Metropolis International Realty

I had an above and beyond experience renting an apartment in Astoria with Romero. I emailed him to ask about an apartment and he responded very promptly. The apartment he showed me was incredible and he brought me back to their office to put down a deposit right away. After that, Romero always called when he had updates to my move-​in, such as my move-​in date and where to meet. He honestly answered any questions I had during the process and if he was unsure, he acted quickly to find out. Also, he was willing to work with me to alleviate every concern that I had. All in all, I found Romero to be easy to work with, highly professional, and very attentive. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking to rent in the area.

Purchasing a home can be a difficult process. But dealing with a real estate agent like Romero Papp, who has experience, professionalism and is always willing to answer your call when you have questions, really makes a difference. Romero is this type of agent. He told me from day one, «we will make it happen.» I really wanted this home and he was right because we got it done. He has knowledge of the whole process, and won’t waste anyone’s time. Any one looking to buy or sell, I highly recommend Romero. Believe me, you will not be dissapointed.

Metropolis happened to be the first office I called and the best people I worked with. I would totally recommend them to anybody looking to rent in Astoria for the first time. Nick and Angela showed us a total of three apartments (the third was the winner) and were flexible with their time, which is great because I work an inconsistent retail schedule. They also let us pay half of the deposit up front in cash, with the other half and the broker’s fee at lease signing by personal check.
Other brokers I researched or contacted didn’t respond, didn’t follow up, posted misleading listings with the same photos for every apartment, or showed me the same nasty, vermin-​infested places I saw posted on Streeteasy 100 times over by 100 different people.
A bad broker will do all sorts of underhanded, shady stuff to get paid a fee and go home. A good broker gets return business and referral business by doing the job right: finding good apartments for good people and working professionally and honestly. I really lucked out with Metropolis and will definitely call them again if I ever need to move.

Angela helped me get my new apartment in Astoria and I absolutely love it. She was so great and easy to work with. She was so flexible with the payment of her fee, allowing me to back date the check to give me a few days to get the money together. Highly recommend!

My girlfriend and I recently found a beautiful, newly renovated apartment in Astoria thanks to the help of Romero Papp — a fine gentleman and fantastic broker. I’d highly recommend speaking with him, as he is very attentive, polite and genuinely wants to help. Thanks Romero!

Worked with Angela. She was very professional and helped me secure a nice apartment with a great landlord.

I really liked the office. Fees are very reasonable, and they get some good places. Nick, however, is super incompetent and unresponsive. It usually takes 4 – 5 tries to get an answer from him. He made it more stressful than a realtor should when you’re paying them the $$$.

Nick Arsenis from Metropolis just helped me and two friends secure a place in Astoria that we absolutely love!
His individual attention to our needs and genuine care for client’s preferences are apparent in the way he communicates in person, through e-​mail, and in working with us to find our perfect fit.
He’s timely, professional, effective, and kind. 5 stars! Thanks, Nick! Thanks, Metropolis!

Through Metropolis we found our place and ultimately, we are happy with it but there were a lot of annoyance, to much sales talk and perhaps some schemes…
This was a tricky and delicate review to write and to rate; my 4 stars rating goes to Romero Papp who is a rare gem among the sea of brokers in NYC.
Why?
— Romero doesn’t talk your ears off, doesn’t over embellish the area or the place he shows you. He is a man with fewer words compared to all the other brokers I have met. Maybe it’s the language barrier? But hell I like that, because I get turned off very easily when people oversell.
–He doesn’t over promise you, he is up front and he’ll tell you to hope for the best while he finds out what you were asking for.
–You can get hold of him very easily (even when the situation is not running smoothly). If he doesn’t pick up the phone, he’ll definitely get back to you ASAP… guaranteed.
— Not flashy, doesn’t take you for a fool (or he is too good at hiding it) and always polite.
— Romero followed up with us during the move in day and a week after moving in.
I can’t recommend other agents at Metropolis but Romero is as solid as he can be.

This place is as good as it gets when it comes to realty in Queens and especially in the Astoria area.
I dealt with Nick who has worked there for 13 years and he is the perfect broker: honest but hopeful and extremely helpful!
I first contacted him when I saw an ad on Craigslist and based on the first phone conversation I felt good about the whole thing. I ended up meeting with him the next day and he was super friendly, professional and knowledgeable about the Astoria area: exactly what I was looking for in a broker. He ended up taking me to two different apartments and I fell in love with one of them but since I wasn’t with my roommate I asked him if I could come back later with her and he totally encouraged the idea. A few hours later I called him up and told him we were in the area and he was there within 30 minutes to show us the place again.
He was so honest with us and drove us around the area, showing us the different potential routes from the train and all the trendy spots and great supermarkets and shops in the area. He went as far to even ask the landlord to bring down the price for us (which didn’t happen, but still) and allowed us to move in the weekend before our lease officially began. He also showed us the apartment several times and never once got on our case about it. He also answered each and every question we had about anything and everything – very patient man.
I want to say that Nick went above and beyond, but I think the reality is that he is truly fantastic at his job and really loves what he does. Even another broker told me, «Nick is a great guy and you can trust him.» I will say that since he is such a busy guy, it can be a little hard to get in touch with him but even if you call him several times, he’s always professional and accommodating and will eventually get back to you. You can tell that he really wants to help you find the best apartment for you.
He made the experience of finding an apartment in Astoria a great one and I am incredibly grateful for that, especially when there are so many jerks out there. When it comes time for me to move again, I know that I’ll be going to him.
Thank you, Nick for making my dream of moving out a reality.

