The results speak for themselves: a house we loved but thought we couldn't get, bought under asking price,well below market value, in a competitive bidding situation. That would be enough for me to recommend Brendan and Mel and the BREL team. But it is the whole process, from beginning to post-close that makes them truly incredible. Buying a house can be stressful and complex - but with Brendan and Mel we were able to focus on the fun part- dreaming of what home would fit our family. They instantly establish trust and confidence that they are your partners and the details are being taken care of. With all the complexity, I was still sleeping well at night knowing that I wasn't missing anything. Financing- the best rate we found was with the incredibly personal and competent broker they introduced us to. Same went with home inspector, lawyers etc. They have built an incredible team of customer focused and responsive professionals. And when you say BREL referred you- they pay attention! Without a doubt, we would not have gotten our house if it weren't for Brendan and Mel. We wouldn't have even bid, as it was listed at the high end of our range and houses in our area have been going for $20-60K over asking! Mel said you can't win a bid that you don't make - so we did and then sat back and watched them do their magic. We went back and forth with the final acceptance of our offer arriving after the midnight deadline BREL set -another indication of the dedication to their clients. Watching them negotiate is incredible. They know what they are after and are laser focused on getting it - but they do not do it unilaterally. Each decision was made by my wife and I, but under the guidance of Brendan and Mel. When we were unsure, they were able to ask the right process questions to cut through the ambiguity so we could feel confident in the decision we were making.They know when to be firm and when to be flexible. They never BS and would rather walk away than have you make a bad decision - which is not a universal characteristic with agents! Again- the results speak for themselves. The search and negotiation is only the beginning of the relationship. Every step of the way they led us through the process, making sure we understood what was happening and why. They checked in regularly, and were ALWAYS available to answer questions, and never made us feel silly for asking the dumb ones! They were true partners in the most important and significant process my family has been through. If you are not with BREL, you don't know what your missing. I would recommend them without reservation. Thank you Brendan and Mel! read more

I am going writing this review of BREL because they are a phenomenal real estate group, I want them to do well, and I think that anyone who is taking the time to look through real estate reviews should just stop now and make a decision to use them. With BREL's help, my fiancee and I sold our condo and bought a new home. We worked with them on both sides of the equation. In both instances BREL was: great at what they do, fun to work with and they made things easy. They have basically created the perfect real estate model. Compared to my last experience, they were miles ahead. We sold our loft the first weekend it was listed. BREL staged it really well (we didn't want to move after that had been done), took photos that I will keep (amazing photos), recommended and coordinated a well-priced guy to do some minor fixes and marketed it across a whack of social media channels as well as the usual places. They seem to provide an extra level of service all within the usual fee structure. The entire team is super nice to work with. Also, they didn't play games with selling price and try to list low to get a bidding war. As a buyer, I hate those games, and really appreciated the level of honesty that they displayed throughout their communications with other agents. Basically, they were upfront and honest with pricing and managed to sell our place for a really good price. They also helped as buy a home that we love and I'll just say a few things: 1. There was no pressure to buy right away and I never felt that we were inconveniencing them with last minute requests 2. They got back to use right away whenever we had questions 3. When Brendan looked at houses with us, he sort of focused on the practical and structural aspects so that we could focus on our gut reactions 4. Brendan and Mel really helped us when it came time to put in a bid and they set our expectations so that we could make the final deal happen BREL has a network of awesome people that they work with, from lawyers to mortgage brokers and they made the entire process EASY. Their broker offered us the best rate we could find (we looked around). And they have every possible resource ready to help with the process, from neighbourhood guides to buying tips to checklists for each stage of the process. Again, they make it easy. We can't thank them enough for being so awesome. Needless to say, we had a phenomenal experience with BREL and recommend them enthusiastically and without reservation. read more

