The Corcoran Group – Williamsburg

Marvin was a pleasure to work with. Not only did he guide me with the purchase of my investment property, he also help lease the property in a short period of time. Everything worked out the way I expected it to. I would definitely recommend him to anyone looking to buy in the Williamsburg area. It would be a big PLUS if he can stop acting like he doesn’t speak Cantonese. LOL :)

My boyfriend and I worked with Marvin Chu to find our new place in Williamsburg. He was so amazing to work with! I would highly recommend him to anyone in search of a place in Williamsburg. Finding an apartment can be so stressful and he made the process seamless. He was extremely professional and organized. He knew the neighborhood really well, was patient, listened to what we needed, and only showed us apartments that fit into our budget.
Even after we signed all the paperwork, he helped us find movers and even renter’s insurance. He really went above and beyond for us!

Did your agent tell you that Williamsburg is a toxic waste area? NOT! Poor outta town hipsters they got ya. Greenpoint and Red Hook are also toxic waste neighborhoods. Red Hood also has very large rats.

Philip Hale is a consummate professional. He’s lovely to work with. Honest, reliable and friendly. I would highly recommend him to anyone in need of a NYC apartment

I couldn’t agree more with other reviewers – BROOKE SAFFORD is a nightmare. She is unprofessional, and openly (but not successfully, woof-​woof!) flirted with my married brother. She’s also entitled and is the worst know-​it-​all you’ll ever meet. I appreciate and respect confidence in a professional, but, trust me, this level of arrogance was simply unfounded.
I was looking to buy a two bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. After telling her the amount I wanted to spend, and the neighborhoods of interest, she told me I could only afford to buy in Bedford Stuyvesant, Bushwick, or Lefferts Gardens – none of which I had mentioned. This is just plain ridiculous because I had seen SEVERAL listings in the neighborhoods I wanted to focus on in my price range, and I actually working with another broker and ended up buying a beautiful place in Boerum Hill. Now I know she wanted to push me to buy in the neighborhoods where she has exclusive listings and would make the most commission. Just gross.

DO NOT WORK with Brooke Safford at Corcoran, Williamsburg office. She doesn’t have the customer’s interest at heart and is very RUDE. She called me when I was working with her partner, didn’t introduce herself or provide any context, and proceeded to aggressively push me to make an offer on a home that i had no details on. Even after respectfully explaining my position to her, she didn’t acknowledge my concerns and hung up abruptly.
Most unprofessional and offensive behavior I’ve ever experienced working with anyone in real estate.

this is specifically for the agent brooke Safford. this agent is not TRUSTWORTHY and UNPROFESSIONAL because she is «good looking» she flirts with her clients, also she can promise you a deal then give it to some one else.

My review is from a landlord’s point of view. Truthfully I was reluctant to list with the Corcoran Bedford Office because of the below average reviews for the different agents but ultimately it worked out beautifully. My agent was Candice Grissett. She was fabulous. She was professional, she was flexible with her schedule, she knew the area well, she gave us an experienced opinion on the property and we ended up getting a great tenant thru her. Paper work went smoothly… I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to recommend her and use her again.

JC Vasquez led me through the process of buying my first condo and he did so like a champ. He is fun and easy to work with and knows his stuff. I trusted him so much and thanks to him I was able to buy my dream place in Williamsburg. He was always so patient and upbeat, even when I was about ready to call the whole thing off. He listened to exactly what I wanted and seemed to know better than I did what would fit my list of demands. Hence the trust. He was never pushy and was also very honest throughout the process. And I felt comfortable to ask any questions at any time.
Even after the deal was done, he gave me ideas of movers to call and restaurants in the area to try etc. He is so knowledgable of the area and was clearly not in it only to make the deal.
I’m for sure using JC if I ever sell this place… which may not happen, since it’s such a great home.

