If there's anyone on Yelp that deserves a 5-star review, it's Heidi! I just realized that my 2014…read morereview for Heidi lives on her previous agency's Yelp! page, so I wanted to post it here, too: If you are looking to buy or to rent in the area, I can't recommend Heidi Shenker highly enough. I started working with Heidi more than a year ago (it's ROUGH out there, kids!) To say this is not a renter- or buyer-friendly market would be one of the biggest understatements in the world. Heidi was so patient with us as we fluctuated between renting and buying, between Somerville and Brighton/Brookline, and between price ranges. In the end, we decided to focus our energy on buying, and Heidi always did her best to see all of the units I was checking out on the open house circuit. She was always honest about what she saw, and she has a ridiculously good understanding of how the market works. She was always forthright about what she thought a unit would ACTUALLY sell for, and she was often right - it helped us gauge our expectations and wound up saving us lots of time and lots of headaches. Above all, I always felt as though she was advocating for our best interests; it always felt like she was on our side. In the end, we put together a total of 5 offers (5th time's a charm, right?) over the course of the months. She was patient and accommodating each time and I never once felt as though we were pressured to increase our offers above what we were comfortable with. Each time we decided to throw in the towel on an offer, Heidi was always understanding and ready to help us hit the ground running on our search again. Looking for a place to live in the Boston area is truly one of the most stressful things someone can subject themselves to. (Seriously -- stress dreams. All the time.) But Heidi knows that, and did her best to make sure this experience was as relatively bearable as possible. As long as she is still working in this area, I will never use anyone else. Although, I do hope I won't have to go through this again for a long, long time!

I'm surprised there aren't reviews for Heidi already! I'll be moving from NY to Boston and wanted…read moreto find an apartment during a one-day trip to Boston, so I set up appointments with multiple agents. Heidi was by far the best one. The apartments she chose were the ones I liked the most, plus she was knowledgeable about the Brookline area and landlords. And I appreciated that she didn't rush or pressure me, or try to get me interested in pricier apartments. Heidi kept in frequent contact throughout the process and explained everything thoroughly to ensure there would be no miscommunication. She also made calls for me to make sure I got what I wanted. For example, after I picked a place I decided that I wanted parking. Heidi immediately reached out to another landlord at the condo building and arranged parking rather than trying to convince me to go with my second choice, a pricier apartment with parking. I went at the beginning of a busy rental season and was just looking to rent an inexpensive studio, but Heidi made me feel like I was her most important client. I get the sense that she enjoys her job and wants to match people with the right apartment for them. Highly recommend!

Alyaa at PadMatch is the nicest and most helpful realtor I have ever worked with. We had a bunch of…read moreproblems finding a new apartment and getting everything together and at every step she was there to help and make things easier for us. She is super easy to reach by phone/email/instagram (@allytheagent). I hope we aren't moving again for a while, I will definitely be using Alyaa and PadMatch again when I do.

From the owner: Rentals & Sales in the Boston area and beyond. Team of over 40 agents ready to help with your…read moreapartment or home search.

We saw a beautiful apartment with Kody and were excited to move forward. Unfortunately their…read moreprocess was extremely sketchy. They wanted us to pay the deposit and sign the lease before being approved as tenants by the owner of the property. They claimed if we were not approved, they would refund the deposit, but that was not outlined in the lease terms so there was no guarantee the funds would be returned. I am not going to risk $8,000 for the chance to be considered and nobody else should either. This entire process felt very strange and we ended up walking away and finding something better with a different company.

Realtor Kody Adim got us a good place for a great price, but he was, at times, incredibly rude and…read moreunprofessional in an attempt to speed up the process. An example of one passive-aggressive thing he said was "Why do I care more about finding this place than you do?" Furthermore, based on his other reviews (look them up), we had strong reason to believe he lied about other people trying to sign the lease to pressure us into signing quicker. Highly recommend you do not work with him if given the chance.

I am so excited about the news I just received, I have to write a review! The best availability is…read moreaccountability and if your looking for a realtor who is available and willing to go above and beyond for you, I highly recommend Eric. After months of searching for an apartment in South Boston and dealing with sharky dishonest realtors, we were connected with Eric through his advertisement online. Eric was very prompt with his response and available to show us the apartment the very next day. While in the apartment, Eric was very knowledgeable about the area and honest about the market. With the competitiveness of South Boston, he advised us to offer a higher price which most people would feel questionable about. However, we trusted him and I'm glad we listened! I never once felt like Eric was only interested in making money, he was genuinely interested in helping us out (he even discounted his brokerage fee.) The landlord informed us there was upwards of 16 different applications on this particular apartment. Eric was able to negotiate on our behalf and get us this apartment over all other applications due to his hard work. If your looking for a great realtor to help you with your stressful search, contact Eric at Preview Properties. I will be looking to buy next spring and wont think twice about reaching back out to him!

This is a long delayed post, but reflecting on my ~10 years renting in Boston before I purchased a…read morehome, I had the best rental experiences through Preview Properties. The first time I rented through them, they gave my partner and I a little "welcome home" basket and were so helpful throughout the process--the rental was so perfect that we ended up staying for 3 years. More recently, Mervin Needham was above and beyond responsive and kind during a search a few years ago.

We toured one of their apartments, liked it, and applied. They tried to charge illegal application…read morefees even though Massachusetts banned them in Aug. 2025. When we questioned the fees during a follow-up call, the apartment went from "we will get you into this apartment" and suddenly became "unavailable." Left a bad impression.