I worked with Dena Shiff, who was absolutely incredible. She helped me find me an apartment after accepting a job offer in Toronto, where I've never been before, was away from at the time of this apartment hunt and knew nobody -- I had zero clues of how to look for a place, which only added to my anxiety of moving to a completely new place. Dena knew exactly what I was looking for, sent me amazing listings and offered to go to the apartments that I liked but had some concerns about and send me videos of what the condos looked like up close. When I found an apartment that I immediately fell in love with in the centre of Kings West (8 Mercer St), she sent in the offer and all the necessary paper work within a couple hours. Notably, the agent for this apartment was supremely slow in getting the offer to the condo's owner and having him sign it, and for four days, Dena -- knowing that I was intent on getting this particular condo -- tirelessly called and emailed the agent and the brokerage company several times, each day, pushing for a response, until the offer was accepted and signed by the owner (4 days later). I will also mention that I had a credit score (that was on the lower side (though I am starting a high paying job in Toronto), which made me certain that I would need a cosigner. Dana, however, at my request, pushed for the offer ($2100) to be accepted without the need for a cosigner. I still have got no clue how she did it, but that's what happened. Other than that, Dena from the beginning Dena was so personable and likeable. She answered all of my questions clearly, offered me advice when I asked, assurance when I needed and was literally available 24/7 (including weekends); she responded to a ton of emails from Anxious me within 5-10 minutes tops, if not less (on a couple instance when she was driving and couldn't write on her phone she would call me !!). It has been my privilege working with Dana and an honour getting to know her. At a time where I most needed it, she made me find a place that I know I will instantaneously be able to call home, and helped replace my anxiety about moving to Toronto with complete excitement and for that I am eternally grateful. I cannot recommend Dana Shiff highly enough !!! Malak read more

We cannot express how thankful we are to have picked Halina and her team at BREL to sell our house! A bit of a background...we've had an agent who has listed our house on the market for 1 year (yes that's correct!) both exclusively and on the MLS and couldn't sell it or even come close to bringing a decent offer. Our place was staged and de-staged at the end as he needed the furniture for another property. We were totally disillusioned with all realtors at this point. We were upfront with Halina when we first met her about our past experience, and Halina was very sensitive to our situation & instead of promising the stars and the moon just to get the listing, she very patiently walk through the steps she would take to help us get the property ready for sale and get the place sold at a fair price. Halina took her time to research on the price taking into consideration the current market conditions & she priced it right. Their amazing staging team of Kiel and Jim (and Halina) totally blew us away - they knew what the space needed & staged it so well that we weren't even sure we wanted to move :) Halina was very thorough in verifying all the information needed for the listing not leaving anything out. Zun the marketing coordinator working in the background did a phenomenon job in the administrative details + all the marketing materials! It took us 2 weeks to get from signing the papers with Halina to getting it listed and going live on MLS (realtor.ca). We listed on the Thursday, and held 2 open houses that weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Halina presented a GREAT offer on Monday (noontime), guided us through the negotiation process and it was FIRMED up on Wednesday! All these happened in less than a week from listing to a firm offer at close to our asking price. We still could not believe we've sold our place, almost too good to be true! All we can put it down to is having a great realtor like Halina + an amazing BREL team which is like a well-oiled machine to make this happen. If you stumble upon this review or is looking around for a realtor, do not look further as you have come to the right place :) read more

Here's an honest review from a couple of first time homebuyers who were wary of entering the Toronto market... As renters in our 30s looking at the intense market, we were ready to give up on buying a home in Toronto and beginning to look elsewhere such as Hamilton. On a whim we contacted BREL to connect with an agent who could show us what our reality was if we wanted to buy in TO. We were cautiously optimistic but expecting the worst, given our budget and the competitive market. Let's just say that within hours we were in touch with Giulia Gallina, and in 7 short days we'd made an offer (accepted!) on a house EXCEEDING any expectations we'd imagined. Giulia never hesitated to ensure we saw every property we asked for in short order, no matter how strange it might have seemed! She made the whole search process feel seamless and easy. Giulia jumped through hoops and made magic happen (realtor ninja skills?) We were faced with some unexpected circumstances imposed by the seller, but Giulia worked it to our utmost advantage in every way, and has continued to be a lifesaver and constant source of reassurance at every point leading up to closing. She was supportive of the numbers we were comfortable with during the offer, and from the critically important details to the nitty gritty, Giulia has always been there to deal with hiccups, and questions from demanding clients like us, leading up to close. :) She's always in touch via email, text, phone, or whatever works for us. As anxious first-time home buyers, we have been beyond impressed and constantly buoyed by Giulia's knowledge (she knows her stuff from condos to century houses), honesty, humour, and realness. Although we're excited to be moving into our first home in a few short weeks, if we ever find ourselves ready to sell - Giulia will be the first person we contact, and will recommend her to everyone we know ready to buy or sell in Toronto. read more

