Gateway Real Estate Group

Since our landlord put our apartment on the market a couple of months ago we have been in charge of communicating with the real estate agents who want to show our apartment and scheduling times with them. This can be a little hectic, but we’ve managed.
Out of all of the agents who texted us the two worst ones have been from Gateway Real Estate Group. The first one texted me at 11:48pm to see if he could show our apartment the next day. When I asked that he do not text me that late again he said that his clients just «reconfirmed» with him. Whether or not you hear late at night, you do not text someone 12 minutes before midnight.
The second agent texted me one hour before the proposed showing, claiming that the text she sent the night before didn’t get through. That happens. I told her that no one was home but that I would be back a little bit later. The one person who was at home works remotely, so we have tried not to disturb him too much by not having a showing when he his home alone. This usually isn’t an issue. But this agent still showed up, and then told him that I said it was ok to do this showing. I assumed that if no one was home, she was going to reschedule like every other agent we’ve spoken with, so I didn’t text any of my roommates before going into an important meeting. She just completely lied to my roommate and showed up unexpectedly.
Both of these situations were handled unprofessionally to the point that I felt I needed to share.

Unlike many of the other 4 – 5 star reviews I’ve read, my roommates and I did not do our actual apartment hunt through Gateway. We used the various websites that aggregate listings and met with many agents that represented them. We had positive and negative experiences, but the place we ultimately decided was perfect for us was being shown by Hannah from Gateway, who was amazing throughout the rest of the process. Do NOT believe the 1 star review of Hannah below, and definitely DO give props to Paul for defending her, because after our experience with her, I have no doubt Paul’s rendition is exactly what went down.
After all of the places we looked at that did not live up to expectations, we were at the point that we could size up a place in minutes as to whether we wanted to take it a step further. So when we walked into the apartment with Hannah, she did not really need to sell us, we knew we wanted it. But thats where our experience really starts, she didn’t kick back and wait for the fee, she worked for us from start to finish. Whether it was meeting up after my own work hours because I forgot to actually attach my application to an e-​mail or working with the landlord to waive the security deposit, Hannah made every step easier.
If we could, we would go back and start our search with Gateway, because then we probably would not have had to go through some of the headaches along the way. If you’re looking for an apartment in the Boston area, start your search here.

Stop sending brokers over to my house unannounced asking if they can take pictures. It’s unprofessional. Also, I don’t feel safe IN MY OWN HOME knowing you people have a key to my apartment and are just going to let yourselves in if I don’t answer the door. I have pets I don’t want getting out. You are violating my personal privacy and it isn’t right. You people really suck.

I found my current apartment through one of the major listing websites and Michael A. was the agent for the owner. He was very helpful throughout the process and quick to return my calls and emails, even after hours. He even found me an air conditioner unit.

This was my first time renting an apartment and the process was so much easier than I expected. My realtor, Bryon Wells was extremely helpful with the entire process. He was very flexible and answered all of my questions thoroughly.

I had help from Bryon Wells who was BEYOND helpful when looking for apartments. He really showed me a lot of places and gave us little tours wherever we went since we were new to the city. He is a truly humble man and was genuinely helpful. I really enjoyed working with him.

One of the realtors, Mike, let us know that he wanted to show our apartment to prospective renters, which is fine. We have had recent issues with realtors leaving our doors open, locking our cat in rooms, throwing blankets on the floor, etc., so we wrote a note to put on our door to remind people to please be respectful since we are still living here. Low and behold, when we got home to our apartment the closet door was open, my bedroom door was open, and overall they disrespected us and clearly ignored our request for simple respect. I am not impressed. At least it seems like they are very good at helping people find apartments, they’re just very bad if you’re on the other end of your lease.

