The Corcoran Group – Park Slope

Working with Corcoran was a great experience all around! We got exactly what we needed in terms of location/​school/​budget/​etc. Special thanks to Julie Rhinehart for responsiveness and ability to address all the questions! Julie was nice and kind, helped us to arrange everything in the best possible way! If/​when we need to move next time, we know where to go!

I had the pleasure of having Robert Herkovitz as my broker. Robert found me a wonderful tenant within days of advertising my apartment. He took time to explain the process to me and to educate me when it comes to real estate matters. He is knowledgeable, personable and honest and works at building relationships with his clients. I am so happy not only to have found a good tenant but to have a broker that I will call upon again in the future. I trust Robert and would highly recommend him to others.

The broker is okay but the office staff is not professional to handle their business.

I feel lucky to have had the pleasure of working with Carol Singh Alvarado my broker. Carol is professional, honest yet fun and personable. She is responsive (prompt), reliable and knowledgeable. Carol strikes a wonderful balance of being extremely attentive to details yet she is laid back, and easy to talk to. She is tactful and able to make overwhelming information accessible and clear. I trust Carol implicitly and recommend her every chance I get!

Carol Singh Alvarado is an exceptional broker. What makes Carol stand out from the rest is her attention to her client’s needs and wants when finding a home. She invests the time getting to know people on an individual basis and truly becomes a personal advocate for them. Carol is a pro when it comes to navigating an exceptionally competitive NY real estate environment. She loves Brooklyn and its homes and families, and as a resident herself, she provided great insight into the community.
Pros: Works hard for her clients, honest, builds trust, listens, thoughtful regarding the client’s budget, energetic, attention to detail, makes house hunting fun and painless!
Cons: None.

Judging from some of these reviews, it seems that one’s personal experience comes from the broker one encounters. The very best of the best is Lesley Semmelhack at Corcoran’s Park Slope office. She is my guardian angel. I’ll quote from a recommendation I wrote directly to her office after I closed on the sale of my apartment and I hope anyone reading this will seek out Lesley Semmelhack as their broker. You will not be disappointed: «Working with Lesley demonstrated to me from the outset what a good real estate experience should be. She carefully explained the process to me, guided me through the beginning steps, with her stylish and high-​end perspective she framed my home to look stunning, and talked me through what seemed an intimidating experience. From the beginning, she had me hopeful, optimistic, and happy about placing my apartment on the market. Lesley answered my calls at all hours of the night, pushed me forward to look toward the final outcome when my home would be sold, and helped me to see that maybe, just maybe, my dreams were possible.» I should add that before Lesley I had a horrendous experience with another real estate agent at another real estate firm. It was so horrible that I didn’t know if I wanted to place my apartment on the market again. After meeting Lesley, I knew I could trust her. I’m glad I did. She not only helped me to sell my apartment, she helped me find and purchase my next home. Lesley is magical. I will never forget my experience with her and what she did for my family and me.

My fiancé and I worked with Carol Singh Alvarado to find our new home. Working with Carol was a breath of fresh air to say the least. She listened to all of our wants and needs, and showed us a variety of properties while staying within our budget. Through all of the viewings, she was very thorough with inspecting and with her questions to the owners. She went above and beyond for us to make sure we found a place that had everything we needed ALSO made sure our transition from our current home to the new one was as smooth and painless as possible. She is by far the most attentive and HONEST real estate agent I’ve ever met. Nothing like an agent who really listens to what you want AND sticks to your budget! Thank you Carol for making this a great experience.

I recently worked with Fumiko Akiyama. She is a seasoned professional, incredibly diligent (always came 5 min early to every appointment, stayed on top of other brokers to be punctual, was thorough in all of her work), hardworking (she lined up multiple apartments, all meeting my specs, in one day and schlepped around to see them all with me, even tried to get me in to see an apartment before it opened to the public). She was a skilled negotiator with our landlord and with other brokers, she had a plethora of useful advice, and she was a delight to work with!

