I had a good experience working with Roman Zharakovsky. He was very responsive, helpful, and informative about the apartment. He responded after work hours and on weekends, and reminded us to submit apps and things to expedite the process and increase the likelihood of getting the apartment we wanted. He was easy to work with and accommodating. He allowed our friend to visit in lieu of us, and then later after we signed the lease, he allowed us to visit again. Overall good experience, though I am still confused what is the purpose of a broker, at least we did not have to pay a broker fee! Coming from outside of Boston, i appreciate that Roman was able to answer almost any questions that I had. read more

Moving to a new city for work away from friends and family is a stressful, daunting task. Having been scammed before when apartment hunting during undergrad, I was weary and skeptical of finding an affordable apartment in a city where units sell like hotcakes. Luckily, I had the privilege of working with Roman Zarakhovsky as my agent. As I'm starting work while applying to grad schools, I made it clear my priorities were proximity to work, affordability, and... a bathtub. From the start, Roman was incredibly knowledgeable, responsive, and patient throughout the entire process. He took the time to understand my needs and worked diligently to find options that fit my budget and preferences, going out of his way to send me 3D scans that he made himself for new units while I was out-of-state AND working to get me a unit within my budget. His transparency and professionalism reassured me every step of the way, making an otherwise overwhelming search feel seamless and stress-free. Thanks to Roman's expertise, I was able to secure an apartment that exceeded my expectations. I truly appreciate his dedication and would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a reliable and trustworthy real estate agent. read more

Had an unpleasant encounter with one of the realtors at East Coast Realty by the name of Steve (did not get a last name) who was attempting to show my apartment unit to potential new tenants. Normally I do not mind working with agents as I get it is a competitive market, so if given enough time, I like to tidy up the apartment, help with pictures/video, and just make sure that the people viewing are aware that there is a cat. Steve contacts outside of business hours addressing a completely different person and does not even confirm the unit number. Shows up to the door demanding to be let in stating that I am making things more difficult than necessary when he could not even verify name or apartment unit he was showing. During a time period where I get multiple scam texts daily, some proof such as apartment unit confirming that the agent representing who they say they are representing should be the minimal amount of effort. Instead, Steve doubles down stating some nebulous "they" sent out the text addressing the wrong person and decides sending some screenshot of his work spreadsheet was more appropriate than a simple apology for miscommunication. To top it all off, Steve is arguing this whole time in front of the potential new tenants. What a great strategy in convincing people to work with you. Again, I normally do not have an issue working with agents, but Steve is just way out of line with his behavior and communication skills. Edit: The 1 star rating is too harsh for the overall organization. I have worked with Sylvia in the past, and she was super kind and helpful during my apartment search. Other brokers have been courteous in asking to show the apartment. It has only been this interaction with Steve that led to this negative review. read more

Roman Zarakhovsky at East Coast Realty seemed totally fine until I decided not to sign the lease at an apartment I had applied for. He repeatedly pressured me to sign the lease immediately, and I wasn't comfortable with that, so had to say no. He immediately replied with very aggressive and inappropriate language, yelling at me for making a decision that was totally within my right to make. It made me incredibly uncomfortable to have someone totally flip out on me, using swear words, just for annoying them. I screenshotted the text from him and posted it here, and his manager immediately reached out to apologize and rectify the situation, so I'm changing my rating from one star to two since I appreciate the quick resolution and apology. read more

The apartment we signed with was a one bedroom apartment, that had a separate room for the living room, connecting to the bedroom via hallwall. Over text, Emma told us that the only difference between this apartment and the one we originally wanted was that one of the doors was missing (for clarificiation, there was one bigger and one smaller room. I set up the bigger room to be the bedroom since it was further from the front door. This room had no door.), and reassured us that the door will be installed by the time we move in. Upon move in, maintenence actually told us that in order for this apt to qualify as one bedroom, the second door cannot be installed. I guess my original statement of treating us like dollar signs continue to hold true, as after I told Emma, she stopped responding to my messages (I know she can't do anything, but even an acknowledgement that she told us misinformation would have been nice.) read more

