking through downtown Brooklyn at high rises, like Brooklyn Gold, and other "net allocated" rent buildings, and was so put off. I saw the picture of my current apartment, and thought to myself - "well, this looks pretty fake - almost too good to be true --- everything is modern, brand new, and just ... cant be real" We called him on a whim, it was either to check out this place, or go home, upset. Eric was on point. He was extremely knowledgable and informative, he was relaxed and sociable, and extremely polite. He is the kind of guy I would hang out with. Now, Sarah, I don't know what he said to you (of if you even met him) to say he is uneducated - he lives in the area - he told me about all the hot spots of the area, what its like to live here, and made me feel like he genuinely cared about my happiness and future living in Brooklyn. I won't even touch on the "racism", as I cannot see him saying anything remotely close to that - it's laughable to accuse him of that. He was also extremely "unpushy" if that can be a word. He was showing multiple clients around the apartment at the time we did the walkthrough - and he took his time to come aside and show us around more on a personal 1-on-1 tour. We explored every nook and cranny of the apartment building and he spent a ton of time with us. Afterwards, I explained my situation and expressed my interest in the apartment as I really fell in love with it - and our experience was only amplified by his sincerity and straight up coolness. It didn't feel like he was working - rather, helping. So I told him i was going to put down a deposit. Pushy? No, sir. He told me not to worry about it - to go home - think about it - and get back to him "tomorrow" (which was a Sunday). Now this is a young guy who has a newborn - and he is telling me that he is willing to take time out of his day off to meet and do business. I said to him, "thats awesome, but lets just do it now..we can both enjoy our Sundays". Fast forward a month, I have been living in this building for 12 days now. Now, like any building it's not perfect. There are some small flaws here and there that I have been in contact with the landlord about. So let me put this out there ---- Eric does NOT own this building or manage it - he is only here to find tenants for the landlord. He told me if there were any problems AT ALL to contact him and he would get the landlord in action. He could have just as easily said to me "hey man, thats not my zone - get in touch with the landlord and he'll do it for you, but leave me alone - buzz off". Eric is in constant contact and SPEEDY replies to any question or problem I have. If i email him, i have a reply within the hour - If i call and leave him a message, he calls back in 5-10 minutes. I have a year to start looking for a new place if I do not continue to live at my current apartment. If we decide to leave, you betcha I will be calling Eric up first thing and asking him "what do you have for me". I would give Eric and Urban Spaces 20 stars if i could. Out of the 5 days, and 20-30 apartments I saw, and just as many brokers and agents I dealt with ---- thank G-d that I found Eric. Eric Iannuzzi: Thank you again for the sincere, competent, and professional, and very racist-terminology-free experience! read more

I feel truly sorry for anyone that has to deal with Eric. Arrogant, unhelpful and rude. After reading one of his listings for an extremely well priced apartment I checked in to confirm wether the apartment was a true one bed or a studio. He responded with a contemptuous email stating that his (in fact grammatically incorrect and vague) description of the apartment clearly stated that the apartment was a one bed. When I asked if there was anyone else that I could deal with at the agency regarding this apartment due to his sarcastic approach he told me that my sensitivity to his sarcasm wasn't his problem, went into a detailed rant about the fact that he's a New Yorker, and that he was the only person that I could talk to. Most unprofessional agency I have ever encountered. read more

My boyfriend and I were at the very beginning of our apartment hunt when we spotted the perfect listing on a Sunday morning. I left a message for Eric, and pretty much from the minute I heard back from him he was never out of reach, letting us know exactly the situation with the landlord and the current tenants, making an appointment to show us the apartment the next day, and taking us immediately back to his office to put in an application when we saw the apartment and loved it. The whole process took three or four days, and Eric felt like our teammate every step of the way. He's friendly and polite and not at all pushy like so many brokers can be. I feel so lucky to have had such a short apartment hunt, and to end it with a broker as easy to work with as Eric! read more

