Loftey — Local services in New York

Top line: Loftey was an incredible service in our apartment search, and one that I will consistently recommend to anyone looking for an apartment.

At first, I was a bit apprehensive to use an outside service. Prior to Loftey, I had simply used Streeteasy and the internet for everything. After moving twice in two years due to crappy NYC apartments, I figured what the hell -- why not give this Loftey a chance?

Upon first introduction, the Loftey team was incredibly personable and open to what we were looking for. They took down all of the information of what we wanted, and gave us some legitimate feedback on what they were seeing in the market as well. I can't tell you how refreshing that is, considering every other damn broker in this city is going to bend the truth to get you to rent one of their apartments. (That's another great thing about Loftey is that they're not trying to 'sell' you on anything or any listings; they're there to give you honest feedback every step of the way.)

One of the best 'little' things they ask right off the bat is for you to send them a specific list of documents, such as ID's, statements, etc. I was a little taken aback to have to do that right away, however, it REALLY helped us down the line. Essentially, they collect all of the pertinent documentation that landlords / management companies require, so that way when you see a place and want it, all they have to do is hand in the portfolio with ALL of the paperwork ready to go.

Anyway, Loftey was amazing in the actual search aspect of it all. Not only did they have listings ready to go and were sending to us daily, but they also gave us research and feedback on apartment listings from Streeteasy, Trulia, etc. that WE sent to THEM. That was what was so great - we had them looking for us, and we were also out looking for listings. The more eyes you have looking, the better chance you'll find a great apartment.

Anyway, we found some places that we really liked from what we saw, but with Loftey's research, they were able to flag as 'too good to be true,' so to speak. They had the 411 and lowdown on every listing we sent their way, whether it was off the market, had been landlords, etc. And that kind of insight is the most valuable asset you can have in your search.

Once we found the apartment we eventually moved into (and finally a place I can see myself for years), they really kicked it into high gear. They took care of the back and forth with the broker, which can certainly get tiring, and for us as the tenants, we really only had to plan the move. Loftey also went to bat for us about moving in a bit early, as we would have really been screwed otherwise. (They eventually got us a deal with the mgt. company to pay extra to do so, but I can't tell you how nice it was to have Loftey in our corner.)

When we agreed we wanted to rent our place, Loftey issued a check FOR us, so that way we could get money in immediately. Sure enough, the apartment was ours. And I can also truthfulyl say, the free move or lower broker fee IS REAL! We got a completely free move, paid for by Loftey, which obviously would've cost us a serious chunk of change.

At the end of the day, I recommend Loftey...

My roommates and I were trying to navigate the NYC housing market on our own, looking for a decently priced apartment in Manhattan, and it was getting so overwhelming. It was especially difficult trying to find a place in fall of 2021, post-COVID when most people were moving back into the city in a rush. The NYC housing market is especially difficult to navigate -- places go on and off the market within the matter of hours, none of us are New York locals so we couldn't see any of the places in person, and there are fake listings that go up all the time. Loftey was truly our housing saviors!

We worked with Dylan and Karen (two of the Loftey agents) closely, and they were absolutely incredible. They understood our priorities and ensured to show us places that were within budget and within our required criteria. They were extremely responsive, replying quickly to e-mails and texts at virtually all hours of the day. Karen even accompanied us on a few in-person tours to check out places personally with us! They were both experts in their field, easy to communicate with, and very professional.

We would sent both of them dozens of Streeteasy and Zillow links over a matter of weeks, and they would give us unbiased insight into the pros and cons of every place. There was not a single point when I felt that Loftey was pushing us or "selling" us on a certain place -- they just gave us what we requested (tours, videos, photos, price points, etc.) and really stepped aside to let us make our own decisions.

The crazy thing is that there actually is no catch -- I'm naturally a very skeptical person, and I couldn't believe it when Loftey helped me sign a place, and we didn't have to pay a dime in broker fees. We truly did not pay anything -- we got amazing services and rent reduction truly all for free.

You do have to be prepared to make decisions quick, but that's New York for you. :) Honestly, the more we hesitated, the quicker places would go off the market, so Loftey does an incredible job of making sure that you're moving at the right pace. If you can, ask for Karen and Dylan -- they're both true experts. If I could give Loftey more than 5...

Over the last 8 years my family and I have moved across 3 massive cities such as London, Mexico City and now NYC and the process of finding a flat tends to be overwhelming. In the first 2 occasions, we really struggled to find a place during the 30-days corporate accommodation assigned by my employer because our brokers didn't properly capture our needs (and not because we didn't clearly expressed it).

The reality is that as expat, you learn that the flat-hunting-process is painful and not very efficient because the help you receive is limited. That was not the case with Loftey in NYC. Our broker Vanessa immediately understood our needs and focused her search on what was important to us: a combination of good location with top ranked elementary public schools available for our two kids. In NYC, there are around 35 school districts across 5 boroughs (Manhathan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island) and a total of 1,700 public schools. So the search process is far from simple. There are several moving parts in the same equation.

It was evident to us that from day one, Vanessa was fully engaged with our cause. She went one step further and provided important insight in term of school location in NYC (school catchment/service areas mapping) cross-checked with flats availability . That helped us narrow down the search to those case that were ticking most of the boxes. We adjusted couple of details and voila! the right (not perfect one) flat showed up in the screen just 3 weeks after our search begun. To put you into context, in the previous 2 moves, we spent on average 2 1/2 months in getting and signing our flats. And NYC is as complex as either London or Mexico City.

Finally, Vanessa was with us at all time during lease document review and negotiation. I can assure you that my fellow expats knows well the sort of things I am talking about here and will also very much appreciate that set of skills.

All in all, it was a tough, but remarkable and in some extent smooth process that we did.

Many thanks once more to...