I cannot say enough good things about John Casella of Crest Haven Realty. A bit of a backstory: My roommate and I had a literal nightmare experience with real estate in Astoria. We constantly felt like we were being played - not to mention dealt with some very shady brokers. This was our first time using brokers and alas we did not have a promising experience. Week after week we saw different places until we found one that we loved. However, the woman (although very tempting to call her out and her disgraceful customer service, I won't) was giving us a hard time securing the apartment and we felt very defeated. We were stressed because our leases were almost up and we didn't want to settle but at the same time we didn't want to continue with this woman as a broker because she's was horrible to work with. Then we met John. He responded to us quickly and kindly - and when we met with him to see the apartment first-hand, I received nothing but positive vibes. He was professional, real and didn't push us in a way that made us feel uncomfortable. The complete 180 from the other broker. The apartment itself was and is beautiful, spacious not to mention affordable. My roommate and I of course went with John's apartment (which we LOVE!) and could not be happier with our decision. He was patient with us since we're first-time renters and kept in communication with us throughout this entire process. I would and WILL be recommending him to all other people looking to rent or buy property in Queens and the surrounding areas. Thank you John for helping us find our new home - we are forever grateful! read more

My friend and I were very lucky to meet Phyllis from Crest Haven Realty on our apartment search. She was very professional and kept us well informed about the process. We knew the market, we knew what we want and Phyllis was the right broker. We rented super cute, well priced 2 bedroom apartment in LIC and we couldn't do it without Phyllis because she had a good relationship with the landlord. I would recommend to work with Phyllis to anyone who is looking for place in LIC or Astoria. read more

Phyllis made the apartment application process seamless! It was a joy to work with her.

John Casella of Cresthaven Realty deserves our highest recommendation. We desired to move to Long Island City but thought it was perhaps too expensive. All the listings I saw in the windows of all the other brokers in the area had properties and rentals which were simply unaffordable. We were willing to make compromises to move to the area however so we started looking. I somehow came across Cresthaven Realty which had listings which were much more affordable in older buildings in the area. After we saw one of them we only later realized it was a good deal as we just started looking. We expressed interest the next day and it was gone of course. Good deals don't last long in NYC. John said he would keep us in mind however for something that would suit us and he sure did. John got us an apartment showing even though it was recently vacated and not ready to be shown. The apartment was better than anything we had seen up that point both in terms of layout and affordability. We put in an application as quickly as possible and got the apartment. He was very communicative throughout the whole process which took a little longer than we would have liked due to updates the landlord wanted to make and we were happy to wait for. And he was also very helpful at the lease signing stage as well. We now live in an apartment we could never have imagined we could have gotten in LIC. John has long-standing relationships in the area with landlords that allow him to source inventory we simply couldn't find anywhere else. He is a broker's broker who I was happy to pay his very reasonable and well-earned fee. I definitely recommend him to anyone looking for property in Western Queens. read more

Had an appointment with Phyllis Masterson today. Showed up at our appointment at 10 a.m. 5 minutes before our appointment, got a message, we will be meeting somewhere else at 12. She also refused to show me properties based on the fact, I have a therapy dog. To which she answered, "everyone has a therapy dog". She refused to show me the apartments, we talked about. No apologies, no respect. Go to someone who will at least be cordial. Now is the time to shop around and avoid greedy sales people who have lost their humanity. It is not too late to learn, Phyliss. Lots of ego and attitude...but no stars(needed one to post, so one by default.) The best, Jaymz read more

A bunch of my friends who live in Long Island City recommended Phyllis at Crest Haven Realty to me. I try to rely on recommendations from friends for realtors because there are so many shady ones out there. I was moving from DC to New York and only gave myself 3 days to find an apartment (next time I'll give myself more time...). I went to Phyllis first... she didn't have any places that had everything I was looking for so I ended up going through another broker. I signed a lease on a place but it ended up falling through, so I quickly gave Phyllis a call desperately needing her help finding a place. Within a few hours, she agreed to meet me to look at an apartment and while it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, with my limited timeframe, I really had no choice. The best part is that she sat with me with the building management company while I was going through the paperwork and she helped negotiate a $75 cut in my monthly rent! I got the deal done *literally* minutes before I had to catch my bus to go back to DC. Now I'm a happy NYC resident! read more

