I have worked with Linden Realty over two rental cycles now - spring/summer 2015 and spring/summer 2016. After knowing the agency for this long, I want to say that it is truly a great company! I first got in touch with Xiomara, who runs Linden Realty, in March 2015, when my partner and I were looking for a 1BR apartment. We had some fairly difficult requirements to meet: we wanted a place that was pet-friendly, had a parking spot, modern, laundry in building within 10 minute walking distance of one of the most hectic areas of Boston, above ground level and sunny, and under $2000/month. If one is familiar with the Boston housing market, one knows that it's nearly impossible to meet such criteria. When we contacted Xiomara, she very efficiently got back to us within the same day with several apartments that seemed to fit the bill, which was a very promising start. Within a few days she had scheduled us for a viewing at one of our top choice apartments, which amazingly enough, checked off pretty much every item on our wishlist. On top of meeting all our requirements, it was also a truly beautiful place! We asked her for a day or two to think the place over. She warned us that it would be difficult to put a hold on the apartment, particularly such a nice one in a highly desirable area, but nonetheless very generously gave us some time to think it over. This was something I really appreciated: most other rental agents push you to make a decision and write the checks on the spot. It was great that Xiomara recognized what a big decision it is to sign a lease and graciously gave us the time to make sure it was the right home for us. We ended up taking the apartment, and Xiomara was so great about making the application, leasing, and move-in process super smooth and painless. The apartment itself has been truly wonderful: as good as it looked, and with an awesome management and landlord. Fast forward a year to March and April 2016 - due to work circumstances, we decided to move out of the apartment, and so Xiomara began showing our place to new tenants. She has been super communicative throughout this process in letting us know several days in advance when she would be showing the apartment, and to whom, giving us plenty of time to plan ahead. She has also been very flexible and understanding of our schedules. She also was more than willing to help us find a new apartment in a new area. Ultimately, we ended up finding new accommodations through people that we knew, but I was really moved by how thoughtful she was. Bottom line, Xiomara took great care of us before, during, and even after the time that we were apartment-hunting with her. She found us a great home that fit our bill perfectly and made every step of the process foolproof. Hopefully I won't have to move again in the near future, but if I do I'll definitely be contacting her again. read more

I needed to find an apartment before moving to Boston from Canada, and Xiomara was easily the most responsive and communicative brokers that I experienced during my search. As soon as I reached out about a listing, she sent more photos that I thought possible so that I would have a good impression of the apartment despite not being in the city to view it. When I decided to apply for it, she was attentive and a huge help during my application process with the landlord. She even followed-up to make sure that my move-in process was smooth. I'm really happy with the apartment and so glad that I had someone like her to help me through a complicated moving situation. I would not hesitate to recommend her. read more

Xiomara is the hands-down the best agent ever. She is detail-oriented, thoughtful, and professional. She always responds to my questions, often within an hour and she goes out of her way to make things convenient for her clients (e.g. driving to my neighborhood to hand off paperwork, adding hand-written sticky notes to things so important details don't get lost). She found my husband a great apartment at a good price under high time pressure and I honestly don't know what we would have done without her. Overall a great experience. read more

