The Bouklis Group

I worked with Valentina K to find my newest apartment in NYC. Within what is typically a very stressful, complicated, and overall unpleasant process, I feel lucky to have had Valentina by my side as we navigated it together. Not only did she find me my absolute dream apartment huge windows full of light with a Brooklyn Bridge view, gym in building, and more - how does it get better than that?!, she was and continues to be incredibly responsive and considerate in answering my many questions. As a price-conscious, young renter, she graciously took all of my needs into account and helped save me money and time throughout. I could not have asked for a more efficient, friendly, and overall amazing agent. Thank you Valentina!!

Valentina Kadashikova, I’m writing this review while on my way to pick up some furniture for my new home in NYC. Massive thanks to Valentina for all your incredible help in finding my dream apartment in NYC. Valentina’s professionalism, expertise, and dedication really made the whole process smooth and efficient. Not only she did understand exactly what my partner and I were looking for, but she also managed to find me a place where I saved $9,000, plus – the building covered the real estate agent fee, and a month for free. I mean, talk about exceeding expectations! I seriously couldn’t be happier with the service you provided. You made what could have been a stressful ordeal into a total breeze. I am grateful for your outstanding service and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you to my friends. Thanks again for everything, Valentina. Best regards, Arvey Pérez APZ, Tattoo Artist.

Friends, New Yorkers, and all those who seek housing in the city that never sleeps--I have the pride and privilege to recommend to you the only broker you will ever need. Valentina Kadashikova is the hardest-working, smartest, and most tenacious apartment advocate in New York City, and she will not stop until she finds you a home that meets or exceeds your needs. Valentina worked with me on a cross-country move from Seattle to NYC, and I can truly say that I would not have found a home and would still be in Seattle if it were not for her. I initially attempted to work with multiple brokers from other agencies, and Valentina is the ONLY responsive broker in the entire city. This is not an exaggeration--others refused to call/text me back or simply ignored my queries, but Valentina always responded within minutes to even the smallest question. She was always there to answer questions, provide pics and videos, and serve as a tireless advocate for me in the oft-cluttered real estate market of New York. Due to my being on another coast, I had a tight window for viewings when flying into the city. Valentina used her incredible organizational skills, outgoing personality, and tireless focus to ensure we saw every possible unit that might meet my requirements, and even managed to schedule last-minute viewings on the fly when further options became available. Additionally, she's a long-time native New Yorker and provided many tips about the city, from the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants to the best on-call veterinarians. She combines the best aspects of a broker, a tour guide, a life coach and a fitness trainer yes, she provides fitness tips too, and does so while exuding such energy that you will be lifted up simply by being in her very presence. When my initial apartment fell through unexpectedly due to the owner deciding to sell rather than rent, many brokers would have started over, shrugging their shoulders and saying "Not my fault--circumstances beyond my control!" Valentina immediately pivoted to another unit in which I had expressed interest, working through the Christmas and New Year's holidays to first ensure the building had all the paperwork needed and then to check on my application every step of the way. I knew with absolute and utter certainty that she would not stop until I had a signed lease, and she did not--I had keys in hand to my new Wall St. apartment within a month of first contacting her. Valentina combines the intelligence of Hermione Granger, the wisdom of the goddess Athena, and the fierceness of Xena: Warrior Princess. Her real estate instincts are surpassed only by the power of her personality, and she will marshal all these incredible talents to one end: securing joy for you in your new home. She is, quite simply, extraordinary, and is the only agent you should ever work with in your housing search. Accept no one else.

No landlord would want to work with Frank Bouklis/Bouklis Group! He won't show up for potential tenants, and will risk your property to theft and your neighbor's security! I had scheduled a viewing with Frank Bouklis to view an apartment in Astoria. He was extremely unprofessional, LAZY and RUDE! He didn't even show up to our appointment. I arrived 15 minutes earlier, so when I called him to let him know, he gave me the door code to enter the building and left the unit unlocked. He also left the keys on the kitchen counter for anyone to take. I asked him if he was going to show up at some point so we could ask him questions about the unit/bldg, and he said "No, just email me your questions. Text me your email." Since we had already been in communication over email I told him he already had it. He responded in a condescending tone, "Just text it to me. I'm driving." We could have waited for him to come but it seems like he had already planned to not show up because he was outright lazy it was only 5:30pm - other agents will stick around even as late as 9pm for viewings!.

