12/02/08

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Partners in Profit: Top Residential Real Estate Partnerships

Nikki Field and Gillian Jolis

Company: Sotheby s

Deals: $100 million in sales in 2003

Nikki Field and Gillian Jolis started at Ashforth Warburg Associates in the mid-90s, and quickly became known as the "medical team" there, finding a niche in sales involving doctors moving from Park and Fifth Avenues whose offices were mostly converted to residences. Field was named Ashforth s rookie of the year and was also nominated for the REBNY Rookie of the Year Award. Sotheby s recruited the duo in 1998. "Since then, our business has grown close to 100 percent a year," said Field. As townhouse specialists, Field said the duo set an industry record in 2002 with the sale of five prestigious townhouses at record-shattering prices. They also achieved the highest dollar amount per square foot for a townhouse in Carnegie Hill - selling 13 East 94th Street for $1,740 a square foot last year (the property went for $11.25 million). "Nikki is the negotiator par excellence," said Jolis. "Gillian has a good sensibility for the aesthetics of the market," Field said.

 

 

Jo Siegel, Diane Kramer, Matt Siegel

Company: MLBKaye International Realty

Deals: 40 transactions in 2003

Jo Siegel and Diane Kramer of MLBKaye have one of the longest partnerships in the city with their 15-year collaboration. "We were both working at the same company, and at the end of a typically frenetic day a long time ago, we said let s just do it," said Siegel. It helps that the two are good friends - "call one half, and you can always find the other," she said. That close relationship extends to business. "People often ask, What sort of contract do you have? " Siegel said. "There is no contract. We split everything down the middle." The pair targets all segments of the Manhattan market and benefits from Diane s close association with 360 E. 72nd Street, where she has lived for more than 30 years and has sold more than 90 percent of the apartments. The team has even brought in Jo s husband, Matt Siegel, who handles technology for the team under a separate arrangement.

 

 

Bonnie Chajet and Ronnie Lane

Company: Warburg Realty Partnership

Deals: 62 transactions in 2003; average sale $2 million to $4 million

Bonnie Chajet and Ronnie Lane have had the longest running and most successful partnership in the city, having worked side by side for nearly 28 years. "We re both mildly aggressive, have similar-type lifestyles, and we both are motivated to the same degree," Lane explains.

The two met while they were summering and studying for their licensing exam, first going to work at commercial brokerage Lansco but deciding they liked residential real estate better. They have been at Warburg for 15 years. "We each had young children when we were starting out, so it was a way to not do it full time and split the load," said Chajet. "But we ve both been very full time for a long while," she said, "and now I have a daughter [Lisa Chajet, also at Warburg] in the business." The pair have consistently been among the top producers at the agency, with record-breaking sales in many Park and Fifth Avenue co-ops. Last year was "a wonderful year," said Lane. The duo currently has a listing for a $10.85 million duplex on Beekman Place, and is getting the exclusive on a $12 million property this month.

 

 

Elizabeth Sample and Brenda Powers

Company: Brown Harris Stevens

Deals: Four transactions worth $60 million in first four months of 2004

Working together for the last 10 years, Elizabeth Sample and Brenda Powers have put together some of the biggest deals in Manhattan. They have the listing for what appears to be the highest priced property in the city - $41.5 million for the three top floors of the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Central Park South. The duo also represented the buyer in a deal for the highest price paid for a co-op apartment before 2000 - selling Lady Mary Fairfax s triplex at the Pierre Hotel at 795 Fifth Avenue, reportedly for $21 million. The pair have sold more than $500 million in real estate. Sample has been in real estate for 18 years, and 10 years ago teamed up with Powers, who had been traveling around the world because of her father s position with the Swiss foreign ministry, and was back in New York working in hotel management at the Royalton Hotel. "Brenda speaks five languages and is very strong in marketing and PR, and more creative," said Sample. "I m a little bit stronger in co-ops and the family aspect."

 

 

Carol Mann and Linda Maloney

Company: Stribling & Associates

Deals: $50 million in sales since August

Carol Mann found herself burned out as a broker and headed into management several years ago before changing course and deciding she was "a broker at heart." This time around, though, she is doing it differently, as part of a team. "The only way to go is with a partner," she said.

Last summer, she joined forces with new agent Linda Maloney, who has a Wall Street background and "is one of the nicest people in America," said Mann. "I said There s the yin to my yang. " The pair has impressive sales numbers, "especially for a new team," Mann said. The first deal together was for an $8 million Fifth Avenue co-op, and the pair currently has a listing for a $5.495 million townhouse on East 79th Street.

 

 

Leonard Steinberg and Herve Senequier

Company: Douglas Elliman

Deals: $40 million in sales in 2003

Leonard Steinberg and Herve Senequier, partners at work and away from it, paired up together as a real estate team two years ago.

Leonard s real estate business was growing, and Herve, who worked in risk management at Barclays, decided to change careers after Sept. 11. "I thought, Do I want to do the same thing, or do I want to be more entrepreneurial? " Leonard, who specializes in lofts, was Douglas Elliman s ninth-ranked producer in 2003, and the pair did more than $40 million in sales last year. The two are also developing property upstate, building eight subdivisions in Saugerties, near Woodstock.