Don't be put off by Crest Haven's retro 1990's website, I contacted Phyllis after she was recommended by a friend and she found me a great and affordable 1-bedroom apartment in LIC. Phyllis has great knowledge of LIC/Astoria and good relations with older landlords in the area, so you're looking for a reasonably priced apartment that's not in one of the typical LIC luxury towers (like I was) she is the one to go to. I liked that she only showed my apartments that fit what I was looking for and didn't try and pressure me to sign for anything I didn't love. Unlike your typically sleazy broker in NYC, Phyllis was a pleasure to do business with and I would highly recommend her! Her fee of 1-month rent is also very reasonable for NYC. read more

John at Crest Haven Realty is as good as it gets. I was getting frustrated trying to find an apartment in my budget in Long Island City, where I already lived. John was SO helpful, so kind and caring, and it's really obvious that he loves the area and loves what he does. He helped us all the way through our rental and communicated with us and the landlord. I'm now happily moved into my new apartment and couldn't be more pleased. If you're ever wondering whether to work with Crest Haven Realty, I'd say absolutely go for it. (Also, they do charge a fee, but it's reasonable at one month's rent, unlike 15%.) Yay John! read more

Extremely dishonest and unprofessional. Phyllis refused to return our deposit after making no attempt to work out a deal with the landlord, who gave us contract terms that were impossible for us to accept. She then tried to pocket the money and blamed us for not giving her correct information, even though we have records to prove that we gave her everything she needed. read more

Phyllis Masterson was so incredibly helpful! Helped me and my fiancé find a nice affordable apartment in the Astoria area and in a very short amount of time! Phyllis kept in constant contact and was very on top of things. Very professional. I highly recommend this company and highly recommend contacting Phyllis! read more

It's been said many times before and the rumors are true-John Casella is the best! He is a true professional and an absolute pleasure to work with. Prior to John, I had been working with a bunch of newbie agents who were showing me some pretty lousy and overpriced apartments. I had just about given up. I fell in love with every place John showed me and the rents were always within my budget. He's thorough, professional and an all around great guy. I've been in my place about 5 months now and couldn't be happier. Highly recommended! read more

I recently reached out to Phyllis about an apartment listing she had online in Long Island City. She was super quick to respond and showed me the place the following day. Less than a week later, I was in her office to sign the lease. She took the time to sit and explain all aspects of the lease. It was an all around positive experience dealing with Phyllis and would highly recommend read more

I tried contacting one of the agents to rent out an apartment. I am just graduating​ college, found my first job and was looking for a place to live. I had tried sending their​ PDF application form the first time around​ and it didn't work, and exchanged​ what I thought were very normal emails. I couldn't​ get back to filling out the PDF form until the next morning, and I received​ a very patronizing​ email reading "Lo and behold your registration form just arrived this morning at 9:15." and being rude about the fact that as an entry-level​ position I am not making the buildingn's required amount, which is normal, I was expecting​ that. But most people​ I've contacted have been understanding​, asking me about a co-signer and still trying to help. If you're in a situation​ like mine, (leaving home starting your first job) do not use them, especially​ Phyllis. I also can't help but wonder if my Latina name had anything to do with the dismissal seeing that all the positive​ reviews of this company come from white people. read more

