Ratings or Reviews for NYC Real Estate Brokers

realestateratingsz.com 'ratingsz' with a 'z'? Sounds like w67's personal broker rating site. I'll have to check that one from home since w67 rating 'borkers' will be way too R (maybe X) rated for the office computer.

http://www.realestateratingz.com/
shoot first ask questions later

http://www.rateyourbroker.com/ is also a good one

Don't use Amanda J. Young of Brown Harris; she acted shady, got personal, and played around with my time and effort.

don't use modern spaces they r manipulative & greedy. the owner told me that if I didn't use her agency as a dual broker i wouldn't be able to get anything off the asking price. if i brought in my own buy side broker, the 6% would b split. if i used her as a dual she would keep the whole 5%.....nasty.

helphome
about 1 hour ago
ignore this person
report abuse don't use modern spaces they r manipulative & greedy. the owner told me that if I didn't use her agency as a dual broker i wouldn't be able to get anything off the asking price. if i brought in my own buy side broker, the 6% would b split. if i used her as a dual she would keep the whole 5%.....nasty.

offering you a discount if you work directly is nasty?

yelp.com

helphome is still on that... ok

I second what helenwaite suggested, Yelp.

Broker ratings are very tough to do well.

If you make someone "prove" the worked with a broker, then you get very few reviews, if you don't, then you get lots of garbage. Brokers end up rating themselves and their competition (which is a bunch of misinformation). Consumers who have a bad experience tend to be much more vocal and persistent than those who are satisfied.

There are also many different factors at work in determining what is a good match between a particular consumer and a broker. A grade or point scale would be as useless as wine ratings which tell you almost nothing about the probability of your future satisfaction.

Ideas welcome...

SE-- here is an idea. Don't rate them.

streeteasy, exactly. I think you took the right tack by not attempting the subjective stuff and just collecting all the transaction data by broker. As you say, nobody'd use that to select a broker, but the data is an interesting look at the state of the business. E.g., looking at the past year in Lincoln Square and UWS, only 269 brokers had two or more sell-side deals, another 464 had just one, and god knows how many had squat. Those numbers are even smaller when you consider that some sales are credited to more than one sell-side broker.

E.g., I'd known Deana Kory had a ton of closings, but not just how many relative to the others. Then you see someone like Dean Feldman further down the list, but without a coterie of staff, mailings, etc.

I don't even look at the buy-side stats, as most brokers don't bother to self-report them, while the sell-side are thorough and clean.

Brooks2: That is our idea. I was explaining why we don't rate them.

NWT: Yes. We agree that the "hard" data is far more useful at this point. We will continue to show more of it as it's ready.

SE- Thanks. I agree that broker ratings are tough to do well. I thought you might start. You have a great site and I would not want it to be tainted by starting to rate brokers. I did find your "hard "data interesting, but I don't think I would use it to choose a broker.

Thanks. We agree on the second point as well. You should choose who you work based on many different factors. We are just trying to provide additional data as we can, while trying to avoid data that is so inaccurate that it's only value is entertainment.

Streeteasy needs to make it clear that unless brokers sign on to your insider account -- which warrants payment --- Streeteasy does not include their buy-side transactions or let them edit information Streeteasy has incorrect.

At first we tried to rate them based on their atomic mass.

Then we tried to rate them by atomic number.

Turns out they all have the same number protons in their nucleus............2.

OR - you could just go to a "matchmaking" service ... BrickUnderground just launched one; CityRealty also does this.

I have to give a 'two thumbs up' to BrickUnderground for high quality stories and consistency. Not everyone can make the cut as a reporter or contributor over there.
Kudos

I think you should find people who actually used the broker and were happy with that broker. Ratings online are bit shady. There are people who hire others to boost rating in other business so I don't trust online ratings.
Personal referrals from people who have had successful transaction with a broker would be the way to go.

What if you used a broker and were not happy? Those should not "used"?

What moof3366 said. We loved our broker (from Halstead's Boland group) and recommended him to friends who were similarly satisfied.

