Gina Maniscalco

I had my condo on the market before. For months, and months and months.  Former broker said nothing could be done. Ellen comes along and 6 WEEKS LATER - I have a P&S!  She is thorough, tenacious, diligent and works with integrity. Whether you are buying or selling - I highly recommend Ellen and intend on using her again.
Top Qualities: Great Results, Personable, Creative

Gina Maniscalco, South Boston, MA on LinkedIn

Annie Shapiro
I  just wanted to let you know that I think that you really are exceptional in terms of your approach.

Thanks,
annie, weston, MA

Ulrike Dettling Kalthofer

We could never have found our new home without the help of our realtor Ellen Friedman. When we were going to open houses before we hired her, the places we were interested in were already taken since other people had already seen the place before the open houses and made an offer. By the time we were able, to make an offer, the place was already gone.  Ellen viewed houses together with us, took note of our needs and wishes. She even previewed houses and neighborhoods for us.  She responded to any phone calls or emails right away, even on weekends and even when she was out of town.  When she was out of town for the weekend, she had one of her colleagues show us a property we wanted to see right away.  She understood exactly what we were looking for and researched houses for us.  So when our current home came on the market, she made an appointment for us right away and got us to see the condo before the open house. We had the first showing (there was another family right after us! and later that same day!) and immediately made an offer.
Ellen did not only make the appointments, previewed, researched houses for us -- she took care of everything: she got us a real estate lawyer, she hand delivered our mortgage application to the bank; helped us with all negotiations with the previous owners and other realtor; she shared her extensive knowledge and expertise about repairs/renovations; gave us names of contractors, home warranty insurance etc etc (even after the purchase). Ellen went very much out of her way to support us throughout the whole process. She was always available to us, even on evenings and weekends.
We were first time home buyers and could have never gotten a home without Ellen holding our hands throughout the whole process, educating us, guiding us, supporting us, but never pushing us. I truly believe that Ellen had our best interest in mind.
We referred her to my sister in law for whom she found a suitable tenant within TWO DAYS, taking care of back ground checks etc.
Ellen is dedicated, ethical, very professional and stays of top of everything. We were very impressed with her work. We highly recommend Ellen to any home buyer or home owner looking to rent or sell. Ellen is a realtor of the highest caliber. You could not find a better one.
Ulrike Dettling Kalthofer,  Arlington, MA on YELP

Laurent Demanet
I wish I had known Ellen Friedman from the start. My wife and I only
switched to her for the purchase of our house after having been
disappointed with the services of another agent. It was a very good
move.

It all starts as a no-brainer: Ellen is a retired college
professor who is also keen on helping people as a real-estate agent.
College professors are passionate about the subject they study, not
about their paycheck. Real-estate is a (second) passion for Ellen,
that she lived for many years through the renovation of a few
different houses.

And indeed, we were demanding, but Ellen went above and beyond our
expectations of what a realtor does in several ways:
- She is always immediately reachable by phone or email, outside of
business hours. I put Ellen through short notices for many things
(house visits, advice, paperwork): she responded and acted quickly
every single time. She even visited houses on my behalf and wrote
detailed reports when I was out of town!
- Ellen helps like a family member would. For instance, she is
unbiased in showing houses even if the price is well below the maximum
affordable amount. We were quickly in tune with Ellen on the types of
house and neighborhood that would be good for us.
- She is knowledgeable about renovation work, permits, and city
regulations. We avoided the catastrophe of buying a house where
renovation work had not been properly permitted and inspected, thanks
to Ellen's eye.
- She gives all the advice needed on renovation, insurance, getting
set up in the new house, keeping up with deadlines, taking advantage
of rebates and promotions, etc. even well after you close (at least so
far!). All the professionals she referred us to (attorney, contractor,
inspector) were very good and cheap.

In short, Ellen is the patient, responsive, and conscientious type.  That was a big deal for us.

