Platinum Properties

Lena is easily the best realtor we’ve dealt with, period. She got us into a great apartment I’d never have even see on my own, and she was more than helpful throughout our process. We had about 4 billion questions, and Lena answered them all quickly and with a smile. I can’t recommend her enough!

This review is for Lena Lerner. Me and my husband found Lena during our recent search for a new apt. Although we had already seen almost every building within our search range, Lena managed to find more.
Lena is very professional. Even after we decided on an apt. and signed our lease, her follow up and attention to detail were impressive.
We highly recommend Lena as your real estate agent.
Thanks Lena!

My husband and I worked with Constantinos «Gus» Katehis to find our very first apartment in NYC. He was Spectacular! First his personality is just the best. Extremely and genuinely nice guy and just a pleasure to be around. We moved from Ohio and as such had very unrealistic expectations on the space we wanted. We literally did not want to make any compromises and still stay within our budget and also only had one day to find «the one» as we needed a place immediately. Gus ran around with us on rainy day and showed us literally all that FiDi had to offer. Some of the places were definitely not places I could see myself in given the size; but Gus kept showing us better and better options as he picked up on what mattered to us. He learned really fast! And as the day was reaching an end and he still had a couple of options in his back pocket we walked into an apartment that was literally a two minute walk from my job (literally elevator to elevator work is 2 minutes away) and my husband said we’re done. And just like that I our arduous search was over. Just in time for us to make our way to Penn Station to head to EWR to make our flight back to Ohio. When we left the apartment the sun actually came out for the first time ALL day; and Gus made a joke that it happened as things finally fell into place for us. And I think he was right. He is such a happy positive person but I could definitely tell he really really wanted to make us (mostly me) happy as I had crazy borderline unrealistic expectations. And he didn’t even seem 100% sure that he made me happy at the end because even in the end when we literally found an apartment that was structurally a clone of what we had in Ohio. My demeanor didn’t appear over joyed. But I was very very happy. And although I know that it takes the sun and the moon to give me what I picture in my head. Gus truly delivered and his passion for wanting to deliver for me was very very evident even though I did not make it easy on him given the condensed time frame and extremely high standards. So, if Gus can make me happy. I honestly can’t imagine how happy he would make someone with more realistic NYC apartment goals.
I am looking forward to working with Gus again and recommend him and Platnium to anyone we know moving to NY.

My husband and I can’t say enough about what a great experience we had with Lena Lerner.
Since we’re both very experienced in renting apartments around the world (having lived in D.C., Paris, and nearly everywhere between), we thought we could handle finding a new apartment in NYC ourselves. Having worked with Lena, though, I will never hunt for an apartment on my own again.
I reached out to Lena when we found a listing under her name that interested us. She immediately demonstrated her immense value, putting together a list of apartments (that we never would have found on our own due to the fast-​moving nature of the NYC apartment market) and making appointments for us to look at them with her. When we told her we were looking at no-​fee apartments, she showed us apartments that would pay her broker’s fee (which I didn’t even know was an option). While we browsed the apartments, she took notes on what we liked and didn’t like, found answers to every question, and offered a great deal of insight about buildings, neighborhoods, and renting in NYC.
Even though she’s very busy with a variety of clients, she was very prompt in responding to texts and emails (within the hour, if not sooner). She listened very carefully to what we wanted and never tried to push us to settle for something that was good enough; in fact, she told us to not give up on our dream apartment and give her just a little more time to find the right one for us. After spending two days walking around the city with Lena (and countless emails to her with stupid questions), we have an amazing apartment that not only has everything we need but everything we wanted, too, and at an incredible deal. Without Lena, we wouldn’t have even found it, much less navigated the move from D.C. to NYC with such ease.
In short: Everything that is good about our move to NYC is due to Lena. We can’t recommend her highly enough.

When I decided to get my own NYC apartment, I knew I needed guidance. A friend recommended Teresa at Platinum, and she was the best. She understood «the impossible» I was looking for — affordable, cute, and in a cool neighborhood. She investigated every single link I sent to her. She sent me ideas outside the box. She saw the silver linings and was honest when I was being too picky, but was also protective and critical of properties when necessary. She was patient and super fun to spend a Saturday with. I highly recommend these folks!

