Testimonials

We loved working with Ellen Friedman on our recent purchase of a condo in Jamaica Plain. We reached out to her after reading so many positive reviews online of her work. We interviewed a few agents and decided to go with Ellen because her energy and approach seemed like the right fit for us.  When we began our home search, there were still many unknowns about how exactly to buy a place, and about what we were even looking for — Ellen was patient and educated us about the process while leaving room for our personal preferences to develop over time. Although we initially found her because we wanted to find a property in Cambridge or Somerville, we eventually ended up zeroing in on Jamaica Plain and Ellen was incredibly helpful in this market as well.  After our initial coffee, and as our search began, we communicated mainly over email. If we had wanted her to accompany us to open houses, I’m sure she would have done so, but we found we were so obsessed with Redfin/Zillow updates anyway (and we tended to try to see 8-10 open houses in a day) that it worked best to find the properties we wanted to see, go check them out, and then email Ellen any questions or to ask for her advice about specific concerns. I can’t count the number of questions we sent Ellen over email – all of which she responded to with kindness, patience, intelligence and in such thoughtful detail.  We proceeded this way for a couple months, and then something kind of clicked and we got more serious about buying. Things seemed to fall into place, and after seeing a stretch of properties we weren’t crazy about, we found an apartment we fell in love with. It sounds cliché, but we just kind of knew. In some ways, this feeling wasn’t something Ellen could directly influence, but after months of learning from her insights and experience, I think she had helped us trust our gut feeling that we had found something worth pursuing.  When we decided to put an offer in, Ellen walked us through the (at times nerve wracking!!) process with a relaxed but driven energy that we appreciated – she wanted us to get the condo, but not to do so from a frenzied place of anxiety, which we appreciated. At one point in the negotiation, when the sellers came back asking for our highest and best offer, my husband and I had different approaches as for how to respond and Ellen skillfully facilitated a conference call where we all ended up feeling good about our next steps. We always felt like she had a solid strategy that helped us save money without compromising our broader goals.We reached out to her after reading so many positive reviews online of her work. We interviewed a few agents and decided to go with Ellen because her energy and approach seemed like the right fit for us.  When we began our home search, there were still many unknowns about how exactly to buy a place, and about what we were even looking for — Ellen was patient and educated us about the process while leaving room for our personal preferences to develop over time. Although we initially found her because we wanted to find a property in Cambridge or Somerville, we eventually ended up zeroing in on Jamaica Plain and Ellen was incredibly helpful in this market as well.  After our initial coffee, and as our search began, we communicated mainly over email. If we had wanted her to accompany us to open houses, I’m sure she would have done so, but we found we were so obsessed with Redfin/Zillow updates anyway (and we tended to try to see 8-10 open houses in a day) that it worked best to find the properties we wanted to see, go check them out, and then email Ellen any questions or to ask for her advice about specific concerns. I can’t count the number of questions we sent Ellen over email – all of which she responded to with kindness, patience, intelligence and in such thoughtful detail.  We proceeded this way for a couple months, and then something kind of clicked and we got more serious about buying. Things seemed to fall into place, and after seeing a stretch of properties we weren’t crazy about, we found an apartment we fell in love with. It sounds cliché, but we just kind of knew. In some ways, this feeling wasn’t something Ellen could directly influence, but after months of learning from her insights and experience, I think she had helped us trust our gut feeling that we had found something worth pursuing.  When we decided to put an offer in, Ellen walked us through the (at times nerve wracking!!) process with a relaxed but driven energy that we appreciated – she wanted us to get the condo, but not to do so from a frenzied place of anxiety, which we appreciated. At one point in the negotiation, when the sellers came back asking for our highest and best offer, my husband and I had different approaches as for how to respond and Ellen skillfully facilitated a conference call where we all ended up feeling good about our next steps. We always felt like she had a solid strategy that helped us save money without compromising our broader goals.

Working with Ellen was great! We interviewed several agents and are glad we chose Ellen. She made sure she understood our needs and preferences and, even though it took some time to find what we were looking for, when my partner and I did — she was very helpful during the negotiation, incredibly patient, available and responsive with our multiple questions. The purchase was as smooth as it could be. She also went above and beyond and recommended a team of fantastic people to make sure we had a streamlined and calm buying process (e.g. mortgage broker, lawyer, even contractors). We highly recommend her work!

Ellen recently helped me sell my Somerville home of 33 years. I came to value her responsiveness, professionalism and good humor. When I first decided to sell I was overwhelmed with the process of cleaning out my house and deciding how much renovation was necessary before I put the house on the market. Ellen gave me encouragement and advice that helped me empty the house for sale in 3 months. Once the house was ready Ellen devised a selling strategy that got me many bids in just one week and a closing about a month after the house was put on the market. Ellen immediately answered both e-mail and phone requests. She gave me good referrals to people who could help when I needed a dumpster and when a storm knocked over a large tree in my backyard.  Ellen did whatever it took to move the process along quickly. She is a great realtor to work with.

Ellen is our realtor for life, as far as I’m concerned.  Twice now she’s helped us navigate the expensive and fast-moving Cambridge market, first to find what has to be one of the world’s best rentals, in 2010, and then to find the perfect condo for us to buy, in 2012.  In both situations she was attentive to detail, protective of our interests and budget, knowledgeable, and so attuned to what we were looking for that the match was both immediate and ideal.  Further, she’s a tough negotiator, and savvy about timing, getting our offer in the door before anyone else’s, and making sure that at each step we had the best possible professional team (inspector, lawyer, bank).  She talked us through our first-time homebuyer anxieties, helping us fight for necessary improvements, and helping us calm down about things that ultimately didn’t matter.   A great agent.

