Have had a great experience with Charlesgate for two purchases and one sale during the 10 years I have lived in Boston. I would highly recommend them.
The first purchase was in the summer of 2005. I worked with Todd to get a place that fit my needs: lots of space, close to transportation, parking, and within my budget. We found all of these things (and more) and I ended up living there from 2005 until moving a little over a month ago in May 2011. While very satisfied with my place, even up until the end, I had grown tired of the neighborhood and was looking to upgrade a bit.
So, I contacted Charlesgate again. This time both for the sale, and for the purchase of a new place in the South End. At first I used their online tools to familiarize myself with what I could expect to find within my price range. This was great as I got email daily about the new properties that matched my criteria. While I started doing this in January, the market didnt seem to really pick up until March or April - no surprise there. But looking this far in advance, the tools gave me some good insight into what to expect.
During this time, I was in contact with Todd, again, for the sale, and Sarah for the purchase. I let them know that I was "passively looking" and would let them know if I saw something I was interested in. They also agreed to let me know if they saw something that may have fit my needs.
By the time March came along, I got much more serious about the purchase. I contacted Sarah about looking at some places I found interesting and she did likewise. And, in that process we did find a place that I liked - liked enough to put an offer on. Before placing the offer, Sarah did the due diligence of pulling comps, providing her insight as a salesperson in the South End, etc. Together we zeroed in on what I should offer and what what my price boundaries should be. Well as it turns out, we placed the offer and the owners had a competing bid. It went to "best and final" and I ended up not getting the property. But, we stuck to our principles and, to this day, I firmly believe that we made the right decision about what the property was worth.
For the next few weeks, we continued looking at properties here and there. Sarah got a better feel for what I liked as well as where I wanted to live. We saw a lot of properties that were good but just not "the one." That was until Sarah called me on a Thursday morning and asked if I had yet seen a property online she thought I would like. The property was only a few minutes "old" on MLS. I checked it out online and it looked, on paper, to have everything I wanted...and in my price range! Despite pushback from the listing agent (he wanted to wait for an open house on Sunday), she got me in to check it out. It was perfect - even better than the one that I had originally bid on. We consulted again and made an offer at asking. Well, we go it and I couldnt be happier. (We later came to find out that there were at least 2 other parties that had placed offers above asking) So, needless to say, we were very happy.
Sarah helped with everything else going forward: gave great references for a mortgage broker, home inspector, etc. She kept the purchase on track and met all of our commitments. It was truly no hassle.
Then there came the daunting task of selling my first condo. This was something I was not looking forward to as I was really unsure of how that would go. Would we price it right? Would it go within a reasonable amount of time? etc.
Now that the purchase was locked, I sat down with Todd to get the sale underway. We zeroed in on a price that we thought was good given the market conditions, etc; justifying our price based upon comps, features, and the like. Our price, if accepted, would put me on very good footing considering the currently down real estate market.
In addition to helping me set a price, Todd, did great work to get my condo listed in a professional manner. The pictures and virtual tour that Charlesgate had put together were outstanding. They were so good that other people in my building (with identical units) could not believe how great they were - and these were all taken on a dark and gloomy day.
We ended up listing on a Thursday, and all I have to say is that I had three cash offers in my hand by Sunday (after the first open house). I accepted a cash offer only 2k shy of my asking price with *no* contingencies. I couldnt ask for more.
As with Sarah, Todd and his coworkers did all of the heavy lifting from that point forward. They got the documents in order, had the fire inspection done, and took care of all the loose ends. The only thing I had to do was think about how and when I wanted to move - they handled everything.
All in all, I am very satisfied with the service I got from Charlesgate. They took a normally stressful time and made it as simple as possible - I couldnt ask for more. I would highly recommend them again! read more