Boerum Hill Realty

I had a great experience with Allen 10 years ago. I’m in the same apartment to this day. He helped me find a rent-​stabilized apartment and didn’t take a fee. He gave me advice about the neighborhood and soothed any anxiety I might have had about aspects of the apartment.

From the get-​go things were great with Michael Cohen as he was very responsive. However, things turned sour when he did not make it clear there was a fee for the apartment.
Submitted an application (within hours after viewing the apt) for an apartment and were approved to take things to the next step. Met with the owner who was 20+ minutes late for the interview she required, which was on a Wednesday. (From my experience it is rare you interview with the owner when using a broker who pre-​vets the tenants.) We were crystal clear from the beginning that one of us (we’re a couple) was going on vacation the next day and would not return until the following Tuesday — no problem at the time with broker/​owner.
On Thursday, 1 day later, we were approved to sign the lease. My boyfriend went to handle everything on Saturday morning, having just Friday to get bank checks, etc. He delivered everything and was prepared to co-​sign when he went all the way to BHR to drop off everything on Saturday morning and Michael told him the landlord was rescinding her offer because she had a «bad feeling» that we were going to «burn» her because we were «dragging» the process on. It had been 1 business day, no? Not to mention we told them from day 1 one of us could not sign until the following Tuesday but we had 50% of the 1^st month’s rent, full sec. deposit, and fee. Why would anyone be so daft to hand over the full amount without a legally executed lease? How the decision was determined is completely unknown despite our glowing landlord references, flawless renting history, excellent credit ratings, and great income/​jobs.
Ultimately Boerum Hill Realty did not advocate for us or do much of anything, including call the landlord to find out why, despite the fact we were about to hand them $ 2,000 in a broker’s fee for doing next to nothing.
Pros: Responsive, nice apartments, relatively «low» fee compared to outrageous 15% «standard» broker’s fee in NYC
Cons: Not clear with communication, especially regarding fees, do not advocate or help the tenants, side with the landlord despite tenants paying fee and doing all the work
Looking for an apartment in NYC is hard enough and when you are often renting from psychotic landlords but when you add unhelpful brokers it definitely adds unneeded stress and frankly is a waste of time (and money).

I had a great experience with Al and Boerum Hill Realty. Very responsive, friendly, and professional. Al is an excellent communicator and was extremely helpful in answering every question I had. Would recommend especially if you are looking in the Boerum Hill part of Brooklyn.

My girlfriend and I were searching for weeks for a place to live and Al from Boerum Hill Realty was one of the very few real estate brokers who was genuine and really wanted to help us. He showed us a few properties over the course of that time, including one that was quite large for a low price. His broker’s fee is very reasonable (one month’s rent) and he is quite honest with the search process. Even though we did not get an apartment with him in the end, I would recommend him highly.

Five stars for the quality of the places we saw and having a lower fee than others, one star for ignoring the female half of the couple and for not telling us about other listings.
I made contact with Al, and his agent showed us two apartments, both of which we liked. We submitted applications, and from then on, it was like I didn’t exist. All emails and phone calls were directed towards my male partner — even the ones to MY cell phone started out «Hi [his name]». Would it be so hard to say, «Hi [his name] and [my name]»? They did not make eye contact with me or speak with me unless I asked a question. From this treatment, I felt like I was a child out shopping with my parent. What year is this? If they are attempting a business transaction with only my male partner and not me, why are they submitting my income and bank statements to the landlord? And even if I had no income or assets, why would they ignore me?
We had a 2 day wait to find out whether we were accepted, so we had to keep searching for other places. They had lots of listings in their window and on their website, but they said that they didn’t have anything for us. We saw other places with other agents [including one of the evil 15% commission ones] and put in another application. Afterwards they said that they could have shown us that place, but it was too late now. Yes, because you hid that apartment from us when we asked whether you had similar units.

Although I usually avoid brokers, this can be a hard thing to avoid in this city. I had horrible weird experience after horrible weird experience, and then I met Al. Al was friendly, really understood what I was looking for, and thanks to him I now live in a gorgeous apartment in a wonderful neighborhood. He made the entire process easy and straightforward. Since moving into my apartment, I run into Al around the neighborhood as he lives here too. He’s been in this neighborhood for years, and is a real good person, not at all what you would expect from a broker.

Al was really nice and helpful! We fell in love with the first apartment he showed us… After talking to my boyfriend for awhile, Al had a good grasp on what we were looking for and didnt waste any of our time. All in all, I had an amazing experience working with Boerum Hill Realty!

We emailed John Rojas after finding a listing on craigslist. This guy gave days he was available for a viewing but when I asked for a specific time, he just completely cut off communication with no explanation. Terrible broker.

I can only speak for the experience my boyfriend and I had, which was with James. From the very start he gave it to us pretty straight, and I always felt like he was on our side. We were seeing places with about about eight different agencies, but most of the places were charging 15% of the yearly rent as a fee — which is, frankly, insane in this market. Those that weren’t were charging 12%. And a lot of those apartments were real stinkers.
James was flexible with the fee, and helped us find our dream apartment. He really had to fight for us because the owner was not dog-​friendly, but eventually he was able to talk the owner into accepting all three of us. We are thrilled with the apartment and also so grateful that James charged us an incredibly reasonable broker’s fee.
So, thanks a bunch. Check out Boerum Hill Realty and talk to James — he’ll show you some great apartments that are in your price range.

You would be lucky to rent a property from Dakota at Boerum Hill Realty. He is courteous, patient and informative. When you need him, he is there. When you can’t get ahold of him, he is quick to apologize. And above all, he recognizes that you are paying him a fee for a service, something I thought was lost in the real estate industry. He was never stuffy or presumptuous and actually listened to our needs.
Having experienced the full spectrum of realty horror show (from scammers who tried to rob us, to general unresponsive laziness) my boyfriend and I were extremely cautious entering into a relationship with Boerum Hill Realty. Dakota set us both at ease, answered all of our questions patiently and thoroughly, and in the end, helped us find a wonderful place that we love.
Dakota made what is inevitably a stressful experience so much more bearable by acting like a human. Seriously, after you sign your lease, you’ll probably want to buy him a beer. At least I know we did.

Be forewarned: The owner/​broker, Allen Barcelon, may come off friendly but do not let your guard down. He will lie, be sneaky and despite you, being a potential tenant who is paying the fee, will side with the landlord if there’s any issues.
Don’t let his friendly demeanor fool you. He’s not what he seems. He’s 2 faced.
Also, don’t use his Contractor/“Friend”, Robert whom he recommended to refinish the available apt’s wood floors. He’ll rip you off. He charges more than 50% what others will charge, is not even licensed or insured yet Al recommends him… can you say, «kickback?» And, he doesn’t use the proper coverings to protect the place from dust. You call that professional work?!
You have been forewarned.