Manhattan-based brokerage will no longer sell, rent units to the public

Manhattan-based real estate brokerage BP Vance will no longer rent and sell apartments to and for individuals, founder and attorney Adam Leitman Bailey told The Real Deal today. The company will exclusively focus on brokering deals for its existing corporate client base, starting next month.

This change in focus is about playing to the company’s big income clients and comes as a result of the demand for experts to navigate pre-foreclosures and other distressed property opportunities, according to Bailey, who started the company in 1997, naming it after his grandparents Bob and Paula Vance. “It’s a matter of math,” Bailey said. “If you’re making a lot of money one way, you may as well stick to that formula.”

BP Vance also owns several investment properties that it will continue to manage, Bailey said, though he declined to elaborate.

Kishaun Ferguson, director of operations at BP Vance since January, received notification from Bailey about a week ago, he said, and estimates about 25 brokers will be let go as a result of the decision.

Bailey confirms that the company’s entire operations will move to 120 Broadway between Pine and Liberty streets where his law firm, Adam Leitman Bailey, is based. Company executives are still debating the future of BP Vance’s headquarters at 164 East 88th Street, Bailey said.

Speculating on Vance’s reasoning behind this shift, Douglas Wagner, managing director of sales at Bond New York, said: “I would say that maybe they feel that their private client base is more loyal and secure. Dealing with the public can be distracting. People still feel they have to look under every nook and cranny to find a place to live. I can’t imagine that an idea like this would catch on outside of specific boutique brokerages.”

He would be happy to accept any talented brokers from BP Vance. “I’ll find a place for them,” he assured.

The Real Deal previously reviewed Bailey’s book, “Finding the Uncommon Deal.”