Elena Barskaya @ Barskaya Group Real Estate Inc. is very unprofessional and unreputable broker. Elena Barskaya parades around as a broker in the Astoria Area and will unlawfully take your security deposit or rent payment and never give it to the landlord. This past month I lost my apartment and security deposit because of her bad business practices. Elena Barskaya attempted to rent me an apartment... [more]
Elena Barskaya @ Barskaya Group Real Estate Inc. is very unprofessional and unreputable broker. Elena Barskaya parades around as a broker in the Astoria Area and will unlawfully take your security deposit or rent payment and never give it to the landlord. This past month I lost my apartment and security deposit because of her bad business practices. Elena Barskaya attempted to rent me an apartment that was already rented to someone else! It wasn't until I called the landlord and owner of the building to figure out the situation... after it was impossible to reach Elena (she dose not answer her phone), that my whole real estate nightmare unfolded. She posts her illegitimate rentals on this site beware of her Real Estate Agency, She is an illegitimate broker. Her Agency is called Barskaya Group Real Estate, STAY AWAY FROM HER! I have filed a claim with the State of New York, I hope you do not fall into Elena Barskaya's trap!
[less]
Response by helphome
over 14 years ago
Posts: 110
Member since: Feb 2011
ranger fan u rule...we obviously agree on some things... hockey & Hones being a poser !!!!
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by NYCRenter588
almost 13 years ago
Posts: 1
Member since: Jan 2011
Reading this is AMUSING! I posted this original comment 2 years ago and never logged back in to Street Easy, I had no idea my comment turned into this... until today. I am in the process of cleaning out some old paperwork bin boxes from college and remembered the Elena Barskaya incident. When the entire situation was all said and done I only received 1/2 my money back from Elena, she claimed money when to the land lord, but I was in contact with him and he had not received anything from her. This was one BIG lesson in trust. Trusting your roommates to come through, trusting your realtor...trust. What BOTHERED me the most, and still bothers me today... was that my roommate, who also signed the initial documents with me received her $500 back in full... now if she was to receive hers in full why was I not able to receive mine? The only difference...and my biggest mistake...was that I paid in cash. Elena claims I called and called, and yes she is right. After utilizing NORMAL methods to contact someone I had to take extreme measures. I remember she told me she would meet up with me to discuss the situation. When I got to her meeting place in Astoria (via car) she wanted me to idle on a street corner and talk to her, so strange. When your fresh out of college $500 is a lot...and to loose that for a silly reason, worse! I have since happily rented all over NYC & now in Miami where i live today and am glad i learned a BIG LESSON...never give cash to ANYONE!!!
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by berkilhan
over 11 years ago
Posts: 0
Member since: Feb 2014
I have recently rented an apt with Elena Barskaya. She is a professional straightforward broker. She explained me all the details very carefully and patiently. It was a fast process of renting an apt thanks to her assistance.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by naubol
almost 11 years ago
Posts: 0
Member since: Apr 2013
Well, my experiences don't jive with the OP's. I rented an amazing apartment from her and in every way she was quite upfront about the process. Reading critically, the OP did not refute Elena's facts nor address her perspective and also seemed to imply that Elena was on the money about the flakiness of the situation viz a viz the other roommates.
It is typical to have to place a deposit before renting an apartment in NYC. Moreover, this deposit only holds the apartment for a set period of time. If Elena is right in that the would-be renters did not come to sign the lease and pay the first month's rent, broker's fee, et all within the appropriate period of time, then the deposit is lost and the apartment is no longer held for the renter.
This, frankly, is quite equitable and also standard outside of NYC. The deposit covers the financial exposure the landlord enters when he agrees to pull the apartment off the market, and is a show of good faith. It does not guarantee an indefinite option.
Even if Elena was supposed to give the landlord money, we do not know what passed between them. It is equally possible the landlord had a misunderstanding of the terms, and it should not be the renter's obligation to provide to the landlord the security deposit or any of the first month's rent. Once this is in the custody of the broker, this is the broker's responsibility.