I enjoy surfing craigslist for real estate. It's a strange…read morehobby. But I like looking at available apartments in the area, seeing what they are going for, etc. I love looking at pictures of empty, clean apartments. It's all fun and games, til it comes time for me to actually find a place of my own to settle on. With the end of my current lease fast approaching I began contacting various agents to set up showings of a few places. THERE ARE SO MANY IRRESPONSIBLE, STUPID realtors in the Boston area. (No offense, but it's true.) I wanted to work with someone who listens to what I'm looking for, is responsible and timely. ENTER: Stephen of JP Rentals into my life. Stephen embodies everything JP Rentals is about. He enjoys helping people. He's not just in this for the money. JP Rentals cares about matching the right tenants with the right apartments and landlords. He was upfront and honest about all the pros AND cons of each place we considered. He was flexible and tried to accommodate our busy schedules. He made the process smooth and painless. Another huge plus is that most of the employees LIVE in JP or nearby. It's a testament to how much they love the area. I'm so fortunate to have such wonderful new neighbors! I don't plan on moving again any time soon. But I would hang around the JP Rentals office for fun. Don't go anywhere else when you want to move to JP. THANK YOU JP RENTALS! You have restored my faith in realtors.

I am honored to write a review about Channing Real Estate!! From start to finish they were so…read morehelpful and led to the purchase of our first home. Laura was incredibly knowledgeable and never pushy. She listened to what we were looking for and only showed us places that fit into our needs and budget. I am forever grateful to Channing Real Estate and Laura K. for helping my husband and me through what can be one of the most stressful times. We are now loving and settled into our new home and could not be happier. I am 100% confident that when a new sale or purchase is in our future we will work with Channing Real Estate and Laura K. Thank you!!

I rented an apartment with Gary for 3 years during my time in college and I am so glad I did! Gary…read moreis one of the very best landlords. He is always responsive and thoughtful to your needs. Our apartment was also perfectly located to the campus, T station, and other areas (Back Bay and South End). My parents also stayed at an Airbnb owned by Gary for a couple of nights for my graduation week. The space was nice, spacious, and clean. It was also in the perfect location -- close to campus, Back Bay, and South End.

Gary has been a wonderful and thoughtful landlord over the past two years that I've rented from…read morehim. It's a college area, so noise level can be an issue, but Gary has been helpful with helping resolve any issues. He's super responsive whenever something in the apartment needed fixing, usually getting it done within a few days. The maintenance workers were super friendly as well! Would definitely rent from him again in the future if the opportunity comes up!

Don't be fooled. Strictly Apartment Rentals is the same business as Alpha Management. Because Alpha…read morehas earned such an awful (well-earned) reputation in the area, it needed a name change BADLY. Sadly for them (good for renters) they weren't very smart about masking their changed name. It's obvious. Anyway, for anyone considering renting from Strictly Apartment Rentals, PLEASE see the reviews of Alpha Management first! And take them seriously. If you want rude management that intrudes into your apartment at night...if you want bedbugs or leaky ceilings and windows, if you want rats and mice...then rent from them. Otherwise, STAY FAR AWAY. Don't let them trick you. The apartments are slums and the landlords are nothing but slum lords. http://www.strictlyapartmentrentals.com/Contact.html http://www.strictlyapartmentrentals.com/Contact.html (Notice same office addresses) See Alpha Management reviews: http://www.yelp.com/biz/alpha-management-corporation-allston

I had to move in to a new place and was left with only 10 days to find one. I came upon this place…read morewhen I was scouting for places. I just walked in to their office and do not regret making that decision. It seems like Hassan (who runs this place) is very well connected and has access to a lot of places in and around this area. He is also very friendly and amenable. Got me a great studio on Westland Ave for a good price. I had a wonderful experience with 'Strictly Apartment Rentals'.

Darsh Patel is amazing! He worked tirelessly to help us get an apartment for our daughter. He is…read moreprofessional, courteous, and an absolute gem to work with. I cannot say enough good things about this young man. Boston Pads is the best agency we have worked with in the area, bar none.

I had lived in a Fineberg apartment building for the past two years. I will say they are pretty…read moreresponsive to maintenance requests and it wasn't all bad. But the people who work there OMG they are the rudest people ever. Dianne who apparently controls everything is the most dismissive and rude person I have ever talked to. She has not customer service skills whatsoever and should not be in a customer facing role. There was one month I had an issue with paying rent due to some financial reasons and I got a scholarship from my school to help me pay for one months rent. My school required them to fill out a certain form instead of being understanding Dianne was dismissive and rude and made me cry. They either need to find someone else to work there or fire her completely. Otherwise apartment was nice with high ceiling but could be better maintained and cleaner. You get the landlord special with paint and heaters. I had to keep my windows open during the winter because the heat literally made my room feel like a sauna.

I've lived in Feinberg Properties for 7 years, and the management has been consistently awful…read more Every interaction regarding renewals or leasing terms has been frustrating, unhelpful, and unnecessarily difficult. Diane, in particular, is one of the worst. She's consistently rude on the phone, dismissive, and completely lacking in professionalism. It's baffling how someone with such poor communication skills is in a role dealing with tenants. Feinberg operates more like slumlords than a property management company--completely out of touch with what respectful tenant relations look like. If you're thinking of renting from them, don't. You'll regret it