DO NOT work with Eric Innuzzi! I found an apartment listed by Urban Pads by Eric Innuzzi on Streeteasy. I called and text Eric several times and got no response. Then after 2 days, he finally text me back asking if I can come see the apt that "night". Because it was last minute, I wasn't available until 8:30pm, but Eric told me that was too late, then later decided to send his assistant to meet us. After deciding that we would take the apt if the rent could be lowered by $50 to $150 given the fact that it was really small, no utilities were included and a high crime area, his assistant told us to contact him bc they were all valid points and he would consider them. I called Eric and he did not answer, so I text him and asked for a lower rent and he immediately replied with very rude and dismissive comments. And then told me that he had 2 apps from the day before on the apt, so it didn't matter. Although, 1 hour prior they confirmed that those apps were canceled. I told Eric that I didn't understand why he was being so rude and could have just said no to my offer or made a counter offer. After more rude comments, he condescendingly replied telling me "good night bc he thought it was funny that I was asking for a decrease in rent because I was scared" and didn't understand how the rent affected the price. If I was scared of the area, I wouldn't have asked for negotiation in the price. Not sure how a broker wouldn't understand that rent prices are also reflected by the area. Eric Innuzzi is a crook, very unprofessional, condescending and an amateur broker. He wanted us to apply for the apt, knowing the he had other applications and the app fee is non-refundable. If he would had simply said "no, he can't take our offer..." we probably would have still taken the apt. There was no reason for him to attack me for simply asking for a lower rent. Brokers negotiate rent all of the time, so not sure why he felt it was ok to respond that way. read more

I found Eric from Urban Spaces after reading Yelp reviews and checking out his website. That is where I saw the listing for the fabulous apartment my husband and I now share. The listing was accurate and included a floor plan and great photos. I almost knew immediately that it was for us. I called Eric and we saw the apartment the next day. We filled out paperwork and within days it was ours. No hassle, no bait and switch, no lack of communication. Eric is professional, friendly, and keeps up communication which in a realtor is very important! The whole process was seamless. We've been in our apartment for a month now and we love it! Even now, Eric is still there for us as we have had a few issues with power outages ( understandably, it's an old building, slowly gentrifying). He has helped us express our concern to our new landlord and is helping us resolve the situation. Eric goes above and beyond! I highly recommend Urban Spaces. ***UPDATE EDIT 11/24/11*** Unfortunately we are disappointed with this apartment. Although the space and neighborhood are perfect and we want to love it, the problems we started noticing a month in have gotten worse. We never heard from Eric again to see if our problems were resolved. As the weather got colder we went far too long with out heat and often with out hot water. We also suffered from several ceiling leaks from Hurricane Irene that still haven't been fixed. We have filed several complaints to HPD and there is now a tenant association trying to take our landlord to court. DO NOT RENT AN APARTMENT AT 557 46TH ST WHEN WE MOVE OUT! TOTAL SLUMLORD! read more

I found Eric through a Craigslist ad, and went to see a few apartments in Brooklyn with him. I found him to be rude, incompetent, and unprofessional. He used racist terminology to talk down other neighborhoods in Brooklyn and also took shots at other real estate firms. And, since I work in real estate finance, I also was put off by how uneducated he was in the real estate market. I felt I knew more than him and on top of that, he was very pushy... After seeing a few apartments with him, none of which were that nice, I decided to try out a bigger firm- Elliman. In comparison, the agent I worked with was 1000x more professional, educated and polite. Now I realize there is a reason why the bigger firms have such great reputations! I would definitely not recommend Eric or Urban Spaces. read more