5 Star Reviews almost across the board so far??? I’m not surprised. Why? Because Gateway is f*^&$#^$*ing amazing. That’s right kids, we’re pulling up our big girl pants and not quite spelling out but clearly swearing over here.
We have been using Gateway to rent our apartment on Commonwealth Ave in Brighton for a few years now. When we decided to move out and take a job with a live in apartment down the street — the owners of our new building hooked us up with Jillian at Gateway. I kind of had a crush on how amazing she was. Tattoos, classy, yellow Chanel shoulder wallet (still saving up for this bad boy — damn you Jillian!) totally professional yet completely relate-​able. Not what I expected and unlike anyone I’ve ever worked with before. Sadly, for Gateway, but happily for Jillian, she’s moved on and up in the world!
Fast forward to Patrick at Gateway. Um, can we say he serviced all of my needs and just be adults about it? No. you can’t? Me either. Giggle-​fest over here!
Seriously. I have rented 3 different tenants with Patrick and he’s just so wonderful. I don’t have to worry about anything but dropping off a set of keys. His response time is very fast and he has been so helpful to us in adding things like a move-​in/​move-​out checklist, letting us know what our asking rent should be due to the market of the area, and giving advice on updates we should make to our apartment. All 4 times we have rented the space in less than a week. Half of the time, in 24 hours. They also took photos of our empty apartment that make the place look cleaner than I think I could ever get it while living there. I still go onto Zillow from time to time and look at how beautifully they captured our renovated space. (Uh, yea, I bathed in a half complete bathroom — with no shower spout I might add — for 6 months while we renovated. I looked like a crazy tribal woman. I have a deep deep love for our finished product.)
Gateway just gets it. They know their market, the know their clients and they give honest and accurate information. I think the real estate market can be full of people with either have their heads so far up their asses it’s difficult to make out what they’re saying or people who just plainly don’t care. Gateway, and they staff I’ve worked with, are not those people. I would highly, and I mean HIGHLY, recommend them to anyone in need of a good servicing… of real estate.
Good luck to you Gateway and keep up the good work!

Gateway has provided me an excellent apartment hunt experience. Brandy showed me over 10 properties, some multiple times and always accommodated my schedule perfectly. She was always extremely happy to cater to my picky taste and demanding personality. I am a very difficult person to please, and there wasn’t a single moment from my initial call until my lease was signed that I could possibly comment negatively upon. In fact, I referred one of my close friends to Brandy who ended up signing a lease the following week and was just as satisfied as I was. Considering my tight budget ($ 2,400/ month) I was extremely please to be treated with the respect and level of customer service that I would expect if investing in a premium property. Two bedroom apartments are hard-​ish to find in the Brighton/​Allston area, but there were tons of options that met my laundry list of amenities. She was also very honest in terms of making the flaws of each property known as much as the benefits instead of letting me figure them out for myself once it was too late. All in all, excellent experience. I would highly recommend Gateway and specifically Brandy to any close friend of mine, although everyone else there seemed friendly as well.

My friend and I were looking to move into an apartment before the super bowl of move-​in days — September 1^st.
We were off to a late start and were in somewhat of a scramble to find a place that fit our budget. We were connected with Audrey — when we met her at our first showing, I swear there was an aura around her, and I knew we had the best realtor in Boston.
Audrey took all of our needs into consideration and found us numerous listings in Boston. She takes great pride in her work and was extremely knowledgable of the area (most notably brighton/​allston). I felt comfortable with Audrey and knew that I could trust her (compared to other realtors I’ve dealt with in the past).
Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances had forced me to back out of the apartment after I committed. Audrey was very understanding and worked with us and Gateway Real Estate to find a solution that made everyone happy.
I was 100% satisfied with my experience at Gateway and I will definitely be using Audrey in my next apartment search.

I don’t usually like to write premature reviews, as in, companies by which I don’t follow through with their services, but I had a great experience at Gateway.
Although I am not going with the apartment shown, I was extremely impressed with Gateway Real Estate Group, especially with Jillian Chan.
I think everyone can agree with me on this, even if you don’t live in Boston, finding an apartment is one of the most stressful things, ever. You have to tour a bunch of places, gather enough money for the dreaded first + last + security + realtor fee. Gah! Then, not to mention, the usual «cheesy car salesman» attitude you get from these money hungry sharks.
But, friends, listen to me when I say this: I did not get that feeling from Jillian. As I was searching for my picture perfect place, I emailed her via a Craigslist posting. Within a few hours she touched base with me on the phone and asked me exactly what I want (which is great, I found many real estate agents don’t listen to you). So I told her what I wanted then what I would love to have.
We ended up meeting up the next day to see a property. We walked into Gateway and was welcomed with a huge smile and a full personality. She came over and explained the waiver completely (which, in my three year experience, was the only time any agent has ever done that). We then take her (super cute) car to the property. On the ride over, she laid out some ground rules (which was great, as I could tell there is a great sense of professionalism).
One of her ground rules, which I really enjoy, was to rank the apartment afterwards. Anything that falls below three stars ought to be crossed off the list for good, as we won’t be happy. She also asked for us to debrief with her so she has a better feeling of her clients.
So we saw the place, and guys, this is exactly what I wanted (read: Jillian listens to the requests of the clients. Again, this doesn’t happen too often). Although it was a little above our budget, she wanted to show us the neighborhood and explained what’s around. I definitely appreciate someone who can take an extra half-​hour out of her day to just show us what’s around and what to expect living in the neighborhood.
Afterwards, we debriefed in the office and talked a little more.
After our Gateway experience, we ended up meeting with three other real estate agents and kept thinking «man, Jillian was so much better…»
If you want a great, personal, experience, contact Jillian Chan at Gateway Real Estate Group. You won’t be disappointed.

