The BREL Team

My husband and I bought our first house together through the Brel team, and we had a wonderful experience working with them.
We primarily worked with Aprile, who was incredible. She was always looking out for best interests; was never pushing for a sell; gave her honest opinion about homes, let us take our time to think about things, and was super helpful when we had questions. She was also always available to go check out homes, was quick to reply to my constant emails and was always supportive. Aside from being great at her job, she was just a pleasure to be around as we went from house to house. She obviously loves her job and loves working with people and making sure they get their dream home.
On the day we were to submit our offer, she brought along Brendan, and the two of them convinced us to make a great offer on a home. Both of them represented us spectacularly at the offer presentation, and we ended up getting our dream home.
We couldn’t have done it without the two of them, but I want to thank Aprile especially for helping us navigate the crazy Toronto real estate market.
I can’t recommend them enough. Thank you so much!
–Chloe and Mike

Decided to use the BREL Team based on Unilocal reviews and it was a great experience! Thank you, Unilocalers, for your reviews! I’m a first time home buyer. In April, I emailed Melanie and Brendan with what I was looking for (2BR condo in downtown Toronto) — I said I needed help with figuring out how much I could afford. Melanie responded quickly and referred me to Henry, their go-​to mortgage guy at RBC. So I met up with him, got pre-​approved, then Melanie referred me to Giulia, their «star» realtor. She was awesome! She was very responsive and flexible in terms of meeting times. She’d send me listings, I’d send her some and she’d set up the appointments. She was really on top of things and responded quickly by phone, email, text. Sometimes she’d have a car and driver, one time she used Über to get me to showings. Giulia was very knowledgeable and what I liked most is that she would think about how the neighbourhood might change. I was looking at downtown condos and while in the unit, she’d look around the building and eye what buildings next to that condo might get demo’d, or if another building could potentially pop up in a parking lot, that sort of thing.
A couple of weeks later, I found a place that I wanted to offer on and Giulia advised me on what I should offer, if the place was priced right, etc. She gave me comparables, advised me, and my offer was accepted. My favourite is that Giulia also became bff with the listing agent, taking her repeated calls until about 11 pm one night. Seriously though, it was great that she built a good relationship with the listing agent — I don’t know to what extent that helped, but it definitely didn’t hurt! Giulia moved fast to get all the paperwork done. She also uses docusign, an app that accepts digital signatures. This made it a breeze to sign everything, it’s legit with the Toronto Real Estate Board, and I didn’t have to meet up with her — I could just do it from my phone.
Giulia helped me after the offer was accepted. Before closing, she came in with me so I could do measurements on the place and what renos I wanted to do. She even got me a basket of cleaning supplies, wrapped up in a bow! (e.g. j-​cloths, toilet paper, etc.) She also told me that she would get professional cleaners in to clean the place as her gift to me — how awesome is that? I told Giulia when I wanted them to come in, she set it up, and I met up with them.
Giulia went above and beyond and it was great to work with her. She advised me at each step, sending helpful emails with lots of info. (Oh, I need home insurance? Ok!) She was no pressure and not sales-​y. She was really down-​to-​earth and honest. She really looked out for me and kept my best interests at heart. She’d check in with me before closing to see if I needed anything and would say «Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.» It’s great to know that there are people out there who want to help you and do a good job! I kind of wish I had enough money to buy more property so I can work with her again… Guess I will have to wait when/​if I sell. ;)

I had a great experience working with the BREL team! Kristin Shensel was leading my case but all of them were extremely helpful and drove me around for many days until she found me the right house. The thing that I appreciate the most about Kristin, Melanie and Brandan is that she would always tell me what is good for me instead of what I wanted to hear. They are very knowledgeable of the GTA market and neighborhoods and they also introduced me to good lawyers and mortgage brokers that made my purchase simple and trouble-​free.

We spent several months finding a new home, and we found the BREL team (mainly Brendan, but also Mike, Mel, and Julia) to be extremely helpful throughout, both in the search for a home and in the (crazy Toronto) process of actually purchasing one. If you’re looking for exceptional, personal service, you should definitely give them a shot.

