Great Experiences With Local Realtors?

[magpie-leah.livejournal.com]

Hi all. I have some friends who are moving to this area from Minneapolis and are looking to buy a house. They are looking for good realtor recommendations. Anyone dealt with or heard of a great realtor who knows a lot about this area and Cambridge as well? (I searched first but didn't come up with anything here.) Thanks!

Comments

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Although I have not used her personally, many of my friends highly recommend Polly Drinkwater as a buyer's agent (http://www.pollydrinkwater.com/).

Are they prepared for the sticker shock involved in moving here from MN? I would be tempted to rent for a year or two and then decide exactly where I wanted to live, as the rental market is currently softer than the housing market (although I expect that to change in the next 2-3 years).

ziprealty

[mattdm [typekey.com] (from livejournal.com)]

We were pretty happy with Ziprealty (i.e. ziprealty.com). They're nice because they give really good online search tools for narrowing down what you're looking for ("2 br under $360,000 and 0.5 miles from 1 Davis Square", say.)

Next time we sell, though, we're definitely doing the FSBO thing -- realtors are fine for buyers, but they take a ridiculous cut of the sale for the amount of work they do for the seller....

Err, actually, speaking of which, what are they looking for? We just bought the second floor of a new condo conversion on Cameron Ave (near Teele Square), and the third floor is still available, directly from the seller (no affliation with me, other than that we bought the other floor.)

[rifmeister.livejournal.com]

I have personally used Patti Reilly at Channing Realty, and thought she was fantastic. Many of my friends have worked with her as well, and they've all had a good experience. She's friendly, knowledgeable, fun, and completely non-pushy. Highest recommendation.

Re: ziprealty

[magpie-leah.livejournal.com]

They're looking for an entire house. But thanks for the heads up anyway.

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

I used Polly (as have many of my friends) and yes, she is absolutely wonderful!

[hawkegirl.livejournal.com]

I'll third Polly Drinkwater. She's the bomb.

[ceo]

I cannot recommend Jerry Ficklin highly enough. He did an amazing job with our house purchase, which was two couples buying a two-family, and has done the same for many of our friends. He's at Coldwell Banker's Mass. Ave office in Cambridge; unfortunately I don't have his cell number handy.

We'd gone with Polly Drinkwater on a previous search, but she's now concentrating on higher-end properties, and while she did a decent job, it was pretty clear she didn't really have time for us. Jerry intentionally keeps his client load low so he can give full attention to all of them.

[magpie-leah.livejournal.com]

Thank you all for the recommendations so far! This will also come in handy if I ever decide I can afford to buy myself! :)

[firstfrost.livejournal.com]

Regardless of whether you use Polly Drinkwater as an agent or not, I highly recommend her web site, which lets you search MLS listings.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Jerry works on a team with Jude Shabry, who has helped a number of people I know make very happy purchases. Two friends of mine she's working with are closing this week and they adore working with her. She can be reached at 617-256-9599. (posted with permission).

Re: ziprealty

[wellstar.livejournal.com]

Seconded on Zip Realty. I used David Gontaruk, but he seems to have moved on to another company. (I'd still recommend him strongly.) He was great, and as the poster above says, Zip's online search tools are SO fabulous.

[ron_newman]

I have a friend who is a buyer's agent, Rona Fischman. She lives in West Somerville and knows the area well.

[lissie930.livejournal.com]

We had a great experience with Kendall Luce at Coldwell Banker in Cambridge. She's awesome! She's more of a Cambridge person, but we knew Somerville very well already.

[penghuin.livejournal.com]

As it turns out, I'm selling a condo near Teele square.
2BR, 1 BA, 5 rooms, 2 porches, front and back yard, off street parking, dry basement, off-kitchen laundry. Great little place, if they're interested. Here's the full data:

http://realtor.com/Prop/1059599068

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

I'm currently a client of Rona's, and she's great. She's a friend of an old friend, and also worked with another friend who bought a house in Somerville, and we all love her.

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

Ditto on this. I've heard nothing but the most positive remarks from people who have worked with her.

[noire.livejournal.com]

I third or fourth or whatever the rec for Jerry Ficklin and Jude. Jerry was my agent and worked for about five or six of my friends before Jude joined him, and I've had some great talks with her about the area/real estate.

These people are GREAT, no-bullshit, and really care about getting their clients into the *right* (not the most expensive) home.

[twe.livejournal.com]

I'll second the reccommendation for Patti. Her office is in Harvard Square, about a block from the T, so she's very convenient if you want to get around on public transit too.

Hey!

[twe.livejournal.com]

Are you house hunting? Cool! Where are you looking?

Re: Hey!

[readsalot.livejournal.com]

Well, there's a place in Somerville that I've made an offer on, and will be getting inspected later this week. Hopefully all will go smoothly, and at some point I'll feel confident enough to write this up in my own lj.

Re: Hey!

[twe.livejournal.com]

Cool. I will resist the urge to grill you here that, and await your post!