Steeteasy,

its really hard to rate brokers even by their closed deals. Biggest reason, some of the largest firms in the city use a round robin system for closed sales deals to prop up the lesser or inexperienced agents. Basically, they put closed sales under inexperienced agents, who had nothing to do with the deal, just so below their profile it can show some closed deals. Now on streeteasy they can fool the public with fake experience. This totally throws off all the data you have in your system. There needs to be a better way to rate brokers. How about a review from the Seller? or Buyer of the property? That would be specific and could give the most details as to what the broker really did.

More suited for Angie's List.

Off topic, but has anyone used Angie'a List for repairs, plumbers, etc.?

Angies doesn't seem much like a Manhattan phenom.

SE re: Ideas welcome... How about a style/matchmaking- assessment-check list- you know kind of like a dating service: ie:
Relating Styles: a.Laid Back b.Relaxed c.Formal
Communications Style: a.Daily updates b.Weekly Emails c.No Pressure
Involvement Style: a.Hands-on b.Has Partner c.Team Response etc- etc- etc-

how about:
Cares about: a.Volume only, b.Price too

Find someone who is more interested in listening to you and meeting your needs than "closing a deal".

Hi Everyone,

My name is Joyce Liendo and I am an agent with Oxford Property Group. I moved here from Texas a couple of years ago and I remember just how hard it was to find an apartment as I was getting jerked around by brokers and their fictitious descriptions- not to mention renting an apartment in NYC can be as overwhelming as buying a house in any other US city... Two years later, I ended up deciding to become a real estate agent myself.

Now that I have been working in real estate for the last two years I am really fed up with how poorly clients are mistreated by brokers who constantly bait and switch on craigslist, BS you and try to scam you for brokers fees when you show interest in a property after they lured you there by saying it was "no-fee". It makes me frustrated to see how poorly regarded the brokerage community is and how clients almost expect to be mistreated by a broker. I decided it was time to try and clean up the industry so I launched www.kissmybroker.com today. I am still working on getting as many firms and brokers names up on there so that users will be able to read/write reviews on real estate agents. Admin pre-screens every review and we have implemented some other software like Yelp to try and keep it as honest and legitimate as possible. If you have any questions or suggestions we would be happy to hear from you on our site.

The last thing I want is for the site to become a broker-bashing site. Streeteasy's post is correct- Consumers do tend to be a lot more vocal when they're dissatisfied than when they're happy but I wanted to find a way to reward the good and trustworthy brokers. When a broker receives a review, they automatically get notified and they get the chance to respond to it. Therefore, you get to see both sides of the story and come to your own conclusion about the broker. If the review is a 4 or 5 kiss rating, they get rewarded for being a good broker with a free listing to advertise an apartment for either rent or sale. Similarly, if a broker was dishonest, unethical, or incompetent- that needs to be said as well.

We hope that this makes brokers more responsible for their actions and brings accountability to the brokerage community.

Thank you,

Joyce

Hi Everyone
No matter what do NOT hire Matthew Pope from Town & Hudson. I hired him as he offered 3% commission and I am losing 6 figs in my sale. But so far he didn't do a jack shit. First he lost and didn't even remember that he took the papers including the building financial statement as a part of the offering plan. (He voluntarily paid for a new copy) Second he never went over the requirements in the sales package to be submitted to the building board. The buyer ended up doing his work although he had weeks of time to do that. Every requirement was written on the second page of the package. No excuse not to do that.

And then he submitted the sales package with my sign, requirements nor to my knowledge. And got rejected of course. I didn't know anything about it until the buyer told me. I asked Pope about it and he said he knew the package would be rejected. WTF?

And still 3 days prior to the closing he is not even mentioning about the carbon monoxide detecter paper let alone providing the paper that was supposed to be a part of the sales package. I had to handwrite it and get it signed by the handyman.

