Jakobson Properties

Really bad property management. Moved in last month and they never gave me a key package (it just wasn’t there for me to pick up); had to go ask them 2 times for access code and mailbox key. Hot water took 20 minutes every time for the first week. They still haven’t given me a registration code for the tenant portal after almost a month so can’t even pay my bills. Cable was left in the wall and they just never sent anyone in 5 days and never got back to me even though they said they would several times. No access to Super. Really frustrating management

These guys are the best — no fee rentals and no nonsense along the way. Everything has been great — from my very first interaction with the company when Glenn showed me a few apartments (and eventually my apartment!) to Jenelle helping me coordinate maintenance requests.

I am writing this review with the express purpose of warning potential tenants of the dangers of 516 East 5^th Street Apartment 2. This apartment is represented by Jakobson and is an enchanting little split level 1^st floor/​basement unit in an amazing location with a private back yard… It seems to good to be true, and that’s because it is.
Unfortunately this place floods, not just from excessive rain but also from the building’s primary plumbing.
While on vacation I was notified by my roommate that the basement of the apartment– my room– experienced flooding twice… Once apparently just after being visited for a tour by Jakobson as the lease was not being renewed… Though Jakobson did not send me any notification regarding the large puddle of water…
Also– when trying to inquire about the new rent I reached out to the agent I had worked with before but she was on vacation. The original agent I worked with was highly responsive but I reached out about 4 times to the Jakobson office while she was away and no one responded to any of my messages which I found highly unprofessional particularly because of the urgent nature of my inquiries.

The most incompetent agency I have ever worked with. They often take long to respond to requests and also tell you different information depending on who you are speaking with. I dealt with an emergency where a burglary occurred and Jakobson properties did not handle it well at all. They refused to provide me with tapes and were not compliant with the police investigation. It’s really not that hard to respond and do your job correctly. I’ve been so frustrated with this agency with multiple matters. There’s a reason why this place is a no — fee apartment because their office is wholeheartedly incompetent :-)

After I moved out of my East Village Apartment that I lived in 9 years I was told that, after reviewing my file, I did not pay rent «years ago» therefore they were retaining 1 month’s rent from my deposit.
I have paid rent every month and have bank statements to prove it however they will not respond to my emails/​phone calls when I ask them to tell me which month/​year they claim this happened.
I would not recommend living at any of their apartments. This is still not resolved after many calls/​emails to them because they will not respond. — Joe

Two words: bed bugs.
After finding out we had bed bugs, the process to getting the problem taken care of was extremely slow.
Additionally, my roommate and I have faced countless problems having the water shut off at random, getting packages stolen, drainage issues… etc.
Maintenance is very slow at getting around to the problem and must be harassed thousands of times before they respond.
Also, there was a briefly a rat in the apartment as well… we’ve lived in the east village for about three years, in different buildings and have never dealt with these issues, especially in this short time span. RUN!

I recently visited my daughter who rents from Jakobson Properties and I was appalled at the conditions. The main door to street does not close This could be why a package I sent to her was never received ($ 700 value). The apartment has cockroaches! She has mousetraps as well. During the winter she froze because heat didn’t work properly. Out of several calls during the past 8 months to the
management company– only one call was responded to because of a major leak in the building. Do not rent from Jakobson Properties. They take your rent and fail at any sort of maintenance! I look forward to my daughter moving when the lease is up.

I’ve only lived in a Jakobson building for a month and a half and i couldn’t be more disappointed. We haven’t had a working shower since moving in and Jakobson is the WORST at fixing or caring about their tenants. We are in the midst of applying for rent credit. I would never, ever, recommend Jakobson to anyone. They are such assholes to their clients, I’ve had to email, call, show up in person, and im currently waiting for someone to come for the 8^th time and they’re 40 minutes late so far. Please, don’t put yourself through the misery of Jakobson properties.

This is the worst management I have worked with. I haven’t had water in almost a week and the apartment above is flooding to the point the ceiling may fall through, yet it is somehow «not a top priority» which is what they actually stated to me after my 50^th call since last Friday.

I have been living in the LIC Building on Vernon Boulevard for more than three years now and have no complaints from Jakobson Properties — on the contrary, I am very happy with them when compared to other management companies in NYC. Apartments is our building are in great condition, management office is always reachable and responds quickly to repair needs. Also we have not experienced any significant rent increases.

After reading so many of these angry, negative reviews, I was nervous to rent from Jakobson. However, my experience with them was quite positive.
The building was extremely well-​managed, clean and operated in a convenient manner — for example, utilities are included in the rent so there was no need to pay to open an account with ConEd. Wifi service is available under a similar, optional arrangement.
These guys were easy to reach, quick to return phone calls/​emails, and they did everything they said they would do. I recommend.