I was asked by one of their agents, Jason Yung, to view our apartment for a client looking to rent with less than 24hrs notice. My partner had a zoom meeting at that time, so asked him to reschedule (my right given the short notice). He didn't respond and then showed up and let himself into the apartment while my partner was in her meeting (again, less than 24hrs after asking and I said no). Given the already-parasitic nature of going through a broker in Boston, I can't imagine working with this company. read more

had an awful experience working with Roman Zarakhovsky from east coast realty. i reached out to him on zillow to view an apartment- after viewing he was very aggressive and pushy. He was very misleading and kept saying that this place will go quick, only for me to see that the landlords actually reduced the rent a week later. He was very rude and unprofessional throughout our time working with him. Once we signed the lease he did not follow through on any of his promises, and our place had zero repairs made once we moved in even though we moved in a few days after our lease started to specifically allow for this. I called him to discuss why he failed to follow through and he yelled at me for calling him on a Saturday. I know for a fact that he did not make any effort to coordinate with the property managers or maintenance team, and I had to deal with repairs long after I moved in. He was very sexist and unprofessional. I would stay far away from him and this company overall read more

I scheduled a tour with Jennifer and she did not inform me that it had not been confirmed, so I arrived to the property only to be told that she cancelled the showing. Highly unprofessional and would not recommend. read more

Since this place hires people like Debbie Moss, I can't give this place a good review. She's very comfortable in doing things that are illegal or unethical just to make a bit more money. I was unfortunate enough to interact with her both as a prospective tenant and as an occupying tenant who arranged to let her visit the apartment with other prospective tenants. As a prospective tenant, she was incredibly pushy and tried to make me do stupid things like pay an extra ~1200 for the 2 weeks I wouldn't occupy an apartment, just to guarantee I'd get the place. So I'd be paying 2 rents for 2 weeks. Great idea! She also suggested that I get rid of my cats to have a chance at getting another place! After that, I ghosted her. I recently got a taste of how she treats occupying tenants. She gave me a range of times she would be letting visitors into the apartment on a day. When I pressed her as to why she wouldn't give a more specific time, she said she intended to come to the unit by herself to look around and see if it's presentable and also take pictures because her last pictures were from 2012--a total violation of occupying tenant rights. She had no intention of saying so before I pressed her for an explanation, so a stranger was going to come into my home to look around and take pictures of my place without my consent to make a bit more money. She was just hoping I wouldn't be home to snoop around my place. Real nice! God knows what she was intending to do. After that, she repeatedly asked me for pictures of my unit, and I ignored each request, because she made me uncomfortable. And then she tried to schedule multiple visits on the same day, which I rejected. I specifically told her not to come at 6 PM for the second time in a day, which she confirmed and she showed up anyway! She would have opened the door and come in if I wasn't around--once again, illegal. It's really important for occupying tenants to understand their rights, because toxic realtors like Debbie Moss will take advantage of you. I'll be reporting her to the Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons. read more

Exceptional help from Dan Briggs. He found us the right apartment for our needs. We were seeking a quieter apartment due to major construction on our building. He showed us several great options, including the one we ultimately chose which is on nice quiet one-way street. It's hard to find a quiet apartment in Boston. He did it. Dan is a real specialist. We feel like we found our life-long real estate agent...and a extraordinary guy. read more

Tong has been a serious lifesaver! We had an issue come up with our current apartment and needed a quick turn around in finding a new place. Tong quickly sent BEAUTIFUL options we didn't even know we could afford and they are better than anything I have ever toured. The whole process took two weeks and we are so happy with our new place! If you are looking for a realtor that makes your dreams come true (and quickly) definitely work with Tong at East Cost Realty. read more

I have never met any agent as rude as David Bussion. Zero people skills. With no apparent ability to work with current tenants. Not only will we never allow him into our home again. I recommend East Coast Realty finds a different form of representation. This is the first negative Yelp review I have ever posted. read more

Jason Yung did a great job of finding us a nice apartment within our budget! We initially applied for a different apartment at the same time as several other individuals (through Jason). We did not end up winning the lease, but Jason was communicative throughout the process and quick to help us find some equivalent options. He also made it possible for us to view the apartment virtually through house videos, and helped us navigate the signing process from out of state. Thanks so much! read more

