To say that Zeevyah Benoff knows Bergen County well would be an understatement. Though born in Manhattan, Zeevyah moved to Teaneck when she was 10 years old. She attended Frisch, davened at The Jewish Center and, after she got married and had her first child, she and her husband, Ari Stein, bought a house in Teaneck. Today she has children in three different schools: Adara is at Yavneh; Alon is in Yeshivat He’Atid, and Sarah and Mia are in the Teaneck Community Charter School. The family also belongs to three shuls: Congregation Keter Torah, Congregation Bnai Yeshurun and Shaarei Orah. Zeevyah’s parents, Dr. Allen Benoff, z”l, and Robin Benoff, were long-time members of The Jewish Center. Real estate runs in Zeevyah’s blood as her mom, Robin, was a local real estate agent for over 30 years. But before becoming a real estate agent herself, Zeevyah first took a different path.
After graduating Rutgers, Zeevyah attended Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law where she majored in family law. “I always knew I wanted to be a prosecutor and I knew I wanted to help children,” Zeevyah recalled. I worked for the Administration for Children’s Services straight out of law school where I represented the City of New York in abuse and neglect matters.” While in Cardozo, Zeevyah met her husband-to-be in a bar review course. They were married and lived on the West Side until they “came back home” to Teaneck. After moving to Teaneck and having her next child, Zeevyah joined her husband’s family-owned law firm, Stein and Stein, which specializes in commercial and retail collection law. Before following in her mother’s footsteps, she once again went back to her family law roots and moved to a law firm that represented foster care agencies where she did termination of parental rights.
“My mom was a real estate agent with Weichert Realtors in Tenafly,” Zeevyah told The Jewish Link. “I’d been referring her friends looking to make the move to the suburbs for years, and after I had my fourth child I started thinking real estate would be something I’d be interested in doing. My original thought was to practice in New York because as an attorney I could be a broker in New York without taking a test. I got my New York broker’s license but then decided it would be more fulfilling to work in my community and applied for my New Jersey Realtors license as well. As I studied for the New Jersey Real Estate exam I saw a lot of similarities to property law and contracts.”
Zeevyah passed the exam and knew immediately she wanted to work for Links Residential. “I was drawn to their eye-catching signs and was very impressed with their website. I wanted a Teaneck-based, young, tech-savvy company and after I met with Marc Stein I knew I didn’t want to be anywhere else.”
In only two years Zeevyah has already earned the NJAR Circle of Excellence award twice. “You’re only as good as the people who back you up,” observed Zeevyah. “We have an amazing crew at Links. Our operations manager and graphic designer are phenomenal. In addition, we use outstanding photographers and our marketing team is bar none in terms of what we offer.” When you choose Links to sell your home, they take professional video and photos of your home, design a floor plan, produce a glossy brochure and postcard and then also use social media channels and the internet to further promote your listing. “My mom, who knows from her own experience, thinks what we do is amazing.”
While Zeevyah enjoys working with both buyers and sellers, she especially appreciates the bond she forms with sellers. “I feel I make a longstanding relationship with them,” she shared. “I feel privileged to be trusted with what is most often their biggest financial asset and I work really hard at selling my listings. I speak with my clients every day and they know that I am always available by phone, text or email even after the deal is done. We get to know each other so well that I am proud to call many of my former clients friends.”
Her clients know that she is a lawyer by training, and Zeevyah observed, “I think my clients like that I’m a lawyer. They think I’ll be more aggressive and able to advocate for them more. They also know that I understand the law and so I’m very involved in every step of attorney review. I read the riders and can explain things to them in non legalese. Selling a house is a really big deal. My clients feel more confident giving the job to a lawyer to deal with. There are so many real estate agents in town and this is something that separates me from the pack.”
Zeevyah specializes in selling homes in Teaneck, Bergenfield and New Milford, though she does represent other towns in Bergen County as well. She also works with builders who either are looking to renovate, build from scratch and sell a home or rent out the home as an investment.
Zeevyah manages the whole transaction so the buyer or seller she’s working with doesn’t have to worry about the details. She can walk them through the pre-approval process and recommend mortgage lenders, lawyers, inspectors, contractors, decorators and, if necessary, even plumbers. “I would say I’m a little OCD and a little bit of a perfectionist, so I’m happy managing the entire process, or as much as the client wants me to.”
Zeevyah Benoff is a member of the National Association of Realtors, Eastern Bergen Board of Realtors, New Jersey MLS and holds her New York broker’s license. For a free comparative market analysis or to simply discuss options, Zeevyah can be reached at 201-956-0208 or by email at
[email protected].
By Sara Kosowsky Gross
