My roommate and I had a very particular situation (rental subsidy) and had been apartment hunting…read morefor months. So, working with the Rental Group- Frank specifically; truly felt like a holiday miracle. Frank handled our situation professionally and with genuine persistent care. Going above and beyond during these holiday times to advocate for, and promptly secure our dream apartment. Frank is an honest and genuine individual, truly a pleasure to work with. We will thoroughly be enjoying our beautiful new apartment. Thank you!

Writing on behalf of a friend:…read more They worked with The Rental Group when there was very less time at hand. Inquiry was submitted for the property of interest and within a few days the lease was signed and the keys handed off: the man behind this was Mr. Frank Mitrano. He was very responsive throughout the process, showing high level of dedication and commitment. He addressed every concern and ensured that they were comfortable. If you are reaching out to this realty, ask for Frank!

My wife and I lived in the greater Boston area for 30+ and during that time, had either sold or…read morebought four dwellings. As a result, we were pretty familiar with the local real estate scene. Having shopped for houses in Arlington, we knew about Steve McKenna, whom we'd met during open houses and had left a very favorable impression. So, when deciding to sell our Arlington home at the end of 2021, our first choice was to work with Steve McKenna & The Home Advantage Team @ Gibson Sotheby's International Realty. When we had decided to sell the house, we'd just gone through a family crisis and had much to deal with. We consider ourselves lucky to have chosen Steve and his team to represent us as they provided great guidance, seamless communication and comfort during what for us was a difficult time. At our first meeting, McKenna provided a very thorough overview of the Arlington real estate market and a strategy (including timelines) for selling the house. Particularly important, Steve and his team supplemented our efforts by helping to stage the house, keep the house clean (as there were frequent viewings), figure out the listing price, sort through the bids and execute the sale. We strongly recommend you consider hiring Steve McKenna & The Home Advantage Team if looking for or selling real estate. These folks have their finger on the pulse of the local real estate market, are smart and provide great insights and guidance. Also, everyone is quite personable and great to interact with. I doubt you could find a better group to help you find our sell a home!

From the owner: Real estate, Home buying, Home selling, local expertise, negotiation, community connectionsread more

When our offer on a reach home in our school district was unexpectedly accepted, we had to move…read morevery quickly to stage, show, and sell our condo to make it work. Julie Gibson made it all happen like it was no big deal! Through all of the emotional and logistical ups-and-downs, she was always a text message away to make sure we were on track. Julie connected us with very professional staging and photography people, and had the place full of prospective buyers faster than I thought was possible. She was very helpful evaluating offers and ultimately scored a price that worked for getting the home we wanted.

We worked with Julie Gibson this year to buy a house in Arlington and we were very glad we did. She…read moreknows Arlington on a house-by-house basis and she misses nothing. She talked us down at one point - we freaked out and wanted to raise our bid and she told us to settle down, she thought we had the right bid already. She was right, and now we have a lovely home that we paid the right price for. At our very first meeting, the first thing she did was sit down on the ground with our toddler. She has kids herself, and that was important to us; she understands our priorities. When you're dealing with a real estate market as intense and high-stakes as Arlington's, you need someone who's extremely competent, driven and detail-oriented. We thought it was really important to find a top shelf agent. Julie was exactly on top of every single detail throughout this complicated process; we always felt that we were in good hands and in control of our situation. We highly recommend her.

I recently bought my 1st house (condo) in Somerville. I met David Escott while I was at of all…read moreplaces at the Dog Park. He was there with his little Boston Terrier and I was there with Speedy my 3 year old chocolate lab. While the dogs played we talked Somerville real estate and how high the rents were. As he was leaving he handed me a dog biscuit with a business card attached. I was happy because I finally met an agent who didn't try to force anything on me and Speedy was happy because, well he got a treat. I called David the next day and we started looking at condos that weekend. He was very patient with me and explained everything as we went. When I finally found my condo, he walked me through the whole process, I never once felt overwhelmed. Three months later I have moved into my condo and I could not be happier.

