Brooklyn Properties

I just want to throw in my 2 cents about the helpful discussions I have had with Hal Lehrman. I own a Park Slope co-​op and have been working on a plan to sell my apartment and invest in another property… even without a firm decision to sell on my part I got such great advice about how to approach this. I am so happy I asked and, tho’ I still sit on the fence about this move, I have a clear sense of how to move forward. Many thanks to Hal!

I had to use Brooklyn Properties in three transactions (two purchases and one sale) and after those experiences, I’m glad to say that when I sold my apartment recently, the thing that made me happiest was that there was nobody from Brooklyn Properties involved at all!
When I bought my first apt, I was casually looking by myself –no agent– and then found a great place. Contacted the listing agent and shortly after made an offer. The guy would rarely return my calls and didn’t seem to want to do any work to close the deal (even though he didn’t have to split the commission with a buyer’s agent). To give you a typical example, I ended up calling the managing agent of the building myself to find out what I had to submit for the board package because after the fourth time he promised he’d get me the info and failed to deliver, I knew that somebody needed to do it. Finally got everything I needed to close and all he did was show up and collect his check… i was working directly with the building and the board so I don’t feel he earned his money.
When I was ready to sell that place, my only goal was to keep that agent far away. Of course who’s the listing agent on the new place I want to buy? You guessed it. So then he wanted my deal as well. He did manage a reduction in commission, which was good. However, it was the same deal again. He didn’t do anything to sell it and the buyer’s agent (who worked for the same agency) was calling me to ask for information that he should have gotten from the guy who works right beside him! I also should have known that he priced it too low when two of the first three people who came to the open house immediately put in bids at the asking price. We’re talking the very same day.
I guess that was a long rant but I really felt that everyone but that particular agent (who is still there) did the heavy lifting in all three of my transactions. It’s also funny that the property he sold for me back in 2004 is listed among his «selected properties sold». If you have to go back 9 years, what does that say? At least I was blissfully able to keep them out of the transaction when I sold recently.

Easily one of the worst experiences of my life. I recently was involved in a court case against the owner of Brooklyn Properties, Hal Lehrman. Basically he breached his own contract on an apartment he himself was selling and forced me to take him to court in order to rightfully get my money back. Honestly, there are a lot of other real estate companies out there and there are better ways to find an apartment than to involve yourself with a shady company owned by an ass such as Hal Lehrman. The BIGGEST waste of money in my life.
3÷31÷2016 Response to Hal Lehrman’s, Owner of Brooklyn Properties, response below.
Hal Lehrman is a liar and a coward. I am completely aware of what the situation was when I sued him and his development at 283 Washington several years ago. That’s why when I sued him and the building at 283 Washington the judge ruled completely in my favor and I won all of my money back. I’m not going to go into the semantics of how he still hiding behind the corporation which he ran and was the developer of 283 Washington. I know that NYC real estate is a total cesspool and if you want a property to buy or rent you have to deal with that particular agency to get it. But know this going in, Hal Lehrman is a greedy, evil person who deserves his status as the owner of a second rate real estate agency.

I haven’t rented an apartment through Brooklyn Properties, but I’m currently in the midst of my search. I contacted Carlos about finding a place in my price range, and he very politely followed up with me via email and phone to let me know that they currently didn’t have anything I was looking for but that he’d keep me in mind for future properties.
Today he called me again, after I let him know a place I really wanted was rented out from under me, to let me know they had a few places that were slightly above my range. He also let me know that he had a studio yesterday that was in my price range, but there are already three applications on it. Not wanting to put me through the heartbreak of losing another apartment, he was honest, and I really appreciated it.
I’ve dealt with between 5 and 10 brokers during this apartment search, and even though Carlos didn’t have any properties that suited me, he didn’t try to give me the hard sell on something I can’t afford and was polite enough to return my emails and follow up on the phone. I can’t say that about any other broker I’ve met in Brooklyn.

I recently moved from Manhattan to Brooklyn, from one apartment to another. I contacted about 10 realty companies initially, followed up with representatives from 6, and worked more extensively with 4 different firms. Brooklyn Properties was by far the best experience that I had, and I’m glad that in the end I signed a lease through them instead of any other.
I personally worked with Alan M., who was extremely polite and easy to work with, as well as professional — following up, working in a timely manner, etc.
PLEASE BE WARNED: There are so many people looking to rent or purchase properties in Brooklyn right now that lots of realty companies are cashing in, and a number of them can be rather shady — bait’n’switch games, trying to tease further and further fees out of you, etc. *Do your homework* on any company before working with them.
Frankly, even if a company was a bit shady, I would have been willing to sign if they were able to thread the needle correctly and get me one of the properties I wanted. But Brooklyn Properties, unlike some others, never put me in touch with landlords that seemed borderline criminal, never played any of the various money games that others tried, never exerted pressure to close any deal or made me feel in any way uncomfortable throughout the entire process. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a stress-​free experience.
They also deal with property sales, not just rentals.