Now even with 3% commission, the numbers are in 5 digits. Can anyone tell me one good reason why I need to pay this lazy ass other than the legal binding? In my opinion do NOT hire a broker unless you know he/she will actually WORK.

Oh by the way Pope's recommended attorney (his pal) almost screwed up the whole sales. I will tell you if anyone wants to know.

Oh forgot to say that I got a buyer in 1 week after signing with Pope. Lucky bastard.

"Hi Everyone
No matter what do NOT hire Matthew Pope from Town & Hudson. I hired him as he offered 3% commission and I am losing 6 figs in my sale"

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

The erraticreview.com. But be careful to spell it correctly, or
you'll be goinbg where West67th spends most of his days.

It is best to read all the user comments and review first before getting a real estate broker. There might be instances where a very bad service is lost in the general good reviews.

re: Angie's List - I found it unhelpful for broker selection. They list agencies, not individual brokers, and in the NYC area they have about 4 reviews per agency, max.

Angie's List also doesn't offer a real estate attorney category, so that was no help either. You could let your broker find you one, but that's generally not recommended as (I'm told) they favor attorneys who prioritize speed of close over thoroughness.

Similarly with home inspectors, another service that you should select yourself, but where Angie's List reviews are sorely lacking (though not as bad as with realtors).

Angie's List requires a paid account before letting you see any of the reviews, you wouldn't know this until it was too late. The service doesn't have critical mass in NYC yet, it seems, at least in these categories. Maybe in a year or two it'll be better. For now, asking for broker recs from your friends seems like the best alternative.

I am looking for a broker, who has experience selling $1 million plus properties, to sell an apartment in the Sutton Place area. Any recommendations would be welcome.

It is about time condo and coop managements provide owners and shareholders with sales, rental and sublease data in their monthly minutes report. This data would assist owners to know who is actually selling and leasing in their bldg so, they can call and interview the broker/agent. Rating brokers is difficult without actual data and statistics. I've been in the business since 1981, started in Manhattan and relocated to Queens in 1987 and I have come across more agents and brokers who are unprofessional and unethical than ones that are good. I just wish the process could be made more difficult to get a license. I have also encountered many clients and customers who are dishonest and unethical. It's a coin toss. If I meet a client or customer who seems unethical and difficult ,I gently let them know I am unable to work with them since they can be malicious. It's like looking for the perfect or good match and it requires working at it. Call your friends associates and acquaintances and get referrals .

re: Angie's List For a business that has been around so long and advertises so heavily it seems odd that I have never heard of anyone that uses it either.

Forget about using Andrew Saracino of Halstead. He led me on for 2 months about a "fabulous" alcove studio apartment in his building with double exposures and great views, and another with double exposures and a terrace! When I came to New York to see them, they were non-existent and he just blew me off, saying "I tried." I had much better results using SE listings.

A few months before that, when I told him about a few apartments I was going to sse (listed open houses), he called all the agents telling them he was my broker so he could get a piece of the action.

Very sleazy. Don't use.............

We all get drawn into trying to pick nuggets of truth out of Riccardo65's story-telling, instead of just reading them as Oxycodone-fueled entertainment.

Anyway, the timing of http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/676900-coop-330-third-avenue-kips-bay-new-york looks right. Double-exposure (if a brick wall counts) but it went to contract in only six weeks. 330 Third also has a bunch of studios with terraces, but I don't see which one is meant.

Halstead and REBNY probably don't allow brokers to publicly discuss clients, or we could get the other side. Maybe there's some venting site where the story starts "Something about him said 'bad news', but a client's a client, so ...."

NWT: "Oxycodone-fueled entertainment"? Is that what you take that makes you sound a bit stoned and unfocused? I for one have never taken one of these, nor any other narcotic. I don't need to. I love life just as it is and need nothing to alter my experience.

As to the listing, again your stoned state made you conveniently forget that I was talking about an alcove studio. Do you know what this is? It's an apartment that has a separate area for a bed. And when I speak of double exposures, I mean in the living area/sleeping area with double views of the city and water.

