Hancock Real Estate Co, Inc

John and Sheila are some of my favorite people in the real estate industry. They are warm, honest and extremely knowledgable.
There are many small real estate companies in Boston, but Hancock is the only one worth recommending if you need excellent customer service and stress-​free, timely closing.

Holly Cameron is a fantastic real estate agent, and we highly recommend her for those looking in the Boston area. We are moving to Boston from Philadelphia and began our search by looking at both rentals and condos. Holly was extremely accommodating in finding us both types of listings (which many agents are not willing to do) in the particular price range and neighborhoods that we were interested in. When we decided to seriously consider buying a condo, she attended several open houses with us and always offered very informed opinions about the pros/​cons of the property and neighborhood without putting any pressure on us to make decisions until we were ready. We put in an offer on our top choice condo that was eventually accepted and then went through all of the many steps that follow when completing a home sale. Holly guided us through all of this and was incredibly knowledgeable, accessible and made the process as smooth as possible… especially as we did all of this long distance from Philadelphia, one of us was a first time home buyer, and one of us has an unusual work schedule! Again, our experience working with Holly was wonderful and we would highly recommend her and Hancock real estate.
Joanna DiSpirito and Abby Olsen

This is for Holly Cameron. Who helped us find an apartment.
I cannot recommend Holly enough.
She answers phone, text and email immediately (less than a couple of hours)
She’s honest about price, helps negotiating, answers questions that are outside of her scope of business
She offered and did pick my husband up from where he was so that him and I could go both see an apartment together. (The T would have taken too long)
She showed up to every showing with a packet of our information and rental application so that we could apply in an instant — It’s competitive!
She kept our needs in mind every time a new rental went on the market and would let us know about it before we even saw it.
Holly’s a fantastic person, not just a good realtor. I will be recommending her to everyone I know who needs a home/​apartment.

I was looking for an apartment in the Beacon Hill area in late February 2014 and came across Hancock Real Estate one day when I was walking up Charles Street. I met with Pragya, who was so kind and helpful. She introduced me to the owners of the office (Holly and John, if I recall) and then offered to show me a number of great units in the neighborhood. During our walks to the units, she was courteous and provided a lot of useful tips regarding the Boston housing market and Beacon Hill. She is very experienced and knew exactly what I needed as a new resident at Massachusetts General Hospital. After seeing a number of units on my first day with her, she said I was welcome to go home and sleep on it and that I could see any units that I wanted to a second time at a later date. She made an appointment for me that fit my schedule and I met with her again later in the week, during which time she showed me a unit that I had really liked for a second time. The owner’s asking price was a bit out of my price range and she skillfully advised me that I could make a slightly lower offer in order to negotiate with the owner. She kept in touch throughout my housing search and was easily accessible via phone and e-​mail, and was never pushy. She is the best agent with whom I worked with during my Boston housing search and I will definitely recommend her and Hancock Real Estate to the other incoming physicians looking for housing this year. As another reviewer noted below, the people who work for this company are genuinely kind and friendly — I never felt pressured, but rather felt that Pragya was taking my true interests as a tenant to heart. A+.

My review is mostly reflecting my experiences with Debbie Strevens, but the interactions I’ve had with everyone at Hancock have been wonderful!
I walked in because I saw a few posting outside their office and I needed a new place in about a month or so and I have a dog so that was very limiting. I talked with Debbie and she was very nice and seemed to actually care about her job and helping people, which was a big plus. A couple weeks later, she called me with a place that was opening up and even though it was a little more expensive than I wanted, it had everything else I needed and she didn’t want me to miss out. Needless to say, that is the place I ended up renting and I love it! She was very thorough and helpful the whole time. She is also very quick to respond to any questions, emails, and requests. I can tell she is really in it to help people and isn’t all about herself and the money.
As for everyone else at Hancock, I’ve walked in a few times to talk to Debbie or just stopped by while I was walking my dog, and everyone is so kind and friendly! I would highly recommend Hancock and specifically Debbie to anyone looking for a place!

Was looking to rent in Beacon Hill /​Back Bay and this was literally the first place I stumbled onto, and as it turned out the only place I needed! Debbie was extremely pleasant to work with, and really went above and beyond. She immediately had a place in mind for my needs that I was able to check out that afternoon, and then set up other options for the very next next day. Since then she has continued to help with my move-​in process and I couldn’t be happier with the place. Would definitely recommend Debbie and Hancock in general.

I had a great experience with Hancock Real Estate during my apartment search from Boston. Holly was my broker and she showed me two great apartments, one of which I ended up renting. Beforehand she asked what type of apartment i was looking for and did all of the legwork setting up appointments. She was very kind, knowledgeable, and professional while viewing apartments. While signing my lease I also got to meet other people who worked for the company all of which were very nice.
One thing to note is that this real estate group focuses mostly on Beacon Hill and areas nearby, so unless you’re totally set on the area you should have a second broker who specializes elsewhere too.

almost lost us a deal. waste of time. their incompetence is big.

My friend recommended Hancock when I began my apartment search in Boston. I’m glad he did because Holly was an absolute pleasure to work with! Her market knowledge, tenacity, and great personality made finding an apartment in Boston (off-​cycle) an enjoyable experience.
We were thrown some serious curveballs during the search, and she crushed all of them. She was extremely accomodating and was able to meet with me at my office on several occasions and was completely sensitive to the hours I work. I can’t imagine the effort it would have taken me to land my dream apartment wthout her!
Thanks again Holly!!!

