Proper Real Estate

Donna and her family provided the most refreshing real estate experience I’ve had in ten years. Kind, attentive, funny. I’ll never go back to the MySpace/​Nooklyn machine again.
A lot of the corporate reality places set their agents in competition with one another, ensuring that the customer only gets lied to, and underhanded at every turn. What’s that– your 22 year old agent who’s been doing this for a month forgot to mention that the water heater only works for five seconds during January, but did tell you all about his experimental art installation that is what he «really cares about.» Interesting. Probably should have gone with some brokers who actually do real estate for a living.
The Proper Reality team have been in Greenpoint for ages, and they are a family-​run business, so the employees are all on the same side: Yours. We were looking at a beautiful apartment in Greenpoint, but the landlords dragged their feet approving our application. So Donna and team found us an even better apartment on Guernsey St, where my girlfriend has wanted to live since day one in NYC. Because they have a long-​standing relationship with our landlord, there was no long drawn out waiting game for getting the place. Proper Reality vouched for us, and the Landlord said «cool.» Small, local business all the way.
When we moved in, the landlord had to be in Florida for a family emergency. Unfortunately, the lock to our place had been damaged when the previous tenants moved out, and our keys didn’t work. With no landlord to call, and without having a super’s phone #, this normally have been a nightmare. Proper Reality to the rescue, though, when one of the boys came down and personally climbed over the roof, into our place, opened the door from the inside, then fixed the lock and told us how to lock the window so that someone else couldn’t do the same thing. I mean, that was like if Batman was a real estate agent, you know?
I see some hate being thrown around on the Unilocal page, and hey, each person’s experience is their own. But for my money, I’d rather have a broker who has more investment in my satisfaction than they do bells and whistles.
Thanks guys!

Really unimpressive. They just post on Craigslist, and it’s a bum-​rush at their offices to get an apartment. They’ll shove an application in your face one day, and forget your name the next. They get it done, but by numbers and not personalized service.

Basically waited one week to hear from them after I had put down 3 months and handed in everything they asked for just to find out they never spoke to landlord and now want another month. Made me sign rider that I can’t have people over after 10pm or give a key to a friend. Can’t smoke either but I had let that go before I heard the rest. This woman is malicious and purely unprofessional. Avoid them like the plague.

It should be called POOP Real Estate.
Ur better off sleeping in the G train than working with Donna.
dont go. trust me

NEVER GO TO PROPER REAL ESTATE.
Donna is careless and unprofessional. She runs a SHADY business with unprofessional and most likely ILLEGAL activity. She is unqualified to do her job and CLASSLESS in her social graces. No professional should act in the RUDE manner in which she does business.
DO NOT TAKE THIS LIGHTLY. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!
I read all the reviews on here, good and bad and dismissed them as personal issues from cranky customers! All the negative reviews are accurate and you will be better off somewhere else, no matter how nice the place!

Do not go to Proper Real Estate if you have a pet. They have some great apartments and at very reasonable prices in the Greenpoint neighborhood, but most of the landlords she works with are not pet friendly (including cats). It’s probably not worth your time to try to find an apartment through them if you have a furry friend of any kind

I wrote this review after first moving into my apartment and I intentionally left it vague so that Donna would not be able to identify me and do further harm to my relationship with my landlords. Now that I am moving out, please allow me to expand upon my horrible experiences with Donna.
Firstly, when I was signing the lease, Donna proceeded to write additional conditions (like no parties or loud social gatherings) onto the lease AFTER she had me sign — obviously this is highly unethical if not completely illegal.
When my roommate and I first moved into our apartment, Donna left a voicemail on my machine. She said that our landlords had seen a man leaving our apartment and were worried that we had a third person living with us. When I explained to Donna that that man was my boyfriend she then verbally harassed and threatened me, saying that my landlords were religious and that I shouldn’t be having men over at night. She said that if I wanted to live with my boyfriend I should have just done so in the first place. And she said she wasn’t sure how long I would be able to stay in the apartment because of my actions. When I talked to my landlord about it he said that he was absolutely fine with my boyfriend as long as he wasn’t living here. All Donna.
The day I told my landlords I was moving out, Donna showed my apartment without even ATTEMPTING to contact me or my roommate to inform us or ask for permission. We had no opportunity to hide our belongings or otherwise prepare for strangers walking through.
She is an incredibly deceitful and malicious person and a horribly unprofessional real estate agent. Please please stay far away if you know what is good for you.