FROM A HAPPY LANDLORD...Eric is amazing! Ramone, Jordan, all excellent brokers. They were very accurate in listing all details of the apt in park slope, setting up appts immediately and with wonderful, potential tenants. I am so happy with my new tenant and as a happy person, we will always do right by our tenants. Will I ever list with another broker? NEVER! If you are a good landlord, concerned about this economy and fed up of all the phone calls, all the viewing, collecting all of your paper work, being out of town, busy with other deals and family obligations, its the BEST route to take. That small percentage will always be returned in ten fold by the happy landlord who receives an excellent tenant. This whole crew worked around the clock for us and showed perfect knowledge of everything and complete professionalism. All phone calls and text messages were answered asap, which is a huge plus for me! I couldn't imagine anyone having a negative experience, unless if, let me read between the lines.....thanks urban cowboys! at urban spaces! read more

In all my years of renting, buying and renting again in Manhattan and now Brooklyn, I have never had as smooth an experience as I had with Eric Iannuzzi. His no pressure, get-the-job-done way leaves you feeling confident in your decisions. His listings are detailed and accurate -- no surprises when you walk in. I hope not to need to use his services for several years, but when the need arises he will be my first call. read more

I worked with Eric at Urban Spaces over the course of a week or so. The entire process was really positive. Eric was courteous, professional and to the point. He listened to my requests, which sped things up dramatically. He was punctual at our appointments and communicated clearly by email and text. He drove me around the neighborhood to see a bunch of places, all the while keeping a "customer comes first" and very friendly attitude, a rare thing in that cut-throat business. I found the perfect place within days, after having worked with several people at other companies. The whole experience was easy, and a pleasure. read more

Eric Iannuzzi deserves high praise for his integrity and the expedient service that he exhibited to my wife and I searching for an apartment. Eric was attentive to our requirements and immediately presented us with a perfect match. Eric made the process of procuring the lease as simple as signing our names and made us feel like we were instantly part of the neighborhood. It is worth noting that Eric introduced us to our new landlord on the day we signed, prompting us to ask questions about the neighborhood and the building. It was nice to feel like a friend rather than another client coming through an agents' door. Thank you Eric! read more

Efficient, Patient, Professional and most of all very TRANSPARENT. I completely recommend anyone to work with Urban Spaces, EXCELLENT broker. read more

Was recently "shown" an apartment by Eric Iannuzzi at Urban Spaces Realty. I say "shown" because all this jackass did was let us in the door. He then spent the entire time we were there texting on his phone. Never said a word to us. Never made eye contact. When I had the temerity to ask a question about the space he seemed annoyed, as if I had just farted. The apartment, by the way, was a grim dump. After we completed our self-guided tour of this hellish shoebox, Iannuzzi just said "Good luck" and didn't even have the courtesy to show us out. I immediately struck him and Urban Spaces Realty from the list of brokers I'll be dealing with in the future. read more

I had been looking for an apartment in both Manhattan & Brooklyn for about (4) months. I had given up on Park Slope because I never found a listing for a 1 bedroom in my price range. I happened to look one Sunday morning about (2) weeks ago and saw a posting for a great looking apartment right off of Prospect Park West, listed by Urban Spaces. I emailed about it and got a reply from Eric Iannuzzi in about (10) minutes and had an appointment to see the apartment that day. He greeted me with a smile and a comforting ease which you don't normally find in real estate brokers. (I must admit that I had developed a small hatred for brokers over the last few months). The apartment was perfect for me! After the viewing, I went to the Urban Spaces office a few blocks away and completed an application. I heard from Eric the next morning with the great news form the landlord that my application had been approved and accepted. I move in April 1! Great realty experience! read more

My experience with Urban Spaces was great. I found a post in craigslist about an apt, contacted Eric who met me at the apartment and explained to me everything I wanted to know, showed me all the details, told me about the neighborhood, etc. Of all the realtors I've ever encountered, I found him to be the most honest and professional, and a pleasure to work with. read more

