Bk Roommates

For a company that calls themselves ‘BK Roommates’ and hawks roommate matchmaking as a selling point, very little effort was put into matching me with compatible roommates — so much so that I ended up not signing the lease on the apartment I’d put down a deposit on. BK Roommates is plagued by uncommunicative agents, some obvious intra-​company disorganization, and management that participates in some very shady practices.
My agent was initially nice and fairly helpful, but always late or a no-​show. After I’d put down a deposit on a room (they hawk 4 bed apartments that should be 2 — most rooms I saw were barely big enough to fit a full/​queen bed and so, so, so expensive. It’s because of agencies like theirs and the gullible n00bs they suck in that rents in these neighborhoods have gotten so out of control) and filled out the roommate/​lifestyle questionnaire, I waited and waited for *any* update on whether the rooms had been filled. Not until *I* asked did my agent tell me that all the other rooms in the apartment had been filled — and the other agent that had worked with them all had not had them fill out any sort of questionnaire.
I had made it very clear to my agent that roommate fit was my *number one* concern in choosing an apartment, having freshly escaped a pretty awful situation. I liked that they made the effort to gather basic lifesytle info from their tenants and set everybody up to meet and determine fit.
Not only was I kept completely out of the loop regarding the occupancy of the other rooms, but the company didn’t follow their own policies. I finally weaseled the contact info of my three early-​mid-​20s, male roommates with TWO cats between them (all things I indicated no desire for) out of her three days before we were all to move in. It was very clear (to me, at least) that one of the roommates and I were not going to be a good match.
The ‘multiple deposit’ reviewer may be on to something. Despite having my financials in for almost two weeks, I was not approved to sign the lease until less than 48 hours before I was supposed to move in (nor did anybody else involved in this haphazard arrangement). My repeated requests for updates were met with ‘everything LOOKS good but we won’t be able to tell you for sure until tomorrow…’ then nothing, again and again and again.
Also worth mentioning that they bait-​and-​switched me on the rent — it was 50 dollars higher than she told me, but I was not informed until I said I wanted to put down a deposit.
Shady as fuck (just look at the strange consistencies between all of their positive reviews!) and just a shitty experience. Don’t waste your money. These people are up to no good.

The negativity from people THAT JUST MOVED HERE saddens me. Great company to work for and they are super professional, they explain everything in detail. People need to understand its brooklyn and if you like a place don’t ponder just do it, it’s a competitive market. I have the highest respect for everyone at BK Roommates. You need housing these guys will find you what you are looking for

I don’t have the words to describe how amazing BK Roommates was to me. I was in a bind and had to find a roommate ASAP. Laura not only found someone to fill the room, she found THE PERFECT person for me & my other roommate based on personality, schedule and everything most important when choosing someone to share your space with. She took care of everything for us, including writing up ads, screening potential roommates & hosting open houses for us to meet the people who she thought could be a good match. In my ten years of living in Brooklyn, I’ve never experienced such a pleasant, worry-​free roommate search. Laura is truly amazing and I can’t thank her enough for helping to create such a perfect living situation for me, my roommate, and my new roommate ! :)

Definitely a hidden gem in the housing market if you’re new to NY or looking for roommates.
I initially found a listing on Craigslist for a large room in a 2br in Bushwick and thought it was just another straight forward broker situation until I met Gift. She made me feel very comfortable and was very transparent about the entire application process. I filled out the application that night and put down a deposit on the place.
After a weekend of waiting with no answer I reached out to Gift and she responded back very quickly stating that the landlord hadn’t gotten back to her and would make a decision later that day but he never did. This went on for about another day before she suggested that we look at some other places and sent me a list of four in the same area.
That same night I met Gift who was with two other potential roommates that she picked (who were very cool people) and we viewed all four places that night. She paid for us to take a cab, and even got us a ride from a co-​worker to the next space. The places weren’t nearly as spacious as the first… and they all looked exactly the same but I needed to be out of my current place in 5 days so I couldn’t be too picky about my choices.
I ended up finding a nice place with another broker but that was only because I was on limited time. It was painful to tell Gift since she went out of her way to show me around but I just wasn’t 100% satisfied with the places I saw after the first and knew I could get more for the same price or less.
Overall it was a great experience working with Gift and the team at BKRoommates. I would recommend them to friends in search of roommates or places in NY.

