Buyers Brokers Only

I just closed on a beautiful condo in Beverly with a lot of help from Kristin Sherman and Dave Kres of Buyers Brokers Only. It’s a seller’s market right now and you need the support of someone who is firmly in your corner.
I put in a reasonable offer with confidence thanks to thorough comp information provided to me by Dave, and my offer was accepted! Both Kristin and Dave answered questions promptly and thoroughly, and in person they are both a pleasure to work with as well.
Whether you’re a first-​time buyer or if you’ve been through the process before, you would do well to work with Buyers Brokers Only. I’m happy to recommend them.

We would like to thank Andrew Sabourin at Buyers Brokers Only for helping us find, what is in few words, the perfect house for our family. We appreciated his patience and expert advice during this exciting and frustrating process. The Massachusetts real estate market is especially difficult and filled with challenges. However, his professionalism and commitment to finding a great property for us eased the process and allowed us to keep our priorities straight.
If you need a great broker, call Andrew!

My husband and I used Andrew McKinney of Buyers Brokers Only. Andrew made the experience of being a first time home buyer as painless as possible. He was always available to us to answer questions either by phone or email. We worked with him for several months and ended up finding our first condo! Andrew guided us through the entire process even though our offer coincided with his vacation! I would highly recommend working with him if you are looking in the city of Boston. He takes an unbiased and logical view of home buying and patiently guides you through a process that can be very nerve racking!

My wife and I just bought our first home with the help of Dave Kres and Buyers Brokers Only. We came to them after reading so many positive reviews here on Unilocal,and I can assure you that they have such high ratings for a reason.
Dave worked with us from the beginning of our search in early November to closing in late March. we knew he had lots of other clients, but it never felt that way. He made himself available anytime we found a home that we liked or had a question and wanted to talk it out over the phone.
Being a one-​car household, Dave even went way out of his way to pick me up Über-​style on the day of the closing, so that we could meet my wife there, as she was going straight from work.
Throughout the entire process Dave was super knowledgeable, professional, and fun to be around.
We hope this is our ‘forever home’, but if we find ourselves on the market again, we know who we’ll be reaching out to.

We just recently started using Unilocal kind of like an «Angie’s List» and boy did we hit the Jackpot with Andrew McKinney. All of the reviews are correct. He helped us through the process of purchasing our dream home, and he exceeded all expectations and then some. He was always available, understanding, professional, and most importantly (at least for us) very type A personality! Attention to detail, and a person who makes you feel like you are their only client were two of the most important things we were looking for when shopping for an agent. Andrew got things done, no matter what we asked him for, he will make it happen. I think that when you are buying a house, you want someone who is not only knowledgeable, but also one you can depend on when something goes wrong. I don’t want to go into the details of it, but there was a situation that arise, and it really wasn’t Andrew’s fault, and he not only took responsibility of it, but also took care of the issue (And this wasn’t a small issue). What I’m trying to say is, if you’re looking for the best of the best, here it is. These guys most be doing something right for there to be so many Unilocalers giving them the 5 stars right?

As a first time home buyer, I can’t think of the words to describe how lucky I was to have worked with Andrew McKinney as my agent. Andrew truly goes above and beyond to make sure that you understand every step in the process from start to finish. His professionalism is second to none and I would recommend him to anyone looking to buy a condo/​home.

We worked with Andrew and he was amazing. Everything about the experience working with these guys is wonderful. He was extremely responsive and attentive to our needs. I would highly recommend them to anyone!

Rich Rosa’s experience, patience, and attention to detail helped us feel confident throughout the entire homebuying process. The biggest difference we noticed with Rich when compared to other real estate agents was that he took the time to explain everything. Even though we were buying a house under 300k, his level of attention made us feel like we were buying a million dollar home.
Rich responds promptly to questions, has plenty of great contacts throughout the industry, and is excellent at negotiating the best price. If you’re thinking of buying a house, I would recommend contacting Rich first because he will educate and carefully guide you.

