I am an internal auditor for Freddie Mac and have worked in the real estate industry for more than…read more10 years. Mike Flanagan and his team at Mortgage Unity is the most competent and knowledgeable broker I've had the pleasure to meet during my career. He has a polished approach, is patient with his clients, and is willing to get into the technical details (and share data) to help his clients make the best fit financing decisions. He was timely across the application process, and in my case the terms of the transaction were a bit tricky. But Mortgage Unity didn't miss a beat. I'd recommend Mortgage Unity to any home buyer across any range of prior homebuying or real estate experience (from first time buyer to investors). Thank you Morgage Unity!

If you want the best rate, I found it at Mortgage Unity. But if you care about anything beyond the…read morerate, keep reading. Mortgage Unity made what could have been a stressful, overwhelming process feel simple and straightforward. Their team was always available, kept me informed, and genuinely went above and beyond to make sure I was taken care of. It's rare to find a company that delivers both great rates and exceptional service--but Mortgage Unity does exactly that. If you want a mortgage team you can trust, this is it.

ELIMINATING BARRIERS TO AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP…read more NACA provides over 30% of all the housing counseling in the country and is the most effective in providing affordable long-term homeownership for both homebuyers and homeowners. NACA's transformative mortgage product, counseling services, and character-based underwriting provides a model for how fair mortgage lending can successfully be made a reality for working families and people of color on a large scale. For more information, please visit www.naca.com. Affordable homeownership has historically been inaccessible to millions of people of color and disadvantaged Americans, but a transformation is now occurring. The non-profit Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America ("NACA") has created a model that is providing unprecedented affordable homeownership on a large scale, for those who have been prevented from accumulating wealth and achieving personal security and housing stability through homeownership. NACA's Purchase Program provides comprehensive counseling with the option to access NACA's Best In America Mortgage with no down payment, no closing costs, no PMI, no fees, and a below market fixed rate. Lenders have committed $20 Billion so far, including $15 Billion from Bank of America. NACA is the most successful private sector initiative in providing affordable homeownership. NACA has built an unprecedented, successful track record of over 75,000 successful homebuyers - 90% of whom are people of color - with an extremely low foreclosure rate of 0.00012183 (i.e., about one-hundredth of one percent). NACA is the largest HUD certified counseling organization in the country, providing over one-third of all the country's counseling. With 47 offices nationwide and growing, and over three million members, NACA is creating a new national standard for affordable homeownership.

Currently going through the process with NACA. So far so good. I met with my counselor today and…read morethey are helping me get through the process. I was so nervous at first with being a first time home buyer but now I am super excited. Thank you NACA!

I don't quite recall how we stumbled upon ZipRealty but I'm glad we did. Their web site is the most…read morecomplete and easy to use Real estate site I've seen. All the house information, town information, pictures, maps, etc. are in one place and it just works as expected. I know other companies do this as well but receiving 20% of the commission was incredibly helpful considering all of the expenses involved in purchasing your first home. Our agent Jon Nichols ( jon.nichols@ziprealty.com ) was incredibly helpful throughout the process even though we were looking for a rather long time and in a 'relatively' low price range so there were a lot of less desirable homes out there to sort through. Being incredibly knowledgeable, Jon was quick to point out numerous pros and cons for every house we saw. It was almost like working with a Realtor who also happened to moonlight as a Home Inspector. He was timely and never pressured us in any way. When we did finally decide on a house and the mortgage company tried to mess up the deal a few days before closing, Jon stepped in and really went the extra mile. He took the time to locate the resources required to resolve the problem. Something my wife and I were not in a position to do ourselves because of a lack of time and contacts. He saved the deal and if he hadn't we'd still be renting instead of choosing paint colors and mowing the lawn.

Joe and Julie were both instrumental in helping me with a fairly complicated mortgage transaction…read more In the end, they saved me money and time so 5 stars for the Monument Mortgage team!