Walked in to ask about apartment rentals, and also to ask about getting a combination loan to buy a…read morehome / condo out here while house in CA is on the market. When I asked about the rentals, the people at the front desk were very short, and get me a card and directed me to call the agent for further assistance. When I said I would possibly be buying, I was redirected to the card. When I mentioned that I was a property owner, and possibly going to refinance, it was all nice-y nice-y, smiles and happiness galore. The loan agent was very helpful, and took a few minutes out of his day to go over some scenarios and loan types, and I may possibly contact him to help us out with the loan. He's got his own company, and although he's housed in the office, I believe he probably would work with an agent of my choice -- it's all about commission, right? But as far as using one of the real estate agents (and I did have a card put in my hand by an agent -- as I was leaving --who was being very rude at the the beginning of my visit), I won't be going with this branch. All I gotta say is customer service goes a lot further with me than a company name, and the people who were unhelpful at the beginning ruined the chances of this office earning my money.

It's unclear to me that this is actually a functioning business. I have tried calling and emailing…read moremultiple times during business hours for two weeks and have yet to have any success getting ahold of a realtor. Would recommend going with a company that actually wants to speak with customers for your Boston rental needs

I flew into town with a mandate and a deadline. Find a new residence which I love, execute a…read moresigned lease, and have a move in date for the following week; all of which needed to be completed in 72hrs and on Memorial Day weekend nonetheless.... Impossible you say?! Well to that, I assure you that you have not yet met Chrissy. For if you have, you have likely already experienced perhaps the most seamless and personable rental process in history. Not only was she very easy to speak to over the phone, but she was empathetic and accommodating with regards my constraints (I emphasize this as it was a holiday). I have a habit of moving at a fast pace, which was pushed into overdrive considering flight-determined deadline. While this can, from time to time, throw most people off or be a little overwhelming, she managed to get everything done with the highest level of professionalism and in record time. As for my new home, it is day 9 of my occupancy and I couldn't be happier. Really, I couldn't have found a better place to live. Thanks Chrissy!

owning property in the back bay area of Boston has been wonderful because of A&S realty . When a…read moreunit comes up for rent they typically have it rented before the present tenant moves out . Their advice has always been spot on. I highly recommend their services if you need a realty service.

Kailah Gittleman showed apt., we applied, were approved and put down the deposit. Lease came over,…read moreand our attorney called Kailah to talk about some terms. Kailah said JUSTIN GRAMMAR would discuss with attorney, and to email questions/proposed changes which attorney did. JUSTIN GRAMMAR refused to talk to attorney, emailed attorney no modifications and refunded the deposit. Our attorney replied that the addendum language contradicted some standard lease terms, and asked again to discuss, which he ignored. We never heard from either Kailah or Justin. Completely unprofessional, but more concerning, clearly didn't want to deal with tenants represented by counsel. Red flag!!! Thankful we didn't get stuck in a lease with a property manager this unprincipled and unresponsive.

I've been living in Boston for almost 10 years and when it came time to find my next place, Clovis…read moreAlves helped me quickly find the perfect unit. The process was so easy and straightforward. He was very attentive, personable, and took the time to carefully listen to what I needed, and then suggested a few units - he was right on. It was everything I wanted. I really felt like he took the time to really listen and shared his knowledge of the different available options. I had reached out a bit early and as soon as units became available, he took the initiative to follow up with me to schedule a time. It was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend him if you're looking for your next home! You want someone who cares, is knowledgeable and has your best interest in mind.

I had a true Dis pleasure working with ((((((Laurent Plaisimond))))))…read more from Boston city properties- Use at your Own RISK!!! Very very pushy habits, I experienced such a Hostile experience with this agency- very shady very sketchy, as I'm prepared to launch an ethics code with board of realtors against these dishonorable company! From day one, they pushed and pressured my Agent to obtain keys *****earlier to avoid obtaining prior****** to the Long holiday weekend The priority shifted to convenience on behalf of the NEW prospective tenants, vs the existent occupants- and the landlord needs The focus was to Get Keys as Promptly as possible, BY pass any essential details in between in a very highly dysfunctional approach Laurent Had a Nerve to ASK for the *****Commission check PRIOR to even having his clients move in***** He figured to obtain keys fast, and get Paid RAPIDLY prior to the 1st of September which he knows is (((((Prohibitive and also UN lawful)))) Above all, he was aggressive on the phone when I informed him, his boss would be briefed on the subject matter and valid warranted feedback would be posted on Google, Yelp and Zillow Laurent created a NIGHTMARE experience to the old occupants, and to my broker who had an awful experience with Laurent as well

The number of one-star reviews is hilarious. I'll give two because ultimately we had a successful…read morerental experience with him, but he was very rude to me as well. As we were finalizing the conditions of the lease I asked if there was any flexibility on the price, and he freaked out and yelled at me, giving some "after all I've done for you" BS. A simple "no" would have sufficed. At least after reading these reviews I know it wasn't me, it was him!