Working and living together, said Leonard, means the pair can, "chat over dinner, and bounce ideas off one another. We complement each other. I m more a people person and Herve is more about organization and technology."

 

 

Stephen Kotler and Michael Kotler

Company: Douglas Elliman

Deals: 165 sales and rentals in 2003

Stephen Kotler, Douglas Elliman s fourth biggest producer last year, has closed some $600 million in rental leases and $300 million in sales since joining the company in 1991. By 1994, he had formed the Kotler Group to focus on relocation for Fortune 50 companies.

A year later, brother Michael joined the team, which now includes five agents, and the two partner together on all the deals they do together.

Michael also handles much of the back office work. Real estate is in their blood; their dad was a New York City developer and a third brother works for Cooper Square Realty. "Before we formed, relocation serving top-tier companies was sort of haphazardly done," said Stephen. Outside of relocation, Stephen and Michael have done some impressive deals - the highest priced apartment they sold was at 730 Park Avenue, for $19.5 million.

 

 

Ellen Sussman and Florrie Milan

Company: William B. May

Deals: More than 15 transactions in 2003, all over $1 million each

Ellen Sussman and Florrie Milan had already been working at William B. May for several years when they formed a partnership borne of necessity around five years ago. "Ellen was taking a vacation, and she had customers that had to be serviced," said Milan.

Beyond convenience, "the idea of forming a partnership was to make three times as much money together," Sussman said. The pair pulled in more than $15 million in sales last year ("We re not a $20 million team yet," said Milan), one of their best performances together. Their most recent listing is a $4.2 million full-floor condo on Third Avenue and 81st Street. "I m sort of in your face," Milan said, "and Ellen is more laid-back."

 

 

Dianne Van Laer and Carolyn Levitan

Company: Bellmarc

Deals: 45 deals and $100 million in sales in 2003

Cousins Dianne Van Laer and Carolyn Levitan worked together in a family manufacturing business in Manhattan for 15 years before branching out into real estate. Thanks in part to their experience on Upper East Side co-op boards, the pair has a strong footing in the upper end of the market. Dianne has served as president of the co-op board at 870 Fifth Avenue for 13 years. The team currently has listings for three apartments - $3.9 million, $1.49 million and $1.45 million - in the building. The two bring different assets to the partnership. "I m the better organizer," said Carolyn, "and Dianne is more fly by the seat of her pants." Last year was "a wonderful year," said Carolyn. The pair now has 10 exclusives, ranging from $520,000 to $4.9 million. "We ve been out there being very scrappy trying to keep listings up," Carolyn said.

 

 

Sheila Lokitz and Elliott Lokitz

Company: Corcoran

Deals: 45 transactions in 2003; average sale $1 million

Sheila and Elliott Lokitz have worked together as a husband and wife team at Corcoran for seven years, and say having a good marriage isn t enough to be good partners in business. "It takes two people who are very well suited, who have a very good marriage and are also good friends," said Elliott. "Some marriages have territorial issues, which we don t have."

The couple started their own successful manufacturing company and retail store in Los Angeles before moving to New York in 1990, and Sheila soon went into real estate. "All the business I was getting, I couldn t handle myself," she said.

"This time she built the business first, so I said to her, I ll help you," Elliott explained. Sheila ranks among the top 25 brokers at Corcoran, andécorporate relocation work makes up 40 percent of the couple s business.

 

 

June Fitzgerald, Sydney Brooks, Jack Alvo, Randall Liberman

The Premark Group

Company: Goodstein Realty

Deals: 45 transactions in 2003

The Premark Group was formed last year under the umbrella of Goodstein Realty, and includes four agents who operate as equal partners. The setup was the brainchild of June Fitzgerald, a former executive in the fashion industry, who wanted to combine talents from different areas - and go after both residential and commercial business. The group is also a distinctly branded entity within the larger company. "Goodstein is an unusual organization, and very entrepreneurial," explains partner Sydney Brooks, who has a background in marketing. Work has ranged from finding office space for a group of doctors to a $2.7 million deal for a co-op on Sutton Place, the priciest residential deal the group has done. Other group members are Jack Alvo, who previously worked at Morgan Stanley, and Randall Liberman, who is a few years out of college. "It s a supposed truism that it never works when you split commission four ways," said Brooks. "But I don t believe that. Sometimes it pays to look at things with a fresh eye."

 

 

Kelly Floyd and Gordon Sokich

Company: Fenwick-Keats

Deals: 10 sales in last six months since forming

Kelly Floyd and Gordon Sokich became friends through mutual acquaintances before either started up in real estate. When Kelly left a career in web design and joined Fenwick-Keats last summer, she immediately knew who would make a good partner, and contacted Gordon, who worked evaluating and selling small businesses. Thanks to a regime that involves four hours of cold-calling a day and targeting expired listings from other firms, the duo have done 10 deals in the last six months ranging from $199,999 to $800,000. They ve also gotten seven listings in the last two months, mostly in the $500,000 to $600,000 range. Kelly, who is 30, said clients "like getting two brokers rather than one." Gordon, 31, says more agents should take a page from the corporate playbook in forming teams. "In real estate, everyone starts out looking out for themselves," he said. "Maybe they should take the IBM approach and pool their resources." He acknowledges, however, that it can be tough to find the right partner. "You got to have the right chemistry with other person," he said. "It s like a marriage."