Typically, I'd say run away from real estate brokers when looking to rent. Speaking from prior experience most are sleazy, failed sales people who do anything but help you find what you're looking for, and gouge a huge fee for the privilege.
After looking on Craigslist for no fee Park Slope/Prospect Heights apartments that ended up either being southwest of 20th and 4th, or located deep in ""New"" Prospect Heights, ala Crown Heights, I decided to bite the bullet, because dammit, I deserved to find an *awesome* apartment, and also I'm kinda lazy. I happened to chance upon TB Shaw Realty coming highly recommended on a Brooklyn blog I read.
Well, TB Shaw and it's agents, Melissa and Max, are the utter antitheses of your stereotypical Realtors. Extremely friendly, non-pushy, courteous and eager to help you find exactly what you're looking for. Wandering around the Slope one warm Sunday, chatting about everything under the sun, Melissa cheerfully showed us several apartments, including *the One*, a gorgeous rent-stabilized parlor level apt right off Prospect Park West in center slope. In a word, perfect; we fell in love with it immediately.
In a whirlwind of a week in which the apartment was taken by someone else, lost by them because they couldn't get the $$ together, and then offered to us, by 6.30pm Friday, our lease was signed with a reduced cash fee, and $50 off the rent. Mint!
For the location, space, and quality of the apartment, TB Shaw got us an utterly fantastic deal, and I honestly cannot recommend Melissa or Max highly enough. Melissa went out of her way to show us some great apartments and to guide us through the process one-on-one from start to finish. Max clearly explained the lease terms, and gave us plenty of time to review it. Our new landlord, who we chatted with for over 30 minutes, is very friendly and actually cares deeply about her property and tenants. We lucked out big time, or maybe it's just good fortune.
Non-pushy, friendly, insanely helpful, wonderful Realtors. In Park Slope?!? It's not an alternate universe or an episode of Lost. They're real, use them now, honestly you won't be disappointed!
Pros: Friendly, efficient, accessible, great apartments
Cons: None!
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