Astoria broker/apartment advice & info

[JulznJoe]

I wholeheartedly recommend Kim at Halvatzis Realty (Ditmars, 28th/29th). 

I second that.  We were completely anti-broker but finally broke down...  We had one twenty minute phone conversation with her about our preferences, budget, etc.  Then we met at her office the next day to see one apartment and signed it the day after that! 

[Newtownian]

Funny realtor story.. I was looking for an apartment and made an appointment with a broker. (I don't remember where from). When I walk into the office she greets me and I am like uh oh. She was wearing the shortest mini-skirt and tight shirt and high heels. I was kind of embarrased to go see places.. Anyway, went to see a place and the landlord and her teenage son were there. It was pretty funny becuase the son had a grin from ear to ear. Anyway, she went on to tell us she has a daughter. The daughter doesn't like hanging out with her anymore.. Geez, I wonder why?

[janelane]

I found my apt with Alexiou Century 21.  It was a positive experience.   :mrgreen:

[Steenbeeck]

Lisa Teahan at MQ Reality (offices on Broadway and Steinway)-real good! She was great help to me in finding my place.

Seconded.

[betheroonie06]

Thirded. Lisa Teahan is a great agent. I also got my apartment from MQ Realty. Mary Guevara was my agent. She was amazingly helpful and patient (had a roommate situation fall apart) and got me a great apartment. I also know Lisa and the other agents at MQ personally and I can tell you that they look out for your best interest at all times. The office location is 31-87 Steinway, Suite 8 and the phone number is 718-956-3200.

I've heard stories about that Liz character...she's like the Loch Ness Monster of the Queens real estate world.

[hepburn926]

My roommates and I went through the ringer trying to find a place. We were shown approximately 25 different apartments with several different brokers. Angelica with Capital realty finally found us our new home. She was decently easy to work with. A little skiddish at times. Grace Realty on the other hand was not so helpful...I take that back, the man working at Grace realty was helpful, Grace on the other hand acted as if she'd had a few too many tranquilizers and kept forgetting where she'd put our paperwork/who we were etc. I would not reccommend her.

[daisy]

Ugh, Capital Realty got me my bed bug infested apartment, and made me pay $100 for a credit report when they only cost $20.  I'm sure she pocketed the rest.  Then there was the illegal key deposit.  I'll never go back based on my experience with the whole thing. There are some shady realtors out there.

I had the same experience with Grace.  Her coworker was nice, but she wanted 10-15% of a year and I just refuse to pay that, when there are plenty of other realtors who charge a month.

[firelight79]

i second the non recommendation for angelica at capital reatly. she sucked big time. kept me waiting over an hour for my appointment. made me and 5 other people squish into her car to drive like 2 blocks to all see the same apartments, at the same time.
she didn't overcharge for the credit report at the time (like 5 years ago) but she was hopelessly disorganized. and i swear all the "other people" that she had in her office were fake. she was perpetuating the image of having a team when it was really just her.
at grace realty i dealt with mihaela (sp?) who was very nice but couldn't show me anything within my moving dates.
great experience with irene at dynasty, although i stupidly paid 15%, now i know better-21 and needing a place before fordham kicked me out-they give you one day after graduation. i did kind of get screwed by the first apartment i saw and that i put a partial deposit on(the landlord decided to rent it to her neice's friend or something after i went through everything but signing) she and everyone else there apologized and swore they would never work with her again. don't know if they meant it but i thought it was a nice gesture. she did find me something else that worked out quite quickly after that little debacle.

[greenelmo]

We used Alex at Metropolis (29th st and 23rd ave) he was AMAZING and I highly recommend him.  We tried two other brokers and he was friendly, listened to exactly what we were looking for and found us the PERFECT apartment.  I can't give him enough praise.

[Andrea]

We found a place through Grace Realty, but would recommend Neon Realty instead. 

[garbagepyle]

i used grace realty...i give them mixed reviews. they do charge too much (worked out to be almost a month and a half). i'm satisfied with my apartment. a bit of a bullsh*tter like the rest of them when she said there were lots of "young people" in my building. yeah right. more like a senior home - im 31 and have to be the youngest person by far. and i was told no kids in the building - except for the one across the hall who is extremely loud. they guy she works with seems alright, he said my landlord was very good and the building was well taken care of and i have to agree.