As a seller, it was essential (critical) to select the best representation for our property. Toronto is saturated with agents, and we quickly learned that all agents are not made equal. Being one of the biggest transactions in life, we knew we had to be careful, and extremely selective in weeding out the amateurs vs. pros. After numerous interviews of various agents and brokerages, we decided on the Brel Team and THANK GOODNESS, we did. After initial discussions with Brendan and Mel, Kristin Shensel was brought on to sell our property. Despite being told by other agents that we would not likely get what we had in mind, Kristin completely proved the opposite. She presented and executed a sales strategy that ended up getting us 14% over listing and our home sold very quickly on offer night after 7 days and it all happened during the worst ice storm- this completely surpassed our expectations! Throughout the process, she demonstrated true knowledge and experience and never over promised, but rather and IN FACT over delivered! She was SUPER responsive to the hundreds of questions (via text, phone, email) and kept us informed (and sane) each and every day (morning, noon, and night). What a professional! If you are currently in search of a top agent, DO NOT look any further. The Brel Team is turnkey. They offer all the essentials and so much more. From beautiful staging, to amazing photography and closing out deals, they are truly a power house. Agents will say and tell you what you want to hear and claim they are the best, but we trusted our gut and the Brel Team has proof in the pudding with real transactional facts! Don't risk the biggest transaction of your life on amateurs, we were so fortunate we didn't. Thank you so much Kristin, Brendan, Mel, Kiel and Jimmy! We are so grateful and indebted to you all. Best wishes. Stephanie & Marvin read more

So, my condo of 5 years just sold for almost 10% over asking - in less than a day. The offer came through in the 20th hour - actually. But let me back up the train here for a sec and tell you how it all began with an agent named Giulia, backed my a team on a mission. I found The BREL Team after Googling phrases like 'Toronto's best real estate agents' and 'the value of staging your home for resale', along with 'marketing tactics of the best real estate agents'. So naturally, I clicked, saw a website that was incredibly well-designed (unlike the norm) and shot them an email. That's when I 'met' Giulia - about 5 minutes later, over the phone. She told me exactly what she thought of the market, the current opportunities and her plan for selling my place. As a digital marketer myself, I gotta say - it was better than any pitch you'll find in a text book. Within a few more minutes she sent me that comprehensive strategy in an intuitive online presentation, and, wait for it - offered me a competitive and fair rate that included all the top-end staging rentals (a lot of agents DON'T do this). According to the local real estate board, condos in the area sell in about 27 days. She had ours revamped (cleaned), glamped (staged), listed and sold before I could say Bob's my uncle (something like 5 days from the moment I hired her). And I am overseas, 6 hours difference, yet there was no fuss or muss - everything was seamless. Oh, and then she got more than asking - I mentioned that right? And asking was ridiculously high. Like it was insane. But she even shattered that barrier for a record breaking sale. So, clearly, I'm sticking with this Giulia character. Anyone need an agent? She'll impress you beyond your wildest imagination. Trust me. read more

The Brel Team, and especially Giulia Gallina, are exactly the pros you would want on your side when househunting, especially when it's your first time. From a first-time homebuyer's perspective, here's all the things that I think matter: 1) Available and patient: Giulia took our call at 9PM on a random Wednesday night, and talked to me for as long as I needed to help me decide if I should go with her as our realtor. Great decision that I did! She was there for me throughout the entirety of the process, answering all our rookie questions, at any hour and in any medium. We even set up a chat group with her, and she was extremely responsive. 2) Not afraid to speak her mind: She comes from a construction background herself, so she knows when something is wrong with a house. Even more, she picks up on her clients' cues and makes recommendations, and helps you see the hidden gem of a property, even when you don't. 3) Understands the entire process: The entire Brel team is a well-oiled machine. And the team not only has real estate professionals, but extends to everything from home inspection, mortgage brokers, lawyers, and contractors. And all are there for you if you need them. 4) Dealmaker: When it came time for the actual purchase, Giulia strategized with us, helped me decide on a price, and most importantly, knew how to close the deal and get me the house I really wanted. On time and on budget. 5) Fun: This is a big decision, and it's a stressful one. But it should also be fun, and you should feel good about taking this step. Giulia has equal parts fun + professionalism, which made her a joy to work with throughout this entire process. read more