We got our apartment through Holly as our realtor and she absolutely made our experience a positive one. She absolutely listened to what we wanted to in a unit and took it true to heart. She even gave advice on other areas and realtors that she didn’t cover based on what we were looking for. Fortunately, our first choice ended up being the first apartment Holly showed to us. She made the process so simple and quick. We truly connected with her and were so excited to be able to work with her. I would whole-​heartedly recommend Holly and Hancock Realty to any other family or friends moving into the area!

I came across an ad on craigslist posted by Holly and emailed a short response, not expecting much. I had been searching for an apartment for a few months at this point and was used to not getting a reply. Much to my excitement Holly responded only a few hours later and was very interested in finding out just what I was looking for in a new home.
I have a 40 lb dog and was thrilled when Holly gladly took on the challenge of finding me a nice sized, clean and convenient one bedroom apartment, that allowed pets within my budget, in a hurry. She found me the perfect apartment on the first try! She has been nothing but pleasant and wonderfully helpful in a stressful time (as moving always is!)
When I was in her office signing my lease, she took a phone call form a young lady looking for grad school housing. Holly gave her wonderful advice that directed business AWAY from herself! She later told me that she felt bad that she didn’t have anything for the caller, and wished she could have given her some stronger leads. I was very impressed because I have never seen a Realtor direct a prospective customer away because it would be in the customers best interest.
She is the type of Realtor you can only hope to get when looking for housing. I hope to use her for every future move I have in the city and will certainly recommend her to all of my friends. I can’t wait to move into my new home! Thank you so much Holly!

WHY HANCOCK?
My wife and I were searching for a rental apartment and confronted five different realtors in the Beacon Hill area. Given that we’ve now spent two years living in Beacon Hill We knew exactly what we were looking for and had significant experience with the local rental market. Hancock ultimately closed with us due to their excellent customer service, honesty, and ability to negotiate our offer with the landlord.
THE EXPERIENCE:
We walked into Hancock Real Estate Company, Inc. directly off the street. Holly Cameron greeted us as we walked in and heard us out – we told her our «Absolute Necessities», our «Nice to Haves», an approximate price range, and desired locations within Beacon Hill and Back Bay. Holly didn’t waste our time at all when it came to showing us apartments (literally and figuratively). She had units available for us to see right away, and none of the units that she shared with us were outright non-​candidates (as in, they were all geared toward our needs).
We felt as if we were a top priority for Holly – she would call us or text us right away as new units came on the market. This is important in Beacon Hill where the lifetime of great units at great prices can be very short. One time she called us to let us know that two units just came on the market that might fit our needs and said that she would head right over there to make sure that they stood up to their listing details before wasting any of our time showing us the place. Once they met her approval, she called us again giving us the green light to come check them out. The ‘top priority’ experience was NOT the case for another real estate company that we worked with on Charles Street [name not mentioned here].
Holly was very honest and sympathizing – she sees the units and their features for what they actually are and doesn’t embellish anything. If the common room is small or the building is old, Holly acknowledges that these are non-​ideal features in a larger composite. She doesn’t try to ‘sell you’ AT ALL – she legitimately wants you to find a place that you can enjoy and be happy with. This also was NOT the case for another real estate company that we worked with [differen’t from the one that didn’t give us the ‘top priority’ experience, but also located on Charles Street].
After searching long and hard (or so it felt after seeing 15 units in 3 days), my wife and I decided that there were two units that we liked best:
1. The best unit that Holly (i.e. Hancock) showed us
2. The best unit that Coldwell Banker showed us
Holly’s unit was definitively better than the other, but would cost almost $ 600/​month more in rent. This was a lifestyle decision that we would have to make. We explained the dilemma to Holly and mentioned that if we could get the unit for a $ 200/​month discount, we would take it on the spot. After discussing with the landlord, she was able to get our rent reduced by only $ 100/​month.
Consequently, my wife and I kindly thanked her for her efforts and explained that we will be applying for the unit that was offered by Coldwell Banker. Holly completely understood and wished us the absolute best in our application process. She asked us to keep her posted with everything in case we needed to continue with her services and thanked us for working with her.
The next day we found out that the unit we applied for was awarded to another applicant. We connected with Holly right away to re-​adjust our offer. We asked for the landlord to pay ½ of the realtor fee (realtor fee = one-month’s rent) and to sign a 2-​year lease at the discounted rate (i.e. $ 100/​month savings) in order to avoid having our rent raised after 1 year. She was able to negotiate with the landlord to reduce our realtor fee by $ 600 as well as a 1-​year option to keep the rent at the discounted rate.
At this point, we accepted the offer. The lease was typed, signed, and processed immediately. We were given our copy of the signed lease (including the landlord’s signature) within 24 hours of signing it. Included with this was Hancock’s quick guide to utilities, moving permits, and parking. Holly also shared her personal experiences moving into Beacon Hill and recommended a boutique mover who helped her get settled.
After all of this, we’ve since received a hand-​written ‘Thank You’ for working with her, and are looking forward to staying connected with Hancock Real Estate Company as we get the keys to our new apartment and move in!
THANK YOU to Holly and the Hancock Real Estate Company for making our experience fun, professional, comfortable, and easy.

I highly recommend these guys. Not only did they find me the perfect apartment for the perfect price but every single time I saw one of them on the street they said hi and stopped to chat and remembered my name for YEARS. they rock

Ren was professional and so easy to work with. She was always on time, showed us apartments in Beacon Hill that matched what we were looking for, and never made us feel bad about our budget — I find especially in Beacon Hill realtors are always pushing you to pay «only» $ 200 more a month because they have nothing in their price range. Ren had plenty of places to show us in our price range and even lower!
And even after we had decided to sign a lease, Ren continued to be helpful, making sure our place was clean and so forth. Really, the best apartment hunting experience I’ve ever had.