They went SO out of the way for me and I couldn’t have found my roommate without them. Thanks to BK roommates I’m living with an outstanding girl who is not only my roommate but also my friend. I give my highest recommendation.

What a great concept! The service was some of the best I’ve ever received, and I couldn’t be happier with my living situation.
The process was painless and they really went above and beyond to help me out in a short period of time. I’ve already recommended them to friends who are thinking about making the move. Very impressed.

Thank you Nicole! Nicole was unbelievably helpful in helping me find the best apartment I could find within my budget. Even though New York is increasingly expensive, it is great to know that there is hope for us. And for the fellas, she is a cutie! ;)

BK Roommates has really been a lifesaver for me. I do a lot of freelance work in BK and NYC, and have to travel to those locations often. After looking at my travel expenses, I decided that it was time to move into the area.
What I didn’t realize was how hard it would be find a normal, clean apartment in the area. I have been spending months traveling back and forth to Brooklyn to meet with slumlords, foreign real estate agents that can’t speak English, and overpriced realtors. It seemed like I could 1) accept a disgusting apartment with shady details within my price range, OR 2) pay nearly double my budget for a clean apartment.
There really wasn’t any middle ground until I found BK Roommates on Facebook.
These guys are awesome. They’re young and know what type of living situation a person in my situation was looking for in BK.
I was shown several properties in my price range — all of which were new or recently renovated.
What really surprised me is that their main service is connecting roommates together. After learning about this, I was able to find a 3 bedroom apartment in the heart of Williamsburgh for half of my budget! Of course, I’m living with a «stranger» — but I was able to meet them and determine if they were a good fit well before having to make a decision. It’s working out VERY well so far!
All I can say is THANK YOU to Ronald and the BK Roommates team. You guys have a great little service going here and I’m more than happy to recommend you to anyone seeking living arrangements in the NYC area.

Wow. Talk about real life angels. I’ve been trying to make the move to Brooklyn for quite some time, and as anyone looking for a place in NYC knows, it’s been an actual nightmare, as in my sleep-​time nightmares can’t even compare.

I came to BK Roommates basically as a lost/​wounded/​hairless sheep just looking for some help. Ronald basically is entitled to my first born. They found me a great place with a roommate who I wish I could also write a Unilocal review for.
The process was seamless, and I felt comfortable and safe in knowing that I’d be taken care of the right way in a world full of swindlers.
So honestly, Thank you guys so much for everything! You are a bunch of gems!

