Zikos Realty at 31-21 Ditmars Boulevard, Astoria, Queens, New York.

My boyfriend and I were searching for our first apartment together in Astoria, as we are beginning grad school in New York this fall. After countless questionable Craigslist posts and plenty of emails to realtors that never received responses, we were starting to feel hopeless. Maybe we were too out of our own league to try to find an affordable apartment in Astoria, one of the nicer parts of Queens, as grad students. And to find one with a parking spot included, still in our budget? It just seemed impossible.

Then, we met the beautiful soul that is Peter Zikos.

Peter was prompt with his emails, understood exactly what my boyfriend and I were looking for, and was able to find three properties in our price range and location. After looking at all three, we ultimately fell in love with the first one we saw. However, we were the second application submitted for that particular listing, and it unfortunately fell through for us.

However, Peter was determined to find us a great first apartment, and managed to find us another open apartment, in the exact same area as before, for even less rent.

In the timeline of a week, we looked at four apartments, fell in love with two, and ultimately snagged an apartment that was way below our maximum price range -- including private outdoor space and a parking spot.

We feel like we had such an incredibly lucky and wonderful experience, and Peter was the perfect realtor to have as new renters to the market. He's persistent, kind, and is genuinely invested in the well-being and success of his clients. I would recommend Zikos Realty, and Peter in particular, for the rest of my time in the Astoria area.