My partner and I were lucky enough to connect with Pearl at 4 Buyers Real Estate (who was referred…read moreto us by a friend of ours who had worked with Pearl in the past) while we were looking for our first home in the Boston area, and we're so, so grateful for it. Pearl was with us every step of the way, and is a deep fountain of knowledge for every aspect of the home buying process. She was the hub of a wheel of experts she recommended based on her experience, including a real estate attorney, home inspector, mortgage provider, several contractors of different specialties that our home needed, and other agents in the areas in which we were looking. She helped us move quickly, and intelligently through our journey as first-time homebuyers. If Yelp allowed more than 5 stars, Pearl would get them all.

I'm not going to bury the lede: you want to work with this company. We just moved into our new home…read moreand couldn't be happier Our agent, Dave Twombly, was incredibly knowledgeable and a great partner in this complex process. His expertise and support not only helped us make good decisions, but feel confident in our choices - which really matters when you're making the largest financial decision of your life (so far). We really appreciated Dave's attention to detail, sense of humor, and clear dedication to our best interests. 4 Buyers Real Estate's policies reflect the ethical stance that Dave shared with us in his initial pitch. Agents are paid based on the listing price or the sale price - whichever is less. This means that agents aren't incentivized to push the sale price higher to improve their fee. We also agreed up front that we would not waive the inspection in our offers. This meant that we had to do a few pre-inspections in competitive situations, but they were worth the price we paid for the peace of mind. Go through the details when you talk to 4 Buyer's Real Estate. You'll see that they've set up their company to encourage ethical behavior and to support their clients best interests - which means that you can know and feel like you have an ally as you buy your new home. If we ever need to buy another property, we're calling Dave again!

I listed my mom's house with Raveis Realty. Since I live in California and the house is in…read moreMassachusetts, I explained that I needed them tell me what needed to be done. I also said I was willing to put money into the house before simply dropping the price. The services included listing and showing the house to prospective buyers. The first agent I used, Kathy Cuoco, told me everything was great and that the house was ready to go. After a few weeks of little to no activity, I asked someone else to check in. They told me the grass was very high and that the house looked abandoned. When I contacted Raveis, I was told it was a tough market and to drop my price. After a couple months of basically nothing, I asked to change agents so my listing was (kinda, sorta) transferred to Kathy Knox. She began by saying that I should drop my price because it was an awful market and that she didn't expect it to improve for at least 2 years. (I can look up the Case-Shiller Housing Index easily enough, and it didn't support her assertion.) Meanwhile, I traveled to Massachusetts and saw that the place needed work. I can't guess why they didn't tell me, unless they were used to selling abandoned properties and mine looked good by comparison. So I hired several tradespeople to make repairs and updates. When the house went back on the market, I got some interest but I never felt like the Raveis team was working on my behalf. They were just going through the motions. The worst point came when they had an open house and got no traffic. I was told by a friend that they didn't even put signs out. When I asked why not, they said they'd advertised the open house on Craig's List. Eventually, the 6-month listing contract expired and I re-listed with Keller-Williams out of Concord. Talk about a night-and-day difference. The agent I used, Deb Nicholls, was so much more professional and helpful. She took charge and did what a real estate agent is supposed to do. I soon got an offer and sold the house. Kathy Knox is still sending me email updates on my listing even though the house is sold and despite my repeated requests for her to stop. They honestly seem utterly clueless.

