Brick Real Estate

Incorrect numbers on the lease
Incorrect math
Wrong address on some pages
feels like a rushed job… I would not recommend.

!!STUART VENNER! Do not rent any property owned by Stuart Venner! Brick leased an apt to me owned by Venner. I went to get my gas set up and Coned told me there’s a gas leak and my lanlord needs to hire a plumber to repair it. Long story short, after multiple occasions Venner assured me the leak had been repaired and me scheduling Coned, it still wasn’t fixed. This continued my whole year long lease. Was never able to use the stove in my own kitchen. Lucky my apt didn’t blow up!

This will probably be deleted shortly so Brick can keep their glittering 2.5 star average but I had to write it for the greater good!
Zero stars if I could! Just remembered this place when my friend told me she was going to use their services to find an apartment in Brooklyn. Holy shit, girl, no. Friends do not let friends use this alleged company that feels much more like middle schoolers doing a project on how real estate works (though I’m sure middle schoolers might actually be more professional since they’d probably introduce themselves by name when contacting you by phone, which these folks do not).
Things I’ve seen these people do:
— Say literally anything to get you to sign the lease before you sniff out their BS («Super quiet building. No noises whatsoever!» Except for the loud neighbors you’ve been warned about. «You have a cat? That’s allowed!» No, it’s not…)
— Contact you incessantly at all hours and accidentally send you texts meant for their friends, about social plans, which you’ll receive as you are trying to go to bed (and then say «oops, something’s weird about my phone and macbook, dunno»).
— Contact you for meetings but then whine that they can’t make it because «I have school that dayyy don’t you have other days you can do itttt???»
I’m still waiting for someone to come tell me that it was all a joke and Brick’s not a real company, it’s a prank show on ABC about how far people in New York will let themselves get dicked around by blatant unprofessionals while trying to find reasonably priced apartments.

Dealing with them was one of the grossest experiences I’ve had since living in NYC. We used them to rent an apt in Manhattan that we later found out (after moving in) was in a building that was IN THE PROCESS OF BEING SOLD AS A TEAR DOWN. A «redevelopment opportunity», per the commercial real estate listing that was «last updated» the exact day we moved into the building. Brick of course «didn’t know» about this but then again obviously didn’t bother to ask the shady — and I mean SHADY — landlord if there was any pertinent information about the property that should be disclosed to prospective tenants. So, we just moved for the 2^nd time in 13 months since no tenant leases are being renewed since the wrecking ball is scheduled for September 2015. Moving is expensive and unpleasant. I never would have moved into a building knowing it was being sold as a tear down. Brick just wants the fee without providing full, competent apt broker services. Proceed with caution if you have to use these guys. Oh, and be prepared, if you’re renting in Manhattan, and as you’re paying them a fee, to go to their offices in Brooklyn for the lease signing and key pick up. They won’t bother meeting their client at the new apt the client just paid them a fee to rent.

Liars. They advertise pictures of apartment that are not of the apartment that they rent. They did this twice while we were looking for an apartment with them. The first time we genuinely believed that it was a mistake, later we realized is how they work. I wouldn’t recommend them. Moreover, their agent was always 20 minutes late.
Avoid them at all coast.

Unethical! Beware!
My boyfriend and I made an appointment to look at an apartment in Brooklyn Heights. While initially skeptical of the listing, we ended up falling in love with the place at first sight. We were told by the broker Juliana, there was an application in before is which they said was weak, and if we applied, they would push for ours. While I thought this was already strange (who takes additional applications when someone already has a deposit down on the place) we decided to apply that day, putting our trust in their word. We put down a security deposit, completed our app, awaiting the status of applicant 1.
I later saw on Craigslist that Brick was having an open house to show the place… again! Even though we had a security deposit, oh and I’m sure applicant 1 did as well. Why didnt they take it off the market? We had put a holding deposit down!
We find out the next day that the first applicants had been approved. When I asked for my application deposit back I had learned that Brick ran a credit report on both me and my boyfriend before they knew where the first applicant stood. Terrible! I asked Robin (the realtor who processed our paperwork) why she ran my credit report BEFORE the first applicant was decided upon. She was well aware that an inquiry on my credit report would affect my score and admitted so. She had no answer, tried to get me off the phone and left me with no apology. I then asked her for her boss’s contact to report this incident and she wouldn’t provide it.
Needless to say, I was fully refunded and was given a copy of the report so I could explain to other brokers why I can only accept a soft inquiry.
I would NOT recommend this realtor nor would I recommend trust their unethical practice, specifically if you’re dealing with brokers who couldn’t care less.

