The one sentence summary: Simply put, our experience with Danny Lee and Citi Habitats exceeded our expectations and was invaluable to our search for an apartment. Everyone says that finding an apartment in NYC is a pain, and that is extremely true; but Danny made the process as easy as possible, and we are happily situated in a great apartment. He's an excellent broker! This is a long review, but I like to provide detail since this sort of review would have been helpful to me... if you read no further than this sentence, then just stop wasting your time and contact Danny - we couldn't have done it without him. His email is danlee@citihabitats.com.
I worked with Danny Lee at Citi Habitats in August 2014 to help my wife and I find an apartment in NYC. We were moving up from Charlotte, NC, and had roughly 48 hours to search, find, and sign a lease on an apartment. Danny was recommended to us, and simply put, without him we would have been completely lost (figuratively and literally). He did an excellent job from start to finish, and we were extremely happy with the result. Obviously nobody enjoys paying a broker fee, but for the time/effort/expertise that Danny provided, we actually ended up feeling that he was UNDERPAID for his services. I am not exaggerating.
We were looking for an apartment in the Upper West Side (UWS) of NYC. Let me start by saying that my wife and I have high standards for the use of our time/money, and are picky when it comes to choosing a spot where we want to reside for multiple years. Upon meeting Danny in the Citi Habitats office, I knew we were in good hands. Danny was very prompt and professional, and thoroughly talked us through the process. He was very transparent the entire time regarding timing, fees, and process, and answered our innumerable amount of questions. He inquired as to where we worked, and even was able to give us a discount based on our employer's relationship with Citi Habitats.
Danny had prepared 10 apartments for us to look at that were within our price range request. Like a sherpa leading us up Everest, Danny guided us up and down the UWS and gave us very frank and helpful advice with every apartment we saw. Danny is an expert, and would notice/realize certain things that we maybe wouldn't realize, and with a quick glance he would let me know whether the place was a good deal or we needed to move on. He took notes at each place, took pictures, and had his laser tool which took instantaneous measurements of each apartment. He was also able to give us recommendations on neighborhood and proximity to subway stops for our work. This kind of expertise is invaluable to an NYC newcomer.
Without going into all the details, after seeing 10 places that morning, we realized we needed to adjust our expectations about NYC apartment size/pricing (as we had initially expected would happen). Danny reassured us that we would find a place... he calmed our nerves, told us to go have a drink and get lunch, and that he would find us more options in a slightly higher price point that we could look at in the afternoon. Danny came through on his word, with TEN MORE promising options - and understand - in a matter of an hour and a half, he had located legitimate options and had lined up entry to these apartments for that afternoon. Coordinating with 10 landlords/tenants and setting up times where we could get in and look at the 10 places is simply something we never could have done without Danny.
After 20 (yes, 20) apartments on day one, we had some good options, but still hadn't found "the one". Danny advised us earnestly about whether to submit an application (which costs money each time), or to wait. We decided to roll the dice since Danny had a very promising one scheduled for the next morning.
Danny then found four more options we could see the next morning. If you are counting, that is a total of 24 apartments in 36 hours. A Herculean effort. The next morning, we saw an awesome apartment that had just come onto the market the day prior. This is the service that you pay for when using a broker. Danny expedited the process to get the landlord's broker to meet us, we agreed on pricing (under budget!), and were signing lease docs in a few hours. Danny answered all our questions and advised us throughout the entire process. He promptly answered all my calls/texts/emails, and even went back to the apartment the next day to help us take final measurements of the apartment, which was very helpful and something Danny did not have to do. He did all of this with efficiency and a smile.
Danny even followed up with me weeks and months after lease signing to see how everything was going. Excellent broker, excellent guy. I would 100% recommend him to friends or strangers alike.
I was looking for just the right studio when I found Dan.. Well he came along after I worked with 2 previous brokers that dropped the ball. I came on board extremely picky and Dan rose to the occasion. He totally ran with my vision and some of his own! No matter if I said NOPE this is not for me.. He kept his cool exterior with a smile..His patience paid off big time...3 weeks later I had what I wanted and we sealed the deal seamlessly. He was steadfast in finding me just the right oasis, in the right location and for the right rent. I didn't have enough words to thank him.... so I surprised him with a gift card, but to my surprise he thanked me with 2 bottles of wine! Great touch! I highly recommend Daniel Lee to anyone that needs a broker that gets it!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Daniel Lee for his outstanding work in brokering an apartment for me and I recommend him highly for his integrity, attitude and ability.
Last winter, I was scheduled to be relocated to NYC from California. I had no idea how to start my search but luckily I found Daniel on Citi Habitats and he was quick on following up with me, taking notes on what my needs were and also educating me what I might need to secure an apartment in NYC.
I only had a few days, a month prior to my move, to find an apartment, so I had a tight window to find a place. The day I arrived, Daniel met me at my hotel and we immediately started viewing the apartments that he lined up for the day. Daniel was patient as we trekked through the snow and viewed all the apartments, all while I was being picky and indecisive about what I wanted and needed. We did find one location that looked great that day, however, there were already a few apps in before me and I called it quits for the day to re-evaluate my needs. Daniel lined up series of other apartments for me to view a few days later. Again, Daniel took a lot of time to show the apartments, talked to the leasing offices and also being an ally and advocate, giving his own personal comments on locations, good or bad.
Daniel was on point, and was searching the listings throughout the day for any updates and found an apartment that was just recently listed. We jumped on it and went to go check it out. I was hesitant at first since as I didn’t want to jump at something right away, but after thinking about it, I knew I should have trusted Daniel’s opinion. It was a great apartment in an ideal location, had elevators, a doorman, and was within my budget. I decided to proceed with the application process, but there were a few paperwork issues on my end that could have made the leasing application a bit tricky and complicated. Daniel was excellent at talking with the leasing office about my situation and making sure the application went through smoothly, which it did.
I have been living in my new apartment for 4 months since writing this letter and I still think back on how perfect everything went with Daniel and finding this apartment. I would not hesitate to use Daniel again for my future apartment searches and would easily recommend him to others.
Sincerely,
Juston Lin
United Ribbons/Ribbon Connections
