Dean Hartman has worked full-time in the Mortgage Banking field for close to 40 years.  Besides being an expect in residential financing, Dean has spent the better part of the last 30 years, learning the real estate industry.

Experience has shown him that 90% of everyone, in every field, is mediocre or worse.  And while you can recover from a mediocre haircut (as an example), none of us can afford to be subject to a mediocre real estate agent, a mediocre lender, or attorney.  This transaction is too important.

So, beyond holding himself to being a Top 10% lender, he insists on only working with other Top 10% professionals.  To make it a reality, he became a coach/mentor to dozens of agents…guiding them, pushing them, to Top 10% status in terms of production and systems, constantly raising the bar to improve the customer experience.

Frustrated by many agents lack of implementation or investment into themselves, Dean has teamed up with a Top10% attorney, and real estate broker, Sam Afra to form Dean’s Real Estate And Moving Homes.

Dean has a history with the word DREAM.  As a kid, friends nicknamed him Dean the Dream (after then basketball player Dean Meminger).  In business, his Sales Team was coined The Dream Team, referencing the US Olympic Team that featured Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and more- the best of the best.  Add to that the fact The American Dream is homeownership, and the company name ties it all together.  Dean can be reached on his cell at 516-528-9008

Sam Afra began his legal career in 2001 and founded the firm in 2018.  He has always concentrated his practice in real estate transactions, real estate litigation, and business litigation.  As the firm grew, it continued in that dual practice mode.  In 2023, the firm expanded to include a real estate brokerage division to assist the firm's clients in the purchase and sale of real estate in New York.

 In litigation, Mr Afra focuses on complex commercial cases.  He is an experienced litigator who has handled numerous matters from beginning to end, including trying cases and winning verdicts for clients.  Mr. Afra’s cases typically involve real estate issues, business disputes, breach of contract, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, construction defects, and brokerage commission disagreements.  His clients include financial institutions, corporations, property owners, sponsors and developers, contractors and construction professionals, and condo and co-op boards.  He is frequently called upon to undertake difficult and highly contentious matters.

In particular, prominent players in the New York City and Long Island real estate industry often engage Mr. Afra when confronting serious business disputes.  He draws on his extensive experience in development, finance, land use and corporate governance to help clients accomplish their goals pragmatically.  Mr. Afra also often represents professionals, such as attorneys, physicians, architects and other business owners, in disputes involving the management or breakup of their businesses.  Similarly, high-net-worth individuals and families, as well as financial institutions, turn to Mr. Afra to resolve significant, sometimes highly-charged trust and estate disputes.

On the real estate side, Mr. Afra has handled countless transactions and all manner of deal structures.  He represents clients for residential purchases and sales involving condominiums, cooperatives, townhouses, multi-family dwellings and large apartment buildings.  He handles sophisticated commercial transactions, including acquisitions, sales and leasing.  He assists clients in negotiating deal terms, and prepares and negotiates the transaction documents.  He has, therefore, drafted many purchase-and-sale agreements, space and ground leases, financing instruments, construction contracts, project development and air rights agreements, zoning lot agreements, and more.  

Because his practice is multi-faceted, Mr. Afra represents all players, both landlords and tenants, buyers and sellers, and lenders and borrowers in the real estate world.  Likewise, he represents condo and co-op boards and individual board members, as well as clients confronting financial distress in a real estate context

Prior to practicing law, Mr. Afra worked at Goldman Sach, in their credit swap legal department. He has also been intimately involved in residential and commercial financing, both in the capacity of principal and executive officer.  Having an deep understanding of finance has allowed Mr. Afra to assist his clients with a deeper understanding of the entire transactions as a whole.