Better Place Realty

Better Place, overall, does a very nice job managing our building. Management was very responsive and repaired damage from leaks very soon after they occurred. I also appreciate that Better Place was very accommodating of our needs with our dog and baby. The building is well maintained and is safe. Better Place’s representatives are also very easy to deal with.
My only request would be for the building to provide more recycling bins. The ones in back of our building fill up very quickly. But that’s a small nitpick. On the whole, we were very satisfied with Better Place’s management, responsiveness, and honesty.

I moved to Boston with my dog, and as most pet-​owners know, it is really difficult to find a place to live with pets. I found an apartment in Brookline on Craigslist that was managed by Better Place Realty and lived in that apartment for 1.5 years before changing jobs and moving to a new place closer to my work.
Overall, I had a positive experience with Better Place as a tenant. The apartment was large, recently renovated (granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, etc), was pet-​friendly and came with an incredible view of Boston. I interacted most with Julie, who was very professional and helpful. My roommate and I found them to be responsive and communicative and in general we didn’t have any problems while we were living there. I did not have any difficulties with signing my lease or in signing my lease over to subletters/​new tenants when I had to move.
The only downsides was that ~4 weeks after I lived there, I received a call from one of the building managers (Charlie) saying my neighbors were calling in due to barking and that I had a week to solve the problem before before they would. Apparently, my dog was barking while I was out and they had told my neighbors they would give me a one month grace period to see if my dog would get used to being indoors. I appreciate the grace period, but would have more appreciated a heads up because it made for a very stressful couple of weeks and awkward conversations with my neighbor, which I think all could have been handled better.
My off-​street parking spot was also pretty expensive ($ 200/​mo), which is ~$ 50 more than other parking options in the same area, but it was nice to have my car in the same spot across the street from my building. Our rent also increased ~8% each year, which I guess is normal for the Boston area, but ended up making things expensive when we resigned (probably because the apartment itself was already really nice and priced appropriately to reflect that).

I am extremely satisfied and grateful with the experience I’ve had with Better Place Realty. I worked with Josh to find a house near the Boston area. I am a student going to college and it was my first time finding a place off campus to live. Josh was honest, professional, and courteous — he gave us great opinions on the places we saw and brought up points about bills and what living in the neighborhood would be like. It is so comforting to work with someone who you can trust and will get back to you. Josh always had his paperwork ready and we signed our leases and processed forms in only a matter of days. He continues to check up on us and always helps with questions! I would definitely recommend Better Place Realty to anyone living in the greater Boston area, please don’t hesitate to contact the quarters, you’ll get great advice if you don’t find what you’re looking for right away.

Top Shelf and Top Notch!
I’ve had nothing but a fantastic experience with this great company. When I moved back to Boston from Arizona, they were able to showcase a number of different rental properties for me to choose from. Each time they took the time and energy to make sure I was able to the best decision on worked and didn’t work for me. The place I ended up renting through them, turned out to be exactly what I was looking for, it was easily commutable to work, right around the corner from the Allston Music scene and still allowed me to reside in a quiet and relaxed neighborhood.
I also have an Australian Shepherd, who can have a bit of separation anxiety, but not only were they ultimately able to find me an apartment that allowed her, but I lucked out with a very understanding group of neighbors too (one who also used Better Place Realty!) who never once complained if she whimpered or cried. That’s service you can’t find just by opening a book and cold calling!
When I met my (now wife) girlfriend and we later moved in together, I could not have asked for a more simplified and painless end to my lease. Of course, I had to do a little leg work, cleaning the apartment, getting my paperwork properly completed, but who doesn’t? My entire rental experience, from my initial move-​in, to my final walk-​through, was so entirely painless, that I would unequivocally recommend using them to help you find either your first apartment or a new neighborhood.