Loved working with Claudia! She has a great sense of the city and very attentive to clients needs. Will definitely work with her again.

Extremely, extremely unprofessional company. I had the unfortunate opportunity to work with Kleo Qyra. I contacted him regarding a unit off of StreetEasy, I met him at the building that day where he immediately started talking in my face about the 4 to 10 units that he was going to show me that day which were way out of my price range. I told him I would only like to see units within my price range but he continued to push units outside. The first unit I saw I loved, after taking me to the unit twice he told me "there is already an application on the unit but you can still put one in because they are pending paperwork". I went home and put in an application within the hour, sent over all personal documents and paid the fee for the application. He calls me within 15 minutes of submitting the paperwork to say "so sorry the other app has gotten their paperwork in but you can sign for the other units"- the units that are out of my price range. After telling him multiple times that I do not want to move forward with any other apartments he continued to push the sale on me. I come to learn the unit was rented by his co worker and he knew the unit was unavailable from the start. He just wanted to sell another apartment on me that was out of my price range. Unfortunately he struggled to listen to the client at all, provide transparency in the application process and be honest with me. He continued to talk so much at one point I had to ask him to have a min alone because I was unable to ask any questions or have a straight train of thought. After expressing my concerns he sent long lengthily texts combating with me instead of simply apologizing as a professional should do. He stated "I didn't even charge you a broker fee" when in fact the building is PAYING THE OP FOR THE BROKERS he was doing me no favors. He is a liar and only cares about the sale in front of him. I am not one to write negative reviews but after the experience and treatment I received I truly hope he can use this feedback to seek additional training and improve as a professional.

We worked with Matthew Rodriquez. He was very helpful in finding our first apartment in NYC! Due to our busy work schedules we primarily had to go look at apartments during our lunch break. Matt was always willing to accommodate, even if we only had 30mins each day. He seemed knowledgeable in the area and improved the listing we saw based on our feedback about past showings. Would definitely recommend!

I worked with Matthew Rodrigues. After dealing with many different individuals and seeing many different places I can say with much confidence that Matthew was the best to work with. He didn't waste my time showing me places I wasn't interested in. Everything he showed me was quick, thorough, and exactly what I was looking for both in terms of space and budget. Additionally, he was constantly available to answer questions and met me to check out another location on extremely short notice. Matthew was extremely helpful and I was very happy with him and the apartment he helped me find. I would without a doubt work with him again in the future.

Leonardo Mara helped make the impossible apartment hunt process not so impossible. He helped me and my roommate find a great apartment in the financial district. I would highly recommend him for all broker needs.PositiveResponsiveness, Professionalism

AVOID THIS BROKERAGE AND THEIR SCUMMY BROKERS!!! Leonardo Mora tried to sue me in small claims court because he felt entitled to a fee for an apartment he did not show. The trial lasted a total of 2 minutes and at some point the judge even seemed amused at how silly the lawsuit was. Save yourself the trouble and use a different brokerage!!! Long story short, I used 2 brokers to see 2 different sets of no-fee rental apartments. Leo showed me some, and also walked me into the lobby of a building, but the doorman said it was busy so we left. Couple weeks later later I visited that same building with another broker who signed me into the leasing office and showed me apartments. After I took that apartment, the second broker who did the work was paid of course, not Leo. When Leo found out, he sued me for $5000 in lost commissions. Note that Leo literally did not 1 show me anything in that building, 2 send me anything about that building, or 3 even speak to me about that building. Also, there was no fee agreement between us since all apartments were no-fee nor any kind of exclusivity. Basically he wanted $5000 for walking me into a lobby and saying hi to the doorman. Needless to say, the judge ruled in my favor. What a huge waste of time for everyone involved. I would advise anyone from doing business with this brokerage firm, and Leo in particular. For anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation, get some free legal help, especially from the Monday Night Law Clinic -- I got some really solid advice from the lawyers there. If you're patient enough, it might be worth asking for the judge instead of an arbitrator. P.S. For those of you at Bouklis Group, you really ought to teach Leo how to use spellcheck because his emails are horrendous.