The Corcoran Group – Fort Greene

I was wholly unimpressed with my experience with Corocoran, and the agent they provided, Dexter Quamina. I found a reasonably priced studio apartment in Bedford-​Stuyvesant, went through Corcoran to do the rental. After I signed the lease, which was to start September 1^st, I received a call from Dexter asking if I would move in following weekend, as the apartment needed to be cleaned and painted. I said this was fine, if my lease would start that weekend, as I did not want to pay for an apartment to which I had no access. Dexter told me that this would not work, and that I could set up cleaning/​painting with the building super. When I arrived at the apartment, it was by no means a mess, but the floors were dirty, as were the counter tops. Food was caked on top of the stove as well. I called the super to arrange for cleaning, and he seemed confused and told me he would call back. I then received an angry call from the building’s management agency, telling me that if I wanted the super to clean/​paint I would need to pay him to do so. I called Dexter to clear things up, and he told me that Corcoran would in fact arrange to have to apartment cleaned, and that he would call me back later in the day. This was the last I heard from Dexter. I ended up mopping and vacuuming the floors on my own, and also scrubbing down the oven and counter tops to get rid of the caked-​on food.
I sent an email to my landlord, expressing my frustration with Corcoran, and I CCed Dexter. He replied as follows:
«With all due respect the apartment was left in good standing by the previous tenant. Being that you wanted to move in within a short time-​frame the necessary cleaning was done. However, the painting was left for you to coordinate with the landlord/​management company after your move-​in date.»
I wanted to move in when my lease started. Furthermore I should not have to clean the apartment I leased so as to make it look presentable, it should be presentable upon my arrival. I replied to Dexter, saying that I called the agency (Dexter) and never received a call back, and that I should have been more diligent in figuring out what was expected of me as a tenant, and what was expected of Corcoran.
Dexter replied as follows:
«I think your frustration should be the agency and their handling of the cleaning matter. It is unfortunate that they were not able to accommodate your request but Corcoran handles its clients with the upmost respect and professionalism. If there is anything that we can do on our end to help with this matter please let us know.»
The ironic thing about this is Dexter is the one who handled the cleaning manner poorly. He was the one to whom I spoke, and he told me he would call me back later in the day. Rather than attempting to rectify any miss-​communications, it seems that Dexter was more interested in covering his own rear-​end.
I felt that as soon as Corocran had my money, I was brushed aside, and became a non-​entity. After the whole cleaning fiasco, I am wholly dissatisfied with my experience with Corcoran. I felt like my concerns with the cleaning were brushed aside, and that as soon as Corcoran got my money, I became a non-​entity. I realize that Corcoran is a large agency, comprised of numerous agents throughout all of NYC. It is unfortunate that this is the experience I had with them, as I will not be using Corcoran for future rentals or purchases, and I will be advising my friends and colleagues to do the same.

This review is for Ippei Iwashiro. Ippei helped me with the purchase of a Manhattan co-​op last year. I had been searching on my own before then. I worked with him and ended up with a Gramercy apartment under the asking price. If you are looking for an agent, look no further.

Jessica Mileto has been helping us look for over a year now. We’ve been to countless open houses together, and she has been incredibly helpful the entire way. Jessica has helped us tremendously by keeping us on top of all listings that fits our needs. Jessica has also helped us through the process, providing guidance and many helpful connections. She is an absolute pleasure to work with and I have recommended her to several friends renting and buying.

Jessica Mileto at corcoran has been fantastic. Helping me to buy my place in BedStuy and now helping me to rent the upstairs. Dont hesitate to give her a call if you have any housing needs. Happy house hunting :)

This review is specifically for Beth Frazier — an agent of Corcoran group. A pleasure to work with her, she had a listing posted for a studio apartment in the location I wanted and at the right price. The layout is fantastic and it’s HUGE.
I also looked at a couple of other apartments with her as well, and they were all very nice apartments. Keep in mind I’m a huge fan of Bed-​Stuy and Crown Heights, so if you are more of a Park Slope-​ish kind of person… she has some diamonds in the rough that are worth looking at.
The application process was very easy, I got approval in two days, and she responded quickly to my questions via email and text. The lease signing was also very easy, and she introduced me to the property manager and the superintendent, and stayed the whole time while I was going through the lease signing process. Very nice person.
I’ve been in my apartment for two days, so far so good. The building is very quiet and the bus is right across the street and it stops at my favorite places (Park Slope, Atlantic Ave, and Fulton Mall)

I just bought a new house with a fabulous rental unit. I was not sure how to go about listing it, so after deciding to not go with Rapid Realty for several reasons such as lack of professionalism, I thought Corcoran was the way to go since they are so prominent in just about every neighborhood these days.
I must admit that I selected my realtor based on her photo. She looked like an older, responsible person that would follow up and grab leads in order to get the apartment rented. I think that she missed her audition for one of the «Real Housewives» spin offs; it turns out that she has a bad photo that ages her by 10 – 15 years! I believe she had good intentions, but Corcoran and it’s realtors seem to be focused on the sale of condos and houses; going after huge profits is the game. Your little apartment listing won’t get much promotion, no matter if it’s in excellent condition, and in an excellent location! It took days to even see my unit listed on the other connecting sites such as New York Times Real Estate or Trulia.
I had to «fire» my realtor and ask that my listing be removed since there seemed to be no interest from renters. After I listed the apartment myself on Craig’s list. I received at least 6 phone calls the same day from prospective renters. I would have gone with Rapid, but I felt that they were charging too high of a fee! As a former renter, I was against this.
I only have given one star because it is required in order to submit for review.

