Abacus Properties

They never got in touch with me despite repeated messages. I thought they would want to rent me an apartment and make a commission but that seems not to be the case.

Again, Jeff Surowka, is the ultimate professional. This year he showed me only properties to my specific specs. A match was made. Deal completed. Happy.

My roommate and I recently signed a one-​year lease on a fantastic (huge!) two-​bedroom apartment in Ditmas Park listed through Abacus Properties with Oleg Polonsky. From my initial contact with Oleg when I found the listing on Streeteasy up until the time we signed our lease (about one week after we initially saw the apartment), Oleg was professional, kind, and quick to respond to questions via email. He reviewed our application with the landlord quickly and we found out we were ready to move forward with a lease signing less than 24 hours after we had submitted it. He was also able to provide first-​hand insight into the neighborhood itself as he lives in the area. The near-​seamless process facilitated by Oleg and Abacus was a breath of fresh air after past stressful apartment hunting experiences!

We moved this past spring and worked with Terry at Abacus. She was fantastic. Very friendly, proactive in sending us listings that fit our needs, and never too pushy. I’d highly recommend her and will reach out to her again in the future if we move.

Being a homeowner can be stressful enough so when you have to sell your home and are looking to buy something new this takes the stress to an even higher level. I had such a wonderful experience working with Jeff! He was patient and listened to all of my concerns and then helped walk me through the different scenarios even dealing with the financials. I would absolutely recommend Abacus Properties as your go to real estate agency and Jeff Surowka as a realtor that goes above and beyond when it comes to client service!

I really recommend Terry Jordan from Abacus Properties if your looking for a place in Ditmas Park. She’s professional, helpful and friendly, and was by far the best broker I worked with (and I’ve tried many). She also had many listings in the area, more than what I could find through the usual websites (Craigslist, etc.) and through the websites of real estate companies. Overall, I also think that Abacus was the friendliest of all real estate companies that I was in touch with in NY.

We moved recently and dealt with Terry at Abacus, and she was fantastic. We ended up finding an apartment through another broker, but our experience with Terry was great. She was professional, proactive but not pushy, friendly, and overall, just great to deal with. Highly recommended.

I had a great experience looking at apartments with Terry Jordan at Abacus. Ultimately, I found my apartment through another broker, but she was a pleasure to work with. She was friendly, knowledgable, and followed up with me multiple times when new listings became available.
On a separate note, the 12% fee that Abacus charges seemed high when other brokers in this area of Brooklyn charge 1 month.

We just closed on a co-​op purchase with Jeff Surowka (Abacus co-​owner) as our buyers’ agent, and couldn’t have been happier with Jeff. He’s incredibly knowledgeable about buildings in the neighborhood, having worked in Ditmas Park /​Kensington for quite some time, and was able to point out details in the apartment (both good and less-​good) throughout the process, helping us to make an informed decision.
Having seen so many pre-​war apartments like ours in the area, Jeff pointed out lots of little changes we could make to create a more livable, personal space — some we could do before we move in, and others to think about down the line. It was like having a design consultant in addition to a broker.
Jeff also suggested a mortgage officer at a major bank who turned out to be The Best, walking us through the mortgage process, fighting for us when necessary, and coordinating with Jeff to make less work for us.
All in all, having Jeff on our side made our first home purchase as comfortable and navigable as possible. Years from now, when it comes time to buy a new place and/​or sell our current one, we’ll be going with Abacus.

We found an apartment through Abacus. After moving in and subsequently having problems with the landlord, it occurred to us that they never properly vetted the apartment or the landlord (who actually broke our lease & several housing laws). They did, however, put us through the ringer to vet us.
When we called them back to let them know we we’re having problems and wanted to find a new place, they put up another «vet wall» saying that we had to provide all of this documentation before they would even talk to us about another place (we had already provided this to them the first time).
What are we paying these people all this money for? All they really did was show us the apartment & introduce us to the landlord.
Needless to say, we will not be using them again.

My husband and I recently moved in to an apartment that we happened upon in the Abacus Properties listings window about a month ago when walking by, and I am now sitting in the best apartment ever.
All thanks, to Ghislaine Georges.
Gigi was our broker, and from the moment we walked through the doors, she made us feel completely comfortable, took the time to show us a number of places that fit our style, ideal space and budget, and was completely graceful and professional throughout the entire process – from introduction, to showing us spaces, to meeting our landlord, to signing the lease – this by far was the most pleasant apartment hunting experience that I’ve had in New York.
Abacus has very reasonable fees, and it was worth every penny. If you’re on the hunt for a nice apartment and want to avoid the usual broker sharks/​craigslist nightsmares that can happen, Gigi is your woman, and Abacus is the place to go!