My wife and I have lived in New York City for over 10 years. In that time we have moved around a lot. So, we’ve had plenty of experience working with brokers. The people at Brick Real Estate are hands down the best brokers we have ever worked with. And we plan to work with them again in the future. They are very attentive and helpful. Totally honest about everything. And they went over and above to help us secure a good deal on our current place. I would highly recommend them for both rentals and sales.

We loved our argent but the owner of Brick Real Estate is terrible — horrid and deceitful. They will rent you anything, as long as it makes them $$.
Also be EXTREMELY wary of any building owned by Stuart Venner (a close friend of the owner).

Robert Franklin is great! He’s super-​pro and not a salesman, which is a major turn-​off for me. Would highly recommend if you are going the broker route.

DEBACLE! FIASCO!
When Avi and Freya from Brick want your money, they’re very professional. Deadlines have meaning. When it’s time for them to own up to their side of the bargain, they’re nowhere to be found. All you get are Avi’s wide eyed apologies and empty promises to do better.
When we trudged out to Brick for the lease signing, in a snowstorm, Freya, our broker, wasn’t there. (Really?! You can’t show up to the lease signing, Freya?) Avi wasn’t there. Instead we were rudely greeted by Robin, who couldn’t be bothered to introduce herself when we walked in the door. Sorry, I guess several thousand dollars in certified checks doesn’t buy you a proper handshake and introduction anymore.
The apartment we rented was still having work done so it required a detailed rider that stipulated all the work to be completed. And any rent withheld if it wasn’t done by a certain date.
The rider to the lease looked like it was written by a child. It was five sentences long. And Robin, Brick’s «lawyer» didn’t have the authority to make any changes. So due to her negligence and outright laziness, Robin told us to write the rider ourselves with a flick of her wrist.
And we trudged out into the snow again, leaving without signing anything.
We eventually rescheduled and voiced our displeasure. Avi gave us all his wide eyed apologies and empty promises. Except Avi forgot that you actually have to DO something with apologies. MAKE CHANGES. He forgot that part somewhere between «Here’s the check» and «It’s made out to…»
November 16^th rolled around, the move in date that Brick pushed for, and the apartment wasn’t ready. So we pushed the date back to the 28^th. Which was no small sacrifice.
November 26^th: I walked in and the apartment was in shambles. TWO DAYS BEFORE MOVE IN. Too many things to detail. I flipped my sh*t. How could Brick not know the state of the apartment two days before the move in? I’ll tell you how: They never checked up on it. They didn’t care. Or they’re completely incompetent. I’ll go with all of the above.
November 27^th: THIS WAS THE BEST PART: The landlord hadn’t seen the lease until that day. He never saw the rider. Especially the provision that withheld rent until all work was completed. When the landlord saw the rider, Avi jumped in and said to me «That’s the rider. It details all the work to be done.» As if he had ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT. I KNEW IT WAS THE RIDER! I WROTE IT!
The landlord signed the lease on the steps in front of the building. He balanced it on Freya’s IPad while Avi dug through his pockets to find a pen. I almost laughed in their faces. They have no shame or pride in their work. They’re so ignorant that it probably never occurred to them how ridiculous they looked signing the lease standing on the street like that.
They couldn’t even get us a ring for the keys. They just handed us a fistful of loose keys.
The varnish on the floor dried at 10am, we moved our stuff in at noon. Nice work, boys. But a kitchen? There wasn’t even a floor in the kitchen! I still don’t have a kitchen on December 5^th as I write this.
UPDATE: This is our second posting. Avi took down our first post because he obviously doesn’t believe that people should be able to express themselves truthfully. Avi wants to squash the truth and continue to screw people over. Why do you hate the First Amendment, Avi? Why do you hate America and Freedom of Information?
Stop calling me Avi. Stop calling me on Sunday nights and ruining my dinner out with friends. Actually, we all got a good laugh about it. That’s worth the 12 percent.