My last apartment in Packard's Corner was great for the year after I moved out of a cell-like room in this creepy old lady's house in Newton; but after several years plus a couple more, I hated it. The people above me must have been practicing for Riverdance: there was barely a time when something wasn't crashing against my ceiling. The nest of undergraduates across the hall communicated only in shrieks. People tossed their trash in the stairwell, where it remained for days or weeks until the maintenance man got around to removing it. And there were bedbugs, which management refused to acknowledge until too late and which proved impossible to get rid of. After I'd tossed furniture, clothing and possessions, and was reduced to sitting cross-legged on a bare floor, staring bleakly into space, I decided that it was time to move. I spoke to a kid in a realty office near Great Scott. He told me there were no apartments that met my "requirements" for under $1,300 and that between rent, broker's fees and security deposits, I'd have to pay at least $5,000 up front. It was the middle of March, I was looking for an apartment for September, and I was hearing the "You'd better find something fast; all the good stuff will be gone in a couple of weeks" speech. And this smarmy punk was telling me that he had just the thing---which he described in vivid detail---but he wasn't going to show it to me because he didn't think I wanted it bad enough. I must have looked like I'd never rented an apartment before. And then I met Xiomara (Zee-O-Mah-Ra) who, I can fairly say, changed my life---or maybe just made me slightly less of a loser. Linden's rental office is no longer on Kelton Street, by the way, but in the basement of an apartment house at 1128 Commonwealth Avenue. I stopped in one evening after work and my first impression was that Xiomara was typical of realty agents: fast-talking, a little pushy, always in a hurry. But she told me that all of her buildings were with one property management company, that she didn't charge a fee, and that because I had a job and wasn't a student. I probably wouldn't need a security deposit. I gave her my list: no bugs, no basements, a small building, no undergrads, lots of light, clean. She said, "I don't have anything for you right now but call me in a week or so. I expect something to come up soon." They always say that. I stopped in a few days later but she had nothing. I called a week after that---still nothing. A few more days and the usual "I'm getting new apartments soon." A few days later, however, Xiomara called me at the office and asked me to stop by after work. We looked at an apartment in an old, smallish building on Kelton Street. Top floor in the front, decent sized rooms. $1,095. The walls looked like they were painted in this century; the floor had a nice shine. But this was the first place I looked at and I was indifferent. Xiomara did her best: "Oh look at these big rooms! Look at this nice wooden floor! This is a great building! You'll love it here!" Between Xiomara's exultations and my natural aversion to making decisions, I had only one thought: Escape. But it was the end of the day, I hadn't eaten, and my resistance was low. I thought of all the months I'd spend dealing with rental agents, looking at apartments and finding fault with each of them until, at the last minute, I ended up settling for something worse than what I was looking at right then. I got back into Xiomara's car, wondering how I could get away from her. We went back to her office. She offered me some ginger ale and put an application in front of me. I told her I didn't have a check for the deposit. She told me not to worry. I seemed responsible, she said, and she knew I was serious because I called her so diligently for the past couple of weeks. She handed me a pen. I filled out the application, asking about the consequences if I changed my mind. Xiomara said she wasn't going to rent me something I didn't want and that it was OK if I left. I felt a little green but I said I was fine, signed all the documents and brought a check by a few days later. I spent the spring not obsessing about apartment hunting but instead about whether I made a bad decision. I walked past the new place a bunch of times. I found my way into the building and wandered the halls. I stood outside looking up at my new bedroom window, thinking, "It'll just be for a year. It's bound to be better than where I am." And it is. The building is quiet and clean, and management always seems to be doing preventative maintenance. Xiomara isn't one of those people who forget who you are as soon as you sign the lease. She waves when she sees me in the street and she asks how I like my apartment. Xiomara comes off a little tough but I think she'll take good care of you. read more

Finding an apartment in Boston isn't easy, but Xiomara takes charge with efficiency and clear longstanding knowledge in realty. She took my roommate and I under her wing as we struggled to find a place that fit our budget... we had wasted months with other realtors but found a wonderful apartment within a week or two with Xiomara! She handled our requests with genuine care, and is still accessible for any questions/concerns almost a year later. You couldn't find a better realtor in Boston! read more

The agent for this company Xiomara is very pushy, rude and doesn't listen to her clients. She tries to make you sign away your rights to work with other companies which is not legal and says that "everybody" does it. She is very dishonest and is the worst agent I've ever worked with in my 8 years in Boston, seriously. Their postings online have pictures of 'local' amenities that are not even in the same part of Boston as the apartment, e.g. pictures of Brighton T and Businesses for Jamaica Plain listings. I wouldn't suggest this company to my worst enemy. read more

Xiomara was very difficult to work with and caused me and my fiancee a great deal of unnecessary stress. She repeatedly wasted our time on the phone, which was frustrating. It got worse, though, when she tried to guilt us into renting the apartment we were looking at, talking about all that she had done for us (which was nothing beyond what realtors are supposed to do) and complaining about how we never thanked her (even though we thanked her many times). We did want the apartment, but didn't want to work with Xiomara, so we gave up on it. Very happy with that decision. read more