Jason Yung is a lifesaver. Boston's housing market is a nightmare. My partner and I had been trying to find an apartment for weeks, and in the last minute dash of trying to find an apartment early August, Jason swooped in ten minutes after contacting him with an apartment that met all of our requirements, was under budget, and more. He is incredibly responsive, kind, and wants to know you as a person in order to help you find the best home possible. Next time I need an apartment, I'm calling Jason. Every thanks to him! read more

Don't waste your time here, ultra patronizing brokers who have kindergarten communication skills- Jared was if anything two faced and passive aggressive-find someone or somewhere else to help you with your rental search - especially when paying a fee. read more

10/10 I had a fantastic experience working with Debbie Moss at East Coast Realty. She has been very helpful, friendly, patient, and responsive to all my queries and doubts. She helped me find apartments close to my budget, unlike other realtors who were exclusively sharing listings 15-20% above my budget and took an unreasonably long time to respond. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for apartments in Boston and would enlist her help if I am looking for an apartment in the future. read more

Riley Burke helped me find a new apartment. He showed me several apartments that fit my needs. Throughout the process, he was very responsive and professional. He answered all my questions and the process was smooth. I would definelty use him again to help me find an apartment! read more

Gabriel is amazing! He helped me secure an apartment over the weekend. Within 3 days I got the key to my new unit. He's super responsive, resourceful and efficient. I'm happy and satisfied with his service! If you're looking for a broker, he's your go-to guy! read more

Worked with David. Absolutely horrendous. My partner and his mother traveled a few states over to look at apartments with ECR, and the agent David not only got our names wrong after we repeatedly corrected him, but showed us apartments that were ALL above our budget. David became agitated when we corrected him on my name, and then continued to blame the budget issues on my lack of communication (I had reached out several times and showed him the messages I sent specifying the budget). David also told us we would NEVER find a 2 bedroom in boston for $2,000 that wasn't a split. We actually already toured one before him. Absolute waste of the day, thank god for Jack Conway, they saved the day! read more

Alex is unprofessional and needs to learn some basic manners. She is the realtor for the new tenants coming into our apt in September. She contacted us about a week ago via text asking if her and the tenants could see the apt to take some measurements. This is something I could have easily said no to but instead I agreed that they could come Friday at 9:30 am. However on Friday I left a note on the door that I got home late from work and would be sleeping- please do not come in bedroom. I would think that as professional she would have- 1. Called me when they arrived 2. Made sure to check both doors for notes before entering 3. KNOCKED on a closed bedroom door before barging in and terrifying me out of a dead sleep. None of these things happened and therefore I will do no more favors for Alex and the tenants. Great job Alex! read more

I contacted ECR right after my boyfriend got word of a promotion; said promotion would be moving us from the west to the east coast abruptly (a little over a month). During the month, counting down to the move, my boyfriend was training in DC and I took the reigns of contacting realtors to show us listings. My boyfriend's company planned to fly him to Boston mid month to apartment hunt and I would meet him there. We planned to fly with check book in hand, ready to sign a lease due to the brief 36 hours we had to view listings. The agent that I spoke with was Eric Shinrock. I was initially interested in a listing he had but I wouldn't be arriving to town for another 1 1/2-2 weeks. He offered to rent it site unseen, I declined and instead asked if he would be available to show my boyfriend and I around when we came to town. He seemed eager and very helpful. We discussed what we wanted in a rental unit, price range, etc. For those weeks leading up to the trip we communicated over e-mail just about everyday. I would send him listings, solidifying what we wanted and about a week out we agreed on a date. We would fly in Sunday 9/15 and meet at noon and start the hunt. He told me he would decide on a meeting place that Friday and send me the information. Over the next few days leading up to Friday I continued sending information and he continuously assured me we would settle on a meeting spot come Friday. Friday came, nothing. I called him. It rang, he answered. "Hi Eric! Its Amanda, Just wanted to touch base with you"...he mumbled a bit "er, uhh"...there was some noise and then he hung up. This was when I started to get a bit weary. I thought, "okay, take it easy...no need to see red yet. He probably didn't hang up. He was probably at a showing, or getting on the T. He'll call back." I decided to give him 30min-1 hour. He didn't call, so I did! rang, rang, rang...voicemail. Okay....I call again, instant voicemail. I left a message, and tried to come off as nice as possible despite my growing exasperation. Shot him an email. This is where I began to see red. I was flying across the country in 24 hours and I was counting on him to show us around our first afternoon there! As you can imagine the expected happened. The next day I called and emailed him constantly with no reply. I flew out that Saturday evening sending out SOS emails to other realtors as I boarded my red eye. I already had showings booked for Monday but wouldn't rest easy if I was flying into Boston Sunday morning and had nothing set. I arrived Sunday, met with my boyfriend and we couldn't help but laugh. We each probably called Eric Shinrock every 15 minutes "Hey, buddy. Its us, your favorite people, just calling wondering whats up man?! cant wait to meet you in 10 minutes"...he never called, SHOCKER. ...Eric Shinrock you are lousy. Checked out your Linkedin profile, and I should have known, you don't even look qualified to sell toy houses to children. ECR, do yourself a favor let Eric go. He's only hurting your reputation. If you need a good and reliable brokerage company, contact Proper Realty and talk to Taryn. read more

