The Hecht Group

09/30/2008 Posted by b1gf00t

We are a couple looking for a studio in Manhattan and the hecht Group seemed very helpful over the phone. We made an appointment to view several places within our budget of $1,500. Andrea Fernandez showed us around informed us we could negotiate on the price, we were particularly interested in one studio on 440 East 75 St, flat 2 quoted at $1,550. Andrea told us the agency fee will be 1 month rent. We maintained contact with her and were advised to bring $500 as a deposit. We went to the office, filled out further paperwork and went in the manager's office: Ed Hecht. We are then told the price is $1,600 not $1550! Then my partner saw Hecht groups fee is $2,985! We were not told of this. Ed then promptly apologized to us as this was not going anywhere. We walked out of the office having wasted all our time, energy and effort. Beware of the tricks they do to get you then try to sneak in the extra charges! (if anyone needs document proof about this, we are happy to share) We agree on the review that Hect Group boost their own profile.

Pros: none

Cons: Liars - BEWARE!

09/18/2008 Posted by daniboyy

i have read a few of the reviews here and i can tell someone was angry, but in all fairness reading the history of the company made me use then since they have been around for over 10 years. i got an apartment !! service was fine and fair, i also got a guarantee from the owners which no other brokerage gave me, all in all fair and professional although i did not like the office so much or process which was more then complicated. i had no idea new york city landlords need to see my financials for a silly studio. the office was not as new as some of the bigger companies. cheers. DAN

07/21/2008 Posted by arghhhh

I saw a "no fee" apartment from the Hecht Group. The Hecht group had told the tenants of an apartment that they could show their as a no-fee apartment, as they wanted to end their lease early. After seeing the apartment, I called the Hecht Group about pssibly leasing the apartment. The extremely rude person on the phone then told me there was a broker fee, and that I would have to pay the broker, even though the apartment was shown by the tenant. I am glad that I have seen their dishonesty before renting from them, as doing business with liars is something that you want to avoid. As the Hecht Group obviously has no compunctions about lying to prospective and current tenants, I am also sure that they have no compunctions about putting up fake 5 star reviews of themselves on Citysearch, so I would take any 5 star review with a grain of salt.

Pros: none

Cons: dishonest, bait and switch liars who waste your time

07/01/2008 Posted by HonestJane

Don't believe the positive reviews on this site. It's probably the owner's writing their own praise. This company is unprofessional, unreliable and unreasonable. Don't waste your time, energy or money on The Hecht Group.

06/27/2008 Posted by duss

I'd seen many apartments with two other brokers - needless to say I was very disappointed with everything I had seen. I responded to an ad from Hecht Group in the NY Times, and the next evening I got a phone call to go look at an apartment on the UWS. The address I was told to meet the broker at was perfect - my boyfriend and I had wanted to live in this area but didn't know if we could afford it. LOCATION - Awesome...BUILDING - Awesome - doorman, elevator, and laundry on the premises...APARTMENT - true one bedroom with tons of natural light (the other brokers were not listening to our needs and were showing us studio alcoves). It was the first apartment they had shown me and it was everything we wanted!! I couldn't believe how seemless it was. Amnon is great and a very honest person! It was great doing business with them!

Pros: Great contact for UWS apts

Cons: be willing to pay 15% fee

06/25/2008 Posted by Marxecat

After wasting days with brokers who only seemed to partially listen to our needs and oversell the properties they had, we were relieved and pleasantly surprised by Amnon Hecht's honesty, integrity and professionalism. We were in town hoping to close an apartment in one weekend, and after two days of hunting our prospect of finding an apartment that met our needs in our price range was looking bleak. Then on Sunday we met Amnon, who showed us a great unit in a perfect location. We were nervous about canceling other appointments because another unit had recently fallen through (with a different broker), and he reassured us that this if we put in an application we would not be burned again. In order to completely alleviate our concerns, he spent four hours completing as much of the process as possible so that we could head back to Boston that evening without having to worry about whether we would be approved. Then by the following morning he had met with the landowner and completed the process. Throughout the entire experience he was very easy going (i.e. did not push things on us) and flexible about accepting a personal check, then waiting a couple of days to cash it for us to move funds, and finally in getting the apartment approved before we could get the guarantor application completed. In sum, I would recommend Amnon Hecht to anyone and everyone.

05/29/2008 Posted by danidin

when i started reading all these reviews after renyting my apartment i wondered what made all these guys or girls so bitter. i looked up the hecht group and i found out they have been in business over 10 year i got an apartment on 1st avenue and 82nd street and it was all that the ad promised so here here! i give them 5 stars Dan Cohen

05/14/2008 Posted by winendine25

After reading the reviews I must agree with the poor ones. The funny thing is when the manager of the hecht group called and threatened and accused me and my roommate of ignoring their calls and trying to ditch them he actually mentioned how they have great reviews on citysearch. He assumed we wouldn't pay them and threatened to use legal action. He also lied and said we wouldn't be able to sign the lease if we don't pay the broker fee, which turns out to be false. The agents switched throughout our application and lease signing. They were of no help when we were having problems with the management company and only contacted us when they found out about our lease signing.. and by contacted I mean called us every 5 minutes from different phone numbers. They are very unprofessional and not very helpful. Our building is a no fee building as well and we ended up paying them a month's rent for their broker fee.

02/26/2008 Posted by abeh

Don't use the Hecht Group, they will bait and switch, then lie to you and steal your money.They are crooks! Be careful!

02/20/2008 Posted by bobrien12350

Ha, Ha, Ha. How lame. The Hecht Group has resorted to writing their own reviews. How else to explain all the "honest, reliable, fast service" positive reviews which just appeared starting in December? That tells you all you need to know about the Hecht Group. I wish I had seen this before working with this shady outfit. Save yourself the headache - these people are anything but "honest or reliable". Try "bait and switch".