This is a review for Teresa Stephenson. My friends and I recently worked with Teresa to find our first Manhattan apartment and we’re thrilled to have found the perfect place! After meeting with other unimpressive brokers from different agencies, we were feeling a bit discouraged. That all changed when we met Teresa.
We ended up signing a lease for the first apartment she showed us. It completely met all of our requirements that we had discussed with her and actually exceeded our expectations.
She was extremely professional from beginning to end and was a pleasure to work with! After showing us the apartment she took us to see a couple of other options that also met our requirements. Then after we decided to move forward with the first listing, she stayed with us to ensure that we got it. It was a popular apartment and there were other groups interested in bringing a check that same day, but with her help we were able to beat the other groups to it. She then made sure that all of our paperwork was correct and walked through the entire application process with us while also acting as a liaison between the landlord and listing agent for us.
Teresa really went above and beyond and was really fun to work with! I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a great apartment in the city!

This review is for Kasia Myhal.
Kasia was extremely professional, diligent, personable, and determined to find us an apartment! She spent a lot of time arranging apartment visits for us on multiple occasions, and really took the time to get to know us, what we were looking for, and didn’t try to sell us on anything that didn’t suit our needs.
I especially appreciated Kasia’s patience and flexibility with us… we were picky and changed our search requirements, and she continued to provide us with great options in many different neighborhoods in midtown and the UES. She is very open and honest, provided us with great information, and always kept us informed throughout the process.
I would HIGHLY recommend Kasia to anyone searching for an apartment, and I would definitely work with her again.

I couldn’t be happier with the tremendous first rate service that I received from Ben Scheck at Platinum Properties.
We met once, he showed me a few places in neighbourhoods I thought I’d like and then I went back home over 5,000 miles away. Ben video taped tours of apartments and listened.
I now have a fabulous place, in a fabulous neighbourhood in an apartment I love. I know this is just the beginning of my relationship with Ben. I look forward to working with him again and could not recommend him more highly.

This review is for Ben Scheck. Ben is a professional through and through. He never once pressured me and he genuinely listened to my concerns. I gave him a list of what I needed in an apartment and he delivered. Likewise, he was easy to stay in touch with through phone, text and email. If you need a broker in Manhattan, you really can’t go wrong with Ben.

This review is for Ben Scheck. I recently started my search in NYC and wanted a 2 bedroom for my roommate and I. We contacted Ben off an ad on
and he showed us the apartment we inquired about and others that were similar. From what a lot of my other friends have told me, brokers like to use fake pictures or post ads that don’t reflect accurate pricing, but Ben was truthful and upfront from the beginning about the ad we saw and the other places he wanted to show us.
At no point did we feel like we were being upsold. Ben never put any pressure on us, but rather gave us all of the information and facts about the current market and each apartment we visitied. He let us ultimately make the decision to move to Tribeca instead of pushing us into an apartment we didn’t want.
We will definitely use Ben again, and be referring our friends and family when we need anything real estate related in town. He’s a terrific broker and has the resources around him to get things done quickly and efficiently… he was well worth the fee we paid for our great apartment!

Doesn’t even deserve one star.
1. If you’re considering using Platinum Properties to get an apartment in the financial district, run far away! You DO NOT need a broker to rent an apartment in this particular area. 99.9% of buildings in the area are no-​fee and they have their own leasing offices where you go up by yourself and see the available apartments. Do you really want to spend an extra unnecessary $ 4000+ for a broker to walk you around? No. Print out a map, do a little research beforehand, and do it on your own. The buildings all say they prefer to work with people who do not have brokers.
2. Platinum Properties is a typical NYC bait-​and-​switch operation. There are dozens of listings on their website that are not real. Of course my agent had nothing to show me in my price range, even though there were tons of apartments on their website advertised in my price range.
3. My agent was unprofessional during the apartment visits and harassed me day after day to make a decision.
Bottom line: I paid over $ 4,000 for an agent to print out a few papers and spend a few hours with me, all while making me feel 100x more stressed. Literally the last thing I needed. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

Let’s be honest — no one likes NYC real estate brokers. They might be super nice people, but in the big scheme of things, they act less like experts and more like «trolls under a bridge». So it’s hard to get enthusiastic for anyone in the industry as a renter in NYC.
Chandra Cadogan (one of Platinum’s agents) is the exception to the rule. Hardworking, diligent, enthusiastic and knowledgeable, she really helped me find a good place to live. I’d have no hesitation recommending her again — and though I’d rather there were no agents/​brokers involved, Chandra is a top-​notch asset to have representing you given the reality of the market.