[new2you]

Hi I just moved to Astoria so the whole broker experience is still fresh.
Re-Max on Steinway was a total joke driving me and my roommates all over Astoria to see apartments that were either already rented, not in our price range or just plain gross.
Grace realty actually took a deposit from us on what we believed was a dream apartment and then kept it for days giving us the run-around regarding the signing of the lease because the landlord wanted to meet us! I have never ever heard of this before, like ever.  Then he decided to rent to a friend of one of his tenants in the building. An entire three bedroom apartment for one person? Curious, no? WE got our deposit back but not without having to get a smidge tiffy with them.
We ended up with flake-o Angelica at Capital Realty, whom I do not recommend at all if only because her kid is a brat-a-tat-tat and ALWAYS in the office! Doesn't that kid go to school?
Besides, she charges too much for a credit check, wouldn't tell me the names or address of the people who legally own the building we were to move in, made me go all the way out to Ditmars to get my apartment keys on my move in day where the dudes who were moving out were actually still in the apartment, and the second she got her fee she was of no help. On the other hand, our super is the coolest dude ever, the bulding is well-kept with a good mix of people. Then again...twenty people living in the apartment above us all of whom wear hard-soled shoes at all hours of the night.
Angelica is not a recommendation at all! Grace Realty are shyster-esque too.

[merm]

I think overall there's a general feeling among brokers that they are working for the landlords. The "good" brokers realize that they are working for YOU, because you are the one paying them. If you get a broker who isn't on your side, then fire that broker and go and get one that will work for you.

In our experience with brokers we found that nearly all of them work for the landlord (on their side), but of course want you to pay them. I've never found a broker I was happy with, though it's been a few years since we used one. We did end up renting our first apartment through a broker, but once you live here I think it's much more worth it to spend some time canvasing the streets and talking to locals to see what's available. How do you think brokers find the empty houses? Just become your own broker and save the money.

A friend of mine found an interesting way to put the broker to work for him. After he found out the price of the apartment he wanted he asked the broker to get a lower price, which of course the broker (who is working for the landlord) said that they couldn't go lower (besides, it's not in the interest of the broker to negotiate a lower rent for you, the person who is paying them, because they get a bigger commission based on a bigger rent for you [so twisted]). So he said he'd give a 200% bonus commission on every dollar the broker negotiated off the monthly lease. In other words, if the broker lowered the rent $50, then he gets an extra $100 in commissions. Surprise, surprise, the rent was lowered $200/month. Broker got an extra $400, but that paid for itself in no time.

The way this city works is really screwed up sometimes. Only in NYC do renters have to pay brokers who work for the interests of the landlord. What a joke.

[nycatexas]

I definitely recommend Sarah at Owner's Club Realty on Ditmars. Also there is an apt for rent on my block - 36th street between Ditmars and 23rd Ave. It's the first floor of a 2-family, I think someone may live in the basement but I'm not sure. I know the upstairs is occupied. The block is pretty good and the location excellent, have no idea of the rent or condition, but the rental sign is for Owner's Club.

[athenamat]

MQ Realty, agreed.  I can't remember the name of my broker, she was a youngish black woman, but she found us a place and pushed thru the paperwork FAST.  I think my apt is a little on the pricey side (1050 for a medium-sized studio) but she was great.

Pluses:  Really fast (she showed me a place the afternoon I came in)
Lenient on money issues (I don't have a job because I'm a student so the landlord wanted six months' rent ahead of time; she took me check and started the paperwork before the check cleared)
Really good listener: She was concerned about my needs and really social
Responsible: No short skirts or other crazy things; she was really professional
Deal: She got me a deal and I don't think that she made money of this (the apt was listed at 1100/month)

Complaints:
She didn't charge me a credit check fee because I had a printed form of my own.  She did charge a $50 (I think) "application fee."  I also think that she only had more expensive apts as mine was the only one in this price range that was near the N/W.