HORRIBLE STAY AWAY! WILL JUST TAKE YOUR MONEY!!! I don’t even have enough room here to write all the problems with this joke of an agency. No one, both renters and building managers, should EVER use these guys. Here’s just a short list of the issues we’ve had to deal with:
1) We signed a lease for an apartment in process of renovations. Given all the complexities that come with new construction projects we wanted to make sure there was a detailed rider written for the lease agreement stating conditions under which construction needs to be complete, which our broker Freya said was no problem. At the lease signing, Freya was no where to be seen, and we were coldly and unprofessionally left with Robin, who honestly couldn’t care less we were there. She hands us the lease that has nothing stipulated on the rider. After we draft the rider OURSELVES, complain about the lack of detail, they give us the rider completed the next day with everything we drafted OURSELVES.
2) Brick pushed us for a Nov16 move in date. As the date approached we hadn’t heard anything from them, so decided to check on progress of the apartment. NOTHING HAD BEEN DONE YET. The apartment was a mess. We immediately call Brick to figure out what was going on, and get the run around from the owner Avi (more on him later). After a lot of back and forth, we get the move in date pushed to Nov29. Mind you we’ve already paid 12% BROKER FEE (for what?) plus 1^st month and security
3) After thanksgiving we check on the apartment again (of course no word from brick) and still the apartment is NOT COMPLETED. No kitchen, debris everywhere. We contact Brick again to get the story and again the run around. This time they keep trying to push us to cancel the lease (shady). We decide to stop talking to brick and just talk directly to the landlord at this point. We demand the keys and copy of lease (which we still hadnt gotten a signed copy by the landlord)
4) We show up to the apartment Nov28 to collect keys and lease. Landlord has no idea about what the rider stated (in terms of deadlines, etc) and hadnt even signed the lease yet! He signs it in front of us. Why didn’t he have a signed copy already? Why didn’t he have any idea about our move in date?
Avi (owner) is a complete hack who does not communicate clearly on any issues, to either party, failed to act as mediator when we were trying to figure out the move in date, and was basically MIA during this whole process. Freya was useless also, always giving us the wrong information. They have serious communication issues in this firm and are the least professional people I’ve ever met (and I’ve moved about 8x while here in NYC)
You are better off taking your business elsewhere if you don’t want to deal with headaches and being ripped off. I’d rather have given my 12% to anyone else but them

THE WORST!- wasted our time and theirs!
Set up an appointment letting them know exactly what we were looking for (price range/​location). They then preceeded to show us an apartment not in the neighborhood we wanted, any way out of our price range! They then pressured us to put a deposit– for something we didn’t even want!
I asked them if they had anything we wanted, which they said no– so then why set up an appointment with us! Don’t waste our time or yours– just be honest. But at the end of the day, they want to make $, at any cost– meaning their clients.
After we looked at the 1 apartment and left, our broker texted us, again pressuring us to place a deposit on something we didn’t want! Thanks for nothing!!!

Brick Real Estate was recommended to me by a friend who had a great experience with one of the brokers. I contacted the broker who immediately began to send me apartment listings in my price range. so far, so good. the agent encouraged me to look at the agency’s other listings and to let her know if i was interested in viewing other properties. i immediately went through their listings and sent them to the agent requesting a viewing. I also pointed out that several of the listings she sent me were being listed significantly cheaper by some of her co-​workers. soon after, i recieved a nasty phone call at my job from the agent accusing me of «causing problems» in the agency by looking at other listings. Umm… wasn’t i simply doing what you suggested I do? Super shady… so, I immediately switched to a new broker at a new agency. I think Brick is unprofessional, rude and expensive. the general rule is that brokers are scum bags and Brick lived up to the stereotype.

