Broker reccomendations?

For rent or sale?

I specifically am looking to rent

I've used Citi-Habitats, the experienced guys there seem to know the drill....It's the newbies at firms that try to pull their cute little tricks...."The market is expected to rebound this quarter"

murphy - so you're a broker at Citi-Habitats looking to see how you look on that website?

If you're not a broker, and you've used Citi before, then just use them again, despite so many other postings here calling the S***ty Habitats.

I am not a broker, I've used a few places to find apartments, never citi. I got one on craigslist under the sol goldman umbrella and then i used rosenyc

ph41---bad experience with the mcdonalds of apartment brokerages?

murphy - never used them (never had to, thank god), but so many other posters have, with very bad experiences.

Sort of like Bellmarc, on the sell side - the ones I like to call the "brokers of last resort" - they seem to get all their listings after the other larger firms haven't been able to sell a pretty standard apartment at the owners' deluded selling price.

how, in anyones estimation, did citi habitats become the largest rental firm in nyc? by doing a poor job in every single instance? by lying to every single person they come in contact with?

you guys know all...please tell
seesm like a business model for failure, not success

Agreed. It's a commission business and in those instances, unfortuantely, the bad brokers outweigh the good brokers. I will say though, a good broker can be worth it especially if you are short on time or patience. I've seen at least 50-75 properties on foot using craigslist etc...

Hate to be a pain, but spelling mistakes within a comment - fine. In the title of a discussion thread?
Downright embbarasing! (Hey, what's this funny red underline?)

Does anybody use yelp to get broker referrals?

Renters - don't go to companies like Pari Passu or Charles Ruttenberg. The agents there get 100% splits but all their listings are OTHER brokers' exclusives, which you can get directly from those brokers for no fee or a lower fee. Passu and Ruttenberg only have co-brokes or open listings so they are the last companies you should use. Also avoid Citi-Habitats and Bond. They are the largest agencies but have constant agent turnover and plenty of either pushy and/or "shady" agents. Never go to Best Apts or Blackstone, they are shady and dishonest and never get good reviews.

What you should look for are neighborhood brokerages that are established with quality listings and good real estate agents. Examples are Rachel Realty on the Upper West Side, Adina Equities in Gramercy, or DSA Realty in the East Village or Midtown West. Cobble Hill Realtors in Brooklyn is another good example.
-- Anonymous Landlord who has used MANY brokerages in the past

Another point to add to the great comment above is that many brokerages post fake job ads on Craigslist just like they post fake apartment ads. You'll see brokers put up job ads stating "Earn $100,000 your first year". No one does that and chances are, no one at their entire brokerage, even their most senior agents, earn that much. New agents looking for sponsoring brokerages don't know what to believe. Hey, 90% splits sounds better than 50% splits right? Sounds better - yes, is better - no. The landlord above is correct - at those places you'll end up on OLR all day looking at other brokers' exclusives. Good luck renting those or open listings. The 90% split companies don't have any relationships with the important smaller owners. If any of their agents do, new agents won't be able to touch those LLs. My advice is to search through the brokerage job ads carefully. There are Microsofts to work at and there are Enrons. Don't believe what they say though, seek out the real truth.

Stay away from the CRU Team at BHS. Dicks.

Any recommendations for upper east side and murray hill?

Any recommendations for upper east side and murray hill?

Yep. Bellmarc in midtown has many exclusive listings - just used them with great results to get a no fee large 1 bedroom in Murray Hill (we were the first and last ones to see that apt). In addition, I would recommend Nestseekers and Fireside Realty - all honest people, no tricks. If you have a specific area in mind and like rental buildings though, you are better off going to the leasing office directly without a broker.

Run Way from Citi-habitats and Anchor Associates - the aforementioned issues on this thread are still rampant. I had a horrible experience during my apartment search with a rep from Shitty Habitats, pulled every trick in the book - prices are rebounding, let me show you this building that is $600 a month above your price range. I also had a horrible experience with BHS in midtown, so I would avoid them as well.

I believe the CRU Team at BHS does have listings on the UES. STAY CLEAR of them! They double talk, they play a ridiculous game, they are never upfront, and refuse to communicate. AND WE WERE WANTING TO BUY!! I'm not sure they need anyone's money as they really don't seem to care.

Stay away from prudential Elliman's brokers.
Many of their brokers are crooks.

I'm a broker in the West Village. I've been doing this for 8.5 years. I started off as a web designer for an Upper West side landlord. Now I have my own agency. Its a 2 man operation so every cusomer counts. No phoney apartments, no bait and switch, no pushy anything. I'll show only what you want to see in your price range and I will tell you beforehand if its a dump and not worth it. So come to me if you want a good, honest, hardworking broker. But dont come just to window shop. I only work with serious renters and buyers. Stay with me, and you will find what you want.