I will not even bother with a star for this company. After working with Xiomara Smalls and her tacky weave wearing sidekick, I will never do business with this company again. I was lied to so many times regarding the building where the viewings were taking place. I was assured that there would be child safety bars on my windows as well as for the fire escape windows. My lease was left in the halls of the building on the mailbox and who knows where it is now. I had to settle for an email attachment of my lease. Ms. Smalls is a liar and unprofessional no matter how wide her smile is stretched. On top of that when I requested a refund of all monies she decided to enlighten me that my brokers fee could not be refunded. I will never do business with this ram shackled company ever again.

If you want to rent an apartment, don’t use Corcoran. Why? Because they charge the highest fee, and make your apartment not competitive on the market.
I’ve stopped looking at Corcoran’s rental listing after a couple of encounters with them. The agents are somewhat pushy, but OK, but the 15% non-​negotiable fee is just not worth the pain. There are plenty of good agents that charge between 1 month of rent to 12%… Do your research and go with them.

So, I figured I’d let bygones be bygones and try Corcoran again after having a terrible experience with them (granted at a different office) in 2007. This time around, I was looking for a 1BR in Ft. Greene and was met by a professional looking agent. We took a look at the listing that I had requested to see, and then I asked to see a few other spots. The next location she took me to was a box — I mean, LITERALLY a box. After describing what I was looking for, she told me that we could go back to the office and go over some more listings. Cool.
So we get back to the office and she hands me a document where I’m supposed to state that no matter what, I will accept a non-​negotiable 15% broker fee from Corcoran. I tell this broker that that’s absurd, most Brooklyn brokers charge between 10−12% and that even that is negotiable depending on the level and quality of work done. Her response? To rudely call back to one of her colleagues and loudly state «honey, this kid wants to negotiate rates. Guess he won’t be seeing anymore properties today!». She then looked back at me and stated «15% is the norm in Brooklyn, baby.»
It isn’t.
Not by a long shot.
Take your business elsewhere people — there are great brokers in Brooklyn that have much better listings and don’t charge usurious rates. Baby.

Paul is a solid guy, straight shooter and extremely flexible with showing times. He has a string of buildings that are his exclusive smack dab in the center of Fort Greene, Park Slope and Prospect Heights, so if that location is your bag, he will be able to help you.

Corcoran needs to be as equally stringent with the landlords they’re dealing with as they are with the renters. While I expected an invasive process to rent an apartment with them, the broker I dealt with was just plan rude to my manager when she called to verify my employment. Initially she told me I made MORE than enough to afford the apartment, which I did, but the landlord was nervous and the broker berated me for not having a savings account and 6 months of rent saved. I don’t think they even screen the landlords because the people I rented from didn’t have money to make even the simplest repairs to the apartment. I was without heat for weeks in the winter and the roof leaked and was only temporarily fixed. The property manager was also a Corcoran broker, so that person was the point of contact for all issues and they were always aware of the problems. Corcoran has a reputation to uphold and I would NEVER recommend anyone going through them. You expect a level of service and a high standard of residence, I got neither from them.

Had a commercial space to rent out. Walked into a few realtors in the area. Corcoran was by far the worse of the lot. I was pretty sure they didn’t want any business the way they treat their clients (on both ends).
The lady seemed like she was doing me a favor by taking down my information. When asked if they were seeking an exclusive she said yes so I crossed them off my list. A week later after a few emails she berated me on why I had gone with other brokers. I told her I had to be efficient and all realtors that said yes to the exclusivity question didn’t make it to round two. She then said there were options… well then I guess she should have mentioned that in the beginning.
Anyway, doing business with them is like asking them for a favor. Laughable. There are a number of other realtors in that block. No need to give Corcoran any of your precious time.

It’s hard to know where to begin to describe the horror of the experience. I’ll leave it at the brokers indulged in not one, not two, but THREE bait-​and-​switch schemes. Hopeful about litigation, but who needs it.

Paul found my first real apartment (sans roommates) in Manhattan in 1993, when he was affiliated with another company. He has long since moved up in the world, to the Corcoran Group: the première real estate professionals in Manhattan, the outer boroughs, and beyond.
He is a native Manhattanite, turned Brooklyn resident, and knows the city like the back of his hand… the good and the bad… how neighborhoods have transitioned over the last three decades, etc. He knows this because he has lived through it. He knows just as much about Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. More importantly, he knows real estate… the good deals… the not so good deals… what you can do if your place has not sold… or if the offer on your dream place was just turned down.
Perhaps, most importantly, Paul understands people, and it is important to him that he gives the best service possible to everyone… knowing that even if you don’t use his services, you will most definitely send him referrals. Thus, he gets a lot of repeat business from buyers and sellers, alike.
How do I know so much about Paul, you ask? I’ve known him for 15 years, and over that time he has become one of my most trusted friends. He is honest, hard working, down to earth, the consummate professional, and he genuinely cares about people. Whether you are buying, selling, relocating, new to the area, or a native New Yorker like him, he is the man you want on your side, and the Corcoran Real Estate team will be an invaluable asset to you.
In short, I give him my highest recommendation.