Do not deal with this company, they are not trustworthy! I worked with a broker named Laura who, besides being 30 minutes late or a no-​show to every meeting we had, lied about everything concerning the apartment she showed us from the terms of the lease to the rental price.
Laura told me I could move in to the apartment I was going to lease on the 31^st of the month instead of the 1^st, if I wanted. Throughout the day on the 31^st she kept telling me she would meet me with the lease, she was just waiting for it to be emailed from the landlord, while I was waiting with family, friends, and a truck to move in. I checked in with her periodically, she said the same thing each time. Then near the end of the day, she abruptly said she couldn’t get the lease after all so I couldn’t move in. She promised to pay for movers for the inconvenience.
The morning of the 1^st, Laura told me where to get the apt key from a lockbox at the building so I could let myself in and begin moving. Again, all day she kept saying she would be by the apartment with the lease. I was on the phone with her and others at BK Roommates almost every half hour to get status updates. Then toward the end of the day she became unreachable. There I was moved into my new apartment without a signed lease and unable to contact my broker! I spent my first night in my new place with no lease and no way to contact my landlord because so far I was only dealing with the brokerage BK Roommates.
On the morning of the 2^nd, I woke up to a text from Laura saying I had to move out of the apartment, the landlord wouldn’t give me the lease. Laura said she’d be by with $ 2000 to cover all my expenses and blamed the situation on the landlord. I called movers without success, of course Laura doesn’t show and eventually will not respond to me. I’m talking to lawyers at this point, trying to figure out what my rights are. I’m afraid to leave the apartment, worried I would come home to a padlock on my door or my stuff in a dumpster!
Later that day an owning partner of the building and a representative from BK Roommates showed up at my door. They realized I might have moved in based on some oblique comment Laura made and decided to investigate. After a four-​hour conversation, it becomes clear that Laura was lying to all parties involved: the tenants, the landlord and even the people at her own company!!! She lied about the price of the apartment, she told me there were no pets allowed but told my roommate who had a dog that it was no problem. There were many other terms of the lease she lied about, it’s not really worth listing them all. I was finally able to sign a lease that night, but due to Laura’s duplicity, the landlord had to make many concessions to us. Our landlord told us at this meeting the lease was a standard lease and had been ready for us to sign for days. Also, at one point these guys returned to brokerage to print out the lease and said ‘Laura has cleaned out her desk and her phone is off,’ making it seem as though she quit. Haha.
If you can believe it, the story is not over. The next morning, the 3^rd, I woke up once again to a text from Laura. She says to let her know when I’m moved out and she’ll come by with the $ 2000. I didn’t respond. Then later that morning I get another text saying she ‘got me approved and will come by with the lease so I can sign it.’ I don’t know what’s wrong with this woman, but she obviously has no concept of the truth.
The final kicker is, I found out the next week when the brokerage was showing the final room available in our apartment (this was another lie, Laura said the landlord would rent the place even though the last room was not filled but they wouldn’t so the BROKERAGE joined the lease with us until they could fill the final room). One of the people viewing the room mentioned she spoke to Laura earlier that day. We are all flabbergasted, because it was represented to us that she quit/​was fired as a broker.
I was so amazed she could still be working there after the debacle she created renting to us, I decided to look into Laura Biedron and BK Roommates to determine their relationship. Through some very simple, basic googling I found out she is listed as «Founder & CEO» of BK Roommates.
A month later, Laura friend requested me and my MOTHER on Facebook. I was so disturbed, I called the other owner of BK Roommates Ron to complain. He confirmed for me that she was an owning partner of the business, and said the friend request was likely a mistake. When I followed up he said Laura didn’t know how to use Facebook and accidentally uploaded email contacts. But it wasn’t BK Roommates who friended me, it was her personal Facebook with her alma mater listed. Really, really disturbing.
At this point, I wouldn’t touch BK Roommates with a 10 foot poll (or the longest poll in existence). Run way. Far away.

I am absolutely disgusted by the lack of professionalism I just experienced. Never again would I attempt to do business with this company, and I suggest you avoid them as well if you’re looking for a space in Brooklyn.
Just know this: they got one of their employees to sign a paper, and tried to convince me that IT WAS MY SIGNATURE. They tried to convince me that I signed a document that I never, EVER saw. Not only is this glaringly unprofessional, but doesn’t that sound kind of illegal, as well?
To be fair, I’m not completely ‘in the right.’ I told them I would take a room in an apartment that I did put a (totally refundable) deposit down on, and wound up not moving into said apartment. I understand that I put them in a tough position, and I apologized for that numerous times, but this is life. It doesn’t always go smoothly, and there are difficulties associated with every job. If you can’t handle those difficulties associated with YOUR job, then I suggest you find a new one.
They tried to take $ 100 of that deposit — which, again, I was told was totally refundable — but of course, since they knew they were wrong and obviously aren’t too smooth, they wound up refunding me in full. However, instead of acting professionally (keep in mind, BK Room Mates employees, that you are the face of the company you work for) I was met with hostility by one girl in particular; her name is Laura. I understand that she was pissed off — again, I admit that I am also in the wrong here, though I did give them a decent amount of time to find new tenants — but that does NOT give her the right to take it out on me.
Case in point? AVOID, AVOID, AVOID.