You may think Brick Real Estate is pretty fantastic when they help you snag an apartment in the godawful NYC rental market (monstrous, undeserved fees notwithstanding). .. but just wait until you try to move out of that apartment!
My boyfriend and I did the right thing and gave our landlord the requisite 60-​days notice that we would be vacating our apartment. .. and since that time, we have been pestered and harassed on a near hourly basis by the army of amateur, inconsiderate a$$ clowns employed by Brick Real Estate.
It all started when our super called us in a panic, stating that someone from Brick Real Estate had just called him and was insisting on showing our apartment to prospective tenants in – get this – 30 minutes. So much for a reasonable amount of notice. We had no idea our apartment had even been listed; but sure enough, a broker showed up at our doorstep 30 minutes later, awkward and impressionable young transplant in tow.
We kindly let the broker and his client in and answered all of their questions (the broker was completely clueless about the space he was showing); then we let the broker know the times we would prefer our apartment to be shown in the future, giving him and his crew a generous 40 or so hours a week to work with. Not only has Brick Real Estate failed to follow the guidelines we gave them, but on many occasions, they have just shown up without bothering to make contact with us. Just got out of the shower? In the middle of watching a fierce World Cup battle? Makin’ whoopee with your honey? Too bad! Brick Real Estate feels like showing your apartment RIGHT THIS SECOND! KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
I should also mention that Brick Real Estate does not assign certain properties to certain brokers (nor do they even assign their clients to specific brokers; it’s a g-​damn free-​for-​all). This means that at any given time, there are a dozen different brokers competing for the commission that is our apartment, and thus, readily invading our home.
Seriously, I have just about had it with these fools. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted to just turn off my phone and deadbolt my door for the remainder of my lease. Please DO NOT waste your precious, hard-​earned money paying these clowns for the «service» of posting an ad on craigslist. You’ll be really pissed you did when they are co-​inhabiting your apartment a year or two down the road.

We worked with one of the agents there who was nice, but do not forget they get paid at the end of the day. they were pretty deceitful for not letting us know about the planned construction 1 week later that would go from 5am to 830am, especially when we live street level.
On top of it all, they made me come all the way to BK from the upper west side to pick up the keys (in the pouring rain) only to get there and be told «sorry they are not here».

Liars.
They took my deposit and full application, after a long drawn out negotiation, that involved me and my very pregnant wife shlepping out to Brooklyn several times before we came to an agreement.
Turns out it was all a scam to get the current tenants to pay more rent, so that when they sell the building, it’s more valuable.
They should be ashamed of themselves, but they have no shame.

I think the apt upgrade may have gone to my head, but as of right now I’m a huge fan of Brick.
The boyfriend and I were sharing 250 square feet (with a kitty too!).
It was just too tight!
When we cooked, we had to pull over the stool and extra chairs to put plates out since there was so little counter space.
When the cat was being naughty, we couldn’t lock her out of our room. because it was all one room!
So we decided to look for a bigger space, even though our rent wasn’t over until Sept 1.
We perused craigslist and stumbled on a great apartment.
When we emailed to get more info, we found ourselves at Brick.
When the first apartment turned out to be far less cute in person, we continued our quest with various Brick agents.
We found an awesome space, but didn’t want to pay a fee and a higher rent.
They helped us negotiate down both the rent and their fee so our net monthly rent was within our range.
They showed us the same place three time, because the boy and I could never visit @ the same time.
Then, we told them we couldn’t take the place we loved because of our current lease. We put an ad on craigslist, but before a single person had responded we got an email from Brick saying they had found someone to take over our lease (disclaimer: they had the listing for our old apartment, so it was good for them to find someone too!).
The office is a little strange (go visit and you’ll see what I mean. not sure how I feel about the carpet-​like padding around the door), and it was slightly disquieting to have a different agent show us apartments each time we met… but overall, a great experience.
ps. read the other reviews after the random stumble via craiglist. The owner is not a hand holder per say… but I definitely didn’t think he was rude. No one laughed at our finances. and I found all the staff chill (perhaps overly so for a business environment) but far from rude or condescending.

After I shifted my apartment search to Brooklyn I found these guys through an apartment they had posted on craigslist and was pleasantly surprised when I went to their office. Till then I’d assumed any broker advertising on craigslist must be a complete fraudster.
Every broker I met in my search was having a really tough time working within my budget of $ 1,200 — but I saw a couple of studios with Brick that weren’t too bad. I can only imagine that someone able to spend a few hundred dollars more on rent each month would have luck with this brokerage. They were nice people — and I think that’s one of the most important things when it comes to brokers since so many are scumbags. I was working with a guy named Adam and enjoyed his approach to the job.