Jc Vasquez with the Corcoran group was wonderful to deal with. I had such a good experience. I had been working with several different agents, none of which I felt really comfortable with. JC was responsive, reliable and really honest. I highly recommend working with him.

Franco Rinaldi is an excellent agent. We listed our Brooklyn condo with him to rent our 2 years running. Not only did he meet our ideal asking rent, but he didn’t it in such a respectful and efficient manner. Both times, he was strict in qualifying tenants so much so that he only had to show the unit once both times. Incredible work! I will definitely work with him when it comes time to sell the unit. He’s proven himself to be tapped into the Brooklyn real estate market, is fully proficient, a pleasure to be around, and meticulous in his paperwork and integrity. Thanks, Franco!

This review is specifically for Aydan Sahin, a Corcoran agent who’s based out of the company’s Williamsburg location.
Aydan was the broker who recently posted a listing to a gorgeous 6BR townhouse in Crown Heights — a home that I’m happy to say we got in the end — and she was a real pleasure to work with.
Prompt, punctual, mild-​mannered and very competent, Aydan facilitated the whole application and lease-​signing process with such professionalism.
Of course, it can be painful to part with a 15% broker fee but to me, it seems that sometimes you have to bite the bullet if you want to get your dream home. (I’ve been slapped with a 15% broker fee twice now for two different Brooklyn homes — one through Corcoran and one through another agency… it undoubtedly hurts but I haven’t regretted it… Of course, if you can avoid it, do that.)
Bottom line: if you have to go with a broker, and a Corcoran broker at that, I’d highly recommend Aydan. Unlike other brokers who I’ve worked with over the years — agents who have been annoying, pushy, manipulative and garrulous to a fault — Aydan is very kind and helpful.

David Nilsen at Corcoran is the best. He has been the rental broker for my condo on Bedford Avenue kitty corner from the Corcoran office since 2008. David has always found great renters and gives amazing service to both tenants and to owners. He knows the neighborhood like the back of his hand and always returns calls and texts.

DO NOT WORK WITH THESE PEOPLE. By far the WORST experience I’ve ever had with a broker. For the amount of money we paid Corcoran, I expected to be treated fairly and in a timely manner. Yea, that didn’t happen. In the end I got into the apt but the hassle was not worth it. It’s 2012 Corcoran, get your act together and provide a better customer service.

Please, if you do nothing but read this sentence: Do not work with Wassim Fakhereddine. (I was told I needed to «revise» my complaint, and I gladly will. After posting this I received messages from other Unilocal users thanking me for being honest as they too had miserable experiences working with Wassim)
When we worked with him he was at the Corcoran Park Slope office, currently he’s workig at Warren Lewis realty. We moved July 1^st into an apartment on 4^th street in park slope with a landlord living below us. No exaggeration-​the day after we moved in, the landlord asked us to pack up our things and move out — that we were making too much noise. It was 12PM and we were unpacking…
Not only did Wassim tell us that he had a relationship with the landlord and how great a guy he was but also that he rented the apartment before. It’s funny because after speaking with the neighbors we found out that the landlord harassed the last tenants just as badly and they left due to an eviction as well. We were taken to court only after a few months of living there based on «noise complaints» ending with us not paying rent per legal advice. So not only had we just spent several thousand moving in/​on a broker fee, we now had to pay a lawyer fees.
It’s interesting that the apartment on 4^th street has such high turnover. It’s a gold mine for any unprossional, un-​ethical agent willing to rent it. They walk away with twice the commission in one year because tenants can’t complete their lease, living in an environment in which they are harraseed day and night.
I can’t even begin to explain how high our stress levels were coming home to an aggressive stranger screaming at you at the bottom of your stairwell.
We called Wassim as soon as the issues began and continued leaving messages for him in the 2 months following our july 1^st move in. We emailed multiple times asking for help with this issue, evening ccing the office manager Patrick Brennan. Not a single person return our calls, or emails at any time. The fact Wassim could subject us to such awful and unhealthy living conditions, and be aware of them then do absolutely nothing to help us, speaks on what kind of agent he is and how he conducts his business.