If I could give her no stars, I would. Donna rented us an apartment in a building that was infested with bed bugs. Then she helped us find a new apartment a few weeks after that discovery — charging us no additional broker’s fee (as was only right).
After living in our place for 3 years, we discovered our new landlords were planning to renovate an apartment in our building without using a contractor licensed to deal with lead-​based paint (as is required by federal and city law). We have an 8 month old. The landlords forced us out and Donna «brokered» the deal. Pretty awful.
She’s uneducated about the basics of tenancy and landlord rights, is only interested in protecting her business interests, and is a pretty terrible person to boot. She seemed to think it was extraordinary that we were still unhappy with being kicked out even after the landlords paid our moving expenses to get us out. We had to leave a rent-​stabilized apartment and find a new place in 10 days, all with an 8 month old, because the landlords and Donna didn’t want to abide by the law. I’m reporting her to the Better Business Bureau. Awful, awful, awful.

Donna — ugh. What a greedy person. This company owns properties all across Greenpoint. With the money they collect in rent and brokers fees, they make HUGE profits; yet their business practices are still so relentless and disgusting… and for what? Even more money. If landlords and tenants would just stop using Proper Real Estate, and Donna for that matter — Greenpoint would be better off.

As anyone who has tried to find an apartment in this city knows, the process is grueling and cruel– that is, until you find an agents like Chris and Donna at Proper Real Estate. After a long search with consistently disheartening results, my wife and I walked into Proper ready to throw in the towel, to compromise. But Donna, her son Chris and the rest of the family worked with us in a personal way that other brokers hadn’t, and within a week we were signing a lease on a place that not only didn’t force us to compromise, but exceeded anything we thought we could find Brooklyn at the price. My wife and I would like to say thank you to Proper, and give them our unqualified endorsement.

I rented a rent-​stabilized, one-​bedroom railroad from Donna at Proper (whom I liked — she seemed friendly, straight talking) about 5 years ago. It had some ugly elements to it — drop ceilings in some of the rooms, for instance — but I did a little work on it myself and was happy with it. Good deal, nice location in Greenpoint.
After speaking with some of the other people living here, though, I discovered that the Polish landlord was overcharging some of the tenants and that he had a history of sending notices to tenants saying that his son or daughter was moving in and that he wouldn’t renew their lease. When they moved out, a stranger would move in. Some of these tenants had questioned the illegal rent practices, others had just been there awhile and he wanted to raise the rents, in a quest to get as many apartments as possible out of regulation.
Then Donna called me and told me my lease wouldn’t be renewed because the landlord’s daughter was moving in. She explained that the daughter was just finishing college, they would start eviction proceedings against me if I didn’t go, etc. I got in touch with previous tenants who had been pushed out in this way, and they said that Donna had made the same call to them, saying the exact same thing — daughter was graduating from college (apparently the daughter has been doing this for over 7 years! A long graduation), etc. So, after living in this apartment for five years, I have to figure out what to do.
If you want to use Donna at Proper, then you have to decide if it’s worth it. You might get a good apartment, then be asked to leave it eventually, by Donna herself, for reasons that you know are dishonest (she seems to have a set script for this kind of thing, and must do it for many of the Polish landlords who hire her). It’s a little frustrating, especially after you have paid her a broker’s fee.
If you rent a rent-​stabilized apartment from her, I would urge you to immediately contact the Department of Housing and get a rent history. It’s possible you are being over-​charged (even by hundreds of dollars a month), but you only have about three years (less, in some cases) to remedy the situation. I have even heard stories about tenants in Greenpoint finding out they had been living in a rent-​stabilized place for years without even knowing it. They had been paying market rates, being massively overcharged. Be aware of your rights, especially if you are dealing with Proper Real Estate.