A few days after I posted my original review, Abacus’s broker Jeff contacted me apologizing for the awful experience I had and assured me that he would not let a similar experience happen to another customer. He also offered to help me if I was still looking for an apartment, which at the time I was. Ultimately, I did not end up getting an apartment through Abacus but Jeff’s response and willingness to help softened the negative experience slightly.

Given the 12% brokers fee, I think I could have received better service. While the broker asked me to sign a preliminary form indicating she was a tenant’s broker, she was unrelenting in negotiating a better price, which convinced me that she was in it more for the fee rather than actually providing good customer service.
She also asked me to sign a preliminary form before reviewing the apartment, saying it was «required»; however, when I went on the NY State Licensing website, there was nothing that stated that it was required… made me reconsider how honest she was…
She also informed me that the broker’s fee must be paid in order to apply for the apartment. When I viewed the application for the apartment, while she stated that the broker’s fee is refundable in the event the management company denied my application, there was nothing in writing to prove this would actually happen. Also made me grow somewhat suspicious.
All in all, the apartments she showed me were good, but I don’t know how they justified the 12% brokers fee that she claimed was the company’s policy. All she did was show me the apartment. In the end, I took my business elsewhere.

After dealing with another broker who did nothing but waste my time, these guys were lifesavers. Mimi got me into a NO FEE apartment that was a good size, in the area I wanted to be in, and that didn’t break my budget. I would definitely recommend Abacus Properties.

I was looking for a rental. Mimi is quite nice and seems to be able to work the people part of the job but couldn’t tell me little details like whether the apartment was rent stabilized. In fact, it seems that she doesn’t know the difference between rent stabilized and rent controlled and tried to b.s. her way through it without just saying she’d get back to me. That said, she is more responsive and does call you back more than other brokers in the same price range. She will find out the answers to questions you have, you just have to think of them instead of her.

I walked into Abacus Properties one day after work, deciding as a last resort to check out my neighborhood realty company, although noticing that it was always empty. Buy hey could be a good thing right? Wrong! Now I know why. Upon entering I was greeted by a receptionist who supplied me with an application. Fancy office, but no activity at all. I requested to see a broker, no one was in. I asked when could I see one, she replied they would call me next day. 3 weeks later, no one called, no introduction, no we’re working on it, nothing! I called repeatedly, no one was available. I stopped by again, after work and asked to speak with someone, another lady at the front desk told me again, no brokers were available. How could she help me. I explained that no one contacted me, she apologized took my name and number, gave me a business card and promised to have someone call me next day. Now 4 weeks pass. I was getting pissed as I was always very polite and could not understand how a business could be so unprofessional and negligent. A few days later I went in and asked for my application back. The receptionist was frazzled, she couldnt find it. Once again, no one was available but she called someone in the back, (strange?) as to where the applications were. He told her where to look and dont u know it, my application was stuffed in a folder filled with a bunch of others, apparently never even looked at! She seemed a little embarrassed or rather uncomfortable giving it back to me, insisting that she could shred it for me as a courtesy. I mean these are brokers looking to get paid? Why should I have to chase them down? I doubt they even looked at my application, if they had they would have seen that my husband and I were the perfect applicants, tier 1 credit, stable, hardworking, loved in the community. It amazes me that someone else received such a quick response, especially, around the same time I appeared to be inquiring … ummm, in fact, there was no review on this company when I inquired. Maybe since I was renting and not buying they weren’t interested? Now being, African American may have played some role here but I prefer to take the high road and just assume they were unprofessional and a total waste of my time. I dont know but take my advice and don’t waste yours. If you are looking to move and time is of the essence Abacus Properties may not be for you. This review is as honest as they come. Good luck.

Every New Yorker knows how terrible apartment hunting is.
My hubs and I were recently on the market for a new place and were having horrific luck with trying to find something decent in our price range. Then we went to Abacus Properties in Kensington.
We met with Mimi and she was an absolute dream to work with. She had several properties to show us in one evening, which fit everything we were looking for, including our meager budget and we ended up beginning the paperwork to sign a lease on the third property we saw that same day.
She was knowledgeable, friendly and so helpful. Another bonus, in my mind, is that she was incredibly flexible with regard to timing for showings — I wasn’t able to get to our meeting until 7:30pm on a Monday night.
DEFINITELY recommended if you’re looking in Kensington /​Prospect Park South or Park Slope.