My husband and I fell in love with a house, and the process ended up being long and tumultuous, as it was a tricky short sale, but it happened!  Much of the fact that we got to the point of home ownership is due to Ellen and her diligence as our buyer’s agent.  She did so much following up on our behalf!  Ellen was so awesome, and always willing to listen to our concerns and walk us through the process from start to finish, and talk us down when we were anxious about certain situations

I really can’t say enough positive things about our experience with Ellen, and if you’re looking for a property, particularly in the Cambridge and Somerville area, she is your lady.  She is super familiar with the area as a current Somerville resident, and a former resident of Cambridge.  She definitely made me feel certain we were making the right decision, and always gave us great insight.  Ellen is not the type of person who will try to sell you on something if she doesn’t feel it’s right for you, so if you’re working with her, know she’s going to take what you say and run with it and find you the best home possible.

If you’re house hunting, whether it’s for a first property or a second or whatever, call Ellen.  She’s a straight shooter, and will do her absolute best for you.  I know it sounds like a commercial, but she was so amazing with our home buying process!  We couldn’t have asked for more.

First, let me start off by saying that we are first-time home buyers looking primarily at condo’s in Cambridge, but also some neighborhoods in Boston including the Back Bay and South End.  We met Ellen after booking an appointment to see a unit through zillow.com and continued to work with her for   the next 8 months, until finally we found the place we had been waiting for.  During that entire period, she provided us with valuable market information, setup private appointments, and alerted us to units that she felt we would be extremely interested in.  Most importantly, she always answered her phone.  Always!  She was extremely responsive to all of our questions and private bookings.  Ellen brought many issues to our attention that we weren’t even aware of as first-time home buyers.  She even saved us money at our closing by going the extra mile and researching issues that our lawyer could have charged us for.   I highly recommend Ellen as an agent- especially for first time home buyers.

As a first-time buyer, I couldn’t have asked for a better agent than Ellen. I first contacted Ellen last summer when I saw a condo that I liked, but in reality I wasn’t quite ready to buy yet, and in addition I had very specific tastes. Ellen understood this and continued to send me listings very   selectively, but never pressured me to see any place I wasn’t interested in. When my perfect home finally came on the market last January and I wanted to make an offer quickly, Ellen worked with me at midnight to make sure that everything went through. All of her recommendations for lenders, lawyers, inspectors, and everything else were spot-on, and I never felt the stress of homebuying that some of my friends have described because Ellen made everything easy. In addition to all that, she was a lot of fun to work with and made my entire experience very positive. I recommend Ellen wholeheartedly!

Ellen served as agent for the sale of our condo and we had a great deal of success throughout the whole process. She gave great advice on what should be done to prepare the unit for showing without asking more than we had time to do, and she contributed to staging in important ways. She prepared us for what she expected to be a lot of showings and open houses. Most importantly, she gave us excellent advice on pricing to assure the property would attract interest and offers.

Ellen did an excellent job marketing the property on multiple websites, including one she set up herself. The pictures gave potential buyers a very good idea of what to expect when they visited.  She also hosted a very successful brokers’ open house to kick off the listing.

Perhaps the most important aspect of Ellen’s performance was speedy and painless communications when offers started coming in.  She was very clear in communicating the terms of each offer and did not hesitate to give her frank thoughts when we sought them. Notably, she developed good working relationships with all of the real estate professionals and lawyers involved in the process. Ellen’s responsiveness and timely communication was a theme throughout the process – but it never became time consuming or in any way overwhelming.

Finally, she is an exceptionally intelligent woman who will win your confidence within your first meeting. Having confidence in your agent is indispensable to maintaining your sanity through the process of buying and selling real estate – Ellen will get you through with your faculties intact.

Ellen was warm and personable, keeping our interests at the forefront. In addition, she had a no-nonsense approach that was professional and straightforward. I appreciated her knowledge of her work and love of helping people manage their real estate. Ellen was prompt and dependable during the entire process from preparing the property for marketing to the closing. I would highly recommend her.

Ellen and I worked together for more than a year. I had been looking on and off while trying to decide whether I was going to move to the west coast. I was also on a tight budget but looking for a lot of house (typically not found within that budget). On top of all of this – I was looking for a property with a type of charm that was difficult to explain but I knew it when I saw it. Ellen had tremendous patience, was always completely honest about her opinion on a property and went well above and beyond her duty when it came to helping me understand every part of the very complicated process of buying a house. With every thanks to Ellen I found a home that is far beyond what I was expecting to find. If and when I buy a second property – Ellen will be the first and only call I’ll make.

We just sold a 2-family property in Cambridge as condos, and recommend Ellen Friedman highly.  She is patient, thorough, and extremely experienced and knowledgeable. She gave us expert advice on how to prepare the property for sale, carefully considering what would give the property the best appeal   with a reasonable investment of time and labor.  Ellen did thorough marketing that resulted in offers over our asking price within hours of the property being shown, and helped us sort through the offers to identify the best buyer.  Ellen has an extensive network in the business, and her relationships with the buyers’ agents and lawyers were extremely helpful when there were some unanticipated glitches.  Throughout, she provided careful and professional guidance and advice, making the process smooth and as unstressful as possible.  If you are buying or selling a home, having the right realtor is critical.  Use Ellen – she is tops in her field.

We had a terrific experience selling our house with Ellen. The changes she suggested prior to our open house were relatively easy and made a huge difference, she knows the market extremely well, and she was easy to work with throughout. Highly recommended.