Gil Howard Vilkas

Gil H. Vilkas is possibly the worst law office on Long Island to handle your real estate closings. I felt they lacked the tenacity to argue on our behalf: They made concessions on our contract that we were unwilling or ill-informed to make because of their lack of communication, even on the day of cl...osing. I felt like I was the intermediary between Gil H. Vilkas's office, our mortgage broker, our real estate agent, and our other real estate attorney. They were oftentimes unresponsive to simple requests that were made by our other attorney, and I became increasingly frustrated with every phone call I had to make to Gil H. Vilkas's office. They should have taken care of this without me; it was incredibly unprofessional. Their knowledge of real estate law was either incomplete, or they did not disclose certain changes in NYS law, causing headaches across the board for all. What should have been a routine closing turned out to be the most logistically stressful three weeks of my life.

I hired Gil Vilkas to represent my wife and I in the purchase of our dream home in a highly desirable neighborhood. After an exhaustive year-long search for a home, we got involved in a frantic bidding-war with multiple bidders on the home of our dreams and thanks to Gil's quick response to the sell...er's broker and attorney, we were able to lock-up the deal and get "into contract" within 24 hours thereby beating out our competition. Gil thoroughly reviewed and negotiated our Contract, went to the town's building department to review possible building department permit discrepancies and protected our legal interests when the Seller wanted to delay the closing, stay in the home after the closing and leave certain large items in the home to be picked-up after Closing. When we had issues with the house after the Closing, Gil was able to successfully negotiate with the Seller's attorney for a sizable credit to replace an expensive hot-water heater that could not be repaired. That assistance alone saved us more money than his entire legal fee! Throughout our transaction Gil Vilkas and his office staff kept us informed as to each step and requirement of the deal in the most professional and courteous manner. Gil's knowledge, experience and dedication to our transaction made our dream home a reality and we would highly recommend him to anyone seeking a knowledgeable & dedicated attorney for their real estate transaction.

I sold my coop apartment through Gil in 2012 for a fixed flat fee agreement. Even initially it was very difficult to reach Gil. Outside of this attorneys control my closing was delayed multiple times. I agreed to pay him a set amount for the first delay (almost tripling his initial fee). Gil... was still very difficult to reach and I spoke to his assistant (a guy) multiple times. My closing was delayed twice more - during which time it was almost impossible to reach Gil. Amazingly he became available the day before the closing actually happened and did not state anything out of the ordinary. At the closing he slams me with a bill - the total cost for his services was about $5000 when I initially agreed to a flat fee of less than $1000. He was deceptive in not displaying any additional charges to me until he knew I would not object as we were at the closing. Overall a very bad experience. Since this time I have read online other numerous horrendous experiences with this attorney. I would avoid.

Closed on a coop in June and Gil advertised a flat rate of $750 but later charged me $2000 at closing. Not once did I get a call from him along the closing process. I dealt more with the receptionist than anyone else... I definitely wouldn't recommend Gil for any real estate transactions based on m...y experience.

Extremely knowledgeable, thorough, and interpersonal. His fees were as advertised and very fair. In fact, his suggestion to add a specific clause on our contract saved us over $25,000 off our previously agreed purchase price. He spent numerous hours working on our contract and was always availa...ble (even evenings and weekends) to discuss new issues as they arose. I have worked with prior attorneys on a number of properties and none have been as competent and honest as Mr. Vilkas.