City Dwellers calls it quits

Rental brokerage New York City Dwellers has now officially ceased operations and is being sold, its owner said.

George Goshadze, the co-founder of NYC Dwellers, said the firm has stopped doing business, due in part to the economy, and that he is in the process of attempting to sell the company, which now comprises the brand name, Web site, database and staff members trained to maintain the website and listings database.

The firm’s 25 salespeople were all let go around the time the company closed its 14th Street location at the end of February, he said.

Goshadze declined to give specific reasons for the firm’s closure, but said it was related to “a major decline in the economy.” He said the company has some debt, which he is hoping the sale of the business will cover, though he said NYC Dwellers has paid its bills to date.

“We have been current with every creditor,” he said. 

Goshadze said he believes the company has some value because it has its own listings management system and a dedicated staff to maintain it. He said NYC Dweller’s system is more maneuverable than OLR or RealtyMX, listings programs used by similar-sized rental firms in the city.

“We have an amazing business platform,” he said, adding that it’s unusual for such a small company to have its own listings system. “Only two or three other companies have something comparable.”

Goshadze said he does not plan to continue in real estate although he will keep his brokers’ license current. His partner, NYC Dwellers co-founder Dennis Shuliak, on the other hand, plans to stay in real estate.

“I’m staying in the business one way or the other,” Shuliak told The Real Deal by e-mail. “I like what I do and I see opportunities.”

NYC Dwellers, founded in 2003, had operated out on the second floor of 39 West 14th Street since the fall of 2006.