Mel and Brendan have been exceptional in helping us find and purchase our first condo in downtown Toronto. Having dealt with numerous agents in search of rental properties in the past, I can easily say that the BREL team was by far the most helpful, capable, and provided the overall best experience. They’re honest and direct, know their stuff, use technology to make the process seamless (avoided much of the paperwork and scanning I’ve had to deal with in the past), and were eager to explain everything and guide us as first-​time buyers. They have a personal network of great people, which is amazing for anyone buying or selling for the first time and in need of a mortgage broker, lawyer, insurance broker, etc. On their recommendation, I got in touch with Dave Larock when we needed a mortgage broker and he too exceeded expectations. It took us a long time to find the right place, but Mel and Brendan made our first home buying experience truly stress free. We really felt they had our best interests at heart and I would recommend them to anyone.

My experience as a buyer was great. Brendan was always available and prompt to respond to questions. I never felt any pressure to buy or make a decision quickly, I felt comfortable taking my time If I was unsure. Best of al I was lucky enough to find the right home for me and once I took the plunge Brendan was there to support me and answer questions every step of the way. Also, as a very detail oriented person I really appreciated the detailed responses. I also appreciated that both Brendan and Melanie weighed in when I asked for advice, it really gave me comfort that they seriously considered their responses first.
The concierge services offered are also really nice to touch. I didn’t end up using the service in the end but it was great knowing it was there.

We recently worked with the BREL team (Mel and Brendan specifically) to sell our Leslieville Townhouse. We were very impressed with the marketing materials, staging, and candid advice from Mel and Brendan. We consider ourselves challenging to work with at times, and we wanted to make a significant profit on this sale. Mel and Brendan were incredible as they coached us to hold on for our desired price, through several discouraging occurrences, and a longer than expected time on the market. In the end, a client within their close network of realtors purchased the home, and I’m confident it wouldn’t have worked out this well without them. The BREL team made all the difference selling our home, and I would strongly recommend working with them.

I was overwhelmed with my search for rental properties in Toronto, as was unfamiliar with the city and all it’s different areas! Dena, from the BREL Team, was so helpful and really gave me a great rundown of the city. She was so available for the entire process, arranged a quick meeting, and I think really got an idea of who I was and what I was looking for. She lined up several options for me and was very honest about the pros and cons of each. I now have a great place in Toronto! I felt very comfortable with Dena and didn’t feel I was being forced into anything, or being manipulated for a quick deal for her. I would highly recommend working with Dena and will definitely contact her again for my future housing needs !!!

My husband I were looking to buy a second property — a condo — in Toronto to be closer to my husbands office. Even though we’ve bought property before this is the first time it was a second residence. We researched agent reviews online and decided to give the BREL team a call. Kristin was in touch with us quickly and after viewing a few properties we decided on the area and waited a few weeks until one came on the market. Kristin helped us negotiate a great deal over Christmas and New Year and helped us find a law firm who was able to do a 3 week closing for us (FeldKalia — who were also awesome to deal with)
All in all it was a positive experience.
We look forward to dealing with Kristin on our next real estate transaction.
Ann & Patrick

After doing a lot of research I found the Brel Team and I knew that my search was over. I contacted them and they put Mike in touch with us. We are so happy that we chose to have Mike sell our home. Immediately after meeting him we got the sense that he was very trustworthy and had our best interest at heart. He came prepared with a lot of information about our area and similar houses. Other agents we interviewed came empty handed (or with generic info sheets) as well as pushy. He is extremely knowledgable and also quietly confident. Mike was available to us anytime we needed a question answered or had a concern. Hiring Mike was the best decision we could’ve made in regards to our home! We ended up selling our house for way above asking! Can’t recommend him enough. Thanks again Mike!