And as to the "other side," I'd love to find out why I was led on for two months, told not to bother looking elsewhere because he had the perfect apartment, etc. I guess I should blame myself for being naive and not taking to heart that despite my love of everything New York, most of its inhabitants are lonely losers day dreaming about things past instead of looking at life squarely "in the face." Why are there so very many mean, nasty comments on this site, and always from the same people? I could name them if you wish.

Have a nice day, and please, don't mix your narcotics with alcohol. It could kill you. (Maybe not such a bad thing..........................)

Several posts here were deleted including my post about other people's posts being deleted.

It was just my responding to "I for one have never taken one of these" with a verbatim quote of his from another site. That was google-able, leading once again to his real e-mail, which he now realizes shouldn't be scattered all over the web.

Then he came back with "yeah but yeah but yeah but" and more vitriol about NYC being a sewer of nasty people. I.e., anyone contradicting his stories is malevolent.

There was more than that. The first response to him was by me and a reference to a post in a thread a month or so ago using riccardo's type of nasty anti-women language, but oddly posted under a broker's name - it was that broker's first post. And then that post was deleted.

That part I missed. There's been a lot to select from. I let the story go by about his buying something here, and immediately selling, as not worth the trouble. Not that any of this is, but there's something irresistable about a guy who's both a fabulist and prone to using his own e-mail.

What did he say NWT stood for?

I had a broker and she found my friend a great unit listed by Halstead and got a signed offer, signed the contract and the Halstead broker advised the seller to hold off on signing as she would get a stronger offer-the truth is she wanted an offer without a co broke so the buyer expended funds for legal work, board approval and fees and then boom the deal was pulled from my friend who was lied to since the Halstead broker said the contract was signed and it wasn't-she knew it. Akiko Kohayawaka is the real bad culprit-dont trust her or her boss Michael Goldenberg. Go elsewhere.

Where do I begin....

I think to summarize I would say, do not use or be very careful with any real estate company without a proper recommendation!! My girlfriend and I were very excited to look for an apartment to move in together and we assumed this company had a great reputation given the rapid growth in NYC and the personal approach with great service that it markets itself as. The website, the offices, the chic addresses, etc all look great. I believe there are many hardworking people, and whether in NY or Alabama, we all deserve to deal with a company that has integrity and is professional. It is frustrating that I have to write this review, but I tried in every way to be very understanding in every aspect of the rental transaction. When we payed the 6% commission out of pocket, as customers renting an apartment in a luxury building, we expected to receive not only good service, but also disclosure of the true terms and conditions of the rental contract. This did not occur at any moment. The apartment was promised to us to be painted and the kitchen cabinets which were peeling and in terrible shape, fixed. This is a five star residential property, after all.

The property was empty for an entire month, which should be more than enough time for the work to be completed. One week before the move in date, we did the walk-thru and were surprised that the apartment was not painted, nor cleaned and the cabinets were not fixed as promised. Our agent was also surprised of the shape of the apt and later e-mailed us that she was not expecting the condition to be as it was. She fully agreed that it was not handled correctly, since we rented and signed the lease for a painted apartment, with fixed kitchen cabinets - not in an as-is condition as it was later implied to us. After the first walk-through, Town tried to talk us into not painting the apartment as promised. The day after this horrific walk-through, we received an email stating that we need to find and pay for a cleaning service for the apt, or they could find the cleaning person for us (how thoughtful) and we would have to go and give them cash in order to secure them.

After paying thousands of dollars in commission alone to TOWN, we did not expect to be looking for cleaning services, negotiating terms that were already promised to us. What occurred was simply MISREPRESENTATION: omission of lease terms and clauses, embellishing and obfuscation of the property. We were being scammed. We did not agree with these new terms that were being thrown at us. To negotiate painting and cleaning 3 days before the move in date, after 2 walk-throughs with no progress, caused so much stress and frustration that we tried everything in our hands to reach for an agreement and in order to move in to the place. Finally they reviewed their procedures and offered to remedy the situation by offering another apartment, that IF there was one available (they weren't sure) or by correcting some of the issues at hand.