I had been looking for an apartment for a few months, and dealt with a ton of flaky agents in the Greenpoint area. «Call me back to see if it’s still available», «It’s really not in Greenpoint, it’s actually Bushwick», etc. From the second I walked into the office Donna & Gregory were ultra helpful, fair, and helped me get a lease on a place I loved within 4 hours. A Swedish gentleman I ran into at the office had a similar experience. Would definitely recommend stopping in the office if you’re looking in the area

My guy and I used Proper Real Estate last month and they helped us find an apartment in Greenpoint quickly and within our budget. I’m in love with the apartment & the neighborhood.
The process was… fine.
Good:
–Process was quick
–Our apartment is fabulous
Unfortunately, two shady things happened and they will keep me from recommending the broker to my friends, or to you:
1. We told Proper about our 10lb adult dog the second we walked in their office. Said we didn’t want to see ANYTHING unless dogs were allowed. They assured us the apartment they showed us allowed dogs. It was written into lease & signed.
Fast forward to two weeks after we move in, the landlord (awesome man) stops by and is *shocked* to see our dog. He said he specifically told Proper that he didn’t want dogs in the apartment and they had told him we had a cat. His fault for not reading the lease before signing it, and he’s fine with it now after meeting us and the dog… but definitely not how I want to start a 2-​year relationship with my landlord… which is why I had been upfront from the beginning.
2. At the instruction of the broker, we left a check with them made out to the landlord for a specific date (move in date). I get a call one day (10 days prior to move in) saying that the broker had changed the date on my check so they could go ahead and give it to the landlord. Um. That’s illegal. I calmly explained that I didn’t feel comfortable with them changing anything that’s written on my check and that if the landlord wanted the check for immediately, I’d bring another check. But it had already been done and given to him. I was about 2 minutes from calling the bank and stopping payment on the check… but after speaking to the landlord myself, I felt better about it. Apparently our landlord knew nothing about this and assumed Proper had told us which date the check was to be written out for. I didn’t want to fault the landlord for something the sketchy broker had done.
So, yeah. Our story ended well… since our landlord is awesome and we’re happy. I won’t be using them again and I won’t recommend to my friends. The fee was minimal (one month’s rent) compared to other places, but I feel a little bitter that I paid so much to be lied to. Yuck.
Bottom line: Proper Real Estate has good connections and can probably find you a great place/​deal… but my advice if you do use them is to SPEAK TO THE LANDLORD YOURSELF before you sign anything. And make sure you are there for all negotiations.

After a disastrous experience with another broker, my boyfriend and I went to Donna on my friend’s recommendation. She found us a large 1 ½ bedroom for $ 400 less than our monthly budget. Awesome? Awesome.
Why not 5 stars? Donna can be a little difficult to get ahold of because she does such a high volume of business. You also have to be really fast — when she says to come see an apartment, go as soon as possible because it’ll be gone tomorrow. Overall, though, we were really satisfied and would definitely use Proper Real Estate again to find a Greenpoint apartment.

I feel like I have to write something about this place, since it has such good reviews and it came highly recommended by several friends who live in Greenpoint. My boyfriend and I have had a pretty bad experience trying to work with Proper Real Estate. We first went in and gave Donna our information, and she told us she had a place for us, but that the landlord would be away for a week and we could see it when he got back. We made an appointment for a week later, and even called to confirm– she said she now had two apartments for us to see. Then when we went to see the apartment, her son told us that he had rented both places to someone else the day before– even though we were told twice we would be the first to see both.
We tried to give them the benefit of the doubt– real estate moves fast in New York– so we tried calling every morning and stopping in a few more times to see if she had anything we could see. We came in every time prepared with all the documents to apply for a place on the spot. Every single time, the apartment had been given to someone else, they told us to call back «in a few days» and they never remembered that we had been in there before, and could not find the paperwork we gave them.
So, eh. I think they’re just too busy to care, and in that case I don’t really want to pay a month’s rent fee for someone when I have to do all the work. And even when we called first thing every morning, and were promised a lot of apartments, we never actually got to see anything. Maybe if you are paying $ 2K+ they treat you better?