I usually don't post reviews, but had such a good experience with the BREL team | Sage Real Estate that I'm happy to share feedback about Halina Bucchino and how appreciative I am of her. I was searching for a home under pressured circumstances and without the most positive outlook. I really feel that my search would have only been stressful and that I likely would have simply settled for something had I not been fortunate enough to have an agent that is truly passionate about what she does and making clients happy. I feel like it's rare to find someone who is willing to continue to work hard when I was ready to compromise my expectations and settle on something. To have Halina stop me and say that she didn't want me to simply like a home, but love it, confirmed that I could not have found anyone more dedicated. She's genuine and entirely trustworthy (refreshing in my experiences with other agents). Throughout my home search she demonstrated infinite patience and was always very prompt to reply and offer knowledgeable information or advice, or happy do research and provide helpful details as well as walk me through all the necessary procedures and forms. She understood what I wanted and at times, even knew what was best for me where I may have been ignorant to it. I really valued all the advice she offered. She was always able to bring calm and a great perspective to help with difficult decisions and made what could ordinarily be really stressful situations easy. I know Halina went above and beyond and it is because of her that I purchased the home that was exactly what I hoped for and I truly love. read more

Lisa Bednarski is everything one could ask for in a real estate agent, and I enthusiastically recommend her. She is professional, personable, reliable, and well prepared. She is not only market savvy, she is people savvy too. Whether she was pitching herself as a selling agent to us or showing our house to prospective buyers, she knew when to provide information, when to be available for questions, and most importantly, when to back off and give buyers time and space to come to a decision on their own. Always approachable and responsive, Lisa helped us through every step of our selling journey. From an initial assessment of the house's market valuation and requirements for sale, right through to suggestions on how to choose a lawyer for the closing, Lisa was available to us. I cannot praise the marketing team at BREL enough. We knew our Toronto house was special and had some good qualities, including character, an excellent location and a large footprint on a large lot. However, the team's photos and descriptions focused on the home's very best and unique features. Overnight, our "pretty good' house became an "absolutely fabulous" one! It was presented as a must see, if not a must buy. The interest for the three open houses, during which Lisa was forced to battle through a covid diagnosis, was phenomenal. If the true measure of an agent's value is found in results, then Lisa did not disappoint in this regard either. Bottom line ... our house sold in five days, condition free, at 10% over asking!!! Could one ask for anything more? read more

My husband and I purchased an investment condo and we were very lucky to have Shannon Walker assisting us! At the start of house hunting, Shannon saved us a whole lot of time and energy by tailoring a list of properties that fit our budget and criteria. She provided us with great information, such as offer dates and professional advice on how much the property will likely sell for based on sold comparable units. She was responsive to all our inquiries and reacted quickly in arranging in-person showings to fit our busy schedules. During the offer bidding process, Shannon had put a lot of effort in compiling a detailed Comparative Market Analysis to help us arrive at an estimate value based on market research and important information about the unit, its tenancy and closing date. She is patient and truly respects our thoughts with a dedication in helping us to find the perfect investment condo that suits our personal preferences. Shannon was swift when putting offers together, leading to a successful purchase of our investment condo! Prior to closing, Shannon would conduct follow-ups to make sure all the conditions in the offer are met and schedule visits helping us ensure the property and appliances is in good condition. She also proactively communicates with the seller's agent from time to time to ensure everything is running smoothly. We would definitely find Shannon again for our future purchases and would not hesitate to recommend to our friends and family. read more