The broker was fine but the apartment we got through them was a disaster from start to finish. When we first moved in, the apartment was filthy (bathtub was literally brown with grime, there was rotten fish in the unplugged freezer which — once opened — filled the entire apartment with a disgusting odor, and the appliances looked like they hadn’t been cleaned in approximately a year). That is not what I call move-​in condition for a multi-​thousand dollar a month apartment — or any apartment for that matter.
The apartment itself was built so terribly that the condo owners, we found out, were actually suing the management company. There was no insulation in the walls. Period. The first year we lived there, our neighbor’s apartment flooded from a burst pipe causing them to move. They tried to «fix» our piping but managed to just put a large hole in the drywall that let cold air in all winter long. Oh, and this was a place where we paid for our heat and electricity. Though I had asked for past statements from the previous renter our broker was «unable to provide them.»
Then, a few months ago, our apartment floods. We had to move immediately and thankfully had renters insurance to pay for a hotel. There were thousands of dollars in damage to the apartment which was essentially totaled. They took out huge portions of the ceiling spreading drywall dust everywhere (which I had the pleasure of breathing when I packed up our undamaged items and put them in a storage unit. I lost my voice entirely after 10 hours of this.). Despite the fact that the landlord clearly has to redo the entire apartment (considering the extent of damage to floors and walls) we were charged $ 1170 from our deposit because of some «kitchen handles» and «portrait holes» in the wall.
As a real estate company working with landlords, they should be held to higher standards or have their brand suffer. I will never trust Corcoran again.

The worst broker ever I dealt with Carmen she was so rude to me never ever will deal with them and don’t advise anyone either they deff think who they are there

Terrible experience with a sellers broker at this branch. She was never available for walk throughs and even specifically mentioned that once the contract is signed she’s out of the picture, which I thought was a perfect example of poor client service. Although she was the sellers agent, I felt bad for the sellers as well. She didn’t even show up to the closing, but instead made a new employee join, who was inexperienced. Very disappointed in the level of customer service for a sales transaction where there is a lot of money transferring.

I had an absolutely horrific experience with an agent named Lisa who sold my condo while I was going through a divorce a few years back. She threatened me with legal action over a pet my ex left behind even though I was no longer living in the condo which was priced at 899k at the time. To make a long story short, we successfully closed on the property but she was ruthless, cruel and nasty towards me during the entire process. The whole experience makes my blood boil just recalling what I went through with this woman. I’m warning anyone who reads this to please not patronize this company. They are the worst real estate company in New York City!

I only wish I had looked at Unilocal before usuing this firm to find our apartment. Ala Maasarani and Wassim Fakhereddine provided close to zero service to us for thousands of dollars with a true lack of professionalism and responsiveness. Do yourself a favor and find another office with whom to work.

I have dealt with Corcoran in the past and have generally good things to say about them — but if you happen to encounter Martin Chung do yourself a favor and run the other way. He is high pressure and obnoxious from the beginning and is generally deceitful in what he is offering. Far more that I can write but frankly, he isnt worth the time, and I genuinely like Corcoran, so this is specific to him