My roommates and I had a great experience with Nick. He was able to find us a beautiful 3 bedroom in Astoria within our price range. He was very nice and professional with our families, and he showed that he respected us as renters. Although the apartment we wound up getting was not with him, we still had a great experience.

I should start off by saying that I didn’t end up moving into an apartment that Alex at Metropolis Realty showed me. This review is a little unique in that sense.
My boyfriend and I looked up Metropolis after having gotten two personal recommendations, and reading about Leighann’s positive experience on Unilocal.Contrary to what other reviewers have mentioned, I found Alex to be a great listener when we described what we were looking for: a spacious, affordable 1 bedroom in a prewar building with some character. He also assured us that we could find it at $ 200 less per month than our maximum spend. I’ll admit that I was a little skeptical when he told us that it was his policy to only show us a small selection of the best fit apartments available. I thought, ‘why wouldn’t I want to see as many available spaces as possible?’ But, true to his word, Alex showed us an impressively curated list of beautiful apartments that matched what we were seeking. Busy New Yorkers will appreciate that they won’t have to sift through 20 listings with Alex before finding a great apartment.
As fate would have it, we weren’t qualified to rent our first choice apartment, although Alex did his best to advocate our case. We got lucky shortly thereafter and found a place that was very similar, and, with a better sense of the deal we were getting, pounced on it right away. If our next move is in Astoria, I will definitely look him up again.

After living in Williamsburg for 7 years, I decided to move to Astoria for more space and a nicer place. During the search for my new home I met with Angela from Metropolis reality. Angela was great. She was friendly, honest and responded to all our inquries. We just got a good feeling from her, more so than some of the other brokers we met in the area. She made the process very easy for us, and found us an amazing apartment. It seemed like she had a great relationship with the landlord as well.
I recommend contacting her if you are looking for a place in Astoria.

We had a phenomenal experience with Metropolis Realty. We worked with Alex, who called whenever he had new information, returned my calls within a few hours every time I called him, and was forthcoming with any information he thought would be helpful, and answered all of our questions honestly and well.
We had had a terrible time with brokers before we started working with Metropolis, to which we were referred by a friend. After seeing dreadful apartment after dreadful apartment from other brokers and companies, and being told over and over again that our budget was too low for a one-​bedroom apartment in Astoria (where we’ve lived for 2 years), it was so refreshing to work with someone who wanted to actually help us, not just make money. The first apartment Alex showed us was huge, and exactly what we wanted to pay, in a beyond-​perfect location. We just moved in yesterday, and could not be happier with our new place – thankfully, since we signed a 2-​year lease for it.
They’re great people, very organized, very professional, and have been in the area for ages and really know their stuff. Highly recommended!

My girlfriend and I found Romero Papp at Metropolis to be extremely helpful with access to some great real estate. We had looked at 3 different apartments in Crown Heights and 4 different apartments in Astoria with different brokers before working with Romero. The first apartment he showed us we took. The kitchen was being renovated and nothing had been installed… but that’s how good the apartment was! We knew it was much better then anything we had seen. After the paper work was signed and the deposit was made, Romero continued to stay in touch over the next week or two and make sure we were all set to move in (keys, utilities, moving logistics, etc). We’ve been in the apartment for a week now and love it. If your thinking of moving, move to Astoria. If you’re thinking of moving to Astoria, give Romero a call!

I had a horrible experience with Metropolis Realty. Their broker, Angela, came highly recommended via a trusted friend of mine for whom she found an absolutely fabulous apartment. So I was looking forward to working with her.
When I first called, I was asked by the person who answered the phone what my name was and why I was calling. Really? Is that the way to get new clients in this business? Anyway, after I gave the names of the people who had referred me, I was allowed to speak to Angela. She seemed kind of irritated and not interested in helping me at all, but said she did have one place in mind. She promised to call me the next day at 10 AM.
She never called, so after 12:00 I called after her and left a message. I also called and spoke with someone else who said they would get a hold of her. She called me back and we arranged to meet later that day.
In person, she was very friendly. But the place she took me to — an absolutely horrendous hovel — dark, dirty, depressing, and damaged. I cannot believe that the same person who showed my friends’ apartment to them was actually showing this apartment to anyone. When we got back in the car, I mumbled something like, Maybe my price range is too low. She assured me that it wasn’t, that she just had nothing to show me right now, but that I should give her a call when I got back in town.
In her defense, I called another — again highly recommended — broker in Astoria who never called me back, and I even tried a third, who asked me several questions, promised to call me back, and then didn’t. How anyone manages to find a place to live in the much-​vaunted Astoria, I wouldn’t know. It probably isn’t through Metropolis Realty.