This review is for Chandra Cadogan.
Coming from Colorado, I was wary of the NYC brokers I’d heard so many stories about. Luckily, I found Chandra very early on and she made my apartment-​hunting experience as painless as possible. Chandra was available via phone, e-​mail, and text at all times and was ready and able to answer all of our questions. She operated will full transparency throughout the process – we were never surprised by additional fees or miscellaneous forms to fill out. Since closing on our apartment, Chandra has checked in with us several times to ensure that we are still loving the place (which we are), sent us a holiday card, and stopped by to see what we’ve done to decorate! She truly a delight to work with– I’ve recommended her to several of my friends who are apartment hunting, knowing that they are bound to have a similar experience. If there ever comes a time when I need to find a new apartment, it’s reassuring to know that I have someone like Chandra to contact!

I was under the gun to find an apartment with in a week in NYC. Ben Scheck was a fantastic resource. He communicated with me very well and quickly. He listened to what I was looking for and didn’t pressure me to look in other neighborhoods or at prices out of my range. I would work with him again if I look for another apartment.

I am writing this letter of recommendation toward Kaptan Unugur. Kaptan was the Real Estate salesperson with Platinum Properties who handled my daughter’s last move in the busy city of Manhattan. Kaptan was by far the nicest and fairest out of anyone Suzanne has used over last four years and four moves. I would use Kaptan again in a heartbeat, his kind demeanor and straight forwardness to handle all matters at hand were outstanding. My daughter is 21 and I live in Michigan so I really must have someone I can trust to be my eyes and ears and have our best interest at heart. We found this to be true w/​Kaptan from start to finish. He was helpful, gave great advise, took all the time we needed and answered endless calls from me in Michigan. Suzanne’s new apartment is perfect for her from size to location to the neighborhood. I look forward to working w/​Kaptan again in the future.

This review is for Ben Scheck.
I had a relatively complicated apartment search and very limited time to take care of it. Ben really came through. He is super-​responsive and will return calls and emails ASAP. Ben knows the downtown area well and will give you the full story on what to expect from different buildings, etc. He did a lot of running around to make sure everything was done, and I remain grateful for all his help. I cannot overemphasize how hectic things got and how he never lost his cool.
A general word of advice for apartment-​hunting in NYC, with or without a broker: this is the Manhattan real estate market, and you can’t check your brain at the door no matter who you decide to work with. For me, that means getting everything in writing and never accepting that something would be «okay» even though it conflicts with a written contract (e.g., how many pets a building allows per apartment, etc.). Others might feel differently about this.
All this being said, I would work with Ben again in a heartbeat. He’s nice, he’s smart, and he will make things happen including when things get really stressful. So far, I am very pleased with where we live, especially considering everything that can go wrong in the NYC housing market.

This review is for Jeffrey Carlson.
He made it very easy to find a nice vacation rental on a weekend when all hotels were completely sold out. The location and accommodations were first-​rate, and he even offered advice on getting around town. The stay was excellent.
The price wasn’t great, but it was peak season, I was desperate, and had to place my trust in a stranger. There was also a refundable $ 500 deposit (sounds reasonable, right?)
When it came time to depart, he told me he would leave my deposit refund with the doorman by the end of the day as he was «busy». This never happened. He said he later found some damage but would mail the remainder to me. This never happened. He made me go and ask all my neighbors if they had received it. As time wore on, it became harder and harder for me get in touch with him because he was always «on vacation», «at a seminar», or similar excuses, but he promised to give me my deposit back.
It’s been nearly three months since my vacation, and I have no confidence that he will return my deposit. If he does, I will certainly amend this review. I’d like to return to New York and take him to court over this, but it wouldn’t be worth it to fly all the way out there and take time off of work. At this point, all I can hope is that my experience can serve as a warning to others: Don’t trust Jeffrey Carlson.

