Citi

Dishonest brokers

by Lorimer

Their broker did not disclose information about the management company's laxity in maintaining the building that would have clearly made the apartment unacceptable, though it turned out she was well aware of how problematic they were. She had been funnelling people to that property on a long term basis. Eventually those issues caught up with me and caused me to pull another move earlier than anticipated.

To make things even better, a week after the lease was signed, the management company told me they had paid the broker, but... the broker had gotten a 15% fee from me before signing (this was before the market came down). So these people got paid off twice for the deal. Of course, I tried to talk to the broker's boss, and he blew me off. That's where customer service comes to a grinding halt.

If 'buyer beware' applies anywhere, CitiHabitats is it. The only further thing that can be said is that, in all other respects, they are just like any NYC broker: they will show you tons of crappy apartments that don't meet your stated requirements.

Here are a few hits that may be helpful in your search:

1) Beware of bait and switch: a large number of listings are for properties that don't exist on the market. You'll be told that there's an application on the property, but in fact the whole thing is a just a ruse to get an 'in' with you for the broker, so they can show you whatever they have in inventory.

2) Most brokers will tell you that it's a bad idea to work with multiple brokers because everything on the NY market is supposed to be listed in the common database. Well guess what? The fact that they are telling you to only work with one broker should be a sign that you darn well should use as many information sources as possible (and not just brokers, mind you)

3) Don't let them hoodwink you by talking up a feature that they discovered is attractive to you, so that they can distract you from other things that in the final rendition will make the property unworkable. If the location is really great, think a bit more about what it would really cost to fix up that old apartment. If you find the apartment features really great, check that location's proximity to the subway. Take that walk when you get a chance. Don't let the broker distract you during a showing.

4) Brokers will always try to rush you into closing once they discover you are interested in one of their apartments. Take your time to consider the situation. If the broker gets pushy, tell them to shut up.

5) And last but not least: pretentious, holier-than-thou NY brokers - gimme a break, these people are snake oil merchants. Feel free to tell them to shut up.

• Pros: Lots of crummy listings
• Cons: Unacceptable business practices

Avoid at All Costs

by NewYorker2011

This company's brokers are questionable at best. I am all for being competitive and business is business but they are either incompetant or worse.

Recently, they tried to reneged on a deal I had for a place without notice and did not allow me to put in a counter offer until I had my broker from another firm raise a stink about it. This after they had setup a lease signing and after they had told me a place was mine. Avoid at all costs. You do not want to be on either side of a deal with them.

Misleading and incompetent

by THEM

Looking for an apartment, kept getting the car salesman, "everything's good, everything's fine"... but no real answers. Never responded directly to any question.

Lots of headaches. Look elsewhere.

Finally found a great place with Caliber Associates.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Misleading, half-truths, and people who don't listen

WASTE of TIME

by CUSIP

We are relocating to Manhattan and only have a few weekends before we need to be settled in. We spoke with Danny Moyals. We didn't want to waste his time so we let him know our budget of 2400, looking in UWS, would like to be near a park. He said no problem he had a ton of places to show us...got down to the city, he was all the sudden unavailable and had his partner show us around. Then all the apartments within our price range we thought we came to the city to check out were instantly all rented and wanted to show us 2700-3000 apartments. I would NEVER recommend them. They don't take the 15 minutes of time to find out what is important to you and classic bait and switch...Total waste of time and only creating more pressure for us to relocate.

• Pros: Ton of apartments
• Cons: None of them actually exist

Best Brooklyn Broker

by BrooklynsBest

No fee Apartments available

He was knowledgeable and professional. He worked quickly and found an apartment in the time I needed it.

Contact him for Brooklyn apartments no matter what your budget is

Call Quran Deas

347-415-9211

• Pros: Very professional and dedicated