Don't use Eric...he seems really great up front, but is a true con artist in the end. I rented a place where he knew the owners and had rented before to them and I was surprised that a 1 bedroom on 4th avenue and 9th street on the 2nd floor was only $1800. When I asked why to Eric, he said, "the owners are very picky and want a calm peaceful place." Now I understand that what he really meant was the daughter of the owner who lives in the 4 unit bldg is just purely insane. We shared a back patio on the 2nd floor and she proceeded to tell me how she got people in the next bldg to move out because they we're "watching her"...really what it was is that their windows were at the same height as her patio and she was extremely paranoid. So, just after 30 days - the legal limit to get out of a lease and get your fees back - the real owner personality showed up: she & her pscho lawyer fiancee started knocking on my door in the middle of the night, yelling profanities at me, accusing me of smoking in the apartment. I never had and if I had a friend over that smoked, we used the shared outdoor space where she(the owner's daughter) smoked too. I called Eric and he said he knew they were difficult and other such details and wanted to know if I was planning to move out and if so, could he start showing the apartment. Since I had an issue with the property manager/daughter of the owners to the point of needing to call the cops, I did move out, but not before Eric tresspassed and showed the apartment while I wasn't there AND, more importantly, before the owner AND I reached a move-out agreement. Additionally, when Eric admitted they were difficult and he wanted to show the apartment, I asked if he would refund PART of the fee for showing the apartment since he would earn another fee within a 2 month period and I would need to pay another fee to find a place quickly, he became irrate and started yelling at me. I never yell or get angry at salesmen, because they are servicemen and women and I can choose not to use their services, so that's what I decided to do...write an appropriate Yelp review that Eric and his company cover up REAL issues that would require housing court resolutions and recommend that no one choose an apartment from these guys because if the price is too good to be true...it is and ends up being twice the moving costs and twice the pain. read more

Urban Spaces is awesome. Period. Or rather Eric Iannuzzi is awesome.. Double Period. I wasn't in a rush to find an apartment and I had plenty of time. I literally look through every listings on craigslist for Brooklyn and visited tons of apartments. I was spoilt with choices, but not many good choices. I found Eric's listing on craigslist and his pictures were true to what I saw in real life. The apartment was true to his description. No nasty suprises. The moment I saw the apartment with Eric I knew it was it. I called him an hour later and told him I want it. He was very proficient with the application process. a reasonable $35 credit check plus he takes credit card with his nifty phone gadget thingie. The whole process was a breeze. Everything was well explained to me. He is on top of things and he responds promptly to my emails and phone calls. I truly recommend anyone who is looking at this review right now to just contact Eric. Stop wasting time. He will get you what you need. Quick. read more

My boyfriend and I really appreciated Eric's down-to-earth attitude and the fact he was honest and thorough about the apartment we were looking at. Our experience working with him was professional, friendly, and smooth. He's a realtor you can trust, and we'd definitely use him again. read more

Eric helped me twice - in 2013 and in 2014 to find new tenants FOR my apartment rental. Both the tenants and I found Eric to be phenomenally wonderful, exceptionally expert at real estate and kind, sincere and down to earth. I'm surprised to see that Eric has some lower than five start reviews -- I find it hard to believe -- maybe off days or maybe a mistake or maybe oil and water - we are all human. I still highly recommend Eric from either end - tenant or owner. Eric is wonderful and a unlike any real estate agent out there. read more

I've never written a review on Yelp before, but felt inspired to do so after finding an apartment with the wonderful James at Urban Spaces. As someone who prowled Yelp for months looking for REAL reviews that could direct me to that rare NYC rental agency that didn't suck, I hope that this review can help other folks who feel like they'll never find a decent apartment in Brooklyn. I literally searched for 4 months for an apartment using all the city's major agencies, and was close to stopping my search when, fortunately, I stumbled upon an Urban Spaces listing in Park Slope. Unlike all the apartments I saw with other agents, it was exactly as listed and about, oh, $500 less than typical at those big, greedy agencies. James also arranged to show me the apartment incredibly quickly and answered all my questions promptly and professionally--I can't stress enough that he was by far the friendliest, most helpful agent I've encountered. read more