I was moving cross country & eager to find someone willing to work with my via FaceTime, and with my strict budget. I was impressed by my realtors demeanor & willingness to help! Once we secured a place, I was informed the apartment would not be cleaned or painted before we moved in. We agreed to doing it ourselves on the basis we would be compensated for materials / time. We had already paid for the month and had no where else to go in the mean time. So we cleaned and painted and painted... a few weeks went by and still no compensation check... somewhere within those first few weeks we ended up locking ourselves out and had to have the door handle replaced, we were told the money would just come out of the money that we were owed... it took us three months to actually see a check and when we finally did, it barely covered the cost of the paint we purchased (which was your basic white, nothing fancy) This company ripped us off... would not recommend to a friend or anyone ..

  Like many, I abhor the Boston housing market. And I find the brokerage system to be borderline criminal, so I'm not often warm towards realtors. But Orit Aviv was different, and tremendously helpful. She did not push an apartment, and seemed honest about its ups and downs. Those are not givens, and good signs-- but where she really impressed me was putting together the paperwork that same day and pushing the deal through. It made the hassle factor for me significantly, significantly less. If I'm ever looking in Boston again, I'd call Orit rather than look through listings. Really that good.

  I can't praise Sean from Harvard Ave Realty enough, he is the best!! He was professional, efficient, and helpful. I hate it when realtors show apartments outside my criteria for the sake of showing it. Sean never did that, and was very realistic about my options. As a result, I love the apartment he found for me. The entire staff was also pleasant in general, though I don't have much experience working with anyone else.

  I found Harvard Ave Realty and Orit by chance while looking at apartments online. Orit Aviv has been amazing in helping me find an apartment AND signing the lease in one day. She also gave me her honest opinion for each place we visited by taking my situation into account, which surprised me to say the least. If you need a trustworthy and helpful broker to help you find an apartment around the area, then choose Orit.

  I really wish I could give this place less than one star. I just saw an ad posted yesterday for what was described as a studio in Brighton for $875 or something. I called the number and the guy who answered, who did not give his name, rudely informed me that the apartment was actually a shared two bedroom looking for a roommate, and that it was already taken. He asked what I'm looking for, and I said I'd prefer a one bedroom or studio since we're a couple with a dog. He then laughed out loud and smugly said "I'm sure I'm not the only person to tell you this, but you're going to have to realllly lower your expectations if you think you're going to find a place, ha!" Really?! What an unprofessional, derogatory response. If he hadn't responded in such an obnoxious way, I would have told him that my budget is far higher than $800 something/month, and maybe he could have found me something that met my apparently laughable criteria. Rather than explain that, I told him I wouldn't be giving my business to such a huge douche and hung up on him. He then called me back from his cell phone to say that he didn't mean to be rude and made some attempts to secure my business. I asked if I could talk to his manager, to which he replied "uh... I actually am the manager" (which I highly, highly doubt). I told him not to laugh at potential clients and hung up again.

Don't give these assholes your business. Not only do they routinely engage in false advertising, their uppity agents laugh at customers seeking their business. I don't think it gets much worse than these guys.