(I think 225 Kelton St is the location of the maintenance office. Linden Realty's office - the one that my wife and I went to - is at 31 Gardner St, Suite A, Allston.) We first made contact with Xiomara when we were looking for a studio/1BR apartment. Our first impression was not unlike other reviewers, who found her style of expression somewhat pushy. But as we viewed more apartments, we came to realize that she was just very enthusiastic about her listings and wanted to show us the apartments that she had which best fit our criteria. She also had good rapport with current residents which made us feel that she was reliable and had a decent track record. (I also checked with the MA licensing department and saw that Xiomara's license was up to date (https://elicensing.state.ma.us/CitizenAccess/GeneralProperty/LicenseeDetail.aspx?LicenseeNumber=9028015&LicenseeType=Broker). I also ran a check on Linden Rentals (https://elicensing.state.ma.us/CitizenAccess/GeneralProperty/LicenseeDetail.aspx?LicenseeNumber=10253&LicenseeType=Real%20Estate%20Business), which is consistent with an earlier reviewer's comment about the business being unlicensed at the point of review but is now untrue. Nonetheless, thanks to that negative review, I also found out that she has been in this business for nearly 20 years (!!!) which bears testimony to her ability as a broker.) It was also clear that she did not want us to miss out on a good apartment. Sure, some people probably take her exclamations of "This apartment is really good. I would live in it myself!" with some degree of caution. We did, too, and although she zipped us between 7 apartments in the span of 1+ hours, we did not feel that we had inadequate time to look thoroughly at the apartments and talk with the current tenants who were home. She also answered our questions to the best of her knowledge and encouraged us to scrutinize the listings. As my wife and I are international students, she also took extra care with our paperwork, making sure that we were able to supply the necessary documents in a timely manner, and walked us through the process on a weekend morning without making us feel like she wanted to conclude the transaction hastily and just get out of the office as soon as possible. My advice is to be explicit with what you want in an apartment. She will be happy to find them for you along with several close alternatives if available. In comparison with other realtors whom I had previous contact with, she is much more efficient (replies promptly, comes up with way more extensive lists of potential rentals) and considerate of personal needs and preferences. read more

Let me begin with how much I utterly despise apartment hunting. I hadn't done it in forever, and I was certainly not looking forward to paying extra fees on top of the really high rents in the Boston area. I knew it was going to be pretty tough trying to get a place for Jan 1, particularly with our laundry list of things we wanted: dishwasher, 1-2 bedrooms, little to no carpet, laundry in building, pet friendly, in an okay neighborhood, and around $1500/mo. You can laugh at that absurdity right now, but that's what we really wanted. We were getting ready to settle for less, as we scanned every possible online listings for apartments it was really difficult with realtors who would respond back that the place we enquired about wasn't available but to check out their other options that included absolutely nothing on our list. My boyfriend started researching the realtors/companies as we searched listings, which was super helpful because as we went to set up an appointment with Xiomara, he found a single yelp review. With only barely raised hopes, we met up with her and walked through the apartment in our preferred neighborhood, Jamaica Plain. While Linden Realty primarily focuses on Allston, they do occasionally have other listings. I have to agree with the other review, talking to Xiomara for the first time is daunting--we were told to bring our check books with us if we wanted to secure the apartment that we looked at. Seemed reasonable, but daunting. We looked at the first place, which was not bad, but was not ideal. Xiomara insisted on showing us another apartment next door that she was going to be handling even though it was a little more pricier than we wanted to pay. We were reluctant based on price, but once we were inside we knew it was the apartment for us. With heat and hot water included, it evened out to being in our budget. We did end up cutting checks on the spot to secure the apartment while our application processed and they renovated the whole place. What vision! Xiomara was wonderful to us and talked us up to the landlord. Her half-fee was included in the move-in costs, but was arranged that so that it wasn't as soul crushing as other options that had been offered to us by less appealing realtors. Xiomara was very flexible and understanding, and very open and honest. She listens to what you want and will help you find the right place for you--not just because she has a listing to rent. After dealing with everyone else while trying to find an apartment, it was really refreshing. We just moved in and absolutely adore our apartment. read more

Xiomara has consistently been an incredibly diligent agent. Over the last three years she helped me locate not one but two absolutely beautiful apartments within my preferred neighborhood and price range. She is timely, communicative, and goes above and beyond for her clients. I've had a great experience working with her and I highly recommend Linden Realty. read more

Linden Realty is an unlicensed broker, and has been reported to the Mass Dept. of Consumer Affairs. My experience with Xiomara was deeply unsettling. She was utterly unprofessional, repeatedly lied to us, and demanded her fee and a deposit to hold the apartment--the latter of which is illegal in the city of Boston. Do not work with this company. read more

Xiomara took great care of us! She found my boyfriend and I the perfect apartment for a great price. She is the absolute best!

Xiomara was amazing! Very professional she made sure to show me all of my options, even the ones that meant more work for her. Xiomara always made sure to stay on top of any apartments she thought I might like. I could tell she wasn't just after "the sale." She genuinely cared about my well being, even encouraging me to expand my search to allow me better options. Without a doubt, I'll be recommending her to my friends and family. As someone who is fairly new to city rentals, Xiomara made sure to explain everything and taught me a lot about the market throughout the entire process. read more