Being in insurance and working with mortgage brokers on a regular basis, I can say that Mona is one…read moreof my favorite to do business with. She is always professional, promt, and polite. I would recommend Mona and Monument Mortgage to anyone looking to purchase a new home or refinance a previous mortgage (especially with the way rates are so low these days!)

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.

It was time to move out of my apartment, put on my big boy pants and buy a house, but I had no idea…read morewhere to begin. I called my bank (of America) and got pre-approved for a loan. To find a Realtor I just picked someone randomly off of zillow.com, who I was immediately unhappy with. I took matters into my own hands and started attending open houses, which is where I met Joyce Torelli. I was so impressed with her open house, I dumped my current Realtor and chose her to represent me. Since I was a first time home buyer I didn't have a clear picture of what exactly I was looking for in a house. Joyce was fine with that and put together lists of houses to look at, night after night we would go and look at 5-6 houses at a time until I had a better idea of what I wanted. Then the lists started to get more specific until I found the perfect house for me! Along the way I met with John Butler a Loan Officer who works out of the Distinctive Realty office. The rates he offered were better then anyplace else I had looked. Overall my experience was great with distinctive Realty and I would highly recommend working with Joyce Torelli and John Butler.

IN MARINA WE TRUST!…read more Go with THE BEST and FORGET the REST! Talk about above and beyond? Realtors often recommend improvements to boost your return, but then leave it to you to make it happen. If you only had the time, right! Marina Masciarelli Tramontozzi (now THAT's ITALIAN, eh!) was the only realtor to bring in a dedicated, competent, turnkey contractor that works on Marina's schedule, for the price promised and does all the "right" work needed for the elusive Marina "WOW" factor that really sells. She transitioned a "lived in 45 years, needs a lot of work" home into a turnkey 32% price increase yielding an added $100,000 in profit in 30 days! All I had to do was Trust in Marina! Simply THE BEST! Trust in Marina...you'll be impressed!

Selecting True North Realty was the best decision we made as we planned our move. Marina was…read moreextraordinary! She provided expert advice during every step of the process, was kind and supportive as we made the decision to sell the house that was our home for 37 years, and used her experience and skill to match us with a buyer who we could count on to complete the sale with ease. We couldn't be happier, and highly recommend True North Realty to anyone who wants to make selling (or buying) a home a pleasant and rewarding experience.

I listed my two-family and bought a beautiful home with the expertise of The Shanahan Group. I…read moreenjoyed working with and highly recommend them!! I listed my two-family in Medford with The Shanahan Group over the summer. Christine Curtain met with me and carried me through a very stressful time. She was thorough and diligent. After agreeing on a listing price, she wrote the perfect listing, scheduled and managed an open house within just a couple of days, and professionally dealt with my tenants (both of whom were not happy about the sale of the property). She handled a difficult situation delicately. I had several offers at the end of two days on the market, and the house sold at over asking very shortly thereafter. I also met with Christine at several properties that I had expressed an interest in buying. She worked with my busy schedule and answered all of my questions promptly and honestly. After a legnthy search, I settled on a home on the north shore. I came across it on a drive while visiting a friend. I loved it so much and really wanted to see it and make a move quickly. Christine had planned a week's vacation the same week. I spoke with one of Christine's associates, June Burt, who stepped in without hesitation and walked me through the offer procedure and subsequently visited the property with me so I could get another look at it with a family member. Upon Christine's return, she haggled with the sellers on my behalf and saved me a chunk of money off of the sale price. I also thouroughly enjoyed the beautiful housewarming gift they sent to me - a patio heater. What a thoughful surprise!! I love my new home and couldn't be happier with the quality of service and attention I received from The Shanahan Group.

Dara Singleton is an excellent option to put your place on the market. She helped us sell two…read morecondos in Cambridge. She is efficient, responsive, knowledgeable and thorough-- everything that you want in an agent. She partnered with us on day one and provided an analysis of our property and walked us through the sale process. She gave recommendations on best practices and positioning our property for the best sale price. She managed all of the milestones and kept us in the loop and provided contacts as necessary for staging and legal. It was a great experience and we are happy with the result!