I have only amazing things to say about Proper Real Estate. I had been looking for an apartment in Greenpoint for a while but was having some real trouble finding a place that was satisfactory in the time frame in which I was looking. Donna and her family at Proper Real Estate were so incredibly helpful and attentive in my apartment hunt, and I am pleased to say they found me a great apartment for a great price.
The first apartment I found that I really liked was great, but there was an issue with the landlord of the building so it didn’t work out. As a result, Donna and her team worked especially hard and diligently to ensure that I found a great apartment within my budget.
Of all the realtors that I met with and apartments that I saw on the internet, Proper Real Estate always managed to have the best apartments for the best prices with no extra hassle. I would (and will) recommend Proper Real Estate to anyone looking to buy or rent real estate in the Greenpoint area of Brooklyn. Thanks you!

Donna at Proper Real Estate really helped us out. Unlike most brokers who just show up late, let you in, lie about the price, and then have the audacity to demand thousands of dollars for their «service», the folks at Proper actually helped me in my housing search.
They specialize in Greenpoint /​Williamsburg, and have a lot of ties to the Polish community there it seems. They gladly showed me half a dozen properties in the area and kept calling when new ones showed up. When we finally found the right place (which was right where we wanted it and in the price range we were looking for), they helped close the deal fast so we could move in immediately. They even helped negotiate a new fridge and air conditioner!

I just had a fantastic experience with this broker. All of the other brokers I spoke with said that the apartment I wanted (2 bedroom for $ 1600 or less) didn’t exist in Greenpoint, and Proper showed us places that fit the bill, one of which we took for below $ 1600.
Numerous friends recommended them, and I’m happy to say my expectations were met. If I ever find myself looking for a place in Greenpoint again I’ll be going there.
Honestly I’m pretty mystified by some of these negative reviews – I didn’t have anything close to a bad experience, and felt like I was in good hands with Donna, the woman doing the negotiations with the landlord. Everything happened in a timely manner, with minimal waiting around time, and the broker’s fee was a standard one month’s rent. In addition, the person that showed us the apartments was really forthcoming with information about the area (closest laundromats, new restaurants/​bars, grocery stores, etc.).

SERIOUSLY.
You guys, I’m working with Donna right now and she’s fucking amazing. She’s hands down one of the nicest brokers we’ve dealt with.
I have a cat, she knows i have a cat and she’s completely accommodating. We’ve put a deposit down on a place super close to the trains, for 1600 $ that will probably be cool with the fact we have cats. It’s not up to her, it’s up to the landlord.
suck it.
she rules, proper real estate rules.
I never want to work with any company ever again.
everyone who gave a bad review is wrong…

Thank you Unilocal for letting us review real estate places on here…
I worked with Donna about a year and a half ago, and I can only barely remember her name because my roommate and I refer to her only as «Cat Hater». I even came up with a little tune at one point about how much Donna freaking HATES pets.
Unfortunately she owns some properties in Greenpoint, or so she claims. She swore up and down that no matter how good the cat, or how litter box trained they are, «THEY WILL PISS ALL OVER THE FLOOR AND RUIN IT TRUST ME!!» Which is why she doesn’t like to rent out to pet owners. She also lies about which places allow pets and which don’t. I looked at the same apartments with different brokers after her, and they all told me that a cat or even a small dog was fine…
Cat Hater! Pet Hater!
She also tries really hard to not have to negotiate the price on an apartment at all. She tries to get the most money and fees as she can. She has an air of condescendence about her, and thinks she knows everything.
I will say that she does have some decent apartments under her belt, so if you can sit there, grin and bare it, go for it. Just know that you might be paying a little more for an apartment then its worth. Also, try to talk to the landlord one on one without her there, especially if you have a pet, (honestly its really between you and them, Donna lies and says they won’t budge but most of them will, especially for a cat.) trust me, Greenpoint is a super pet friendly area, Proper real estate just isn’t a pet friendly agency.
I managed to find a pet friendly apartment, and talk $ 200 off my rent for my awesome kickass apartment in Greenpoint… no thanks to Donna.
What did the kitty cats ever do to you Donna?