As first time home-buyers, my wife and I knew we would have a wide array of decisions to make…read morethroughout the process. The easiest of these decisions for us was choosing to work with Denise Garzone as our Realtor. Immediately upon meeting her, we knew she truly wanted to help us find the right home, at the right price. We found ourselves at ease with Denise, and were able to trust that she was looking to partner with us through the process. Denise masterfully balances the drive required to complete a transaction in the competitive environment of suburban Boston real estate, with the grace and patience needed to ensure we were comfortable with each step of the process. She never made us feel pressured or rushed, and clearly explained the pros and cons of each choice we made. Denise understood how difficult it was for us to take in all the information about not only the houses available, but also the lifestyle change of moving from the city to the suburbs. She tirelessly researched the properties we were interested in, even going as far as pulling building permits from the town offices, allowing us to make the most informed offer on a house. The negotiations for what became our new house carried through the snow storms of February 2015. For those who lived through this season in Boston's history, it proved to be very difficult time for even the heartiest New Englanders. Not even continuous blizzards could phase Denise. Her commitment to us yielded the exact house we wanted for the lower end of our budget. Denise's commitment to us and our search for our first home never wavered, and for that we will be eternally grateful. We strongly commend her to anyone looking to purchase a home, and promise you will not be disappointed.

I can't imagine a better experience with a realtor than what we had with Deb. First and foremost…read moreshe is a good human. Trustworthy and professional down to every detail. And she knows the area better than anyone because she's a neighbor and truly embodies that in her approach. Kindness AND the acumen to take us to the finish line with an offer WELL above asking. It doesn't get much better than that. But it does! Because Deb also surrounds herself with a team of experts who are the best of the best. From financing to staging, she had a highly talented person for us to work with. Lastly, it's been 3 months since we sold our house and we are still in contact with Deb and her team. The relationship wasn't just a transaction to her. She's a true neighbor in spirit. We feel very fortunate.

The Kotlarz team is top-notch, organized, well-oiled machine that gets houses sold. Great extended…read moresupport team to ready your house for sale without delays. So happy we listed our house with Deb.

STAY AWAY!! I paid a brokers fee to be moved into an apartment that sold a month after I signed a…read morelease. They were showing the place the entire time I was there and now they are doing construction and I'm pretty sure it's unsafe. I called and spoke with a manager named Maureen who was downright NASTY and refused to reimburse me. I'm sorry I paid you $1,500 to move into a place for you to show and then sell? What a nightmare this company is. Lindsey Higgins was the broker-- so unprofessional.

I have been a REALTOR with Classified Realty Group most of my career in real estate. We are a…read moretalented grouo of real estate professionals who love what we do! responsive, collaborative, knowledgeable and friendly are traits we are known for and the local community has awarded us with the accolade, "Best Real Estate Agency" in the Readings for the last 8 consecutive years.

I recently had the pleasure of listing and selling my JP Condo with BJ Ray and the Boston Home…read moreTeam. After interviewing other JP relators, I decided to go with BJ because I was impressed with his depth of understanding of the JP market and the sophistication of his reasoning around timing, pricing, and bidding. Throughout the process I was impressed with the team's coordination, especially Beth, the Director of Operations. The listing/sale process was clearly explained and smooth. BJ and team coordinated the staging, smoke detector inspection, three visits by handymen to address last minute items, and the legal aspects with the attorney they work with. BJ was right on with his pricing and I accepted a final offer a few percentage points above our listing price! I give Boston Home Team my strongest endorsement!

The Boston Home Team recently helped us sell our home on the north shore and what an absolutely…read moreFANTASTIC experience from start to finish! We worked primarily with Meredith and BJ (with Meredith leading) and not only are they an absolutely stellar team, they are also the kindest, most fun humans to work with. It made what should have been a super stressful experience actually pretty fun. Before getting to know them, two aspects of their business really stood out to us (we met with multiple agents before choosing Boston Home Team): their incredible listing services - especially the photos/videos they provide (I am especially fussy about this as a full-time professional photographer myself) - and the fact that they come in and spend a good chunk of time working with the homeowner on the staging aspect. This ended up being my favorite part of the experience - working with Meredith to make our home look its absolute best. She has phenomenal taste and also offers additional items to fill gaps where needed. My husband thought it was all a bit silly ... until we closed at over 30% over asking price. ;) What we didn't realize in advance was just how much time and effort they would put into marketing our home. They work their social media hard, and the eventual buyer found our home through Facebook ads (they hadn't even been looking in our town). Their communications throughout were top-notch and I felt comfortable reaching out multiple times with silly questions and thoughts, and they were always so encouraging and enthusiastic in their responses. I cannot recommend them highly enough. We are SO grateful that our realtor friend who is no longer in the Boston area was able to recommend them to us.

