My fiancee and I are a young couple shopping for our first home. We come across an ad in the paper for a foreclosed home in Laurelton, Queens with a description and price that sounds reasonable. We respond to the ad and make an appointment to meet with the real estate agency that posted the ad Homes Inc.
Unfortunately, my fiancee could not make the appointment so I had my best friend accompany me who happens to be in the real estate business, of which I know nothing. As soon as I enter the office, I get an uneasy vibe. There is paraphernalia that indicates Jewish observance which is fine but the atmosphere reminded me of Ben Affleck's movie, Boiler Room, where a bunch of slimy, wise talking men are conducting fraudulent business.
We meet with Lenny Aire, an agent, who right away makes us feel uncomfortable by making inappropriate and irrelevant comments that have nothing to do with why we are there in the first place. When we ask him about the foreclosed home, he makes a million and one excuses why we shouldn't look into it, making us feel as if the ad in the paper was only a way to lure people into their slimy office. When I ask him about other options, he continues to make excuses and find faults in everything we mention. The man didn't even have home listings to show us and gave us some b.S. About that too. Then he makes a reference to the neighborhood, Laurelton. He gets this look of disgust on his face as he has the audacity to say "Well, how do you feel about living in a neighborhood that is mostly black?" Then proceeds to say, "I know you would not want to live in an area where on every corner there is a liquor store."
We could not believe what we were hearing! We gave each other a look like "Did he just say what I think he said?" I was so insulted because I am Hispanic and know that he could easily be making the same reference to me and my people. I wanted to wring this man's neck! What's interesting is that he is Israeli but of dark skin, making him look more Palestinian but I guess they share similar features since they come from the same land.infuriated at this point, I responded by saying that personally, we prefer to buy a home where the population is more diverse but what difference does it make who lives in the community as long as it is a middle-class, working class community and if he is so concerned with me living among black people would he feel more comfortable with me buying a house among white people who could be trailor park, white trash or even worst KKK members-which in my opinion is one and the same! Of course this set the tone for the rest of our meeting which didn't last much longer.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, he had no computer or anything on his desk but some pictures of him and his girlfriend and points to her and says he would not put her in just any neighborhood because she gets scared around certain people easily.
Maybe this was an isolated incident but based on my experience with these people, I wouldn't even recommend their services to my worst enemy!!!
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