So I noticed this corporation is now building directly across the street from me. I literally could not fight the urge to expose these blatant liars. Although, this area is up and coming. It has a very very very long way to go. I’ve lived here on Somers and Rockaway for few years now after moving back from West LA. Right, drastic difference. I grew up in bed stuy in a brown stone and although my neighborhood wasn’t the best I loved my community. Since gentrification many changes have occurred and an influx of people desperate to own property are falling victim to desperate realtors only interested in making a commission. Also, because property in Manhattan is insane. This new bldg this corp is constructing on Somers btw Rockaway & Mother Ghaston states: «near several restaurants and nightlife «haaaaaaa you dirty liars. The blatant lies and deceit. First, I hate the fact that all I can eat is a hero from a run down bodega or Chinese food with a B rating if Im starving on any given night. There are no healthy eating options anywhere near by at least I’ve never seen any. Nothing that is clean or even open pass 9pm except the local «crown fried chicken «and just to get in you have to pass the local crack heads, dope fiends, prostitutes and drug dealers. There is a train A or C literally around the corner and two grocery stores close by. But, these establishments close early due to high violence and robberies in the area. The grocery store directly around the corner recently had a robbery and a clerk was shot. All this you can google. The grocery store is in Eastern Parkway and Fulton directly around the corner. This neighborhood has a long way to go. Trust me. I’ve been trying to move for a while now so I’m saving so I have better options not to leave Brooklyn all together but a safer area. Second, since moving here I’ve literally seen several shootings from my window. I’m not exaggerating at all. On Fulton and Rockaway as soon as it gets warm and spring approaches… you can hear the difference. Week days after school kids fighting lingering on the corners. All year your hear police sirens and the bus that drives down Rockaway all damn nigh. So annoying. Rats and water bugs infest the area due to the filthy train station on fulton and Rockaway. At night you can see the rats run into the church on the corner directly next to this corporations new bldg. finally, as far as night life. There are several dive bars you can go to if your maybe want to get robbed or jumped. Only the lowest of the locals attend theses spots and everyone knows everyone. The night always ends with the regular fight with guns of course and the cops come and the same thing occurs next week Saturday. You can live here if you know how to mind your business and if you simply only walk your dog in the day time and before 9 and 8 during the warmer seasons. Shopping must be done before 7 and if you leave late and are walking straight to the train station no long strolls after dark unless your just dumb. Anytime I want to walk to eat the closest thing that’s decent is the Bed Stuy fish fry which is a 15 minute walk. All the good variety is in bed Stuy or on Nostrand and fulton and neither are close enough to walk and get take out.
Pardon any typos didn’t have time for spell check or punctuation but these are facts people.
I never though I would say I hated an area in brookly besides East New York and Down the hill in Brownsville. By the way this area is «Brownsville» also but developers now call it «Ocean Hill» it’s just up the hill which is still Brownsville just not as bad as down the hill. Down the hill they murder all year round not just summer. And this area «ocean hill» is still violent but because it’s closer to Bed Stuy and Buschwick it’s just a little more populated by police officers. Only since the gentrification though. Gotta protect the white people of course. Who walk from the train station from work every day to Buschwick. They have to feel safe in order to be convinced to purchase. Also, they feel they are entitled anyway. This is why it’s so easy to lie to yall haaaaaaa. I’m gonna try an upload a pic or two. But anyway there you have it. I really shouldn’t have even given you guys a heads up. If I had to endure it for less money why not let you guys deal and get robbed with a lifetime of regret, right? Well, I was really bored today. And every time I look out my window… I laugh so hard at that sign on their bldg.

Thanks Rudy (Fort Greene location) for your help in our long drawn out buying process! He sent me listings from all over Brooklyn for months based only on vague descriptions and random specificities yet didn’t tire of it for months even though my communication was haphazard. Helpful building my overview of the market as it was a very low inventory half a year. Able to fly solo on little instruction and helpful in that!

When we looked at our apartment, the porch was unfinished. The agent assured us it would be finished the week after we moved in (at the latest).
We’ve lived here three months, there’s no sign of the porch being finished and it getting done «the week after we moved in» was clearly never a realistic prediction. Looking back, I certainly feel silly for believing him.
The agent, Quinn, either lied to us or was misinformed.
Either way, one star. We wouldn’t have moved here knowing it would take this long.
We were also told by another Corcoran agent that the apartment had central A/​C. It doesn’t. Just an old box on the wall that’s not connected to anything.
Adding all that up along with the insane amount of money I spent on their serves makes me want to bang my head against a wall.

The. It’s despicable organization in the world.
My daughter was rented an apartment by Corcoran that was not even available. Probably illegal.
Then, I received a flyer showing a house that was sold by a Corcoran agent. The house was actually mine, and Corcoran had nothing to do with it. It may not be illegal, but it should be. Clearly it was immoral. When I confronted the corcoran corporate office, they told me to calm down. Remarkable.

I’m giving 5 stars to the brokers who were professional, showed up on time, dressed nicely, and were knowledgeable about the apartments that were listed.
I’m taking back 4 of those stars as my non-​negotiable fee for writing this review of the company.

If there was a way to give less stars I would. We had an awful experience with Lakeisha M. Edwards. She could not have been more unprofessional. From her condescending remarks to coming to the lease signing without a pen to bad mouthing us to our potential landlords, she obstructed us from renting this lovely place from some very lovely landlords. She refused to even meet us at scheduled times, citing her busy schedule. She has two rental listings… Not sure how her schedule is busier than two full-​time employed clients. She was the worse. If you see her listing, run the other way. Any landlord that uses her should expect to get less for their home or apartment by doing so.
I wish there was more I could do to report her to her current broker or to the real estate board. She should not have a license.