Abba Realty Associates

Last November, my roommate and I were ecstatic to meet David Crombie, who, after listening to our many apartment requests, dealt with our many demands quickly and professionally. He found us our dream apartment at an incredible price in the perfect neighborhood. He was, and still is (even six months later), quick to help us with any apartment problems or concerns we face, even though it is no longer his responsibility to do so. If you’re using Abba, ask for David. You will not be disappointed.

Worked with Shloime a few months ago. He was nice enough to drive us around each area so we could get a better feel for each neighborhood. He was also very understanding of our budget and we had an overall good experience.

This is a quick follow-​up to my review from 2÷4÷14. Over a year later, we are still unsuccessful in getting our $ 3,800 back — money we desperately need now that we have a baby to take care of. Found this in the NYPost: An article about the landlord ABBA represented when they rented us the apartment on Eastern Parkway:
Nice one, guys.

Had an absolutely wonderful experience with Abba Realty. Their expertise and knowledge of New York City made it easy to rely on them to find an apartment. They also have an extensive network of apartments available for rent. The office atmosphere is inviting and lively and feels a lot like one big family. Multiple people in the office were kind enough to set me with various contacts in the community to make my transition to NYC as seamless as possible.
Our realtor was Zama and he pulled many strings to ensure we secured our desired apartment. Would highly recommend Abba Realty and Zama in particular!

After a visit from flat bush houses they refereed me here, lets start off by saying the receptionist was very helpful! then i notice it was a Jewish own reality… waited 2.5 hours to speak to someone (Judy) she approached me looked at my outfit and my lv bag then simply ask hows my credit … (me. ugh no so good due to school loans) (Judy. well you know your going to have to pay 4ways (6000) or maybe 5(7500) and currently we don’t have any openings for 2 bedrooms)… I really wanted to say something really rude but i bit my tongue, before walking out i over heard her telling another guy they have 2bedrooms available !!! save your time they are full of racism here! why the f will anyone spend 7500 to move into the effing housing buildings ??

I found Abba realty on Naked apartments and I dealt with Malkom he is a really nice guy, he showed me around to 3 different places and he found me a great place in the Bronx, he is highly recommendable.

Worked with Judy and has been a breeze. Move in was a fast and efficient process. We’ll be in by the end of the month.

Sorry to say but big disappointment in the Bronx branch on 1749 Grand Concourse. Both Malcom and Moshe do not have the capabilities to close a deal. They advertise on craigslist with one price and practice the bait and switch tactics. Soon as the post went up I jumped on it, and called, gave in my DEPSOSIT! After listing one apartment in the same building there office is, for 1400, and after providing documents and qualifying with high scores, the management they represented raise the rent to 1600. Why, cause they had to shine the floors? Sorry but $ 200 makes a difference to a middle class worker. Hence, causing me to lose other opportunities due to them holding my deposit during the process. Then in desperation for an apt i scroll thru craigslist and find another apt. Ironically its the same realty. I resubmit my papers and deposit with no problems. Waited a while just to say I didn’t get approved. B. S excuses. Not cool at all. Maybe you should get things in writing with your landlords before you show apts out to potential renters. Makes your company more legit.

I came across an ad for a recently renovated, no-​fee apartment (a rarity, in my opinion) on
with the broker listed as Judy Levin. I immediately felt assured when I spoke to her as she was straightforward and our communication could not have been better. Her exuberant assistant David showed me the apartment (a very nice change from the usually dismal attitudes I’ve dealt with in the past). Carmen at the ABBA Realty office was very patient and helpful in both answering my questions about the lease and also later when I received the first rent statement with a discrepancy. She told me she would take care of it right away and did just that.
All throughout my dealings with ABBA Realty I’ve been very impressed, especially keeping in mind the horror stories of friends who have dealt with other realty companies. I’m still awed by how extremely kind and helpful everyone was, especially Judy, who was so sweet when I kept texting her incessantly (even over the weekend) before signing the lease. She was and continues to be (even five months later!) my liaison when I need to get in touch with the management company. I’m so very grateful to her for her incredible kindness when I had an issue with a noisy neighbor. If you go with ABBA Realty and with Judy and team, you’ll be in good hands. Thanks again guys!

I’m still in the hunt for an apartment, but Hannah from Abba has helped me throughout this process amazingly. Found her on NakedApartments, and emailed her regarding an apartment I wanted to see. It was rented by the time I was available to see it, but she was able to have us shown another apartment that was awesome. We wanted to keep looking, and she said that she’d keep her eyes open for us. She even gave me some helpful advice really early one morning when I thought I might be getting scammed by another realtor from a different firm.
We haven’t found a place yet, but I’ll update when we do! Hopefully we’ll be able to find one through Hannah and Abba.

Israel found me a beautiful apartment, no fee, and same day. I had been looking through brokers and through Craigslist for a month and this was my best choice by far– I must have looked at more than 20 apartments! He and went way above and beyond. I moved the same weekend and I’m very happy with this building.