Jakobson is a fairly nice management company, easy online pay and they keep you posted through email, however their maintenance can be a little slow, it almost always takes 2 weeks for someone to come.

I’ve been with Jakobson for nearly 5 years, and they’ve provided friendly, reliable service in the rare instance of needing repairs on aspects of my apartment.

Pros: Sometimes the hot water is consistently hot, sometimes the heat works in winter, sometimes the cabinet doors shut all the way, and sometimes we can stack containers of food on our broken fridge shelves so they don’t collapse in on themselves.
Cons: Sometimes not.

They are good, have some nice digital tools in place that make things like rent payment and maintenance easy. No fee is always good so I appreciate that too.

Great location, great experience, great service and great life here:)

I would actually give zero stars if possible.
This management company is THE WORST. I’ve lived in my apartment for 3 years in one of their buildings, and it has been non-​stop maintenance issues and a complete lack of interest to improve on management’s part. Our boiler is frequently shut down for «emergency repairs» but the problems are never actually fixed. We often come home to find the ourselves without heat and hot water in the winter.
I urge you not to put yourself through the misery of living in one of their buildings.

Apartment is fine, although I lived in the building for a year and a half and they cleaned the building MAYBE twice. Other apartment issues: heating pipe in the bathroom is LOUD during the winter — I called to complain several times and they insisted they’re «on it.» Nothing was ever done.
Biggest complaint is they kept most of my security deposit for no justifiable reason, including deducting re-​patching for the removal of the rack that was on the wall when I moved in! Still fighting with them. Really annoying! Not a good way to conduct a business.

I WISH I CAME TO Unilocal BEFORE I RENT FROM THEM!!!
I think Unilocal should make the option of 0 star for company like this.
Positive: easy to get approved
Negative:
on move in date: lease starts ⁹⁄₁ but we can only pick up the key afternoon 3pm. when we entered the apartment, it was dirty as hell and has a smell of gas, i guess the last guy just moved out the same morning. we went to get a cleaning person in the other room, he stressed out and freak out on us said he not responsible for that apartment.(He apologized to us later on, he has 6 apartments to clean in 12 hours. I guess the company is really short handed) we waited for the guy that responsible for my apartment to come and he yelled at us for being to «picky»??? and asked me to show him where is dirty, i bloomed out the dust and hair from the gap, then he told me «thats not dirty, that just dust. «Well I guess.
An hour later after he finished cleaning, the smell of gas is still there. The maintenance guy came in the apartment to check on the situation and then told us its absolute safe. It was because the stove is old and so sometimes the gas leaks out.
HMMMMM GAS LEAKS ARE SAFE according to this company!
» In regards to the smell of gas, this was explained thoroughly and we have emphasized that you are not in danger of any health issues. That being said, a request has already been submitted to have your stove inspected to see if a replacement is required.
«
I moved to my friends place because I dont think inhaling gas is a good idea. It been five days since I submitted the request. I ask them to speed up since Im still paying rent this is the reply i get from them.
«
Please understand that we also have several other buildings and given the fact that we are already understaffed as far as maintenance techs go, we were unable to dispatch anyone immediately. All of your maintenance requests will always be answered in a timely fashion. Your patience is appreciated.
«
Still waiting as of today.

I figured I ought to put in my two cents since people generally only review places when they’re either super excited or super angry.
In this case, Jakobson Properties is incredibly mediocre, but not in a bad way. I’m still debating whether to give them 3 or 4 stars. Our building was beautifully priced & in the greatest location. I miss living there every day, but when my roommates moved back to SF, I couldn’t stay there anymore. Given our situation, the property manager was very reasonable with our need for a short term lease. I don’t think this is normal though, so we were very appreciative for that. Maintenance is quick to respond & overall, everyone we dealt with was pretty friendly.
On the downside, I know for a fact they don’t professionally clean out the apartments in between tenants. Our place was pretty nasty when we moved in & we had to scrub it down ourselves. Pretty sure they charged us a cleaning fee, which was lame. Also, the guys after us moved in immediately after we moved out. So if cleanliness is big for you, well, just suck it up I guess. It wasn’t too bad.
After reading some of these reviews, I was terrified for our security deposit. It did take them over 2 months to send us the check, but nothing was subtracted. Thumbs up here.
Apparently the hot water going out was a pretty big issue within the building. Also, mice. We never saw them, but we definitely heard them cuddling up next to us on the other side of the wall. There’s an exterminator every other week, so they’re trying. Other minor negatives were the squealing radiator & one incredibly rancid smelling neighbor.
Overall, our experience with Jakobson Properties was okay. Nothing spectacular, but not bad by any means. The place was pretty shabby, but we had everything we needed. I wouldn’t hesitate to give them a shot. Anywhere you live in Manhattan is going to suck, unless you’re super rich. Jakobson is a good middle ground.