I am going writing this review of BREL because they are a phenomenal real estate group, I want them to do well, and I think that anyone who is taking the time to look through real estate reviews should just stop now and make a decision to use them.
With BREL’s help, my fiancée and I sold our condo and bought a new home. We worked with them on both sides of the equation. In both instances BREL was: great at what they do, fun to work with and they made things easy. They have basically created the perfect real estate model. Compared to my last experience, they were miles ahead.
We sold our loft the first weekend it was listed. BREL staged it really well (we didn’t want to move after that had been done), took photos that I will keep (amazing photos), recommended and coordinated a well-​priced guy to do some minor fixes and marketed it across a whack of social media channels as well as the usual places. They seem to provide an extra level of service all within the usual fee structure. The entire team is super nice to work with. Also, they didn’t play games with selling price and try to list low to get a bidding war. As a buyer, I hate those games, and really appreciated the level of honesty that they displayed throughout their communications with other agents. Basically, they were upfront and honest with pricing and managed to sell our place for a really good price.
They also helped as buy a home that we love and I’ll just say a few things:
1. There was no pressure to buy right away and I never felt that we were inconveniencing them with last minute requests
2. They got back to use right away whenever we had questions
3. When Brendan looked at houses with us, he sort of focused on the practical and structural aspects so that we could focus on our gut reactions
4. Brendan and Mel really helped us when it came time to put in a bid and they set our expectations so that we could make the final deal happen
BREL has a network of awesome people that they work with, from lawyers to mortgage brokers and they made the entire process EASY. Their broker offered us the best rate we could find (we looked around). And they have every possible resource ready to help with the process, from neighbourhood guides to buying tips to checklists for each stage of the process. Again, they make it easy.
We can’t thank them enough for being so awesome. Needless to say, we had a phenomenal experience with BREL and recommend them enthusiastically and without reservation.

From W & M Venter
The BREL team, especially Brendan and Melanie, make the impossible seem effortless. Relocating across the country is a difficult task, even if you plan months ahead. So we were beyond stressed out when we had to put our downtown Toronto town home on the market, pack up our lives, and fly to Vancouver in less than a week.
Choosing a realtor is challenging. It’s one of the most important business decisions we make. And let’s be honest, it’s often a blind decision because most realtors don’t have lots of information on their websites! Fortunately, that isn’t the case with the BREL Team. Their website reassured us that we were working with a full service agency with extensive experience and skills in marketing, staging, and everything that comes with selling a home in the competitive Toronto market.
Even better, they exceeded our initial expectations! We met Brendan and Melanie at our very worst. Sleep deprived and surrounded with boxes. But they still managed to stage our home perfectly for marketing and viewings. We were amazed when we received an offer after only 3 days on the market. It was even over our asking price!
Thanks so much to everyone on the BREL Team for all your hard work. If you are looking for a realtor your search ends here. They are the best real estate agency in Toronto, no contest. We can’t recommend them enough!

Jeanette recently helped my fiancé and I purchase our first condo. She was so helpful and approachable, we were nervous since we were first time homebuyers but she put us at ease. She answered my one zillion questions about everything almost immediately after asking… I wasn’t left wondering! She was honest and very thorough, if it wasn’t for her I’m not sure we would’ve picked anything out in our PDI (new build) and we would’ve paid a much higher interest rate on our mortgage.
It was a pleasure working with her as she is very personable and didn’t pressure us into making any decisions. She obviously offered us advice and shared her opinions as she is the expert but we never felt pressured to make a purchase. Long story short, we couldn’t have done it without her and wouldn’t hesitate to use her again (but not too soon, moving is a hassle)!

As someone who recently relocated to Toronto from New York (via Vancouver), the BREL team far surpassed my expectations and then some.
Specifically, Kristin Shensel is skilled, professional, attentive and reliable. She described each unit in detail and held my hand step-​by-​step since I was skeptical after 10 years of unreliable brokers and hidden fees in NYC. Since we were corresponding from different cities, it’s important to note that all photos and descriptions accurately depicted square footage and amenities and my questions were answered with candor.
Frankly, I am surprised this type of service is available to renters – my landlord seconded my enthusiasm when we all exchanged keys so clearly Kristin built rapport all around. The reviews on Unilocal speak volumes. Bravo BREL, you are all true professionals.