I was extremely happy and impressed by how professional, helpful and genuine the staff at ABBA realty were. The realtor agent that helped me was Ms. Batsheva (Ava) R., and she was dynamic, resourceful and simply a pleasure to deal with. I was pleasantly surprised, since I arrived to New York on a Sunday night, and was able to find a place that not only close to my work place, but newly renovated and spacious on the following day. Moreover, as mentioned prior, she was extremely professional and reliable, which are so vitally important when a newcomer is searching for a place to live for the foreseeable future. I highly recommend this agency to people who are looking for a great place to live within their workable budget, and are looking for professionals that are not only great at what they do, but want to help with this search, and this I believe includes everyone:).

Update on 06/​04/​2012
Initially, I had rated this business with a different rating scale but towards the end and because of their outstanding service, experience and attitude that improves it for a greater rating.
The company deals with a huge list of apartments in Brooklyn. During the experience with this company, they made me realized its not only the business side you experience but they also tried to provide the service in a professional yet personal manner. Knowing being personal brings clients to think, they are taking you seriously. This brings more trust and which it allows clients like myself to feel more comfortable choose this company for service.
I hope the owner of the ABBA realty or the manager for the business would take notice of my review. This is because when I have decided to take time and rewrite the review and it be would be based on seeing the potential in their company and what they could do to make their business better.
My review here start off from the day deposit is left and when the lease is signed, and then to the events afterwards. Also, I wrote another review regarding to the events before the lease is signed and which I left on the nakedapartments website. There, I gave some prospective about the agent and how he worked to help me and get the lease to the apartment.
Now here is goes…
The day I left my deposit, I met my agent’s boss Sheina and she was very friendly. She helped me to make up a profile so the landlord would have a better understanding of me. I’m 27 years old and I came back to school to pursuit a future career in medicine. However, it seems when people hear someone has a status of a student and they tend to underestimate or prejudge the person by a certain standard. Which is a unfortunate bias but it is understandable. It is in their best interest to find the right person for the apartment with certain criteria. Nonetheless, she seem to understand this, so she was very thoughtful to make a profile to show the landlord that I can be consider as a good future tenant.
By the end of that day, I was told by my agent Israel that he had spoken to the landlord and he would rent the apartment to me. Which I was very thankful to him and Sheina. We scheduled the following week to make the payments and signing the lease. Later the same day, Israel messaged me and asked me to speak to Carmen who is in charge of the leasing when I visit them again.
The following week, I came to sign the lease. Everything went really well. Carmen was very nice and instructive about the leasing details. The paper work also includes, phone numbers to the services that you would need for the apartment, such as cables, gas… etc. Which I found it very helpful comparing to my previous experiences with different realty companies. None which provided such useful information. In the end, we scheduled the date before I move in to pick up the keys.
I came to pick up the keys the next week and I expected to get all the keys, however, I was only able to obtain the apartment key. There was a little hiccup regarding to the building key and the key to the mail box. Which Israel tried his best to satisfied and make the necessary arrangements for me to have the key to access the build A.S.A.P the next day. I was able to get the building key the next day before moving and the follow Monday, he then again have assisted me to get the mailbox key. I thought of the agent, Israel was very responsible for this client even to the end. He has honored his profession. I would definitely recommend anyone to this agent for apartment rental. He is dedicated, efficient and most importantly trustworthy to find you the ideal apartment.
Summarily, I did made some suggests to the agent and the company manager personally and not only they listened and knowledge but they took the suggests seriously. This is a very good business model which they make great efforts to achieve for higher standards in their work. This is a no less than 5 star realty company.

I’ve worked with ABBA twice. The first time, I had a great experience. My Realtor was able to find me an apartment quickly and efficiently. So when I needed to move again, I logged onto a site (
), and found a beautiful apartment that happened to listed by ABBA. Awesome!
So I contacted them and was immediately contacted by a Realtor named Pini, and set up an appointment to look at it later in the week. When I arrived at the apartment on the scheduled day and time, I was informed that the apartment had been rented already. Huh. Really? Pini’s response: «Whoops. I forgot to call you.»
Unbelievable. Unacceptable. Won’t be using this agency again.

Disgusting! I called to inquire about a property I saw while riding past it. A man answered the phone and before I could express my thought, he forwarded my call to an EXTREMELY disgusting Jewish woman. She did not answer my question, until I asked her again and she was nasty on the phone. If you dont like your job… get a new one! If you are not going to be pleasant and helpful, then do not answer the phone! Get an assistant if you’re overwhelmed! If you do not want to «serve» certain communities, then DO NOT answer the phone! Working in real estate means to serve the public! NEVER again will I call these people. Racist and rude. No thanks! $ is the same color and humans are all the same! Fuhghettaboutit!