Upstate Curious Team at Compass | Hudson Valley + Catskills Real Estate — Local services in Town of Rochester

I had the absolute pleasure of working with Steven to buy my first home, and I feel so fortunate to have had such an expert partner for the biggest transaction of my life. As a first-time buyer, I had a lot of questions and concerns, but Steven made the entire process not only manageable but truly enjoyable.

First and foremost, Steven is incredibly well-connected. He has a strong network of top-tier vendors, from inspectors to attorneys, and he was able to quickly connect me with people I could trust throughout the process, allowing me to move quickly on a property I fell in love with. He also worked tirelessly to get me viewings at some of the most sought-after listings, leveraging his network to get me in even when the market was competitive and the timing was tight.

What really set Steven apart was his patience, communication, and genuine care for his clients. I had hundreds of questions—some big, some small—and he always took the time to explain everything in a way that made sense to me as a first-time buyer. He never made me feel overwhelmed, and when things got stressful, he had a gift for breaking everything down into simple, manageable steps, making each part of the process feel calm and in control. He went above and beyond to ensure I was comfortable, even helping me measure whether a king-sized bed would fit—by lying on the floor when I forgot to bring a tape measure!

When it came to negotiations, Steven was a trusted partner. He excelled at positioning my offers and ensuring I got the best deal, but always in a way that was fair and respectful to everyone involved. I felt incredibly confident that he was truly looking out for my best interests every step of the way.

His responsiveness was another huge benefit. No matter the time of day, he was always available to answer questions or offer advice. He even made himself available to be cc'd on legal emails and was always on top of the latest, helping to keep the process moving along and providing guidance on things I wasn’t sure about as I was learning the ropes of home buying.

On top of everything else, Steven is genuinely one of the most fun people to work with. His positive attitude and sense of humor made what could have been a stressful experience both enjoyable and exciting. Even after closing, he continues to check in, showing that he truly cares about his clients. It’s rare to find someone who’s not only great at their job but also truly invested in your success and happiness.

If you’re lucky enough to work with Steven, know you’re in the best hands. He’s an absolute gem in the world of real estate, and I can’t imagine going through this process with...

What can we say about Monica Schwerberg?Quite a bit? To begin, we were looking to buy our first home, having rented an apartment for years. After looking at the North Fork for a bit we decided to take our search upstate. We were referred to Monica by the same realtor and our new search began, but didn’t last very long. Obviously there is more inventory upstate and, as a result, more availability. We looked at approximately five houses on the first day and found the one that we have since purchased. This missive is not about the issues that arise during the purchase of a house, instead it’s about the guidance and assistance a good realtor like Monica can provide. Some of the houses we saw came off the board quickly, somewhat based on our conversations with Monica. At one of the stops the house was great and seemed to be just what we were looking for, but the neighborhood? Eh. It was nothing we could have known by research. Another, a house that looked very nice, but the renovation was perhaps not well thought out. The important part was that it was Monica that brought these issues up to us. I will stress again that we were first time home buyers. In fact, one of us had never even lived in a home before. At no time did we feel pressured or pushed. The conversations we had were thoughtful and blunt. When we did find the house that we liked steps were taken very quickly to get us involved because, as it turned out, the house had only been on the market a short time, and already had a bid on it. We deliberated what to do next as our budget could not allow us to get into a bidding war. Monica helped us strategize and make an offer, up to a certain number, that resulted in a successful purchase, helped us find an excellent real estate attorney to assist with the contract, and helped us navigate through a hew post closing hiccups. Her relationship with the other broker and communication throughout was excellent. She was at the final walk through as excited as we were, and was available when we needed her. She made the entire process, just that much easier. As I stated at the outset, this was our first home. Maybe all brokers are like this and we don’t know what we are doing. What I can say is that Monica “got us” She understood what we wanted and the advice that she gave us was based on our wants and needs. In fact, she also got us what we...

I really hate to leave this review since the owner Megan seems lovely. However Bree’s level of customer service leaves much to be desired. Please see my pictures for proof. On August 29th, I contacted Upstate Curious as I wanted to begin preparing for the house buying process since I’m looking to relocate Upstate some time in 2025. I received an email from the Upstate Curious team stating I’d be paired with the agent Bree Chambers. However, it seems Bree did not think I was worth her time. I waited 2 WEEK—until September 11th—for Bree to reach out to me and she didn’t, so I proceeded to follow up with Megan who was extremely polite and apologetic. Megan informed me that she’d have Bree contact me, and if she couldn’t help, I’d be referred to another agent on the team. Bree agreed to call me on September 16th at 5:30p, but never did. She didn’t even have the decency to inform me, so I had left work slightly early, so that I could take her call. Bree didn’t bother to reach out until 9PM asking to reschedule for another day.

I’m a person of colour and at the time had a profile picture of myself on my Google account. However, I started to feel discriminated against and as if Bree didn’t think I was worthy of her respect or time. I was being given the runaround at this point, so I felt compelled to tell Bree that if she didn’t feel I was worth the effort, she could reschedule for me a later date or refer me to another agent. She never followed up after that email…just straight up ignored me. I don’t believe Bree’s initial excuse of not seeing my email because I had sent several. Also, if your boss (Megan) tells you to assist a potential new client, I highly doubt that’s not at the forefront of your mind.

It’s been nearly a month—5 days short—and I’ve still not heard from Bree or anyone on the team. I was even willing to pay for the agent’s time. This is a move that I’ve been planning since 2020. However, my plans were temporarily derailed due to Covid.

I hate to say it, but this interaction caused me to remove my profile picture to avoid being further discriminated against. I looked through all of the Upstate Curious teams’ reviews and don’t see anyone that resembles me.

Whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth and questioning Upstate Curious teams’...