In this crazy seller's market of Spring 2021, Rick was our amazing buyer's agent. Rick helps us…read morethrough the mess of multiple bids, the craze of contingencies, and the constant, rapid action each week. Decades of experience meant he was ready for any twist and he knows the neighborhoods so well! He was always safe, he responded to our texts or emails in minutes, and he knows someone for anything you might need in the process he doesn't do himself. We could not have gotten our place in this market without an agent as great.

We just closed on our new home in Reading with Rick Nazzaro of Colonial Manor Realty (not Valerie…read moreT's house below ha) Our experience with Rick was also top notch. We were a bit apprehensive that since it was his listing and he was representing both the seller and us as the buyers that he would be somehow biased. I've got to say at no time did we ever feel he wasn't looking out for our interests. We signed the p&s quite a while before the closing (2+ months) to take care of some things financially - this meant 2+ months of pestering Rick for various things - inspections and making himself available to open the house whenever we asked for various estimates on work we wanted to have done. He always made himself available via phone, email and text. Even AFTER the closing, I had a few questions that I contacted Rick about and my emails were returned promptly. Rick's professionalism, expertise and obvious passion for what he does made a daunting process much easier, I'd highly recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a home!

I bought my condo in Jamaica Plain 17 years ago with Sam and though that may sound like old news,…read morelet me tell you why it's not. I'm still happily living in the same unit, my building is in good repair and my association is financially solid and full of good neighbors. My home is worth almost 2.5x what I paid for it back then, while our condo fee has gone up less than $100 in that time. Sam found me exactly what I asked for and negotiated to secure me a better price than my neighbor who bought the month before me in a ridiculously competitive market. I can tell you from the long view, 17 years later, no regrets. And we're still in touch whenever I need advice about contractors or homeownership or for just a friendly hello. Buying a home is stressful, but my experience shows Sam's prowess in helping to find not just a place to live today, but a home that was a great deal for the long term. So many thanks!

First off, Sam & his team are buyer brokers. If you're looking to buy and want some representation…read morew/integrity - go w/GBHT. Always professional & competent - can help you get through the worst scenarios. Btw, they are full time broker professionals, not weekend/amateurs. These guys are great - I cannot say enough good about them & plan on using them again in the future.

As a first time home buyer, you must make a lot of choices. For me, choosing the right Realtor was…read moreone of the most important ones. In this market, I knew I needed to work with some one who was highly experienced and deeply embedded in the community I wanted to live in. I choose to work with Ann Harrington at Lighthouse Realty and am so glad I did! From the first to the most recent contact, (I won't say last, because I now count Ann as a friend), I felt supported, encouraged and guided. with 30+ years in Real Estate, Ann knows her stuff and as a community member she provides a unique perspective as both a Realtor and a neighbor. She provided insight and guidance, while helping me develop my own perspective. We looked at the market, my personal situation and then different neighborhoods before looking at specific properties. She suggested homes and also let me pick (because all new home buyers will constantly be on the apps looking) ones to visit. When visiting properties, she let me look and evaluate first, then asked me what I thought. She guided me without telling me what I did or didn't want. She pointed out features and also opportunities for change or improvement. Without fail, any open house I attended alone the listing agent knew Ann and spoke well of her. When we found my home, she was on top of every detail and provided me with so much information and perspective. She is extremely thorough and detailed in her work. She always answered my calls, texts or emails promptly. When we hit a potential snag with the lender, she jumped right in and went above and beyond what she had to do- advocating for me and helping to quickly resolve the issue. My home buying process was really smooth because of Ann and I can't thank her or recommend her enough. She covers all of Massachusetts, but is a specialist in the very competitive South Shore Market.