Jay Allen, REALTOR

I was impressed from the outset with Jay's positive and friendly attitude, professionalism and patience. He listened and understood exactly what my goals were, and worked very diligently to help get me there -- without ever once pressuring me into making any decisions that I wasn't ready to make.
After he helped me complete the sale of my condo, I got ready to start looking at houses (I rented a small apartment in the interim), and there was no question that I wanted to have Jay as my buyer's agent. I was probably even more impressed with him during this process, as he showed me approximately 30 houses in my price range during my search, repeatedly demonstrating how knowledgable he was about things like home construction, property values, homeowner expenses (taxes, water, etc.), and resale value. And again, never once did I feel pressure to make a decision -- I got the sense that he would've been perfectly happy to keep showing me listings for years if necessary, to make sure I found the place that was right for me.
In both the selling and buying phases, working with Jay was like having my own personal coach in my corner the whole time. He constantly kept me updated on each step in the process, advising me what to expect and what I would need do along the way to make the deal go smoothly. I wouldn't recommend anyone else.
(Note: I didn't list an approximate cost of service, since I paid the standard 5% agent fee when I sold my condo -- that fee gets divvied up in some fashion between buyer/seller agents and their brokerages. There is no agent's fee when you are the buyer.)

Jay did 4 important things:
1. He was a great listener and really paid attention to what we were looking for.
2. He was always positive and realistic at the same time, and clearly loves what he does.
3. He always took the extra step(s), often without our even having to ask him. For example, when we were looking at a lake-side property (we'd have to tear down a 3-room shack and build a house), he called the town Conservation Commission and the building inspector to find out what types of permits and regulations we would be dealing with. We never asked him to do that, but it was extremely helpful in assessing the property.
4. He gave us great advice and closed the deal. He submitted offers on 3 properties on our behalf, so we got to know the process quite well. My husband and I have both purchased 2 homes apiece before (4 total), and this was by far the best experience either of us had had with a realtor. Even when he said he wasn't really familiar with a town, he set up appointments and went with us and was far better than any "local" realtor we could have had in the greater Boston area. When we happened to go to an open house on a Sunday, he was available and ready to submit the offer within a couple hours, even though he hadn't seen the place. The open house was so crowded, though, that we knew we had limited time. Sure enough, that night there was already another offer on the house, so Jay suggested that we write a short letter to the owners, telling them a little about ourselves and why we loved the property. We offered a little over asking price, but the sellers' realtor told us later that our bid was accepted because the sellers wanted to have a family with a dog enjoy the house that they had loved and taken care of for over 20 years.
Jay is simply the best!

Jay was professional and attentive. He made us feel values as clients. His advice was excellent, and we were fortunate to sell our home in two weeks, at the price we wanted to get for it. Jay's follow-through and referrals were also excellent. We would recommend him to anyone in the area.

We highly recommend hiring Jay if you need to buy or sell a home. We engaged Jay to act  as a buyer's broker when we were looking for a home in downtown Natick, MA. We met with Jay at his office and he was professional and friendly and we spent some time discussing the details of real estate transactions and establishing the kind of home and location we were interested in.  As is common, Jay got us started with the usual web services which automatically search for homes and provide a daily feed.  But Jay also would contact us directly when he saw a home that he felt was something of particular interest.  In addition, even during lulls in the action (holiday season etc.) he continued to keep us in mind and send us e-mails when he saw something we might like.  And he was great about contacting us before he went on vacation, and telling us who in his office would be covering for him while he was away.   When we saw homes we wanted to tour, Jay met us there and provided his thoughtful, experienced insight.  But then, my wife's employment situation changed drastically, and it no longer made sense for us to move to Natick, so we never did buy a house.  When we told him we were no longer looking for a home, he was very gracious and positive (even though us NOT buying a house meant a substantial lost opportunity for him).  In the future we will call Jay if we need an y realtor services.

Jay has been the best Realtor I have worked with!!!  Jay helped us sell our home in Massachusetts when we moved to Washington.  From the the first meeting you will understand that he is very knowledgeable about his tread, loves his works, and loves to help you to sell your home.  He understands your needs and caters his selling approach by combining your needs with the market conditions.  He will give you very fair and upfront opinions about how to make best out of your selling process.  Best part is that he is people person and communicated very well, as a first time sellers we had numerous concerns and tense moments along the process but he helped us smoothed those out like a pro.  His integrity and focus on doing "THE RIGHT THING" is what stands him apart from
normal crowd.

I would not hesitate to recommend Jay to anyone who needs a trusted Realtor in Metro-west / Boston.

If I could give him an A+ I would!

Not only is Jay a seasoned professional who is highly skilled in his profession, it's the human qualities that really distinguish him from others:

1) Intelligence - Jay was not a typical broker/messenger, but a trusted advisor. He partnered with me in resolving all issues.

2) Patience - He patiently listened to my elderly parents' broken English and answered any and all questions. They really liked him.

3) Altruistic, Kind - Jay went the extra mile. For example, he voluntarily paid bills and fees out of his own pocket to ensure my parents wouldn't get hit with interest penalty and made everything convenient for them. Of course, we reimbursed him at closing.  

4) Professional, Likable, Articulate - These qualities make a good first impression. This is a huge advantage in real estate.

He is extremely professional, very nice, and very accommodating.  I was a little bit late to our appointment but he was okay with that and was able to walk around the property and do preliminary work.  He came back and gave us a thorough market evaluation of the house and it was an extremely positive experience.

Jay responded quickly and completed the analysis promptly.  The quality of the work was excellent. 

The overall experience was excellent. Jay had obviously reconned nearly every property we visited, as he had planned a route through the houses to show off the main good and possibly bad points. He was extremely responsive to our needs as they became clear to him, and made sure we weren't shown a bunch of houses that were obviously not appropriate. Every aspect of our dealings with him were excellent, be it face to face, email or by phone. Our only regret is that we didn't get to buy a property he showed us, as we ended up buying in another area of MA. We would recommend Jay to anyone who is looking to buy in the Metro West area.

Jay showed us probably over 80+ homes and condos in the Framingham, Marlborough, Grafton area. I must say that we feel that Jay has the patience of a saint, as we were very picky, had a set amount we were going to spend, and had very specific wants in a home. We probably spent more weekends with Jay than any of our good friends that year and we ended up feeling that Jay had become a trusted friend. He knows the area, he knows the quality of the housing stock, and he was able to help steer us to the houses that we wanted. I am a first time home buyer, so he taught us things like how to look at a roof, how to check out plumbing and foundations, and how to negotiate the deal. My husband and I are now serious "bad roof spotters" all thanks to Jay. Jay was always noting what we really liked and what we really did not like so that as we went along, we saw fewer houses that would not work at all and more that had most of what we wanted. We saw some real dumps along the way and we were able to laugh about them as we learned more about what would work for us. The last day we went looking, the day we saw the house we ended up in, we probably saw two others that would have also worked, so by the end, Jay was batting 1000. Jay was great through the closing, helping us calm our nerves, being tough with the seller's agent when the house wasn't completely cleared, and surprising us with our keys at the lawyers office. It's been a year that we moved in now and while I'm not planning on moving again any time soon, I know that I will be calling Jay to handle both the sale of this house and the purchase of our next one.