Several years ago I needed to find an apartment quickly. I contacted Mark Ritchken at the NY…read morePrivate Realty Group. I was blown away by how quickly he found apartments within my budget and in great locations. He was professional, courteous, thoughtful and listened to my needs (all important qualities in a broker). In addition to his professionalism, he is most entertaining. He has so many great stories to tell -- from moving to New York City from South Africa to helping granddaughters of former U.S. presidents purchase apartments to sharing his experiences about rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. Ultimately, I found an unlisted apartment in Queens (I hated moving out of Manhattan) and decided to get out my passport and change boroughs. Mark was incredibly understanding. He actually encouraged me to take the apartment because it was such a deal. Next time I am in the market for a new apartment there is only one agent who I will be turning to to be my agent: Mark Ritchken. He knows the coolest spaces, the coolest neighborhoods and he's a great guy.

I was referred to Mark Ritchken and NY Private Realty Group through a family friend and they did a…read moregreat job helping me find my first apartment in NY! Mark was great to work with and really went out of his way to find the perfect place I wanted. I am moving from California and had to work with them via email and phone when I couldn't be in town to see apartments. I completely trust Mark's judgement and he didn't waste my time with run down units. He has been working in Manhattan for a long time and has built many professional relationships. He was able to use those connections and find the perfect place! Mark helped take the stress out of finding a place to live in such a competitive market. I will be sending all my friends to see him when they need help and I will be back myself next time I need to move!

2733 Frederick Douglass Blvd…read more The bldg location and the apt size is amazing, but that is where it stops. Management, has been completely unresponsive and misleading regarding the much needed repairs in my Apt. I'm just going to post this pic and let it speak for itself This hole is located in the bedroom, I have no words that adequately describes the utter disregard and at this point borderline neglect from management towards it's tenants. I'm recently disabled and while recovering from my accident, I received numerous calls from management about past due rent a well as being served eviction papers! you know what I haven't gotten ? A start date regarding my repairs???? It's been roughly 1.5 years. TBH I do want to work with them, however, it appears that if it involves $$$$$ the tenants needs do not seem relevant...

Completely unprofessional group. Family run and therefore there is no accountability to how anyone…read morethey do business with are treated. This applies for tenants and applicants. We knew people that lived in the building and submitted an application to live in the building around the same time as well. After being approved, they refused to confirm that the leak in the ceiling by the kitchen would be fixed before the move in date. We were unwilling to sign the lease until this was resolved. Not being approved to move in was the best outcome we could have hoped for given the problems that the building proved to have. When we requested for the leak to be fixed before the move in date, they told us they were no longer moving forward because it was a concern that we had such a request. Our friends had similar issues in the building when it came to overall neglect and and an unwillingness to work with them as tenants. Examples of building neglect they also experienced. The buzzer to the building has been broken for months without being fixed. The trash sits without being packed up releasing an odor at times that permeates the building. Tenants had to repair cabinets in the kitchen on their own. The stove opens into the refrigerator in most of the units. Rodent issues on the lower levels as well. This is to be expected in NYC but you would hope there is evidence of the building managers attempting to deal with this. If you see an apartment in the building that is listed for a reasonable rate, the above are just a few examples of the quality you'll be receiving. Steven Kirschner is the manager for the building and is easily irritated with tenants. Generally aloof and a classic example of the type of landlord you want to avoid being stuck with at all costs. If this wasn't a family run business, there would be surely be accountability for the landlords general neglect to both the physical building 120 West 71st street and his tenants in this building. I would be shocked if this isn't the case for other buildings, however we can't speak to other examples.

Zero stars rather! Worst brokerage company ever! Rude and disrespectful!…read more Save your money and go directly to another brokerage company like Contact Realty-104-35 Queens Blvd, Queens, NY 11375 (highly professional and attentive) found a place fast and easy with them:)- Dan is the best!! Forwarding all my friends and family to him for sure

Rude service. "I don't business with text". He doesn't pick…read moreup the call or email neither. Very sketchy business. Stay away.