These guys are the best in the city bar far! They really know their stuff, they are honest and direct, and also a pleasure to be around. They make the experience so much easier.

Mike, Brendan and Melissa were amazing agents! They worked as a great team and found our beautiful home! Things we loved about them: funny, responsive, tech savvy, extremely helpful, zero pressure, great analytics, helpful website and the list goes on. They hooked us up with all the right people and our transition was as smooth as it gets. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a great experience!

The most full-​service and technology savvy realtors on the planet, and certainly in Toronto!
The BREL team work hard for you, buying or selling, and the results are obvious: all their clients are happy.
Listen to their advice, they know Toronto well, and they’ll help you navigate even the toughest bidding war without over paying. We signed up for both their Hot List (awesome) and the sold listing alerts to get a feel for the market. After a few weeks we booked some visits and saw TEN (!) houses on a Sunday (Thanks Brendan). By 9pm Tuesday we had bought a great house with 7 other bidders to compete with. There’s no doubt in my mind that we were well represented by BREL.
Three days is pretty good in my book, especially when you hear the horror stories. If you’re one of these people who hast lost 29 bidding wars this year, give BREL a call.

The best thing about Brendan and Melanie is that they don’t help you buy or sell homes — they build relationships. These relationships help you find your dream home, unload your condo, and not overpay or underprice.
We met Brendan, by chance, close to a year before we were ready to buy. Over that time and before we signed any dotted line, we peppered Brendan and Mel with questions like, when are the best times to buy and sell, why is the west end so much more expensive, and how are we ever going to win a bidding war?
We entered and lost a bidding war that we didn’t win, but that’s okay. We didn’t overpay and in the end (a week later), found an even better house. Once we decided to buy a semi, and sell our condo, we knew we had the best realty team, because they anticipated our questions and made us feel calm the whole way (very stressful to think about having to hold two mortgages at the same time).
You couldn’t ask for two people more informed about Toronto and connected than Brendan and Mel. They’re invested in finding you the right home and have fun while doing it. And when you win (which you will) and celebrate, they know the best restaurants and bars to do it in.

I found the BREL Team via Unilocal as well.
From the start Melanie and Brendan were awesome to work with. They helped us find our new loft within 2 and half of weeks of intense looking. We went to see over 50 places in 2 weekends which was taxing but they Brendan kept is fun and positive all the way through.
As a team they are incredibly informative about the Toronto market and also have great contacts for building materials, décor etc.
Not too mention their tips on local restaurants and hang outs in the areas we were looking in were awesome.
Always punctual, willing to go that extra mile to help alleviate the stress of home buying for us noobies and just an awesome couple you would want to have over for dinner I couldn’t think of a better real estate team to help others like me find their perfect home.
These guys are the best in the business and I would know. I have moved 6 times in 6 years and it was only on my 7^th try did i find a team that actually made a difference to both the experience of home buying and deconstructing the complexities of it so it was easily understood.
Oh yea and they have good taste in ales: P
Just like their motto, this team offers no BS, gets what you want and seems to have a terrifying knack of winning nearly ever bidding war they get into.
Why go for Brad Lamb who may potentially make you wet your pants, or the superman guy who just oozes tackiness when you can have a team that will truly be on your side?
Simple answer you wouldn’t.
These guys are as legit as it comes.
Hope this helps anyone looking and best of luck in your search! :)

I found the BREL team via Unilocal and contacted them to help me look for rental listings within the downtown core. The team was very help as rental agents and were able to provide me with great input and suggestions. As a first-​timer, the BREL team was there to help guide me through the different properties as well as send through info at various hours with further details and tips & tricks. The BREL team also keeps up a great online blog that can be leveraged by anyone who is interested in home buying or renting.
I would definitely contact the team in the future and recommend the team to anyone who is looking for an agent who has the personal touch.