Otto was so incredibly patient with our many demands, never got frustrated with us (or at least never showed it!) and gave us tons of invaluable advice about the process. Buying a house is stressful, but Otto made it fun. I cannot say enough good things about Otto or this company.

This review is for Jess Wagner.
We worked with Jess, who was infinitely patient, calm, and reasonable throughout our 3-​month quest to buy a single-​family house in Arlington, an extremely competitive market where we saw mid-​range houses go for $ 100k over list price in bidding wars. YIKES! To make things more difficult, we were very set on a particular school district/​neighborhood (for reasons relating to our kiddo).
Jess was a total pro. He trudged through three feet of February snow to meet us for the first time. He spent 40 minutes explaining financing options to us in a cold basement. He listened to us think out loud, and responded thoughtfully to all of our concerns, questions, and general angst. He never pressured us. He seemed attuned to our needs even when we weren’t. We would get caught up in the pressures of needing to find the perfect house RIGHT THIS SECOND, and he would talk us down off the ledge. He knew we wanted to see everything, even though some houses were obviously not the one for us, and he never tried to talk us out of a viewing. After we looked around, he would share his thoughts and give a measured opinion of whether it was a good fit for us.
He worked around our busy schedules and zipped over from Belmont at the drop of a hat whenever we called. He consoled us after our first offer on a house was rejected. He made sure we understood every part of the buying process, and connected us with an excellent lender (shout-​out to Melissa Caci at Residential Mortgage Services). He also provided a list of Buyers Brokers Only’s approved real estate attorneys, one of whom we used and were happy with.
Somewhere in month 3 of our search, we made an offer on a house we absolutely loved, and were very disappointed when we were outbid by a builder offering cash. (Those guys are hard to beat!) When the winning offer fell through, Jess was on the ball and informed us immediately, and worked with us to make a more attractive second bid. (In an amusing twist, we found out we had a second chance on the very day our landlord announced that he wanted to hike the rent and have us sign a 12-​month lease.) To our immense happiness, it worked out! We closed on the house and moved in over the summer, and couldn’t be happier in our wonderful new neighborhood. Jess, class act that he is, presented us with a bottle of fine champagne at our closing, and turned up to our housewarming party with an excellent bottle of rum.
We really can’t recommend him enough. We were such big fans that we felt nostalgic and missed him once it was time to turn things over to the attorney and the lender.

I just closed on my first home with Matt Cummings, and I cannot say enough positive things about Matt and working with him!
I was extremely nervous about even starting the home buying process, but Matt was incredibly responsive (very easy to get in touch with no matter what!) and thorough at every turn. From figuring out if I was ready to buy, to looking at properties, to the purchase, to the closing… Matt had an honest answer to every question and was able to patiently explain everything to me. Matt never pressured me or made me feel rushed, and he was always supportive of my decisions while still being a reliable sounding board. When I was ready to make an offer, Matt made up a comprehensive comparative market analysis (same day) and helped me negotiate an excellent price on my place. Matt would even check in periodically to see if I had any questions, and to give me a helpful breakdown of what was to come (like what the closing would entail, questions I would want to ask the different members of my home buying «team,» etc.). I love my new place and I know I would have not gotten into it as quickly (or at such a great price) if it wasn’t for Matt.
I cannot imagine having used anyone but Matt for my purchase, and I will never use anyone else in the future. If you want a trustworthy broker who is friendly, responsive, honest, and excellent at getting you a great home for your money, then you definitely need to work with Matt!

Just last week we closed on our new home! Dave Kres was our agent and was absolutely wonderful to work with. Dave is a personable, efficient, and professional agent — he answered our many questions and also sent us very detailed comps and his professional review of them before we submitted any offer, which helped us to make smart decisions. Dave really went above and beyond for us in all aspects of the buying process. We appreciate everything and we absolutely love our new house!