I needed to move in 2 weeks. David Nilson helped me find reliable renters with great background checks within a week. I would definitely use him again for an agent. I know my tenants are happy as well.

I had a very positive experience with Corcoran Williamsburg. I got in touch with one of this location’s agents, David Nilsen, to ask him about some of his rental listings. He responded right away, and took me to see the places that week. He even showed me some other ones I hadn’t been aware of. He was kind, knowledgeable and attentive and I never felt pressured. As it turns out I ended up renting through David and I love my new apartment.
Renting in NYC is no fun but David Nilsen really took the hassle out of the whole thing. Doing this on my own would mean dealing with ridiculous Craigslist and these other so-​called real estate firms that won’t even deign to call you back. So, the broker fee is well worth it. While certain other agents around who might be scummy, there is definitely at least one who’s honest and professional.

I’m with a lot of the other reviewers. I have not had great experiences with this particular location. Despite having some really great listings on their website, the chances of actually seeing one of them seems to be a rare occurrence.
When renting, I spent hours online finding different places I wanted to look at, and as Corcoran was the only place that seemed to have this particular apartment, had to call and leave messages to see the place. We ended up renting the apartment, but it took about three trips to the office since Wassim proceded to lose his copy of our lease and made us return multiple times to finish up paperwork that we had already done. For the sole activity of unlocking the door to the apartment to let us in, we had to pay an exorbitant 15% fee.
Secondly, we had thought about buying a place, and were somewhat bullied into using a realtor from this location. (Continuous calls — «Oh, you must list me as your agent, etc»), yet when we actually put an offer in on a place, never got a written counter offer (everything was done via conversations through the realtors), and the agent didn’t seem to be pushing for us, as the sellers were also listing through Corcoran agents.
Really, Barbara Corcoran looks like a nice lady when she shows up on the Today Show. Why can’t she hire agents that aren’t so aggravating?

looking for an apartment to rent in nyc blows. unless your budget is 4 –5k a month. then it’s all good and you can find a place and go back to doing push ups and listening to Huey Lewis and murdering hookers and business associates with chainsaws and hatchets and shit.
and while this is probably more the type of clientele Corcoran is used to Kate (
) at the Williamsburg branch made the experience so much less stressful than it usually is or needs to be.
we met Kate at an open house for an awesome little no fee 1br that we showed up too late to grab. but the next day she showed the GF other stuff. we put a deposit down. however another couple could pay more, move in earlier, blah blah blah. the next day Kate finds us another place… cheaper than the first and in the area we wanted to be in.
boom. done.
true professionals Corcoran are. all their properties are really nice.
and Kate is an absolute pleasure and a totally cool, down to earth girl.
give her a buzz if you need a place. she deserves the clients and you deserve painless apartment hunting.

Although my dealings with the Corcoran Group ended over a year ago, I do know that the sleazeball who I dealt with is still working there. I have no problem calling this guy out, his name is Wassim Fakhereddine, and he was easily the most obnoxious real estate agent I’ve ever had the misfortune to deal with. My friend and I were looking for 2 bed room apartments in Brooklyn, and we found a great listing online. Unfortunately, this listing was controlled by the aforementioned Wassim, who not only showed up over 30 minutes to show the apartment, but didn’t even have the patience to memorize our names (collective letter count between the two of us: EIGHT).
When we decided to take the apartment, Wassim never picked up the phone, put roadblocks in our way, and even had the balls to tell us what we could and couldn’t afford after peering into our bank accounts. When we finally signed on the place, he presented us with a bill for over $ 5000 in fees for a collective hour and half of work — and the kicker? the invoice said «Dear INSERT CLIENT NAME HERE» at the top.
If you can avoid working with the Corcoran Group and Wassim, do it. They’re miserable.