After phone calls and some offers from TOWN in order to remedy all their faulty service, we requested a 25% refund of what we paid cash out of pocket. I made clear that the service they provided broke many of the rules, terms and regulations that New York State division of license for real estate broker regulates and supervises.

We received many phone calls from TOWN and they offered an amount close to what we requested however today, after waiting for many weeks we were told that they did everything right, contradicting everything again.

This company is completely untrustworthy and have demonstrated that even after a mistake is discovered and pointed out in their procedures and business, nothing was done to make things right.

If you experienced great service from TOWN, believe me, we are very happy for you, as that is exactly what we hoped would happen for us when we paid the full commission. We expected to be happy in our first apartment and have no hassles or problems the entire transaction.

If you had terrible service, countless headaches and the feeling of complete hopelessness, that there is nothing you can do, and have been scammed or ripped off, I know the feeling exactly! It is a shame that TOWN RESIDENTIAL LLC continues to act in this manner. It is unprofessional, unethical and a disgrace to New York City residents.

We still never received the original lease signed which was promised at signing.

I'd love to hear your experience, please feel free to contact me via email to dr.heitor@gmail.com.

For now, be careful who you choose as your real estate professional.

Regards, Fabiano Heitor.

Legal Memorandum LT01

DISCIPLINE OF REAL ESTATE BROKERS AND SALESPERSONS
FOR UNTRUSTWORTHY CONDUCT

" Real Property Law grants to the Department of State the authority to regulate real estate brokers and salespersons. Real Property Law §441-c provides, in part, that the Department of State may revoke, suspend, fine or reprimand a real estate broker or salesperson if that licensee is found to have, among other things, violated any provision of Article 12-A of the Real Property Law, engaged in fraud or fraudulent practices, or demonstrated untrustworthiness or incompetency. As the Court of Appeals stated in Matter of Gold v. Lomenzo, 29 NY2d 468, 329 NYS2d 805, 811 (1972), "the Legislature intended the Secretary of State to be vested with a wide discretion in determining what should be deemed untrustworthy conduct."

In fact, even if a licensee engages in conduct unrelated to its activities as a real estate broker or salesperson, that conduct can still act as the basis for and be considered by the Department of State in bringing a disciplinary proceeding against that licensee for engaging in untrustworthy behavior.

For example, in Eich v. Shaffer, 136 AD2d 701, 523 NYS2d 902 (2nd Dept. 1988), the Department of State held, after a disciplinary proceeding, that a finding by the New York State Department of Insurance petitioner violated his duties as an insurance broker and thereby demonstrated untrustworthiness and incompetency, was a sufficient basis for determining petitioner guilty of untrustworthiness with reference to his license as a real estate broker. In confirming that determination, the Appellate Court stated that it was "proper for the [Secretary] of State to base her determination that the petitioner was untrustworthy to act as a real estate broker within the meaning of Real Property Law §441-c on his misdeeds as an insurance broker." Eich, 523 NYS2d at 904.

Eich followed the holding in Dovale v. Patterson, 85 AD2d 602, 444 NYS2d 694 (2nd Dept. 1981), in which the Court stated that "[a]lthough the actions underlying the disciplinary charges are not acts for which petitioner's license as a real estate broker was required, they may be considered in determining petitioner's untrustworthiness and incompetency as a broker." Dovale, 444 NYS2d at 695. In Dovale, the Court upheld the Department of State's revocation of petitioner's real estate broker's license based upon his regularly engaging in the practice of submitting fraudulent contracts and loan applications to banks in order to obtain larger mortgages than might otherwise be available.

Finally, in Fogel v. Department of State, 209 AD2d 615, 619 NYS2d 104 (2nd Dept. 1994), the Court held that the Department of State properly denied the renewal of petitioner's real estate salesperson's license and properly denied him a real estate broker's license based upon his prior criminal conviction for sexual misconduct.