I recently closed on a condo in Quincy after working with Andrew McKinney. Andrew went above and beyond throughout the process, from search to closing.
Andrew is very realistic. When I first contacted Andrew with the areas I was considering, he was very straightforward and honest about my chances of finding a property within my pricepoint in those areas. He didn’t sugarcoat things, but he also wasn’t harsh or tactless.
Andrew was also very communicative and responsive via email, phone, and text, especially when an offer was on the table. For example, when we received a counter-​offer on a condo which was priced somewhat high, Andrew made himself available to talk about my options via both email and then a phone conversation shortly after the emails.
Even when it became clear that the seller wouldn’t take my best-​and-​final offer, Andrew went to extra step to present data to the seller’s agent which showed recent comparable sales in the same complex that supported my offer price. This experience also made a great impression on me because it showed me that Andrew made every effort to negotiate and advocate for me.
Throughout my home search, it was clear to me that not only has Andrew had extensive experience in the real estate business, but he also uses his past experiences to give sound advice and to teach his clients. I found that when I had questions or an unexpected hiccup during the home-​buying process, Andrew would often use an experience with a previous client in order to better illustrate his point or support his advice. Additionally, he was both very precise in naming the market he was referencing and very professional about maintaining his previous clients’ confidentiality by not using any overly-​revealing information.
Moreover, Andrew always made it a point to give advice while also ensuring that I didn’t feel pressured to do something I was unsure of or uncomfortable with.
Overall, I would highly recommend working with Andrew for his professionalism, knowledge, and above-​and-​beyond attitude!

I recently worked with Andrew McKinney in purchasing my first home. As a first time buyer I was fairly nervous about the whole procedure especially with all the horror stories I’ve heard. But working with Andrew really eased those anxieties.
Throughout the process, Andrew was extremely patient with all the questions I had and was very willing anything that came to mind, be it home buying, to the mortgage process, to home construction and history. His deep knowledge base and experience made it very easy to approach him with any questions I had. It also helped that he was very reachable with quick response times through all modes of communication.
In the beginning, we went to a large number of properties all across the Metro-​Boston area and Andrew was very familiar and knowledgeable location. After narrowing down the locations, I put offers down on 3 different places. Ultimately I found a great spot and Andrew helped me negotiate to get the best terms.
Andrew walked me step by step throughout the entire process which made it incredibly smooth and easy. Frankly I really enjoyed the home buying experience because his help and I would definitely work with him again!

I recently worked with Otto while buying my first home. He was incredible to work with! He responded quickly to emails and phone calls regardless of when I sent them. Otto demonstrated a deep understanding of both the home buying process and the current real estate market. He explained what to expect at each step and put me in contact with other helpful professionals (inspector, attorney etc). I would highly recommend Otto to anyone looking to buy a home in Boston!!!

Working with Andrew McKinney has been a wonderful experience. He’s very smart, efficient and reliable and he made sure that the home buying process went smoothly, which is an amazing feat considering this market. I was a first time home buyer so I had a lot of questions and Andrew was always available and willing to help. He listened to what I wanted in a home and then he helped me find it in a fairly short timeframe. He also gave me great advice along the way and made sure I asked all the right questions. He’s the perfect blend of straightforward and friendly and he seems to genuinely enjoy helping people find homes. I highly recommend working with him.