I'm really hesitating to write more than a sentence about my experience because its already taken up so much of my time........... I called only about one specific apartment on Craigslist, and like the majority of realtors in Boston, she started asking a billion unnecessary questions. I only wanted to look at one apartment....please, don't offer 50 others...dear god, she's offering 50 others. Ok fine, let's meet up at the apartment? No, meet at her office, what? But, we have a car? Sketch...10 minutes of my time wasted on a phone. There's a reason why I hate talking on the phone, and Debbie just reminded me. Thanks Debbie, I've now adopted a no-phone-calls-with-realtors policy. read more

Roman Zarakhovsky recently assisted my daughter with finding an apartment in the Brighton, MA area. As a parent I could not have asked for a more thorough and responsive agent. He was patient and attentive, he went out with her on multiple occasions and found the perfect unit. He was awesome and I strongly recommend that you consider Roman as your agent! read more

Very unprofessional and condescending. They do not check on landlords before working with them, and tricked us into signing a lease (with broker's first/last rent, security) for an apartment that was not actually on the market. After that, they would not follow up with lease termination despite us asking many, many times. Serious scammers. Do not trust them! read more

Terrible. Takes a relative long time for maintenance issues to be only adequately resolved...particularly when the unit I was renting flooded and subsequently had toxic mold growth. They are also seemingly in poor communication and coordination with at least one landlord that they represent. read more

Ben was THE best! He was so considerate of our wants and needs and would curate the bests lists. He did everything in his power to show us around multiple apartments include in person and via FaceTime. 11/10 would recommend!! read more

I worked with Debbie Moss in Fall 2016 to find an apartment within my budget range. While I'd emailed many realtors from multiple agencies, she was the only one who took my budget seriously. I saw exactly 5 apartments with her and liked all of them, before finalising on my current place. She was very helpful with the entire application process, helped me get in touch with the management after move in and also had my keys ready on 1st Sept with no delay. Iv been staying here for 6 months now, and have thoroughly loved this experience. If you are looking for an apartment in Boston, I definitely recommend Debbie at East Coast Realty. Thanks Debbie :) read more

Debbie Moss is the best real estate agent I have worked it. She was just fabulous! She found me a great apartment at a great price and a great location. She was very on top of things from the beginning, when I contacted her the first time, she got back to me too enough with a list of apartments that we could look at together. She doesn't rush through things, in fact it was her idea that I spend around one hour with her and look at 8-9 apartments. Other agents normally try to show you 2 or 3 and try to sell you on it by highlighting something about it but Debbie wasn't like that. She really wanted to make sure that I liked the apartment before I took it. Also she was always available to email or chat on the phone even after she found me the apartment up until till the time I moved in. The whole process of signing the lease, submitting paperwork and making payments was very smooth because of her. Even on the day of the move in, she handed me the keys, provided instructions and answered all the questions I had! All in all, she was great about absolutely everything. I was lucky enough to find her! She is also super nice and very kind. read more

