Engaged City Connections agents Ivy Paterni and Daniel Dmitry Kramp pose in front of London Bridge last year.

From the November issue: The good-looking real estate brokers on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York” always seem to be flirting with their clients. While that makes for great TV, agents need to be careful when it comes to workplace romance.

Real estate, more than some other industries, affords plenty of opportunities to find love. Because agents are independent contractors, few firms have official rules against fraternizing with clients or coworkers. And brokers meet plenty of new people each day. [more]

Prudential Douglas Elliman’s Laura Cao in her apartment at 101 Warren Street, where she does the majority of her business.

From the June issue: When Fabrizio Uberti Bona bought a two-bedroom apartment at Williamsburg’s Edge condominium in 2008, he wasn’t just looking for a place to live; he also saw a business opportunity. Since moving into the Edge last spring, Uberti Bona has sold two apartments in the building and currently has five listings there, including a two-bedroom unit listed for $1.25 million. [more]

From left: Broker Herb Goldberg, landlord Charles Cohen and 333 Westchester Avenue in Westchester

Edward Warren & Co., a brokerage formerly based in Manhattan, triumphed in a recent lawsuit against New York landlord Charles Cohen’s Westchester Building Company, the company that owns buildings managed by his Cohen Brothers Realty, over a $2.1 million commission from 2008′s reported third largest commercial leasing deal in New York State.

Though Westchester Building Company and Cohen Brothers Realty are legally separate entities, they share the same principal employees and offices.

Edward Warren & Co. and Herb Goldberg, a longtime broker who previously worked at Warren, but has since moved to Manhattan-based City Connections, won the case Sept. 25 in Westchester Supreme Court. They were awarded the full commission amount, plus 9 percent interest on the total judgment, amounting to a total of $2.1 million. … [more]

From left: 2280 FDB, Parc Standard and 5th on the Park

The top Harlem condominium developments command more than $715 per square foot in closed sales since June 2010, according to a report released today by Halstead Property Development Marketing, and the building at 2280 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, called 2280 FDB, ranked first in the entire neighborhood with an average closing price of $736 per square foot. The 12-story, 89-unit condo between 122nd and 123rd streets was developed by Harlem-based RGS Holdings and is marketed by Halstead. Twenty-eight units in the building sold during the 18-month time frame ending this month, and 56 have sold overall, according to Halstead. The homes range from 455-square-foot studios to 1,625-square-foot three-bedroom apartments. — Adam Fusfeld… [more]

Clockwise: Amnon Hecht, 2336 Second Avenue and Brad Brigati (building source: PropertyShark)

In joining the legion of residential brokerage firms beginning to offer a 100 percent commission model, Titan Real Estate of New York is banking on volume for profit.

Titan’s model requires agents to pay Titan $375 for each deal in which they collect a commission of at least $2,000, and $250 for deals that yield less than $2,000. In addition, there’s a $475 monthly fee that covers office space and an advertising package (note: clarification appended).
“We don’t have much use for those $50,000-a-year agents,” said Amnon Hecht,
CEO of Titan. “We want people who are fed up with giving away their earnings, are
driven, and ready to work to pull in a quarter million dollars a year. That’s, literally,
why we called it ‘Titan.’” Hecht said he’s nearly doubled his agent stable at Titan, which operates under Hecht’s Hecht Group brokerage, from 36 to more than 70 since February, shortly after Titan launched and began offering the model…. [more]

Noah Rosenblatt, founder of UrbanDigs

Noah Rosenblatt, founder of Manhattan market trends analytics site UrbanDigs, launched a new flat fee buyer consulting service today. He said the service aims to help home seekers find properties’ true market value, and will then guide them through the buying and negotiating process, starting with the opening bid. Rosenblatt said the service is aimed at buyers who don’t trust brokers and want an independent advisor. “There’s a perception that there should be a little bit less conflict of interest, a little less incentive for the buyer’s broker to get the buyer to bid as high as possible and get the deal done and collect commission,” said Rosenblatt, who has continued to serve as a traditional buyer’s broker since leaving Halstead Property in 2009. “There’s a need for an independent consulting service.” … [more]

From left: Barbara Fox, David Schlamm

Real estate brokers are becoming increasingly cautious with their listing descriptions to comply with federal, state and city fair housing laws, the New York Times reported. There is no official Department of Housing and Urban Development list of acceptable and unacceptable terms, and at one time that encouraged so much caution that the agency actually sent a list of phrases that were acceptable, including “bachelor apartment.” But as social sensitivities heighten, some brokers, including David Schlamm, president of City Connections, are wary of the phrases “bachelor pad,” “fisherman’s retreat” and “traditional neighborhood.” Barbara Fox of Fox Residential Group even refers to “family” — as in, a house is “perfect for families” — as the “f” word…. [more]

From left: 311 East 76th Street, 510 Amsterdam Avenue and City Connections’ David Schlamm (building photos credit: PropertyShark)

Brokerage City Connections Realty today announced tweaks to its business model and plans to open two new storefront offices housing up to 75 new “virtual” agents. City Connections founder David Schlamm said the firm will open 550-square-foot offices at 510 Amsterdam Avenue, between 84th and 85th streets, and 311 East 76th Street at Second Avenue. The new offices should be up and running by April 1, he said. They will be used primarily by 50 to 75 new virtual agents that Schlamm said he plans to hire over the next year, bringing the firm’s total to 200 agents. … [more]

To make it in real estate, one must possess a few key qualities: endurance, persistence and the ability to go the distance. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that some real estate’s stars will be pounding the pavement this Sunday in the ING New York City Marathon. The annual event, which tests runners’ endurance as they jog 26.2 miles across the five boroughs, will welcome several of the city’s toughest and strongest real estate experts this year. Click here to see who hopes to cross the finish line.

Gordon Golub, director of rentals at Citi Haitats

– Gordon Golub, executive vice president and director of rentals at Citi Habitats, is making his New York City marathon debut this year. Golub is running in honor of his assistant Liesel Ashby’s late grandson, Kyle, who lived with hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy and died earlier this year at the age of eight. The marathon is significant to Golub in other ways, as well. “I never thought I would run a marathon, but I made a commitment with my good friend that we would run the New York Ccity Marathon together to celebrate our 40th birthdays — a ‘bucket list’ sort of thing,” Golub said, referring to his choice to run the race. Golub has raised $4,000 for his chosen charity, Team for Kids, for whom he is running this Sunday. Luckily he can count on his Citi Habitats team cheering him on during the race. The firm has planned a “Citi Habitats cheering station” on the corner of 84th… [more]

David Schlamm

City Connections Realty has launched its own Virtual Office Website, or “VOW,” the company announced today. The firm’s decision to launch the VOW, which allows clients to see listings outside of the company’s exclusive properties, comes on the heels of a widespread VOW trend in the industry. Last week, Fox Residential announced its VOW, while Prudential Douglas Elliman and Century 21 NY Metro launched their own versions of the listing platform earlier this year. While numerous brokerages have the program, David Schlamm, City Connections founder and president, said that he thinks his firm’s version stands apart from others. “It would have been easier and a lot less expensive for me to simply put one VOW on our homepage, but I didn’t think it would benefit out agents as much,” Schlamm said of the VOW, which can be accessed from each agent’s individual page. TRD