Broker recommendation -- Tribeca

my broker specializes in Downtown, Ed Hardesty at Elliman, in the Chelsea office. great guy. you should interview at least three brokers.

... and Alison Rogers should be at least two of them! :0)

Robert Danker at PrimeManhattan...great broker and negotiator.No bull shit ,will tell you pros and cons.He is not pushy and sticks to your budget and value.

Gene Choi of Commodore Property Group. www.cpg-nyc.com He lives in the W Village and his office in Tribeca. Good guy, hard worker.

Richard Orenstein of Halstead Property he knows the neighborhood well and has been in the business for over 20 years specializing in downtown

micheal moran and george mathew- elliman. knows all the markets and is fantastic

I have noticed in the past that some of the more "aspirationally" priced Tribeca lofts are listed by Richard Orenstein. While this may mean he is well connected enough to get these listings, does it also mean he is anchored to bubble pricing? I do not know him (never met him), but wonder whether a potential buyer is better served by using a broker that has more realistically priced listings. Thoughts?

Kiss: call Richard. Your take on him will trump what anyone says. I've met him and like him. Very professional and knowledgeable.

And call all the others mentioned too. Prepare a list of questions, etc

Let us know how it goes. Good luck

KISS - i have met R. Orenstein and you are absolutely right. It seems as if he is living in a bubble. I saw a few properties of his (200 chambers to name one) and he pretty much stated that it will definitely sell at or near the offer. He does not seem realistic at all and seems to be one trying to maintain the high asking prcies.

I'm a big fan of Jeff Tabak, Tabak is Tribeca. Great service, local, and only really focuses on Tribeca and the surrounding hoods.

Here's an example of what I mean:

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/415531-condo-135-west-4th-street-greenwich-village-new-york

The brokers are listing this place for nearly $8mm when it sold for less than $6 million two years ago - at the height of the market. Brokers like these have zero credibility to me, and I would not use them as a buyer (maybe as a seller . . . :-). How can you rely on such a broker's advice (I know, they are bound to represent the seller). If you're looking to buy, wouldn't you much rather work with a broker who "recognizes" the market realities?

I am happy to talk to you (thanks West 81st for the kind words!)

I work about half-time as a real estate agent -- I came from publishing, where I founded and ran the real estate section of the New York Post, and I'm currently writing a column called "Ask the Agent" for CBS Moneywatch. The nice thing about doing real estate part-time is that I don't have to be a crazy-high-pressure salesperson, because I can still put food on the table whether my clients choose to close or not.

I work at DG Neary Realty, which is a small boutique firm based in Chelsea. Gil Neary is, in my mind, one of the great real estate brains in New York City, and he's been doing this for nearly twenty-five years. We specialize in Chelsea and the Village, but have a strong base in Chelsea and SoHo as well (I'm currently typing this from Battery Park City, where today's clients -- who I met thru Streeteasy -- were sweet enough to lend me a laptop.)

You can email me at ali {at} dgneary [dot] com. Put "streeteasy" in the subject line, or I won't be able to find it.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

^^ Tribeca and SoHo. We are better real estate agents than copy editors.

ali

Look at Sandy Mattingly's blog "Manhattan Loft Guy." He's smart and honest. http://www.realtown.com/sandymattingly/blog

Front porch, do you cover Williamsburg as well? Or have a recco? Or can persuade me why we should stay on the island?

trinityparent, I'd put a feeler out to Jordan Silver at the Developers Group. I found him to be on top of things, professional, and not sleazy in the slightest (not always a given at that firm, unfortunately). Most of the brokers who focus on Williamsburg are heavily into new development for obvious reasons, and I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for, but I believe he's familiar enough with the market to be knowledgeable on resales as well. Good luck!

Thank you for all the suggestions. Hopefully I can find a suitable agent soon. Thanks again!

trinityparent, I don't do Williamsburg. In general, I find Brooklyn to be the Wild West ... I guess I'd go to apartmentsandlofts.com and see what they're like, just because I know they've been in the 'hood a long time.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Thanks.