We had a great experience working with Matt Shapiro, he was very patient especially with us as first time home buyer, he walked us through the whole process up until the moving part. So you should not expect any surprise in any steps because Matt will give info in advance. He was a problem solver, whenever another hiccup comes just tell him and he will figure out a way. Also referred us to the best people, was able to get better approval and rate from his referred broker than the bank we went first to. Also, hands down on his negotiation skills and persuasion abilities as we were able to purchase a condo off market without getting into bidding war with people who has a lot more money than us. The whole thing happened in one weekend, and the next day, both parties signed the offer agreement and Im glad we were saved from weeks and weeks of stress by looking and bidding on properties. Any doubts I had was positively supported by Matt, as he reassures us along the way. We were impressed with his work ethic and efforts. Lastly, they uses an app, that doesn't require to sign documents personally, which is a plus!! as we don't have to go back and forth physically. Everything was done electronically and thru our phones! Very innovative. He really tries his best for his clients. I will gladly and proudly recommend him to any of friends and anybody I know and will call him again when we need a bigger space in the future. Thanks Matt, we appreciate everything. read more

Selling a condo in Toronto is a serious matter that requires professional expertise and hard work. BREL Team - Melanie and Brendan - are second to no one on Toronto real estate market. Their service is impeccable in all respects: planning, execution, communication, and customer care. We tried to sell our condo across Roger's Centre first by ourselves, then we hired discount brokers, and the agent that helped us buying the property; none of these approaches worked! We were desperate, fully aware that the help of a professional real estate agent is a decisive condition to sell a condo in Toronto, not sure how to identify such a "rare bird" in a very competitive market. Thanks to Yelp ratings, we found BREL, a five star team. Melanie and Brendan work together and you get both for the price of one! And both of them are smart, knowledgeable, and efficient. They are present in each stage of the process and they always answer your questions timely, sometimes at 6:45 am (aren't they sleeping?) Their communication is impeccable! They hold your hand if necessary and they work for you like you are their only client. More than everything, their performance far surpassed our expectations: they quickly found a buyer for our condo and then negotiated the best possible price on our behalf. Based on our experience working with them, they fully deserve the highest rating for excellence in real estate. read more

This marked our fourth transaction, encompassing both acquisitions and sales, with Halina of the BREL Team | Bespoke Realty. Each experience has reaffirmed our confidence in her as an exceptional real estate professional and trusted advisor. Halina operates with a rare combination of strategic intelligence, market fluency, discretion, and unwavering client advocacy. Her understanding of positioning, timing, and negotiation is sophisticated and deliberate, qualities that consistently translate into superior outcomes. During our most recent property search across Mississauga and the Port Credit community, we evaluated more than 25 residences before identifying the right opportunity. Throughout the process, Halina demonstrated remarkable patience and composure, offering measured counsel and sharp insight while ensuring every decision aligned with our long-term objectives. We never felt rushed, only supported and exceptionally well-represented. When it came time to negotiate, her expertise proved decisive. Through disciplined strategy and masterful execution, she secured the property at an outstanding value, a result we are confident would not have been attainable without her leadership at the table. Halina represents the highest standard of professionalism in our market. We recommend her unequivocally and will continue to entrust her with our future real estate endeavours. Paul read more

From W & M Venter The BREL team, especially Brendan and Melanie, make the impossible seem effortless. Relocating across the country is a difficult task, even if you plan months ahead. So we were beyond stressed out when we had to put our downtown Toronto town home on the market, pack up our lives, and fly to Vancouver in less than a week. Choosing a realtor is challenging. It's one of the most important business decisions we make. And let's be honest, it's often a blind decision because most realtors don't have lots of information on their websites! Fortunately, that isn't the case with the BREL Team. Their website reassured us that we were working with a full service agency with extensive experience and skills in marketing, staging, and everything that comes with selling a home in the competitive Toronto market. Even better, they exceeded our initial expectations! We met Brendan and Melanie at our very worst. Sleep deprived and surrounded with boxes. But they still managed to stage our home perfectly for marketing and viewings. We were amazed when we received an offer after only 3 days on the market. It was even over our asking price! Thanks so much to everyone on the BREL Team for all your hard work. If you are looking for a realtor your search ends here. They are the best real estate agency in Toronto, no contest. We can't recommend them enough! read more