My boyfriend Jon and I had a really great experience with Metropolis Realty.
Like Leighann below me said, rental markets in NYC can be nightmare. I know, everyone WANTS to go through this with someone who owns and apartment, but truthfully that’s very rare. You want a realty company who knows what they’re doing.
I was just going around the internet looking at realty companies in Astoria (because Craigslist for apartments is a nightmare!) and Metropolis seemed like a great fit considering their reasonable apartment prices and nice properties. The only criticism I had with them is to keep a better update on the apartments they post online — when I called to ask about a couple of them, Angela told me they were no longer on the market. However! Angela was more than happy to invite me into the office to show me some of their other available apartments.
Nick took us around first. He was very knowledgeable about the people who owned the buildings and was really excellent at working within our budget. He was also wonderful at taking into account the fact that we needed a building with a short commute to Manhattan, as well as a landlord that would allow a cat. We were able to find an apartment right away in a wonderful pre-​war building with an elevator with nice hardwood floors and a small view of Manhattan. My boyfriend and I are so happy with our apartment!
Angela handled it from there and was great with answering our questions and returning our phone calls in an orderly fashion. Move in went smoothly as did all other transactions. I would recommend this realty company to anyone wanting to move to Astoria.

The rental market in New York City can often be compared to a very close earthly manifestation of the 7^th Circle of Hell. Big bucks for small spaces, Craigslist crazies and run-​around real estate agents are enough to nearly drive a girl to find a nest in the suburbs. NEARLY.
After three days of searching Astoria, with five different agents, viewing over 20 apartments, I was all but ready to sign a one-​year lease on a place I kind of liked that was a few hundred dollars out of my price range. Enter Metropolis Realty and Alex, my super-​man-​of-​an-​agent who quite literally saved the day, my sanity and a few thousand bucks over the next year! After calling Metropolis in a panic, Alex offered to meet my right away to show me an apartment in my price range. He was extremely cordial and comforting and ended up showing me a place that I not only LOVED, but was nearly $ 300 less than the place I previously only liked. I put my deposit down right away!
Over the next few weeks, Alex was easy to get a hold of with questions about the apartment, returning my calls in a timely manner. He was very flexible with my schedule (as I was coming to sign the lease from out of state) and simply put my mind at ease with the moving process. He took the time to get over the finer points of the lease with me and was helpful in getting the keys to me at an odd hour during my moving process.
If you are looking in the Astoria area, I would recommend Alex with full confidence in finding you a great apartment at a realistic price.

When it comes to brokers, it’s a rough game. And used car salesmen. I had lived in Astoria for more than a year and was ready for an upgrade. I visited with four other agencies/​brokers before calling Metropolis. What a relief. I’m not going to say they’re «heaven sent» or «just what the doctor ordered», but they were a tremendous upgrade from the ass holes and idiots I had dealt with at the other places.
Both Angela and Nick worked with us (something tells me, though, that there are several Nicks in this office). They were professional, friendly, on our schedule, and seemingly honest.
I’m sure they work most closely with a few landlords, but we got an outstanding apartment with everything we wanted an more (and our list of «wants» was a bit much for our price range). Originally, Nick said «there’s a place but I think it’s too small for you so we’ll skip it». We said «NO!!!» and glad we did because it’s our dream apartment in an amazing area of Astoria.
I recommend them!

I’ve waited three long years to find a public forum to vent about Metropolis (they had my posts on Craig’s List deleted). You’d think the anger has died down, but the conduct was so egregious, I’ll still be pissed 10 years from now.
Maybe Nick has turned his act around since, perhaps my threats to call the Board of Realtors worked. Either way, he is the worst excuse for a businessman I have ever met.
When my roommate and I first started looking for an apartment, Nick was all charm. Then, when we found the place we wanted and it wasn’t ready in time, Nick stopped answering our calls. Nevermind the fact that my roommates and I were homeless for two weeks — Nick couldn’t be bothered.
Finally, when moving day came and my roommates and I prepared to move into our THREE bedroom apartment, my landlord told us the third bedroom wasn’t actually a bedroom. Nick had LIED to us about it and the fact that doors were going to be put up. After several hours of my landlord and Nick screaming at each other, they finally compromised that Nick would pay to have the doors put up. It only took him 5 months to actually do it!
Nick was rude, unprofessional and as sleazy as brokers get. Unfortunately, I happen to think they have nice listings — however I will never subject myself to that kind of treatment again.
Oh and just a note — this behavior wasn’t limited to Nick. Angela and Ted were equally horrific.