Very unhelpful. Provided incorrect information about the property while I was touring (told me the…read morewrong price and stated things about the apartment that turned out to be total speculation). Didn't show me around. Just unlocked the door to let me see it and stood there. Hard to get a hold of. Really just did the least amount of work and collected a broker fee for doing not much of anything. Wouldn't recommend working with him as either a landlord or Tennant. It was no wonder the landlord had so much trouble filling the long vacancy at the apartment

Kelly is simply awesome to work with. She knows her properties inside and out, is honest, not pushy…read moreand very down to earth. Kelly was very flexible with my move in dates and met me during my lunch breaks, which took a lot of stress off the process of moving. I'd recommend Kelly to anyone looking for a new home!

Kelly Dean was my realtor when I was moving some time ago. At first, I thought she was wonderful,…read morebut when she and I went to the property for me to sign the documents, she became antsy. I'm disabled and on Section 8, btw. When I hesitated to answer one of the invasive questions on the applications, Kelly YELLED at me!! I felt so scared that I filled out the paperwork, even though I felt uncomfortable. When I first read "Jay S.'s" review, I took it with a grain of salt because Kelly had more positive reviews than negative ones. BIG MISTAKE! Please learn from my mistake. It doesn't matter if a business owner has thousands of stellar reviews. Read VERY CAREFULLY of the bad ones.

Property management is often thankless, I suspect. I can just say that my condo building and…read moreassociation have benefited from good value for the property management services we've paid for (we've also been blessed with knowledgeable, experienced, caring trustees). At a unit owners' (virtual--Zoom) meeting in mid-December 2021, in fact, our BRIGS (formerly Barrington Management) property manager, Debbie Davie, was given UNANIMOUS commendations, thanks, and applause from a quorum of owners. For 15+ years. Debbie has cared for our property, owners, and residents as best she can. For example, last year as I was installing an outdoors a/c cover, I mentioned to Debbie, who was walking by, that in the past two years, covers had been stolen from my air conditioner, which is too big for me to move indoors. Debbie stopped for a few minutes to discuss security--mentioning some worrisome situations that she herself had endured at properties. Many times she has responded in a timely fashion to my calls and emails (I haven't really needed to contact her since BRIGS' merger, so can't say whether that has changed...I did have good experience with a number of BRIGS staff in July 2020 while dealing with an insurance company and adjusters about water damage: At the time, Myra in BRIGS' Arlington office helped find essential info for my claim--and stayed after BRIGS' business hours to do so--on short notice during the COVID pandemic, when many businesses were operating with reduced staff. I noticed a supervisor's email address in Myra's signature lines (for unit owners/residents to offer feedback), so I offered my thanks up the line to BRIGS' Daniel Scarry, Andy Mirsky, and Scott Wolf, with especial commendations for Myra's wonderful service, which had helped me file a claim as soon as possible. While unit owners and residents here admittedly have needed patience about some things (e.g., extended buzzer functionality issues, exterminators...and once, a property manager-on-call wouldn't take my calls to BRIGS' answering service after my second call-- to which, if I recall correctly, he replied that a plumber could come on Monday...but I was calling on a Thursday (Thanksgiving) night, when my unit was flooding...I finally found a plumber to come that night to alleviate the situation), BRIGS has had to exercise some patience, too: residents in my building stack can be hard to reach, especially on short notice, to give permission for plumbers to check their unit for a leak or to turn off the water supply, for example. I'd like to thank Debbie once more for her part in my whole building complex's positive experiences with BRIGS. Thank you, Debbie and BRIGS!

My experience renting from Briggs Management was extremely frustrating. We had a shattered window…read morein our apartment throughout the winter that was simply covered with tape and never properly repaired despite multiple requests. Leaving tenants with a broken window for that long is unacceptable. Communication with management was consistently poor. Emails and phone calls frequently went unanswered, making it very difficult to get even basic maintenance issues addressed. Our interactions with Jessica Rosa were particularly frustrating due to the lack of responsiveness and clear communication. I've rented in multiple apartments across Boston and have never dealt with a management company this unresponsive. If reliable maintenance and communication matter to you as a tenant, I would strongly think twice before renting from any property managed by Briggs.