Wish I could give them no stars because if you look up "Slum Lord" in the dictionary you will find a picture of East Coast Realty Inc. The Landlord, RE Agent and Management Company are all a family run business who could care less about their tenants and are more concerned about the bottom dollar. They take no pride in the maintenance of their buildings. If you didn't get ignored - your service requests went weeks sometimes months before being taken care of. Drains wouldn't drain, faucets constantly dripped, heat wouldn't heat due to faulty thermostats, radiators constantly clinked and clunked making sleep difficult, windows and window areas were filthy, ceiling fans polluted the air with dust and grime and paint continually chipped off the walls. It also took them nearly three days to shovel our walkway after the 2013 snow storm. AND when they finally do come and fix something the maintenance guys don't clean up after themselves and leave the place a wreck. One time I came home to my bed thrown upside down on the ground and another day I cam home to my bathroom covered in debris, due to a hole in the roof that was patched, and a dirty plunger in the sink! We went almost four months without hot water before we told the Landlord we were holding rent until it was fixed. They issued us an eviction notice and when they finally looked at the hot water heater under our threatened litigation it was found that the hot water piping was crossed with the cold water supply! Think it was only ironic that this happened considering the Company was on the hook for utilities and their bottom dollar focus. O and I am currently in a dispute with them regarding my security deposit. When we signed the lease it was half broker fee, first month rent and one month security deposit. Not only did they charge us for erroneous trash removal (place was spotless before we left) and lost mail keys (which we never received initially) they are taking the deposit deductions from the half broker fee not the full months rent! I have invoices to prove this but I can only think that this is more of slimy move by management in the hopes to short change some former tenant rather than an honest mistake. Safe to say I will be reporting this crew to the better business bureau and checking all property management company references before I enter into a new lease. read more

I am from Northern California, and attended Boston University for my undergrad education, and definitely felt bewildered and struggled with gaining a grasp on the housing/rental market in Boston. Having a good realtor and agent can make all the difference! I worked with Roman Zarakhovsky, who was exceptionally proficient in a variety of ways professionally- returned calls/emails/texts promptly, had a great foundation solely of just real estate related knowledge, and felt that I was regarded as more than just a client, but a friend, as he personally went above and beyond to make sure my experience was pleasant. He patiently listened to my own assertions and answered all of my questions with great personality and true competency. He not only helped secure me a great apartment, but did it with such efficiency and efficacy, I cannot find any negative input to give in regard to my experience. His personal dedication professionally definitely makes him stand out within East Coast Realty. I was extremely impressed with the agile way he handled any hurdles that came about routinely as part of the housing process. Being a Boston area native, he has insight and personal knowledge that I believe made a huge difference in his abilities to help me secure a place that was the proper fit. From an increased personal standpoint, my family has a long background in residential and commercial real estate on the West Coast (both my parents have a successful career in real estate predated by my grandparents); that did not advantage me very much in tackling the vastly different housing market that encompasses Boston. Before finding Roman, I dealt with a few years of very stressful experiences in finding off-campus housing that included numerous apartments, and a variety of realtors in the local area. After my experience with him, I have realized how much of a difference having a great agent makes. I will definitely be using Roman in the future and have referred numerous friends to him, as I have a high level of faith in his abilities. I very much recommend working with him! read more

I Moved here to Boston last month from Nebraska and found ECR while visiting the area. I only had a few days to find my ideal living situation, however I was also VERY picky. I am kind of a realtors worst nightmare. I was met by a guy with glasses named Matt and for two days he showed me a collection of apartments. He was very honest and helpful with answering any questions I had. He wasn't to pushy but was really great at giving me the facts and helping me come to a rational planned out decision. Wether you are looking to buy a home or rent an apartment, I would recommend east coast in a second! read more

Debbie was amazing! I only had a few days in Boston to find the perfect apartment for myself and Debbie worked tirelessly to find a variety of apartments which fit my needs. Debbie was organized, reliable, and accessible making the apartment search process seamless from start to finish. Couldn't recommend her enough to those new to Boston! read more

I worked with Sarah Hoffman, who was excellent! I found her through a random Craigslist listing but that first apartment was a complete dud--Sarah really listened to the aspects that were uncomfortable for me and was committed to the price range that I gave her. The very first apartment that Sarah showed me next was exactly what I wanted--location, state of repair, move-in date, etc., and she was helpful and humorous throughout the process of the lease, etc. I would start with Sarah again when I move. read more

