Why Work With Us?

“We worked with Michele and her team for both the purchase of our first single family home as well as the sale of our condo. We specifically reached out to her when we began our search knowing that she specialized in Brookline and was very active in the neighborhood we were seeking. She was familiar with so many of the properties we went to see and she was super helpful and communicative throughout the process. We learned a lot from her along the way, especially as first-time home buyers. Searching for a home and selling during the pandemic was no easy feat but she and her team were professional and efficient and ultimately helped us find our DREAM home and sell our condo quickly. If you are looking to purchase in Brookline, Michele and her team are the way to go to!”

"Words are not enough to express our admiration for the professional services Brenda van der Merwe provided to us and how satisfied we were with her being our agent. An outstanding professional service from begging to end that we have rarely seen before.

She is not only knowledgeable about real estate and everything related to it, but relentless in her objectives of promoting our property the right way, and properly managing the closing process communicating with lawyers, inspectors, town authorities, etc. Can you think of an agent that you will text or email and you will get a responses within minutes (day or night Monday through Sunday)?. Does how she operates.

She was more than an agent, she was a top adviser/consultant (staging, advertising, promotions, statistical analysis, and any possible service required by the property. She had all the contacts and the knowledge. In addition, she knows about the legal aspects of real estate including but not limited to inspections, documents, and refinancing process)

She has mastered every angle of the sales process. How to approach the sellers, buyers and everyone in between. An impressive professional (actually is Dr. van del Merwe, as she holds a Doctorate degree) that not even giving birth to a beautiful girl a week ago stopped her from being literally on top of everything a week after during our closing. You will not be disappointed by working with her."

“Ava helped me with my condo in Coolidge Corner this summer. Her efficiency, quick response time, marketing, and understanding of pricing were excellent. She is consistently a friendly voice on the phone, taking calls at whatever hour necessary and can be counted on to get needed action done not only on time but with consummate professionalism. Ava was a pleasure to work with and it is with confidence I recommend her as a top Brookline Realtor."

"We recently sold a property that was in the family for 56 years. Our home was filled with a lifetime of treasures and memories. Knowing this, Michele and her team were very sensitive and respectful when it came to the sale of the property. Michele met with family members to complete a walk through and provided her expertise when it came to staging the home and directing us through the selling process.

“Michele was always available to us to answer any questions we had. The house showed and was marketed beautifully. She helped us to entertain offers and accept one that met our needs. The direction, professionalism and kindness Michele and her team provided will long be remembered and always appreciated. It was an absolute pleasure working with Michele and her team."

"We were very pleased to have Michael as our Realtor and found him to be extremely professional and honest with us at all times. Since it was our first time as sellers, we were fortunate to have someone like Michael to offer us the advice we needed so as to make the selling process as smooth as possible and to help us sell our property in a very timely fashion. It was a pleasure working with Michael, and we would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a trustworthy broker."

“I would like to take a moment to share my experience with working with Ayla Yildiz from Hammond Residential earlier this year. While we were newbies in the real estate market in the Boston area, we wanted to have someone with both experience and knowledge in the real estate market combined with someone who would provide us with the personal touch so many real estate agencies and agents have forgotten about. As you’ll appreciate, maneuvering through treacherous real estate territory requires nerves of steel, persistence and patience.

“From our first meeting with Ayla and the first showing, we knew we had made the right choice with her. She knew her stuff when it came to the rules and regulations and had the passion to take us from house to house. She had done her homework and had clearly understood our requirements as she was able to focus only on the properties she knew we would be interested in. As we saw property after property, her insight into the property, the town/location, as well as an attention to details we could never have caught, reassured us that this was our real estate professional.

“With Ayla’s assistance, we were able to find the property we wanted and she was magnificent when it came to arranging the showings and details with the previous owners. Truly, Ayla went out of her way to service our needs as well as going above and beyond in terms of time spent to make us feel special in the purchase of our home.

“I would recommend Ayla to anyone who seeks a knowledgeable, professional, passionate and diligent real estate professional. Wishing her years of success. Thank you.”

“In the fall of 2021, I made the journey from California back to Newton, to sell my parent’s home, where I spent my entire childhood. My parents' home was a gorgeous property in a great location, but it needed some updates, as my elderly parents hadn’t done much in the last few years they lived in the house. We consulted with four Newton real estate agents, all of whom told me the same thing: ‘Don’t do any work on the house — whoever buys it will do their own remodel. Don’t bother staging it. Most likely, it will be sold to a contractor or developer.’ My wife was obstinate that with a little work (but short of a major renovation), we could spruce it up and get a higher return. She found me Irene Kerzner of Hammond Residential, a boutique agent who specializes in high-value homes. Long story short: Irene and her team, along with outstanding staging by Heidi Wells of Silk Purse Design, absolutely transformed the house into a charming, stylish, and welcoming home, and we sold it for way over our asking price, with more than ten serious bidders on the offer due date! The final sales price was $500,000 more than the previous agents estimated we would get on the market. Irene has proved to be the best of the best players in the real estate market. She brokered the best deal we could have ever imagined. All the updates and repairs she recommended turned out to be wise investments. 

“Irene and her team were truly amazing. She identified exactly the work that would and would not get a return on investment. Her team took everything off our hands (that we wanted her to), managing a stable of contractors, electricians, plumbers, painters, haulers, and designers in parallel. In just over one month, we did exterior, and interior painting and repairs, an entire kitchen remodel, waxed and polished the hardwood floors, some plumbing updates, polishing of tubs, and a number of other small improvements. We have no idea how she marshaled these resources in the middle of the pandemic contractor and supply shortage. More impressively, all the repairs and updates she orchestrated passed the city inspections and with permits all issued. 

“Irene was very responsive, and she ran every decision by us, providing what proved to be accurate estimates, and her right-hand man, Ryan, managed the process and kept absolutely meticulous records of all the work done. Ryan was a major key to the operation - he was scrappy and tireless, in addition to having a steel-trap mind for details and organization.

“We would highly recommend Irene Kerzner - she helped us through a difficult time and did an extraordinary job preparing and selling our home.”

"Brenda was fantastic to work with. She was extremely knowledgeable about the Boston neighborhoods down to the zip code. We were first time home buyers and Brenda was extremely helpful in answering all questions and walking us through the complicated and sometimes overwhelming steps of purchasing our first home."

"Brenda is one of the most thorough, honest and loyal service providers we have met. She helped us buy a house in Arlington, MA in 2013. Her ongoing and prompt guidance was crucial in making the deal and us finding a place we could call ""home."" Even after the deal was made, she was always eager to help us with follow-up questions, which underscored her commitment to her clients and not to that one business opportunity. Buying a house could be an overwhelming experience, so many a times she was confronted with frantic calls from us, but she always responded with calmness and logic. We are looking forward to engaging her in the future, and highly recommend her to anyone who is looking to buy/sell a property in Boston and the Metro area."

“Marsha helped us both buy a new home and find a tenant for our condo. She has worked with my family for years and is always honest, informative, and guides us the whole way through the process.”