I found out about Crest Haven Realty online after finding an apartment I liked on nakedapartments.com. I emailed the contact person who was John and he responded very timely to my emails. I ended up meeting with Phyllis who showed me 2 apartments just a few days after originally contacting them. I ended up working directly with Phyllis in order to secure one of the apartments I really liked. Phyllis has always responded very timely to emails and phone calls and has been very patient with me when asking questions regarding the apartment and the lease. Both Phyllis and John are very down to earth and honest individuals and would recommend them in your next apartment search! read more

I ended up renting in a different location, but most of the brokers I dealt with in the area wanted nothing to do with me when I told them my budget and what I was looking for. Not Phyllis, she not only found options for me (good ones too), but was really understanding about what I wanted and what I wanted to spend. I would call her again in a heartbeat if I start hunting again. read more

Phyllis Masterson took absolute care of us, finding in OUR price range and neighborhood with no pushing. She got us into a new place under a week AND discounted part of the fee because the management company charged extra to process paperwork. I felt good about paying for her and Crest Haven's services. They are great and so is our new apt in our old hood. read more

It is strange to write this review because I never met Phyllis in person and in the end we found an apartment with another broker. But at a friend's recommendation I reached out to her a couple weeks before we began our apartment search in earnest. She was always so kind, patient, and responsive. I am pregnant with my second child and was totally freaked out about finding a good place in the school zone we wanted and emailed Phyllis multiple times even before listings for our month had come out. She was amazingly generous with her time and expertise. Since brokers in Astoria can only show you the properties they work with, it just happened that she didn't have anything that fit our bill (and we had *a lot* of criteria) this time, but she was still an awesome broker and clearly works hard to get what is best for her clients. read more

I would definitely recommend Crest Haven Realty. I had an excellent experience with Phyllis looking for a one bedroom apartment in Astoria. She was professional, kind, prompt and went out of her way to make sure that I had all the information I needed. Phyllis really knew the neighborhood and was very open and honest with me. Signing the lease and dealing with all the paperwork with easy and painless. You can't go wrong with Crest Haven Realty! read more

This review is long overdue, but Phyllis is hands down the best broker I've ever worked with in my 15+ years of living in NYC. Surprisingly enough, I found her through craigslist - she posted a listing for an apartment that INCLUDED A LEGIT FLOOR PLAN. In order to see the apartment, I had to fill out an application which I thought was weird (in my experience I only filled out applications after seeing an apartment I was interested in), but submitted the requested information and am so glad that I did. I ended up not taking that initial apartment and shortly thereafter ended my search because I had been looking for awhile (with various brokers) and was feeling very discouraged. About a week later, Phyllis called me and left a voicemail saying "I know you said you were stopping your search, but don't give up - I just got a listing I think you might like." I reluctantly called her back and we looked at a couple of more apartments - including the one I decided to take. The apartment needed a lot of work and Phyllis stayed on the landlord about it and even followed up with me a few times after I moved in. She was legitimately concerned and not one of these brokers who disappear as soon as you hand over the check. (Also, her fee was very reasonable!) I've been in my apartment for almost 8 months now and I love it. If you're looking for a place in Astoria or LIC, go see Phyllis at Crest Haven Realty - she will take good care of you! read more

Phyllis Masterson did an absolutely incredible job getting us into our new place. We showed up to an open house on a whim and fell in love with the apartment. She made the application and lease signing process absolutely effortless. I highly recommend Phyllis, the best real estate agent I've ever had the pleasure of working with!!! read more

Super down to earth company, great people. I've used them twice so far and both times with great results.

I used Phyllis at Cresthaven to find an apartment in Long Island City. She showed me one apartment and it was exactly what I was looking for. During the whole application/ moving process, Phyllis put in a tremendous amount of hard work to make everything go smoothly. She has long relationships with the local (smaller building) landlords and I feel like this made a big difference. I would reach out to Phyllis even if the website doesn't have what you are looking for listed. read more

We had an excellent experience working with Phyllis; she made the process of applying for the apartment and signing the lease low-stress, and really made the effort to get to know us. I am very glad we ended up working with her and would highly recommend!! read more