The building itself is immaculate which is why it's even deserving of a star but I've been living…read morein a building managed by Daniel Ilibassi for 2 years and it's been one of the most traumatic experiences ever. Since the moment I moved in, it's been a downhill experience due to management. 1)His staff at the front desk is extremely discriminatory and followed my family & I to the roof on the first day we moved in, and we literally had to show her the key to prove that we belonged there. He did nothing about this-- even when she would hide my packages, and I had to resort to calling the police this year (all documented). 2) I had a SQUATTER in my apartment and when I reached out to Daniel about this, he told us we had to put her on her lease as a roommate because she was a previous tenant of his. This was honestly just unheard of, and after months of her harassing us, and creating fire hazards in the apartment due to hoarding/uncleanliness, he simply ignored all of our complaints and helped her moved out early, granting her another lease in the building, and leaving us with a vacancy to be unexpectedly filled. 3) He also denied basic requests like having the apartment painted, saying this should've been done before we signed the lease but the building literally has a clause in the lease for repainting/maintenance every 5 years which is NOT done based on the walls in the apartment, which are dirty as hell. The apartment wasn't cleared out before moving in, so there was no possible way to even see any of the damages/things that needed to be repainted until I moved in. 4) The super in the building hates doing his job, he got upset with us when we had to keep calling him to fix a broken door, and blatantly told my roommates and I that he "doesn't work for us." Yes you do, you're a super in a residential building? Sorry you have to do your job for once instead of riding your bike around outside for once I guess? 5) Any issues or complaint, just keep them to yourselves because he will hold it against you as if it's your fault he has to actually do his job. Last month I had to resort to calling 311 when my bathroom wasn't working correctly. Even with photo and video evidence, he had the super come look and believed him when he said that there was nothing wrong. After countless back and forth, I reported him and was told I could withhold rent, to which Daniel threatened to evict me and bring my family & I to court. Which is funny because he then went behind my back to contact my parents (guarantors on the lease) to lie to them that I was refusing to let him enter my apartment and didn't have rent money? Thankfully 311 documented this and he was reported for retaliation. After that, he kept sending the super to do the same thing which didn't resolve the issue. It wasn't until the super knew that Dan was coming to look at it himself, he conveniently came by the amen morning fixed in less than 15 minutes after a whole month of problems. Obviously after all of this, I was hit with a lease non renewal-- even though he literally helped a squatter get an apartment. Do NOT rent here if you have standards and can advocate for yourself, they have continuously tried to paint as the angry Black woman because of that! They want you to just sit there meekly and take what you can get, instead of what you are paying for.

This is a fantastic apartment management company, a rarity in NYC. Quickly responded to my issues,…read moreflexible and helpful landlord/super. Highly recommend living in one of their buildings.

Realtor, Jay Marenyi of Keller Williams Platinum Properties recently helped me to sell my home…read more I'm writing this review because I wish I could have paid him more for all of the extra work that he did for me, but since my finances simply won't allow it, I am hoping that this review will at least bring him more business in the future. About a year ago, I lost my job and found a new one in another state. I moved to the new state, and Jay helped me to put my home on the market. He held multiple open houses, helped me to find a buyer in this very difficult housing market, and went above and beyond to help me with the sale of this home. Because I had to move to a different state, my home was vacant while it sat on the market. Jay and his associate took turns going to check on my property regularly to make sure everything was ok. In addition, my sale took place around the holidays, and Jay was always available - even answering emails and phone calls during his personal vacations. The sale process took some time, and at some point, I began to worry because I had been paying both mortgage at the home, and rent in my new apartment. I was running out of money to pay both. I remember when I expressed this concern to Jay, he told me, "don't worry, I will get your house sold" - and he did. We finally closed on the home on January 4th of this year. Everything went through smoothly - largely attributable to Jay's hard work, patience, expertise, and professionalism. While many other realtors could have worked to sell my home, what made Jay different was that I could tell that he really cared - he wasn't just doing his job. He never made me feel like I was bothering him when I had a lot of questions or needed something done that was out of his job description. I can't say enough great things about Jay and the hard work that he put in to getting my house sold. I greatly appreciate his work, and I hope that this review will get him the extra business that he deserves.

I can NOT recommend Lorne and his team enough! He was so helpful throughout our whole mortgage…read moreprocess. He was always so very patient and kind, taking the time to explain and answer all questions. You're in great hands at Lakeview! HIGHLY recommend

Huge shoutout to Lorne and his staff!…read more I first started working with Lorne on the refinance of my condo about a year ago and haven't looked back since! Working with him and his associates, Sandra, Vicky and Tracey, have been amazing. From the beginning, they were very accessible, always responded promptly, answered all my crazy questions and never made me feel like a bother. The whole process was simple and flawless. If they needed something from me, I received a phone call. I'd give them what they needed and we moved on. Any info I needed was emailed or they called immediately to keep me posted. I never felt left in the dark. It went so smoothly that we actually closed way faster than anticipated. Having that great experience, I knew I'd be using Lorne again for our new home purchase. This time I was a-little less 'in the know' of how the home-buying process worked and didn't know how to start. I text Lorne one morning at,no joke, 6am. To my surprise, he called me back immediately and stayed on the phone with me to describe my first steps and told me he was there for me no matter the time or day. I thought he was kidding but he's proved to have done that for me time and time again. There have been so many times that I've txt him a question and he'd call me immediately back to respond. Great communication skills by all on board. I also bothered his team mannnyyy a time for new preapproval letters and they never batted an eye. They always got it to me within 1hr. One of the times it was a Saturday and clearly not a work day so I had to txt Lorne and ask him for help. He took time out of his day to get me what I needed. We are currently in our closing process and, as expected, this process is also seamless. Every once in awhile his associates reach out to me asking for items. I send them right away, and they keep me posted. If you give them what they need/ask for and are a prepared client, your process will be smooth. Remember, they have to ask for paperwork every few weeks to make sure your personal accounts are in order. It's part of the process to ensure all goes well and was no hassle or bother. Actually, the quicker you can produce them, the faster the process goes for you. They are also very sweet. They always answer any and all of my questions, always keep me in the loop, and even chat with me about regular things. They also remembered me from my refinance so it was pleasant to work with the same crew who knew your needs. Once again, we will be closing well ahead of normal schedules! Bottom line: Lakeview rocks! Thank you guys for another seamless transaction!!