Andrew McKinney is the absolute best. Being a first-​time home buyer, I undoubtedly had no idea what I was doing. I was buying on my own, had never looked before, and had never talked to anyone before about buying. I was buying on a whim, a property to live in for the time being, then turn into a rental in a few years, that would both be a nice home, hold value, but also be a good (smart) price. This is where Andrew, and this company, stepped in, and were all so amazing. Andrew connected me with an excellent mortgage broker, who helped me streamline the mortgage process, and get me a great rate. From there, the company sets you up with an account online to see home listings the day they’re entered in to the system (amazing). Andrew was VERY attentive during the entire process! He was always more than willing to help, with everything! He would answer emails, phone calls, texts, right away, and always act as a helping hand, giving his professional opinion whenever asked or needed. He was always able to get me showings, or if he couldn’t make it he was texting me back and forth the entire time to see how I was doing, and how I liked the place. Andrew loves what he does, and you can tell; no one would put so much of their time in to making their client happy if they did not like what they were doing!
With all of that being said, I will absolutely go back to Andrew for future purchases. When you find someone so good at their job, you want to stick with that person, because there are many realtors out there, and not all of them care about you the way Andrew does. A+ work, and I enjoyed every minute of working with him. He’s the sweetest person you will ever meet, and he does an amazing job.
More positives: not once was he late to a showing; he was always early! Connecting me with a great home inspector, and being there with me along the way to ask questions for me, so I know what I’m getting myself in to (first-​time buyer, I had no idea what to ask about in this inspection). Willing to give a professional opinion about areas, prices, what can realistically be reached (price-​wise) in the current market. … So much more; you should contact Andrew yourself to see! A++, again, all positive experience. Thank you! :)

I would highly recommend Otto for first-​time home buyers. Otto has a wealth of experience, and he values your time and energy. He is honest without being disrespectful, and is sensitive to changing needs. He has a stellar team with Melissa and Linda at RMS, and Liz at Ligris. (I hired a different home inspector.) I had worked with another buyer’s agent two years prior to meeting Otto who had marketed himself having all of these qualities during the initial consultation, but did not actually live up to these expectations.
I was Otto’s longest client (~ 3 years) before I closed on my first home this week. When I had my initial consultation with Otto, I knew that I wanted to become a home-​owner, but I was still building up my savings. Every spring/​summer since our first meeting, I’d send Otto email inquiries about properties I was interested in from the MLS website. Otto was extremely quick to respond each time. While he was unable to make all the open houses due to his busy schedule, he did work diligently on giving me all the necessary information for any privately-​scheduled showings. Because I had already experienced the psychological havoc of home-​buying and bidding wars previously, I was cautious in jumping to make offers this time around. Otto was nevertheless very patient with me on my long search, and recognized when I finally found the property (a fixer-​upper with great potential in a golden location) that I wanted to hit a home runner for. The entire process could have been long and arduous, but Otto and his team were extremely on the ball, and I always felt like he had my back. I’ve already referred him to a friend who’s looking for an agent.

Anya Kennedy is the BEST! Working with her was a highlight of the entire process. When it was time to start looking for a house, I sent an email to 6 brokers asking the same set of questions. Based on responses, I contacted two agents — a guy who asked me for $ 500 up front and Anya. From the minute Anya and I met over coffee, I knew she would find me the right house. We searched from about April — July 2015.
Anya set up 5 or 6 houses to see each time we went out. Believe it or not, every day out, we made an offer. During this timeframe, houses were going quickly and for more than asking price.
After inspection on one house, Anya strongly encouraged me to get a contractor to look at some of the work. The work was so far from code that I walked away. I’ll be grateful forever that Anya was persistent!
A couple of my offers were rejected because of the contingency that the house must assess for asking price. Anya and I talked a lot about that contingency, especially on the houses I loved. She knew my financing would fall through if it didn’t assess right. Again, Anya was looking out for me!
Anya listens to what you want and finds it for you. She has a way of getting you to think with your head and not your heart. She is tireless when working with Seller’s brokers and always available by phone, text and email. She never gives up, even if you feel like you want to.
I recommend her to everyone!

Dave Kres is an outstanding professional real estate broker! He was responsive 24/​7, something that is important to a homebuyer who is not seeking a property only during business hours. His timely preparation of comparables was critical in our formulation of an our offer to purchase a condo in the hot Newburyport real estate market. We also like the «kickback» offered by Buyers Brokers Only, LLC for us to hire an independent lawyer to review condo docs and represent us at closing. Dave is enthusiastic and enjoyable to work with. Thanks for making our condo-​buying experience a success!