I’ll try to make this short, so no one wastes their time renting from this company.
First, the only good thing at Better Place is Leela. She is a relatively new hire and she is much more understanding and professional than anyone else at the company, specifically Charley, one of the owners.
I lived at 112 Hyde Park Ave. for 1.5 years. From the very beginning, Charley made it seem that anything I asked for was excessive (painting the front stairwell, putting up numbers for the doorbells, communicating details of a bathroom remodel, etc.)
Over the year and a half I rented from them, Charley was aggressive/​borderline verbally abusive any time I had to speak to him. He was condescending any chance he had and frequently told me issues I had were my fault.
His poor customer service ranged from arguing with me about replacing broken plastic blinds when I first moved in to conspiring with another tenant in an effort to get me evicted when that tenant (Tim Arsenault, just FYI, if you are looking at/​live in 112 Hyde Park Ave.) and I had a minor dispute over «shared space» on the front porch.
This particular tenant (Tim and his girlfriend Annie) took to harassing me/​attempting to provoke me (moving my belongings, dumping trash on my side of the porch, etc) and all Charley did was tell me that he couldn’t help. However, if Tim had an issue with me, Charley would call me and yell at me repeatedly.
Tim actually stated to me multiple times that Charley was «on his side» and that they were going to «get me out.»
It should also be noted that one of Charley’s employees told me that «Charley is highly agitated if he hasn’t smoked pot before coming into the office everyday.»
As a final note, the actual owner for 112 Hyde Park Ave. is impossible to find and when I first moved in I was informed by my agent from Better Place that rent went up by about $ 300 a month. After a year, the rent was raised again by $ 100 and when I moved out (6 months into my second year) the rent was raised again by $ 100 for the poor saps that moved into my old apartment. So they are now paying $ 1850 for an apartment that two years ago was closer to $ 1400.
I would, however, recommend that anyone looking for an apartment check out City Realty. They have been very accommodating and respect the amount of money I am paying for rent and provide the appropriate high level of customer service.

I’ve had a great experience with Charley and Julie at Better Place. They’ve helped me out on numerous occasions in the last ten years, and are helping me on an apartment rental now. You won’t go wrong here!

Just called to ask for some advice from them, and got cut off and hung up on by a lovely guy named Charlie there. Great way to represent your employer, I’m sure the owner would be proud.
Clearly lost interest when he realized my question wouldn’t earn him a commission. 1 star employee, 5 star jerk.

thank you so, so much for helping my sister and her husband sell their condo, that was a huge, big deal and life changing. you just enabled them to move west and to start over. very smart, clever and we loved that you got them a bidding war. we will definitely let others we know who want to put their places on market. :-)

Better Place may be a decent real estate agent. I don’t know, because that is not the capacity in which I’ve dealt with them.
I _​did_​have them as my property manager, and to say that I was less than pleased is an understatement. I gave myself about a year to clear my head and stop being angry before writing this. I’m level-​headed and looking back on it now, but this was a bad business arrangement, and I wish that I had never signed with them.
I signed a lease in March for a move-​in date in June, and in between that time, the building became an off campus dormitory for BC students. During much of the year, I had to pound on doors, step outside and finally call the police just about every night unless I wanted to hear pounding bass or loud, (probably underage) drunken yelling until well past 3 AM.
Every night.
When I wrote to Better Place, they noted that they had warned me I wouldn’t be a good fit for the apartment building (they hadn’t) and suggested that I move, indicating they «might» be able to get me out of the lease early. Given the difficulty and expense involved in finding an apartment in Boston in the middle of the season, this struck me as a less than helpful suggestion.
I don’t mind that this was a starter apartment without things like a dishwasher or a disposal. I understand that in a college neighborhood, sometimes things are going to be loud, particularly in the summers. But rent is a pretty big part of my paycheck, and I expect, in return for paying it, to have a basic standard of living in which I don’t have to call the police frequently just to to sleep (or, on some weekends, to keep from having a pounding headache after hours of dance music). When I complain to the property manager, the polite version of «Why don’t you move if you don’t like it?» is not an acceptable answer. Toward the end, when my girlfriend and I were confronting a group of the kids for drinking and arguing on the stoop at, for the hundredth time, 4:00 in the morning, the kids flat-​out told us that the property manager had given them the impression that it was a dorm and they were allowed to make as much noise as they wanted. After that, they took to pounding on my door whenever they passed by. Yes, these were tenants, not Better Place, but I did complain to Better Place about the noise and they were more than content to let it continue.
I assume that it was because I moved in off-​season, due to an agreement with the tenant I met in March, but my lease did read June 1^st, and the apartment was left pretty filthy when I moved in. Honestly and truly, this would not normally have bothered me: I expect to have to clean a place when I move into an affordable apartment in this city. That’s standard fare. It’s the fact that their move-​out letter more or less threatened not to return my deposit unless I left the place spotless, which essentially meant I was paying them for having me clean up after somebody else’s mess.
After sending a condescending letter indicating exactly how much money they would be abducting for things such as «not sweeping,» most of which were the very definition of «normal wear and tear,» they were quite clear about being completely inflexible on the awkward move-​out date of August 27^th (despite the fact that my initial agreement with Exit Realty mistakenly said September 1^st). They had everyone shove most of their furniture to the side in early August for «extermination.» There was construction on the roofs throughout most of the month of August, making gradual move-​outs impossible. While I was on vacation, presumably as part of the above-​noted «extermination,» somebody dragged a lot of what looked like sawdust through my back door and got it all over my living room floor (I did complain about this — they responded but took no action). There were lists of rules about what we were allowed to throw out in the dumpsters and what we were allowed to do with furniture we weren’t taking with us. I frankly spent most of my final month of the lease living in my girlfriend’s apartment. Their letter implied they wanted people out as soon as possible and it seemed to me they were doing their best to get rid of us. I have no idea how people who renewed their lease dealt with it.
In summary: the building was impossibly difficult to live in and even harder to move out of. You’re welcome to try them when you’re looking for apartments, just don’t let them sign you up for one of the ones that they manage.