However, the manifest purpose of Real Property Law §441-c is the protection of the general public. It follows from this that when the conduct of the real estate broker or salesperson has no adverse effect on the public at large, the Department of State generally has no jurisdiction to intervene. Typically, such cases involve isolated disputes between a real estate broker and its salesperson or between two real estate brokers. In Stowell v. Cuomo, 52 NY2d 208, 437 NYS2d 270 (1981), a dispute arose between real estate salespersons Terry and Dianna Elich ("the Elichs") and petitioner real estate broker Lawrence Stowell ("Stowell"). The Elichs had earned commissions before leaving Stowell's employ. Stowell attempted to deduct certain expenses from those commissions and the Elichs refused to accept the reduced amounts offered to them. The Court of Appeals held that the Department of State did not have jurisdiction to discipline the broker based solely upon a simple contractual dispute between the broker and his sales personnel because the Department of State failed to point to any supportable adverse effect upon the public. Stowell, 437 NYS2d at 271.

The Court of Appeals cautioned, however, that "there may be situations in which, for example, a broker's 'business practices' or 'business methods' (see Real Property Law §442-e, subds. 5, 6) with regard to his salespersons are so devious as to indicate clearly that he would not deal fairly with the public and, therefore, disciplinary action under section 441-c of the Real Property Law for demonstrating 'untrustworthiness' might be warranted..." Id. Clearly, if a real estate broker repeatedly engages in unethical conduct relative to its sales staff or to other brokers, the Department of State would have jurisdiction to commence a disciplinary proceeding against that broker for demonstrating untrustworthiness pursuant to Real Property Law §441-c.

http://www.dos.ny.gov/cnsl/disrebs.html

425 East 51st Street #9B

NO doorman (listing lie)
NO kitchen! Refrigerator in a hall closet. SRSLY.
Floor plan has kitchen showing all appliances in situ. In reality, there are NO appliances, no cabinets, no nothing! Plus the floor plan has one wall drawn in erroneously, which makes the kitchen look larger.

Don't use a great sellers broker to buy, because they'll sell you on something. Remember always at every minute that they make money when you buy/sell, so when they say they do better if you do, it's bs. They get sh-t if you don't buy or sell and get only a fraction more when you get a good price. For this reason beware high volume sellers brokers in particular. Also, if you are unsure you want to buy/sell, don't decide with a broker unless it's a friend. Re referrals, it's a good idea, but people may be happy just because they got a fast, good price but you may also need coaching, direction, etc. so inquire as to why someone is good. Don't use broker I.K.

rateyoubroker.com domain is for sale, site no longer active.

rateyoubroker.com domain is for sale, site no longer active.

I haven't found any good websites for rating brokers and agents. Try Yelp, at least for who not to use. I used a recommendation from my loan officer and that worked out well for me. Anyone who has done NYC real estate long enough (e.g. your lawyer, loan officer, agent) has dealt with others repeatedly and would know of certain ones who stand out.

Have any of you see this?
www.kounter.com
Not necessarily rating/review based but looks pretty cool

We had a great experience with Real Direct. Doug and Aimee provided a lot of useful guidance and the listing was only $395 for one month. We got a great offer about 4 days after listing. I highly recommend them: www.realdirect.com

I was the purchaser of a 2 family house that Jean-Paul(BRP Associates, Inc.) was the realtor for. Despite not representing me I believe he was fair and I believe he negotiated the right price for both me and the seller. Although this was a difficult 203K purchase and an estate sale, that took many months to close, Jean-Paul was encouraging and supportive throughout the process. He has been in the business for years and offers a lot of insight. He is well connected and has tons of contacts and resources at his disposal. I now see Jean-Paul as a mentor and will use him for any future rentals, sales, purchases, financing or home service services. He is hard working, but always reliable, and you see that with his staff too.

you can also use gohomeny.com which gives you real building reviews!

gohomeny.com has a lot of useful reviews of buildings throughout NYC. would try them