My wife and I just closed on our first home, a feat we could not have accomplished without Andrew’s help. As first time home buyers we had no idea how the process worked, but in talking with friends we knew it was going to be painful. The market certainly didn’t disappoint, but Andrew kept us encouraged the entire time. He was very responsive, even given our somewhat frantic style that involved seeing dozens of properties in a week, sometimes at odd hours. In the end we found a great house and Andrew walked us through the entire closing process. He even helped carry old cans of paint out of the basement that the previous owners forgot at 8pm when we did our walk-​through (and made sure they disappeared the next day)! That’s going the extra mile!

After reading the reviews for BBO, I’ve come to realize I was just paired with the wrong real estate agent. If you’re ever recommended here, please stay away from John J O’Connor. My fiancé and I were referred to John in March 2015. We submitted our first offer on a home mid-​April. During the time in between, John hadn’t added me to any MLS updates so I didn’t see any new homes. He also never recommend any properties, and to top it off John NEVER showed us any properties we were interested in. Till this day, I still don’t know what John looks like without the aid of the internet. John has a leg man by the name of Ron Burgess, this is who I shook hands with and who showed me properties. If you deal with John as your agent, you will most likely be dealing with Mr. Burgess as his fill in.
I don’t know if it was my price range or what John J O’Connor was always too busy to show us any homes, whenever one of us called him we always had to call him back because he was «busy». I work a typical 9 – 5, meeting with him after my work hours was impossible. I never viewed any homes on the weekdays, only the weekends, and even then it was 1 home… never multiple in a day.
I felt like I was working around John’s schedule, I couldn’t book inspections because it was inconvenient to John and Ron. Getting John to pay attention to my needs, call with updates, explain addendum’s, all of the above was a hassle.
We did all the leg work. I HAD TO CALL JOHN whenever I needed an update to find out more information on the process of my offer. John never called me. I even called the selling agent to get updates, which I should never have to do. Getting John to remember me was like pulling teeth. Days and weeks would go by before I heard a word from John. John was supposed to be our agent/​broker, who «specialized» in first time home buying… sadly this was not the case. John was supposed to review our purchase agreement and go over it with me, instead he filled it out for me, and said sign here and here… Never once explaining the context. If he’d done this, I would still have $ 500 from a worthless inspection.
Needless to say I still have not purchased a home. I wasted nearly 3 months waiting and waiting on ONE HOME only to pull out at the end. After submitting my offer refusal; what makes it worse is I STILL haven’t received any calls, or emails from John or Ron. I had to leave work 3 hours early to retrieve my refund check because I got no response from John or Ron while communicating back and forth on an email chain with the selling agent. Since then, I’ve dumped John J O’Connor, and have an even better real estate agent that actually wants to see me find a home, no matter my price range.
When recommended to Buyers Brokers Only, steer clear away from John J O’Connor. For this being my first home buying process, John has made this a very horrible, stressful experience. He definitely does not give your company a good name.

My husband and I are first time home buyers and worked with Otto. He was in one word– phenomenal. We enjoyed the entire process with him. From the beginning, he was very organized and on top of documentation, and, as seems clear from other reviews, but is even more clear in person, he was exceptionally responsive. We made 5 offers throughout the process, but clearly landed on the right home. The only reason we got the home we are currently in is because Otto spent an entire night revising and rerevising (and rerevising…) our offer letter based on seller negotiations. He is amazing. He also has the best resources. He set us up with an amazing inspector, lawyer, and loan officer who helped the process run smoothly and efficiently. They all worked together after hours, etc. to make it happen for us. We are SO happy in our new home– and SO happy with Otto’s service. We would definitely use him again and recommend him to anyone looking.
Thank you Otto and BBO!

