Boardwalk Properties

Address:	183 Harvard Ave, Allston, MA 02134, USA
Phone:	+1 617-566-5333
Site:	rentboardwalk.com
Rating:	4.7
Working:	9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM 9AM–9PM

Location

Photos 20

Reviews 5

Anonymous User

This July my two friends and I decided to rent an apartment in South Boston. While looking on Craigslist we stumbled upon an apartment that looked great, so we e-mailed the realtor, Alberto. We were shown the property and all seemed well. We were even able to speak to one of the roomates who gave us some information. Our main concern was safety so we asked mainly safety-oriented questions and also inquired about the landlord. We were told the landlord was very incapable, but we liked the apartment so much we took it. We wrote deposit checks immediately and made an appointment to sign the lease. We went to Harvard Ave and signed our documents, namely, the lease and the anti-lead agreement. Upon moving in, the terms we had specified were not met. We requested the home be cleaned as three boys were living there prior. Not only was it not cleaned, it was an absolute mess, complete with moldy bathroom floors and food all over the kitchen. As it turns out, a few weeks later I realized that after we signed the lease, Alberto gave the signed lease to our landlord to sign. We had negotiated with Alberto that the deck stairs be fixed, the house cleaned before we move in, and a wall in one of the upstairs bedrooms painted. Not all of these terms were met. Alberto instead filled onto the least 3 terms that we had not even discussed at all and that was the lease our landlord signed! Invalid lease - Problem One. Second, there is led paint in the house (we filled out an anti lead paint disclosure), and the house is not up to code - filled with many electrical and structural violations. Our roof leaks in several places, the hot and cold water nozzles are switched, and mainly the heat does not work. We have a boiler downstairs that we have to fill up. Normally you would have to fill the boiler once a week but we have to fill it 3x a day and even then the heat goes off. We fill the boiler with water before we go to work, but by the time any of us gets home the heat is off and because the home is poorly/inadequately insulated, the temp inside our house drops to 55-60 degrees on a daily basis. Alberto was only interested in making a buck. A buck that I intend to get back. After we gave the deposit we never heard from him and our calls went unanswered. HE WAS HORRIBLE AND SO WAS BOARDWALK AS A WHOLE. With so many rental placed to go in the city - pick someone else! Or better yet - find a place that is not renting through a property management or rental company!

Anonymous User

Avoid this place as you would an infectious disease. My girlfriend and I contacted the agency in regards to an ad that I found online. We confirmed the apartment and a viewing time. The agent did not show up at the time that we had set up. He instead left a voicemail on my work phone saying that he was unable to meet because of a conflict on his schedule (please keep in mind that he “double booked” at 11 o’clock on a Sunday). I called him unaware of his inability to meet and he informed me that his car was not working. Four hours later we finally met and he was unaware of what our price range was as well as the apartment that I originally inquired about. From here our incredibly inept agent began to pull the old bait-and switch. He showed us apartments that were more expensive than the one we were interested in. In addition to the increased price of the apartment, the condition of the apartments that we viewed was atrocious. We experienced viewing the apartments of surprised tenants (the tenants did not know that we were viewing the apartments) and we saw everything from rabbits, to having a non-clothed tenant open the door. (Granted she had the decency to stay hidden behind the door but you get the idea.) The grand finally was our agent Ryan implying that it was our fault that we viewed these apartments because of our low asking price for an apartment. He claimed that he had luxury apartments for more money and that we could view them if we wanted to. We asked about the original apartment that I called about viewing. He said that photographs can be deceiving. He also said that perhaps one of the rabbit infested, graffiti ridden, broken down, smoke smelling apartments that we viewed was indeed our original apartment. This condescending insulting remark is but a symptom of how terrible this agency is. I implore, for your sake, to avoid this agency.

Paul Epstein

I am writing because I just wanted you to know what an absolutely amazing job Mike Travaline from boardwalk properties just did on a recent apartment deal for me. I cannot imagine another agent going above and beyond to the extent he did. This was not a traditional deal. I found myself in a situation last week helping a family that had suddenly become homeless and needed to find housing fast. It was a very complicated and fluid situation and many realtors and landlords just didn’t want to deal with us and blew us off. But Mike was determined from the start to help. He found and showed us an awesome apt in brighton. We were devastated when it fell through. Within minutes Mike had found what I now call “the nicest 1,500$ apt. in Boston perhaps the world!” He very deftly set up a meeting with a higher up at City Realty and together we finessed our way into closing the deal. The family moved in Friday and could not be happier. They went from homeless to housed in a beautiful setting and this simply would not have happened without Mike. He was unfailingly professional, knowledgeable, and incredibly efficient. But way more importantly in my book, Mike showed a ridiculously large heart. He really cares, and that makes all the difference. Some unsolicited advice from me, keep this guy in your company and nurture his career. He is going places.

Alaka Pellock

My brother and I really liked an apartment we found that was listed with another agency. I wish we had known at the time it was also listed with Boardwalk (Robert Waruingi in particular). The woman from the other agency (not Boardwalk) was so unresponsive, unhelpful and SLOW. We really wanted this apartment and felt sooo frustrated. We knew we were going to lose it. Thank goodness, a couple days later we saw that Boardwalk Properties was also listing the same apartment. They called us back right away and it was like night and day. Robert picked right up whenever we called and showed us the place the same day. He helped us through the application process and even called us with updates on how things were going as we nervously waited on pins and needles to see if we got approved. I know it is because of Roberts help that we are in the apartment we really wanted. I have worked with different real estate agents in MA and to be honest with you this is the only one I have ever actually taken the time to write something positive about. Most of the time its just business as usual (if youre lucky) and with Boardwalk and Robert it was actually a pleasure. It made the stressful experience of finding an apartment soooo much easier.

Mein Fretr

Nick Burke with Boardwalk Properties has been my real estate agent for years and has never done me wrong. Several years ago he found a great apartment in Allston for me and a group of friends. Last year, on incredibly short notice (less than a week), he found me a beautiful room rental in Brighton. He worked diligently to come up with a list of places within my price range and area restrictions and then was incredibly flexible on meeting for showings. He gave us excellent input on pertinent information about the properties shown and displayed a deep knowledge of landlords, value of the apartments, and the relative appeal of each place. Nick puts all the effort he can in. He treats all of his clients like family and works very hard to ensure that you get the best property possible. He works with the criteria given in every case and has never failed to find me a fantastic place to live. I will continue to use Nick Burke and Boardwalk properties for all of my real estate needs, as I have been constantly treated in an incredibly professional manner and I am confident that Nick has the combination of skills, passion, and experience to find me any house or apartment I could ever need in the greater Boston area.