My first experience with Better Place Realty has been great
so far. My realtor, Lisa Gilman, is so efficient and professional
and she really knows the realty business in the area. Usually
I get so stressed out with finding new renters but the process
was smooth and easy! Within a week I had new renters and
everything was all squared away-​awesome!

I am shocked about negative reviews on here.
The first time I used Better Place they went above and beyond. Not only did they find me an AMAZING apartment, they went out of their way to ensure I had a roommate. They put an add on craigslist and then we would do what I called «roommate speed dating» till I found a girl I thought would be a good match. (My last roommate had been a disaster so I was nervous!) That was in 2011.
Then this time (as in now) when my landlord was selling my apartment through them they were quick to reassure me not to worry, we would find something. We looked at phenomenal places and places that were spot on to my «requirements».
In the end I found a place myself due only being able to sign for 5 months. But even after that they kept in touch to ensure I had a place to live. These people are great and I would highly recommend them to anyone! More like a family helping you then realtors. :-)

This is a honest & friendly realty office. I’ve rented many apartments in Boston and Brookline and have always had some sort of issue with the realtor I worked with. I rented my current apartment through Better Place and I’m 100% satisfied with their service and my new home!

I moved to Boston a little over a year ago. After negative experiences with Jamaica Plain Associates and Greater Boston Management (see my other reviews), and two break-​ins, I was looking for a place to move quickly.
I called Jonathan at Better Place Realty and he was really helpful. The apt he suggested wasn’t a right fit at the time (roommate reasons) but when I was looking to move at the end of my lease, I went back to him. I explained that his place was my back-​up and I wanted to look for a place with a backyard. He was understanding and kept me posted as the number of available apts in his buildings dropped from 12 to 6 to 5 to 3, and then I made a decision to take it.
Better Place is very clear with their forms what payments (first, last, security, fee) is due when. Jonathan is quick to respond to emails, phone calls, and text messages. For a little extra rent, he was able to upgrade the kitchen and add a dishwasher.
I would have given more stars, but the apartment looked worse than a college dorm when I moved in. I moved at night, and one of the three overhead lights didn’t work — the fixture was broken. All four closet doors (2 bedroom, 2 small hall closets) were falling off. The bathtub faucet was broken, with water shooting straight out of the wall. Maintenance came the day after I emailed them, and made most of the repairs. The glass front of the stove is missing, and as of 40 days later it hasn’t been repaired. Because my rent is very reasonable, I expect worn carpet and nail holes, but there were a ton of problems that should have been addressed before move-​in.

BEWARE, this place is HORRIBLE. They try to screw over everyone!
So, listen to this horror story.
I was showed my apartment twice (both times I was shown two different apartments #1 and #2) and i was told I was being shown the same apartment each time. Which was confusing, but hey, no big deal right?
Then I move in, turns out Ive never seen the apartment before. I was shown different apartments than I agreed to. But, it wasnt so bad, so I was like, okay. The apartment was in good condition… it just was not the one i signed the lease for.
Turns out the realters «third roomate» he found for us was… his sister. Who is bipolar, on suicide watch and fucking nuts. Within 2 weeks, me and my 3 other roomates called complaining she was beyond crazy. But because she was the realters sister (which no one was aware of) he gave us hell for kicking her out. It took WEEKS of calling, constantly complaining about her. We did in the end get her out after 2 months of complaining.
When the new roommate moved in who we found on craigslist, it turned out the other old roommate left her room covered in cat feces. We told this to our realtor, who said when we sign a new lease he’d send over a cleaning crew — we did, he never did. If we ever needed anything like something fixed, a new key, normal things Better Place should have taken care of… they just blew it off. It took constant calls and emails to get the smallest things fixed.
Then they started charging us for water even though we were all told water was included. Yes, this is partially our fault for not reading the paperwork closely, but we were each separately VERBALLY told «water is included.»
After all that, I rented out my room quickly and we all got the hell out of there. I asked to be completely let go from my lease but they wouldn’t allow it, and instead insisted I get a sub letter. Which I did, of course.
For GODS sakes. DONT go to these people! This is not an overly exaggerated review!