I have to say that this was one of the best realtors i had. My agent, Steve, was prompt, helpful, showed me everything and anything and was not the usual pushy sleezy real estate agents that we all know and hate. He also had a personality and didn't try to convince me i wanted something when I didn't. They were so straight forward and had a lot of apartments that no other agency had which happened to be some of the cleanest and well mantained buildings i have ever seen. So many of the reviews complaining about bad apartments take with a grain of salt...come on people, its allston and brighton, if we wanted nice clean and taken care of apartments (or could afford them) we would not be looking in the area. The bad apartments, all agents show...it makes up the majority of the market. I would recommend and send my friends to read more

Stay away from this agency! I was shown a completely different apartment from the one I was interested in seeing. It was a basement Unit which I'm not considering at all. I met with Jake Koncius who was told to show me that basement apartment. He had no idea what Unit he was showing. When I asked him if the current tenants would be in the apartment, he said yes but they would be fine with the showing and when he opened the door, he said the apartment was actually vacant. When I told him that was not the Unit I inquired about and showed him the photos, he said the one I was interested in was rented out already (the listing was posted 3 days ago and is still on CL). He sent me an email the next day apologizing for wasting my time and offering to show me other units. No, thank you! This is not how you do business deceiving people and offering something completely different. I've also noticed that the agency has multiple listings of the same units on CL posted by different ECR agents. UPDATE: I have changed the rating to 2 stars because the owner John has quickly responded to my email with an apology. I appreciate that. Wishing Jake best of luck and great learning experience in this industry since he has just started out. read more

This was my roommate's and my first time filling spots for an apartment and I hope to ever do it again if this is how we are treated in the future. Not only was the broker insanely unhelpful, he was just plain rude over text. This was our first time doing this and we made that very clear in the beginning. He did not give us ANY instructions or information up front and then would hound us when we did something wrong. I unfortunately had no choice but to deal with East Coast Realty's "service" and hope that I never have to again. read more

East Coast Realty is the rental agent for the place I currently live in (I'm leaving in Sept.). While personable on the phone, they seem very dense. I've asked them numerous times to please please please give me 24 hours notice before showing my apartment so I can hide my dirty clothes (hello thong!) and put away jewelery that I don't want others to see and make my bed and do things that will help them rent my place. But they don't listen. They call and give me 3 hours notice. They are not respectful to my wishes whatsoever. I would just tell them to suck a bag of dicks and stay out of my apartment unless they give me a full 24 (or at least 8) hours notice, but my flatmate is looking for an apartment and using them as her agent. I don't want to give her bad rental mojo. So apartment-hunters, when you see dirty underwear and piles of clothes, don't be disgusted. Instead, pity the people who are sitting in their offices, mortified, because they can't leave work to tidy their place up. read more

I was struggling to find an apartment in my price range with an August 1 move in date. Debbie from East Coast was great. We made an appointment to look at whatever was available on the day, and she also sent me some links in advance. She was the only agent who took seriously my wish list, and was able to deliver. She was respectful (not condescending like some others) and went above and beyond to help me secure my application as quickly as possible. read more

I worked with Roman Zarakhovsky and he was absolutely delightful to work with! Of course when I looked up East Coast Realty I was skeptical because of the current 3/5 ratings, but I was proven really wrong! The experience was really wonderful!!! Hassle free and quick! My fiancé and I weren't the easiest clients: - We were looking for a place on an off season period (Not a Sept lease) - Our budget was pretty tight - We're pretty picky about location, unit level, size, appliances and layout - We only had 10 days to find a place Despite all these challenges, Roman managed to find us the perfect place that we really like. Spacious, clean, with a wonderful kitchen and really accessible to public transport. Roman made all the right calls for us to get this rental! He also worked with us into the night to help us rush together our application, walking us through each step, and remained available by phone and text even after I got the keys. Roman is an awesome agent on many levels: - Proactive in finding listings for us - Getting an accurate feel for our taste and non-compromisables - Very prompt, clear and communicative - Incredibly patient - Really helpful, going above and beyond - Genuine and down to earth, easy to work with, just a great dude THANK YOU, ROMAN! We need more people like you! read more

I'm a big fan of East Coast Realty. A friend of mine suggested them to me. He didn't end up renting a place through them, but he said that he was only shown places that fit his requirements. The prices seemed pretty in-line with the area and I didn't get too much B.S. Great communication, friendly, and they really put in the extra effort to try and make sure you're happy. read more