As such, if the landlord is complaining to a tenant or to a would-be renter that he did not receive the correct amount from Elena, this is terribly unprofessional of the landlord and tends to cast doubt on the entire matter, from the OP's post claiming what the landlord said to anything the landlord may have said to the OP.
That aside, I would use Elena again, and she has been one of the most awesome experiences I've had in NYC in renting an apartment.
Also, I only paid $40 dollars for the application. It is $40 per person and she makes no money off of this as this is the cost she must pay to run a credit check on each person. Therefore, 3 people signing up for a lease would be $120. This is du jour in NYC and this step being skipped is a red flag when renting an apartment.
'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
ranger fan u rule...we obviously agree on some things... hockey & Hones being a poser !!!!
Reading this is AMUSING! I posted this original comment 2 years ago and never logged back in to Street Easy, I had no idea my comment turned into this... until today. I am in the process of cleaning out some old paperwork bin boxes from college and remembered the Elena Barskaya incident. When the entire situation was all said and done I only received 1/2 my money back from Elena, she claimed money when to the land lord, but I was in contact with him and he had not received anything from her. This was one BIG lesson in trust. Trusting your roommates to come through, trusting your realtor...trust. What BOTHERED me the most, and still bothers me today... was that my roommate, who also signed the initial documents with me received her $500 back in full... now if she was to receive hers in full why was I not able to receive mine? The only difference...and my biggest mistake...was that I paid in cash. Elena claims I called and called, and yes she is right. After utilizing NORMAL methods to contact someone I had to take extreme measures. I remember she told me she would meet up with me to discuss the situation. When I got to her meeting place in Astoria (via car) she wanted me to idle on a street corner and talk to her, so strange. When your fresh out of college $500 is a lot...and to loose that for a silly reason, worse! I have since happily rented all over NYC & now in Miami where i live today and am glad i learned a BIG LESSON...never give cash to ANYONE!!!
I have recently rented an apt with Elena Barskaya. She is a professional straightforward broker. She explained me all the details very carefully and patiently. It was a fast process of renting an apt thanks to her assistance.
Well, my experiences don't jive with the OP's. I rented an amazing apartment from her and in every way she was quite upfront about the process. Reading critically, the OP did not refute Elena's facts nor address her perspective and also seemed to imply that Elena was on the money about the flakiness of the situation viz a viz the other roommates.
It is typical to have to place a deposit before renting an apartment in NYC. Moreover, this deposit only holds the apartment for a set period of time. If Elena is right in that the would-be renters did not come to sign the lease and pay the first month's rent, broker's fee, et all within the appropriate period of time, then the deposit is lost and the apartment is no longer held for the renter.
This, frankly, is quite equitable and also standard outside of NYC. The deposit covers the financial exposure the landlord enters when he agrees to pull the apartment off the market, and is a show of good faith. It does not guarantee an indefinite option.
Even if Elena was supposed to give the landlord money, we do not know what passed between them. It is equally possible the landlord had a misunderstanding of the terms, and it should not be the renter's obligation to provide to the landlord the security deposit or any of the first month's rent. Once this is in the custody of the broker, this is the broker's responsibility.
As such, if the landlord is complaining to a tenant or to a would-be renter that he did not receive the correct amount from Elena, this is terribly unprofessional of the landlord and tends to cast doubt on the entire matter, from the OP's post claiming what the landlord said to anything the landlord may have said to the OP.
That aside, I would use Elena again, and she has been one of the most awesome experiences I've had in NYC in renting an apartment.
Also, I only paid $40 dollars for the application. It is $40 per person and she makes no money off of this as this is the cost she must pay to run a credit check on each person. Therefore, 3 people signing up for a lease would be $120. This is du jour in NYC and this step being skipped is a red flag when renting an apartment.