Laurent Demanet, MIT - on YELP

David & Omaira Brightman
Thanks again for all your help.  We have worked with many brokers in the past and you continue to find ways to distinguish yourself.

David & Omaira, Cambridge, MA

Craig Klayman
What a pleasure working with Ellen for the purchase of our new home!  Anyone wanting a non-pressure, knowledgeable, competent, fair and really nice real estate agent - GIVE ELLEN A CALL!    Her ability to perfectly price property is beyond any other agent we have known. She facilitated our purchase so that we owned the house of our dreams in under a month - much quicker than we thought.  We are so grateful for all she has done for us and highly recommend her to everyone.
Craig Klayman, Plymouth, MA

Becky Chapman Klayman
Details of the Recommendation: "Ellen is a one of a kind agent that expertly prices, professionally manages and personally supports all transactions involved in purchasing home/property. Never before has the process been as expedient, equitable and enjoyable as when Ellen is handling real estate transaction. Her knowledge of the real estate market and entire process is unequaled."
Service Category: Real Estate Agent
Year first hired: 2010
Top Qualities: Great Results, Personable, High Integrity

Becky Chapman Klayman, Sharon on LinkedIn

Donald Gilligan

“Ellen did a terrific job selling our house. She helped us price correctly, stage the house and negotiate the sale. Handled all of the closing details as well. Highly recommend her if you are selling your house or condo.” – Donald Gilligan, Sharon & Salem, MA

Donald Gilligan on LinkedIn: 
Details of the Recommendation: "Ellen helped us sell two properties at our target prices in a difficult market. One property sold in 24 hours. She was knowledgeable about the market conditions in two very different locations (South End and Sharon), thorough in her preparations, and responsive to our concerns."
Service Category: Real Estate Agent
Year first hired: 2009 (hired more than once)
Top Qualities: Great Results, Expert, High Integrity

Gin Best & Noro Kopco
We are an international couple - researchers who after several years of renting in Cambridge decided to buy their first home in the US. We met Ellen by chance at an open house and we liked her instantly. She then spent several weeks showing us condos all over Cambridge and Somerville and giving us a crash course in home buying along the way (which must have been particularly challenging given that we were foreigners with zero knowledge about how things work). Ellen is the most down-to-earth realtor you could ever meet, she knows her stuff, she speaks her mind, she is very responsive at any time of day, and she is full of fascinating stories and good humor. We cannot recommend her highly enough - there is NOBODY else like her!
Noro and Gin, Cambridge MA on YELP

Devon Moos
 From Yelp:

Devon M., Somerville, MA

Updated - 4/13/2011

Months and months after my initial review, we're finally closed on our house.  Much of the fact that we got to this point 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 things.

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 great us 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 beyond, 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.

1 Previous Review

  • 11/7/2010

    Ellen is assisting us in buying our first as I type this.  She's super flexible, very detail oriented, and has given us great insight in home buying.  Ellen definitely is a great agent for us as she is more than willing to give us suggestions and doesn't mind being a sounding board for our ideas which is very helpful for first time home buyers.  She's a very straight shooter and if she sees something she doesn't like in a house she'll point it out and make sure we're aware of potential issues.  She's definitely a very honest and real person, as well as being a very good real estate broker.

    We ended up putting an offer on a short sale, must sooner than we anticipated in buying, but it was a steal.  She'd only shown us two properties before this one, and matched us with properties we were very interested in.  This one is really own dream home if the banks approve of the short sale, and if it does, we owe it to Ellen for her help, resources to help along the process like mortgage brokers and home inspectors, and her knowledge of what we want in a house, even if we had pretty rough ideas initially.  If the deal doesn't go through, we'd be more than happy to work with her further, but we sure hope it does!  

    I'd recommend anyone to talk to Ellen if they are looking for a house or condo, regardless of price point or location, as she's be extremely professional and helpful in our search.

Ryan Dunn
 

Ellen served as agent for 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.

Ryan Dunn, Somerville - on Zillow

Greg Harris
 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.