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This one-bedroom co-op at 85 Livingston Street isn’t long on the charm, but it is clean, in good shape and, at $310,000, a pretty good bang for the buck given the Brooklyn Heights location. And just think of all the possibilities that the mirrored wall presents! Good times.
85 Livingston Street, #2C [Fillmore] GMAP P*Shark


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  1. Do you work for Fillmore? You have been “dealing with them” but I’m not clear on what that means. Anyway, Babs is one of the most insightful posters on Brownstoner and was one of the original intelligent voices here. Interesting discussion. (Btw, some agents who represent buyers do a ton of work. Depends on the particular situation. Often they see many properties with their buyer over a long period of time until a deal is done. At least the one I worked with did in …yes…MANHATTAN!)

  2. Babs, other companies might get swallowed up sure. Fillmore will not be swallowed, the company was up 22% last year. They have the most agents in Brooklyn, 15 locations, recently bought Foxtons and a few other smaller firms. They have great ownership, with new ideas & new technollogy. Dont forget there is another world out there outside of the downtown neighborhoods, all of which Fillmore dominates. There are tons of MLS brokers who are doing just fine and if anyone will “swallow” them up itll be Fillmore. Warren Lewis was a small firm with high over head competing against enormous firms…dunno where your from Babs, I wasnt born 100 years ago…but I guarentee if you take a poll of Brooklynites (that is born and raised in Brooklyn) they wouldnt know of any of those “niche” neighborhoods even if they were created in the early 20th century. And you keep referring back to “Leffert Manor”…TYPO not ignorance. Sounds like the arrogance Im use to from your wonderful REBNY brokers.

  3. Yes, physically threatened, as in, “Get out of my exclusive property or I’ll put you out.” Needless to say, my clients never went to another Fillmore house again!

    All REBNY brokers are required to co-broke with all other REBNY brokers. And not with non-REBNY ones, although some do. The fact is, the non-REBNY firms are fighting for their lives, and it’s just a matter of time before they join up or get swallowed up (witness Warren Lewis).

    Lefferts Manor refers to a very specific part of PLG; The Lefferts Manor Association (http://www.leffertsmanor.org/) has existed since approximately 1914 (I doubt you were born before then) and the house that Fillmore agent was selling isn’t in it (or Leffert Manor as she called it), although it is in PLG.

    And the various neighborhoods of Flatbush have been around since the area was first built up in the early 20th century. There isn’t anything trendy about it – at least not if you’re talking about trends that are under 100 years old.

    And I certianly do point out Corcoran’s and others’ neighborhood misrepresentations as well, and will continue to do so.

  4. Physically Threatened babs??? Im assuming you are a REBNY agent. Fillmore is an MLS broker and if they have an exclusive they do not have to co-broke it with you whether that is right or wrong doesnt matter the seller signed the EXCLUSIVE contract. As MLS brokers they do not have to follow REBNY regulations, Im sure you’ve experienced that with any MLS broker.

    Same thing goes for buyers that are sent to Open Houses or that have a listing agent from a one firm show them a house 3-4 times and then make an offer through some phantom RENBY agent that is now saying I want my 50% split of the commission, happens all the time and is complete BS, wat’d that agent do to earn a penny of the commssion? They’re going to send a deal sheet to the attorney and maybe follow up with a bank once in a while? the listing agent #1 listed it and gave the opportunity to another agent to sell it, #2 they spent money marketing it, sat at open houses, showed to a bunch other people #3 They showed and sold the place good enough for an offer, then a REBNY agent jumps in like a scavenger and wants to “represent” the buyer? ABSURD… What i think the true issue here is, we are not in Manhattan we are in Brooklyn and there should be 1 unified system that every broker has a chance to be a part of, thatd make it a lot easier for everyone.

    Lets not forget that their are plenty of REBNY brokers who dont allow other brokers in either…and you might be right maybe some offices are good some are bad, never the less the whole company shouldnt be ridiculed for a few brokers BS. Its a privately owned company, not a franchise. I think Fillmore has really stepped up thier game in downtown Brooklyn, especially in Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Bed Stuy and Carrol Gardens. Theres a bad apple in every bunch. As for neighborhoods…Fillmore is a broker whose been selling Brooklyn for 45 years, and the agents selling are from (born or raised) Brooklyn most of them for thier entire lives, its not ignorance its the fact that if your from Brooklyn most of these neighborhoods didnt exist when you were growing up…Lefferts Manor?? It was Lefferts Gardens or Flatbush when I was growing up, East Williamsburg?? Sounds like Bushwick to me…all those little niche neighborhoods in Ditmas Park, Midwood or Flatbush…was called Ditmas Park or Midwood. Manhattan brokers who wanted to make Brooklyn sound trendier created a bunch of neighborhoods and have extended borders all over the borough, there have been plenty of lawsuits against aachemmm Corcoran for that exact thing…no?

  5. Having been physically threatened by a Fillmore agent because I dared to step onto one of his exclusive listings (I was out with clients seeing other things and we walked by a house in Bed-Stuy and they wanted to take a look) and getting pretty tired of many of their agents’ ignorance of the neighborhoods they’re supposed to be selling (wasn’t the “Leffert Manor” open house pick one of theirs?), I’ll say it again: Fillmore is a franchise. There may be some good ones and some not so good, but there is no unified identity in dealing with this firm. And I’ve taken over ridiculously priced Fillmore listings that charged a 6% commission as well.

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