Real Estate And Then Some In Astoria And The Surrounding Areas
From the category archives:
Lauren rented the incredible duplex for $1600 a few weeks ago. I felt bad renting her the place because I wanted to move there myself but hey that always happens to me with the super nice ones. Anyway, she’s going to love it.
Pictured below are Lauren, myself and lauren’s new landlord Anna who is terrific also. Here is the link to this amazing apartment.
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Meg and Happy seem pretty darn excited to have just signed their new lease for their new 2 bedroom apartment and it’s for a good reason. After about two weeks of searching, they fell in love with the modern 2 bed for $1650 that was listed earlier this month. It was a little above their range but after reevaluating their needs they found that it worked better in the long run for them. Also, we negotiated the rent down to $1600 so that helped a little.
Working with Meg and Happy was a pleasure and I am very pleased to have them in the neighborhood.
Here is little bit more about Meg and Happy.
Meg Griffiths is a comedienne and producer, who created and curates the first stand-up comedy show in the 148-year history of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Comedy Night, and performs long-form improv every Wednesday night at The Peoples Improv Theater (www.meggriffiths.com).
Happy Anderson is an actor who has appeared in numerous television, film, and theater. Upcoming appearances include 4th season of Army Wives (Lifetime), Drew Barrymore and Justin Long’s Going the Distance, and The Onion News Network (www.happyandersonacting.com).
“We loved working with Peter and can not recommend him highly enough. He always respected our budget, our time, and our decision-making process. It’s kind of like he’s not a realtor, but your friend showing you apartments. We want to have Peter over for dinner at our new place.”
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I just received this thoughtful testimonal from my recent clients, Cat and Chris. They sent along this great pic of them in the doorway of their new apartment in Astoria.
“The Story of Cat & Chris:
We were super-excited to find a new home in Astoria, but became discouraged after searching Craigslist for weeks and coming up with nothing. A short stint with another broker left us sad and unsatisfied. And then there was Peter. Peter Horowitz. We had followed the blog for a while and decided to shoot him an email. He immediately responded and once we told him exactly what we were looking for, he set up appointments for the very next day: not one, but three places in one night! The final apartment was EXACTLY what we were looking for. Peter made the process easy and stress free, and we were in the place 2 weeks later. Peter was extremely nice, funny, attentive, and didn’t run us around, wasting our time showing us things that weren’t in our budget or what we wanted. We would recommend Peter Horowitz to anyone to find them their perfect Astoria apartment!
Cat & Chris”
Cat and Chris took the 2 bedroom for $1500 that was posted recently here on myastoriarealestate.com. They rented the one with the pic of the landlord crouching to try and avoid being caught in the photos I posted. It made for a funny picture.
Thanks Cat and Chris, working with people like you is the reason I love my job.
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Ed the landlord and his new tenant Christine who just rented the 3 bedroom on Astoria Park
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Please be aware that the listings on this blog are just a portion of my current inventory of terrific apartments.
I have lots of other apartments for rent that are not posted. Many apartments get rented before I have a chance to photograph and post them here on the site. At the same time, you may find that some of the apartments listed here will be rented by the time you call about them.
Therefore, it is important that we are in contact and that I know what you are looking for. You can reach me by email, phone, chat or text so we can discuss your needs and the type of property you are looking for.
If we are working together and I get a call from a landlord about a new apartment (which happens every day) you will get first shot at some truly great deals that never make it online.
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Who: Kasha and Ken (city worker and graphic designer)
What : 2 bedroom 2nd floor walk-up in 6 unit building
Where: 36th st and 28th Avenue, Astoria
How Much: $1500 per month including heat and water
$1500 for a spacious 2 bedroom in Astoria isn’t to shabby. Especially when you consider that even now I still regularly get 1 bedroom listings at the same or even higher rents.
When settling in the NYC area a few years ago, Kasha and Ken chose a 1 bedroom pre-war walk-up in Woodside, close to 61st Street and 39th Avenue. It seemed like a fine choice at the time but they quickly realized it was a mistake. For one thing, the landlords neglected the property and did not respond to complaints and maitainence issues on the premises. On top of that, they felt like the neighborhood was lacking a community feel.
So off we were to look at 2 bedroom apartments in Astoria where the neighborhood is vibrant and filled with restaurants and nightlife. On our first day out Kasha and Ken fell in love with an apartment located near 28th avenue and 36th street. It took about 4 hours of shopping around and comparing other apartments in and around the same price range but this one just seemed to fit the bill. We probably viewed about 6 apartments in the 4 hours.
The apartment was literally under construction when we got there. The landlord happened to be there with the workers and explained exactly what was to be done and when it was to be completed. Apparantly he made good on all his promises because these are two very happy customers.
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Matt was looking for a studio but wound up with a 1 bedroom and still came in under budget. With a max price of $1200 per month, he was not expecting to find a true one bedroom. He was mistaken. [click to continue for pics and more…]
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John and Katrina were terribly jet lagged when the called me. Just 2 days earlier they arrived in NYC from Tokyo where they lived and worked as teachers for the last four years. You can imagine how they must have felt being back in the states jobless with no home to call their own. They were looking hard to find their new home but were not going to settle. [click to continue for pics and more…]
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Even as Astoria becomes increasingly desirable for renters and buyers alike, you can still get an incredible deal if you know what to look for. The laws of supply and demand are not always the rule in Astoria.
Mostly in the last 2 years, flocks of Manhattanites fleeing the city for cheaper rents and more space have been migrating to Astoria. Word of it’s great deals on apartments, lower cost of living, great restaurants, and more has spread in a big way. This being said, as the droves of people move to Astoria, rents have edged up and have made a significant jump since just last summer. With the average one bedroom renting for $1350 and sometimes upwards to $2000, you can consider yourself very lucky to find something decent for under $1300. Supply and demand right? More people want apartments so there is less vacancies hence driving up the rents. So how does one explain new Astoria resident Nicole Albini finding a spacious and clean true 1 bedroom apartment for only $1000 per month (even includes heat, hot water and cooking gas)? Well, Nicole simply saw a great deal and upon her broker’s suggestion and some common sense she took it on the spot. Keep in mind all this happened during the rental markets busiest season which is August and September. It doesn’t make sense does it? Yes, it does! To understand Astoria’s Real Estate market you need to realize that many if not most of the rentals in Astoria are in multi-family houses in which the owner usually occupies one of the apartments. In large apartment buildings you almost always have to deal with management companies who make a living off a percentage of the rent roll for the building. So it makes sense that they would want the rents higher. In the multi-family house situation you almost always meet the landlord when you view the apartment. Their main concern is getting a good tenant and they would like them to stay for a while (they usually stay longer than in the buildings which eliminates vacancies). They are not as concerned about the rent they are getting if they like the person they rent to so they are often flexible with the terms. In my opinion these landlords have more of a conscience than management companies of large properties. They tend to bond with the tenant more often than not.
In Nicole’s case the landlords Vito and Maria were not greedy people in any way. They know rents have gone up in Astoria. They listed the place at $1000 from the beginning and they were willing to wait for the right person but they didn’t have to and were not in a rush. The day the previous tenant moved out Nicole saw the apartment and took it on the spot. She would have been crazy not to. Vito and Maria even gave Nicole use of the back yard and a stunning patio that makes you feel like you are living nowhere near NYC or any borough for that matter. It paid for Nicole to go through a broker. If you added the fee in to what she’ll pay over the cost of a year the rents only the equivalent to $1100 per year. Still a steal.
Nicole has a load off her shoulders after having to move out of her sublet in Sty Town, NYC and Maria and Vito are happy to have someone who appreciates their home…just look at the pics.
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