Howard Hanna Elegran Real Estate — Local services in New York

Working with Ugonna Onyekwe was really fantastic. I was living in MA when I first started my apartment search so I emailed him about what I was looking for and specified my price range ($2000-$3000) for a studio / 1 BDR. I used to live on the UES but upon moving back, was open to living in different areas of Manhattan. He immediately put together an organized 20 page PDF of listings with large detailed photos, descriptions, and lists of amenities, etc. I was looking for an apartment in a clean, new, well-managed building and one that would have significant amounts of sunlight with granite/marble countertops, lots of closet space and a nice modern kitchen etc . I knew right away that we were on exactly the same page and that he understood what I was looking for. The listings were fantastic - I loved a number of the floor plans and ended up settling on a place proximate to my office in Midtown East. The studio I am in now is much better than the 1 Bedroom apartment I used to be in (in a co-op), although the rent is certainly comparable. The management in the building is wonderful; work orders I submitted through the portal have been attended to within an hour and at the latest, by the next day. The layout of the apartment is impeccable - the apartment is south facing and the huge windows flood the apartment with light. I do a lot of cooking and the closed-off kitchen (vs open kitchen) is a huge plus for a studio. Given the fact that I was juggling graduate school exams and applications during the time of my apartment search, I was relieved to have found someone who narrowed down all the options and filtered out listings to the absolute best ones available prior to me making a trip to Manhattan to view them. Ugonna was remarkably patient, professional, sharp and responsible throughout the process. He was easy to get in touch with, easy to work with, and really on top of things. He knew intuitively whether something would work or not and whenever I brought up a point, he really took the time to listen. I was unable to be in Manhattan to sign my lease and he took charge, conferred with the management office, and had them FedEx Overnight it to my home. The final authorization process for the building was quite convoluted and he was prompt about bringing things to my attention and resolving them. I was grateful for that level of professionalism and excellence. Ugonna was willing to go above and beyond expectations to find an apartment that fit my criteria and that type of dedication is noteworthy. I would highly recommend him for your next purchase, sale, or rental...

Let the renter beware!

I was interested to see glowing testimonials on the Anable/Podell team’s website, mostly from prospective buyers. Regrettably this was not our experience as renters in a condominium managed by Mr. Podell. As a result, my strong advice to those looking to rent an apartment is to beware of renting from “investors/absentee landlords represented by indifferent and generally unresponsive property managers. From my experience, they are only interested in collecting the rent. We moved into a “luxury” condo that had no window coverings. When i asked the landlord to share in the cost of window blinds, he refused, and I spent $2000 on blinds which remained in the apartment after we vacated it. i also had to install a shower bar in the bathtub. We paid an exorbitant rent faithfully for four years including a nine month period during the pandemic when we never set foot in the apartment. In January of this year, i informed Mr. Podell that we had purchased a condo (one listed by Elegran Forbes by coincidence). and would be moving before the termination of our lease in April. I told him the apartment could be shown furnished starting Feb 15 and that it would be clean and vacant by March 1st. I was hoping to save a month’s rent and get back my security deposit. No such luck; they never even listed it until March 15, showed it a few times, and finally had it rented by May1st. I did get my security deposit back after considerable prodding. I should also point out that for two years in a row, i had to remind Mr. Podell to send a lease renewal which we got two weeks late both times.

We were excellent tenants who left the apartment. immaculate and hardly ever asked the landlord for anything except for a little consideration in terminating our lease early. Clearly there was nothing in it for him to let us out early (other than as a gesture of reciprocity and good will since they had us over a barrel until the end of our lease. i guess that was too much to expect. In a rental building, they fix things and provide essentials like window blinds and shower bars. If you rent from an investor, just be aware that you will most likely be...

We decided to look for a 2-BR in the building where we have owned a 1-BR for many years. We knew we would have our own lawyer, but did not think we needed a buyer’s broker to buy in our own building. So we replied to a listing in streeteasy, thinking we were contacting the seller’s agent. Kalav immediately called to set up a viewing and made clear that she was a buyer’s broker. She asked when we were free to view it and contacted the seller’s agent to arrange. We visited soon thereafter in the afternoon, and wondered about the view at night. Kalav and the seller’s agent returned after dark that day to host another viewing. Kalav explained the buying process very thoroughly and why we should have a buyer’s broker. We did not express much interest in the apartment nor in signing on to look at other apartments, as we still figured we wouldn’t need a buyer’s broker to buy in our own building. Kalav applied no further pressure and yet was immediately responsive when, a few weeks later, we asked to view it again. We decided then and there to take it. The purchase of what was supposedly move-in ready turned out to have unexpected legal complexities. Kalav was ALWAYS responsive immediately (no exaggeration) to our texts, calls, and emails. She pushed to keep the process moving with the seller’s agent when seller’s lawyer did not respond to our lawyer in a timely fashion. And she made invaluable suggestions to us as to how to move ahead. In addition, there was an inordinate amount of paperwork she handled or guided us through. Now we understood why we needed a buyer’s agent! There was no question, then, that we would hire her to be our broker to sell our previous apartment. And Kalav has recommended excellent contractors who have been reliable and competent for her and...