In a city with so many apartments you would think that the search to find a new home would be easy, but coming from prior experience having rented a place in Boston before, a lot of people would know this is surely not the case. A lot of realty groups in and outside of the city are uninviting, unprofessional and just not helpful; realtors just looking to close a deal compromising their patience and accommodation for a quick sell.
Audrey at Gateway Real Estate Group was none of the above. In fact if you’re looking for a place save yourself some time stop searching on google or craigslist and just call Audrey at Gateway Real Estate Group. She was flexible, friendly, accommodating, knowledgeable and professional;unmatched by any other realtor I’ve done business with.

I think a real estate group like this is PERFECT if you are looking to rent from afar and need extra help to snag an apartment, and because of this long distance help, can stomach paying the Realtor a month’s rent in fees. I guess it could be ok if you’re local and new to apartment searching, but you still gotta stomach the fees.
My husband and I got our apartment with the help of Jillian while we were living in South Carolina. She was GREAT– extremely friendly and very efficient. Let me tell you the customer service she has:
About The Hub and me (yes me, not I) about 4 years ago:
Two, suburbanite southerfolk (sans heavy country accent, at least on my part hahaa) were seeking an apartment in Boston because Husband got accepted to BC in a PhD program (he’s wicked smaht).
HOW DO WE FIND A PLACE TO LIVE? Craigslist!
A few apartment opportunities came and left us because we were to slow to jump on it and somebody else snagged it before us, most likely a local (or they preferred to not rent to out of towners). Then we found an ad listed by Gateway.
The first apartment (or two) opportunities came and left us but our Realtor, Super Jillian did not give up. She helped us snag an apartment and was VERY efficient about faxing paperwork (yes I know she probably wanted her commission, too, BUT she is still amazing).
So we snagged this apartment, and signed a lease without seeing it (other than pictures she took and sent to us at our request)
A month before we moved here, we finally had time to come up and see this apartment we blindly signed for, just so we could see the space and what we had to throw away before moving (we used to live in a two bedroom, two story townhouse– so we had a lotttt of stuffff)
Remember we were «outta towners».
She not only arranged to pick us up– get this, she picked us up at the Harvard Ave T stop. She could have given us directions to walk, but she picked us up. She might have tried to give us directions to walk, but we might have sounded confused– I don’t remember, but she picked us up less than a block from the office.
And then she drove us to our soon to be apartment (also in walking distance!)
AND THEN SHE DROVE US TO BOSTON COLLEGE SO WE COULD SEE WHERE IS IN PROXIMITY TO OUR APARTMENT! And as she drove us there and back to Allston, she told us a lot about the city, recommended places to eat, etc.
Amazing.
So if you’re looking to rent from afar, I highly recommend getting help with Jillian. DO try your best to get here to look at apartments with her before signing a lease (we did this so blindly and were THANKFULLY LUCKY to not land in a dump), but keep in mind they do charge fees, and just deal with it.

Not only is Nick Luongo an awesome Real Estate agent, but he is just a nice and friendly guy in general. He was able to show me and my roommates over 10 different options all of which were very appealing. Once we made our selection he made the whole process super easy and he stayed extremely in touch the whole time. Nick didn’t give us any of the normal realtor runaround and that was very much appreciated.
If you are looking for one of the best realtor’s in Boston, definitely look no further.

My girlfriend and I recently moved to Boston for school and work. We came from upstate new york about 6hours away, so as you can imagine, that sort of a drive can make it a little tough to really apartment hunt. We got in touch with Patrick Milane at gateway and his words on the phone call were «Don’t sweat it, I got this.» When we did come down, we had a 4 hour window to look at apartments that allowed a dog and fit into our other requirements (price range, location, parking etc)
Upon arrival, he had 5 different places for us to look at and before we left to return to upstate new york, we had put down a deposit on a REALLY AWESOME apartment in Brighton. close to everything we could think of, no deposit for a furry four legged Tina, and the entire experience was just pleasant. He took the stress out of the hunting and made our move one of the most easiest transitions ever. 5 stars. If you go through Gateway, ask for Patrick, and tell him Sean and Mary sent you!