This review for Jason Phillips
I was first impressed by his diligence, he was one of the few people working during the labor weekend. I was on a tight deadline to find an apt, really apreciated the fact he was there while no one else was.
We talked over the phone first to go over my criteria, then Jason followed up with emails about which blocks i should try before the appointment, so everything was well prepared. I saw couple apartments i really like — Jason has listened to my requirement careful ahd he really did a good job compiling the list. and when we were looking at the apartments, Jason was not pushy at alll (not like some other brokers), he noted down carefully what i liked and not liked. when i was not sure about the candidates, he was very patient and we went back and forth to check out the same apartment couple times to make sure that that’s the one.
overall it had been a very pleasant experience working with Jason, he is sincere, candid and works really hard to help finding the new home.

This review is for Samantha Brenneman.
Moving from CA to NY was a pleasant experience with Samantha. I stumbled upon Platinum in March and although I wasn’t able to actually visit Manhattan until June, she emailed me monthly just to make sure we were on the same page and to let me know she was available to answer any question I might have (which she followed through). Maybe luck had a part in this, but she managed to get my broke college grad butt in a luxury apartment (doorman, dogs, gym, etc) so my review may be a little bias about our interchange.
My only complaint, which I don’t think is entirely a fault of Samantha, was how fast everything had to go. As soon as I paid Super Shuttle, I received a call from Samantha saying an apartment (the one I ended up getting) JUST hit the market and we had to go and see it NOW! We even power-​walked in heels to see it. I was a little hesitant to put money on the first apartment that I looked and wanted to look some more. I don’t think Samantha was trying to be intrusive; she asked me what I liked and didn’t like about the apartment and told me about my realistic options (i.e. spending $ 400 more downtown to get only another 100ft or moving uptown where the prices are lower but having to pay more in terms of her brokerage fee and commuting – while saying «just tell me what you want, we’ll go from there»). I did think it was somewhat ironic that she was portraying herself as empathetic and at ease but we were still running in heels to look at the available apts in the area. I guess her sense of emergency was warranted b/​c we returned to the first apartment no more than 20 mins after our initial viewing but we overheard the apartment manager having to reject someone interested in taking the apartment.
Perhaps most importantly, Samantha had great follow-​up. She contacted me throughout my application status, essentially offering to be the go-​between between myself and the apartment management. I want to look at Manhattan apartments again now that I am already in the area and I definitely wouldn’t mind working with Samantha, again.
I recommend Samantha to anyone who is moving to area from out-​of-​state (she actually moved from Napa, herself, which may be why she is so good) or to college grads b/​c she definitely knows how to make your money stretch where it matters so you spend your first year in the city in a comfortable apartment.

This review is for Michael Hosokawa, who made apartment hunting in FiDi palatable.
After discussing what I had hoped to spend for a room compared to my absolute max, he happily showcased several rooms across the cost spectrum in numerous buildings. It was nice to see someone who was normal and not an obvious scum bucket trying to upsell me.
After the second place, he said something like, «So this place is $XYZ, net effective monthly.»
Um… Mike. In case you didnt notice, I’m wearing flip flops, adidas shorts, & a NYY visor. Its obvious I’m not a finance hombre. He picked this up by my blank stare.
«Sorry Pat B. Net effective means thats the average cost of the place, you get month #3 and #10 free. All other months its $XYZ+3T squared. «
Now we’re on the same page Mike. Thanks for explaining in English without sighing and (openly) thinking I’m retarded.
After an hour and a half of wandering FiDI and looking at at least 4 different buildings, I got the feeling Mike was actually somewhat trustworthy and a good person. Never pushed for anything, never made me feel rushed. How often can you say that in this town?
Mike’s around via cellphone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and doesnt charge a finders fee. You’ll notice his numerous Craigslist ads with the stars, and silly headlines like:
RENT SO LOW, IT’S REDONKULOUS!!!
McDONALD’S JUST ADDED THIS ONE TO THE $ 1 DOLLAR MENU
WANT A P.D.P? (you can browse for the meaning of that one)
Im not going into FiDi, as I find it more sterile than a vasectomy, but if its what you’re looking for, give ol’ Mike a holler.