Dave was recommended to us and we are beyond pleased with the services he provided. Purchasing a home is a very stressful experience… add relocating from the west coast, three dogs and new jobs to the mix and the situation becomes even more difficult. Luckily we had Dave as our broker. Dave showed us multiple homes via FaceTime (as we were living in CA at the time) and sent supporting information and documentation in a timely manner. Not only did he clearly explain the home buying process to us, but he facilitated the entire process remotely and we are now living in a great home. The neighborhood perfectly meets our needs and wants and we’re very excited to explore our new city and the surrounding area.
* Dave is very responsive and timely via email, text and phone. He is patient and always willing to answer any questions we had.
* He is VERY knowledgeable and passionate about the north shore. He wanted to know our needs, wants, likes and dislikes to better assist us in our search.
* His recommendations for a home inspector, lawyer, loan officer, etc. were great.
* He was always very upfront and honest about the process.
* Dave is really fun to work with. Though always professional, his humor helped lighten the process.
We put our full trust in Dave and are so glad we did. We will absolutely recommend him to anyone looking for a new home in the area!
Suzy and Chris

We chose Buyers Brokers Only because they exclusively represent buyers. Some agents offer «dual representation», but not BBO, they work on behalf of you, the buyer. Furthermore, electing to have buyers agent costs nothing to the buyer, because they receive the same seller-​paid commission any real estate agent receives. We also appreciated that all of their brokers are also licensed attorneys.
We ended up working with David Kres for the purchase of our new home in Derry, NH. David was incredibly thorough, detail oriented and responsive during every step of the home buying process. He accompanied us during showings and provided market comp data to help us make an educated offer. He also provided tremendous amount of support during negotiations, financing and closing.
David’s professionalism, patience and knowledge is matched only by his genuine persona. We felt comfortable and confident with David as our advocate. I have recommended him to friends, colleagues and family alike. David will be my first call when we buy our next home and I think he should be yours too!
Summary (TLDR): There is no reason NOT to choose Buyers Brokers Only and David Kres is simply the best!
Ron P

Femion Mezini was referred to us by one of our daughter’s friends, and we are very happy that she recommended him. Femion managed to make the frustrating and intimidating process of buying real estate in a sellers’ market as smooth for us as it could possibly be. He was extremely patient with us, answering every [stupid] question we had and explaining every document, professional, always prepared, punctual and returning calls and emails immediately. Also, he is very knowledgeable and honest in his opinion, and never hesitated to NOT recommend a property if he considered it unsuitable for us. Everybody he referred to us is very good at what they do — we ended up using the lender, the inspector and the insurance agent from his contact list, not because it was convenient (which it was, too) but because the service was excellent and quotes the best.
We truly loved working with Femion; if you are looking to buy a home in the Boston area, we highly recommend making him your agent.

This review is for Andrew McKinney. My husband and I reached out to him after reading all the great reviews on Unilocal.This was our first time buying a house so we did not know much about the whole process. Andrew was fantastic! He explained the whole process to us and made the house buying process as smooth as possible. He is really quick at responding to our phone calls and emails; he is very flexible at setting up viewings for us to go check out the houses, even with a few hours notice. He also gave his opinion whenever he feels it would be helpful and pointed out warning signs about a house or things to keep in mind during the tours.
Once we had an offer accepted, he helped with clarifying any addition questions we had and made sure the process moved along.
Overall, we were very lucky to have found him and worked with him. We highly recommend Andrew!

If you’re looking to buy in the Boston area, I highly recommend Mike Lord. My husband and I were overwhelmed first time home-​buyers and our experience was a million times easier once we began working with Mike!
Mike guided us through the home buying process with excellent advice and information, and was very knowledgeable about Boston-​area ‘burbs when my husband and I weren’t sure where to focus our search.
We appreciated how timely Mike was with answering all of our questions, and the excellent references he provided for everything. It was a pleasure to look at houses with Mike and know that we were getting an experienced, honest opinion and sound advice. Throughout the whole process, my husband and I never felt rushed and were extremely comfortable with Mike’s guidance. I’d highly recommend him to anyone looking to buy a home in the Boston-​area.