Our experience with Gateway Real Estate, and broker Jillian Pagliccia in particular, was incredible.
My sister and I were looking for a place near Boston University for grad school. We were flying in for one weekend from Chicago and needed to find a broker we could trust who could help us find something in that short amount of time. We contacted Gateway and Jillian was quick to get back to us. She asked questions about who we were, what we wanted and what our expectations were. She always responded promptly to any emails we sent and easily worked around our schedule.
Instead of taking us to a million places that were out of our budget or didn’t meet our needs, she took the time to really scour through the listings and only show us places that had the features, location and price we were looking for. She always listened to what we had to say and never pressured us to make a decision. We honestly would have been happy with any of the apartments she showed us and ultimately the hardest part of the experience was choosing one.
In the end we chose a fantastic place that really meets our needs. On the way to see the apartment Jillian said she felt like it would be «the one» for us and she was right. Of course, we spent an hour in the waiting area of the Gateway office before coming to our decision, but Jillian never rushed us and let us take our time.
If that had been the extent of our experience with Gateway it would have been more than enough for 5 stars, but Jillian is part broker and part ambassador for Boston. She drove us around the city and pointed out the best restaurants, stores, theaters, etc. She mapped out the travel time from each apartment to BU for us and showed us how to get to the bus or T-​stop for each one. When we mentioned that we were going to be looking for jobs she searched Craigslist for listings that fit our experience and emailed them to us. When we said that we planned on visiting downtown Boston the next day she wrote down an itinerary for us that included a list of all of her favorite places to visit. She was friendly, helpful, funny and knowledgeable throughout the entire experience.
When it finally came down to signing the lease she met us at the apartment so we could see it one more time before we went back to her office. Boston rentals are expensive, but Gateway breaks it down nicely so you don’t have to pay 4 months of rent all at once. We can’t wait to move in.
There’s a reason Gateway is the highest rated Boston-​area broker on Unilocal — they are everything a good broker should be. I would do more than recommend them, I would say that there is no reason to choose any broker other than Gateway.

Having lived in Boston for almost five years, I can say that I’ve had my fair share of realtors. That being said, I can honestly tell you that Gateway was by far the friendliest and most reliable realty service that I’ve ever dealt with.
David McCormic helped us find a great apartment in Allston last year. Then, when my roommate and I got jobs in different cities, Dave and his crew happily jumped on board to help us find two new people to move in, saving us a lot of stress (and money). Understanding that we’d like to have the peace of mind knowing that we wouldn’t have to break our lease, Dave encouraged everyone at Gateway (Jennifer, Adrianne, Nick…) to help find new tenants for our place. And that they did. I’m very grateful and wish I could give this place six stars!

The first time we rented we got lucky. This time, not so much. We had to go through 4 real estate agents before getting the right one. Every other person never listened to us, went above our price, and showed us apt’s in creepy locations. Valerie B listened to everything we asked for. She found us 3 places with everything we wanted within our budget, but the plce that won us over was beyond what anyone could expect. She was fantastic.
I will return when I look for another place in the distant, distant future.

I generally HATE everything that has to do with renting an apartment in Boston, the worst part being the inevitable useless trips with a realtor who completely ignores every requirement you have and shows complete shitholes for $ 3 453 468 a month.
Allison Kramberg is not that realtor. She’s professional, perky and everything I want in a realtor because she applies her personal standards for an apartment to those she shows. Although she can’t do much about how blatantly overpriced the apartments are, she will show apartments that fit your needs. That’s right; SHE LISTENS. Novel concept, huh? And it’s clear she really enjoys her job.
Now, despite having looked at apartments with Allison two years in a row, I never ended up renting from her, due in no small part to wishy-​washy roommates. Maybe this glowing review will make up for that. :)

I’ve used Gateway to broker my last 2 apartment rentals, and I’ve been incredibly pleased on both occasions. The agency itself is conveniently located in Allston on the busy intersection of Harvard Ave and Brighton Ave (easily accessible via the 57 bus, or a short walk from the Harvard Ave T-​stop on the B-​line).
I’ve used 2 different agents from this place, so I think I’ve gotten a pretty good feel of how they run their business. HONEST, pleasant, eager to please, and very helpful! Not pushy by any means. No mess, no fuss. They only show you places you’d actually want to see and that meet your needs, as opposed to trying to jam you into any available apt they have to make a buck, which I’ve seen other agencies in the area attempt.
I highly recommend both Will Strong and Jillian Pagliccia (she’s awesome! Although I didn’t see anything I liked when I initially went out with her, she called me back a month later when she found the PERFECT apartment for my needs — showed me the place that morning and I was signing the lease that afternoon. It’s absolutely amazing that any agent would keep a client in mind for that long. Even came along for the Landlord interview.)