We reached out to Kristin to help us with the sale of our condo and find us something larger. From our first meeting with Kristin, we were immediately impressed and got the feeling that this is someone who would look out for our best interests - and we weren't wrong! We started the process with Kristin showing us a range of units and locations to help get our bearings straight. Kristin was always patient and available to chat with it. We never felt rushed and she constantly reminded us that our perfect place was somewhere out there. Even as we shifted our focus to a home in the suburbs, she was supportive and extremely knowledgeable. Kristin will always provide you with her honest and independent opinion during the process, which helps you step back during one the largest and most emotional purchases of your life. On the sale of our condo, Kristin and the BREL team worked like clockwork to ensure a smooth listing process, which included staging and great promotional materials. If it weren't for her and the BREL team we likely wouldn't have received 20+ viewings in the span of a few days, which is crucial in this competitive environment. In the end we found our perfect home and sold our condo without ever feeling any pressure. Do yourself a favour before you speak to anyone else, speak to Kristin first! read more

Melanie and Brendan made my first-time buying experience a fantastic one! The two of them came highly recommended by a friend and when I first met them I had no doubt we would get a long and actually have fun while looking for my new place. Both of them are well traveled so lot's of stories to tell. Well, as a European I had clear (maybe sometimes unrealistic) expectations of what I would like to buy in Toronto. My condo had to have charm, look and feel loft like, be close to one of my most favorite parks, bright with lots of windows, in a friendly and lively neighbourhood... and the list went on. Of course we found that condo for me. We only saw a couple actually and they managed to figure out quickly what I like (sometime solely based on facial expressions). They were also very flexible to plan around my schedule. And of course we had a bidding war... My first one, but obviously not their first experience. I have heard many horror stories from friends, but it turned out to be less painful than I thought. Melanie and Brendan guided me through everything and I felt 150% taken care of. So, all thumps up for this vivid and knowledgeable duo. I definitely recommend them to anyone in the market right now and look forward to working with them again. p.s. I love my place! Thx a zillion. read more

As first-time home buyers, we bought our condo in March 2017, after fighting tooth and nail through a bidding war (great neighbourhood and unit and within our original budget). During our 2 weeks in the emotional pressure cooker that is the Toronto condo market, my partner and I were grateful for the steadfast guidance of our realtor, Halina Bucchino. We found her through the BREL Team of Toronto Real Estate Agents. Halina took the time to connect with us and understand our needs. She made our lives easier by the adept use of technology and online tools. She was optimistic and yet kept us grounded and never pushed us to do something that we would later regret, especially during the bidding phase. She kept us calm and didn't let us get carried away. Even though we were not one of those customers to drop a million bucks on a home, we were treated like royalty by her. She was ultra-responsive in her communications and was always on point with her paperwork and her appointments. You need a realtor who is lightning-quick, in this insanely fast-paced market and going the extra mile is like a given, when she works for you. We highly recommend Halina Bucchino as your realtor and she is also a great person to hang out with. Thanks Halina! read more

I found Brendan and Mel on yelp when I was looking for a Toronto realtor for our move from Ottawa. They were fantastic!! Brendan dedicated several weekends to introducing us to a bunch of neighbourhoods that he thought we would be interested in. Brendan has a wealth of knowledge of Toronto neighbourhoods and was always pointing out the best brunch spots and bars each area had to offer. We were moving from a slower Ottawa market to a red hot Toronto market, and Brendan did an excellent job in helping us find realistic places in our price range without making the process discouraging. There was also no pressure to settle on a place after multiple unsuccessful weekends. When it came time to make an offer and we actually bought a house, Brendan and Mel walked us through the whole process and were extremely patient when I had worries or concerns. Any other time I have bought and sold a home, I have never heard from the agents after the sale went through. With Brendan and Mel, they were continually checking in on us, helping us with the relocation and even taking us to coffee before we visited our home. I will be recommending them to all of my family and friends! You can't do better! read more