I found my apartment 3 years ago through Mike during my move to Massachusetts from Houston, TX.  I had to find something quickly and he was able to get me the perfect place and made the process painless and enjoyable.  He was extremely professional and went over and above what I had come to expect from real estate dealers.  I know whom I’ll go to the next time I have to find a place to live!!  

 Yovanny Pulcini

11/10/2010

We were relocating from San Francisco to Newton, and had very limited time to find a new home, especially given our very specific criteria. Michael had access to properties that fit our needs, and was very responsive and flexible to our schedules – he even drove the paperwork out to my office. With his help, we found a home and wrapped up the process in less than week.

Kristen G.

“It was a true pleasure to work with Michael Spurr of Newton Center Associates. Trying to find an apartment can often be a stressful process. Especially in this over saturated market it’s good to see a realtor that truly cares. He was friendly, responsive, efficient, thorough and most importantly, I signed my lease within a few days! Thank you for an amazing job! I can’t wait to move in.”

Sonja Gjokaj

9/8/10

I wanted to thank you for helping us find a great apartment quickly. It was a pleasure to work with you and Carla again! You knew exactly what we were looking for and made the process easy for us. We especially appreciated your effort in saving us time since we have two toddlers that keep us busy as is!

Thank you again for another great experience!

Robyn

My husband and I were relocating from out of state with our two children. Mike listened to our wants and needs and showed us a variety of properties that suited our family. He was sure to show properties that spanned a large price range, instead of just showing us what was at the top of our price range. We really appreciated this and it gave us a better understanding of the rental market. Mike takes pride in his work and treats his clients with the utmost professionalism. We would certainly recommend him to anyone looking for a new place!

Traci Upstate NY

Hello, Mike!

 Thank you so much for making my rental home search easy and enjoyable. I am confident my husband and I have the right home for our needs in the Metro West Boston area.

 As you know, I started out using craigslist.com. I wasn’t getting anywhere with it because it was difficult to imagine what places were really like from their descriptions or pictures. A lot of time was wasted looking at places that, had I know what they were actually like, I never would have considered.

 But, I saw a rental unit that your company had placed on the site and we talked about it and about my criteria for housing. After showing me a couple of places and listening to my reactions, you quickly understood what was really important to me and my husband. You described a place you knew fit our criteria and you made arrangements to show it to me right away. It was the place for us!

 Any prospective lessee would do well to work with you to find a home. In addition to the exceptional service, the finder’s fee is paid by the Lessor. What a deal!

 Thanks again!

Mary Swedberg

From Yelp! 4/3/2007; Laura M

What a cool realtor. We didn’t end up renting any of the places that they listed, but probably would have if someone else hadn’t beaten us to the one we really liked. I dealt with Mike, who is the self-described “owner, President, CEO, Big Guy, HeadCheese” of the company and is really, really nice.

After seeing some listings on Craigslist for apartments, I emailed the address included in the ad… and didn’t get a reply. So I called to ask about them, and found that much more useful. In general I learned that it is better to call than email a realtor, since they run around so much they’re rarely at a desk. Still, for a business dealing so heavily with Craigslist, I think a better email response would be beneficial. Not everyone likes or is willing to deal with phones, especially if they’re apartment hunting on the sly at work, like me.

After making an appointment for a Saturday afternoon, we met Mike at the office in Newton Center (right next to the T!) and he described the places we’d be seeing. He also gave us a really useful map of Newton, which is a huge town, and that helped us narrow down the “villages” we were looking for. I noticed that he was only showing us cheaper places, perhaps because the original ad I called about was for a pretty cheap apartment. I told him our price range went higher than that and he was flexible enough to add another, more expensive place to the list of units we’d be viewing that day.

All three apartments we saw were really nice. We liked them all, but one had no laundry (a deal-breaker) and one was really cute but smaller than we wanted. The third one was a big 2 BR with a glorious kitchen and huge living area… I’m still a little sad that someone else rented it before we could (we didn’t make up our minds fast enough, and by the next weekend it was gone). Mike knew all about each apartment he showed us and actually lived in one of the houses we looked at, so he was able to give lots of information and answer all our questions.

I’d definitely recommend NCA to anybody looking for a place in Newton or the surrounding towns. They don’t seem to always have a ton of listings, but based on the places we saw I’d say that they look for quality rental units, and the customer service can’t be beat. Compared to some of the other crappy realtors we had to deal with during this process, speaking to someone so friendly and helpful was a breath of fresh air.

Former Tenant; 2/2010

From mid-August 2006 to mid-February of 2009 I lived in unit #1 of 410 Newtonville Avenue. When I rented the apartment it was in need of painting and window repairs. These were completed prior to my move in date.

Michael was my rental agent; all of the apartments were rented through the fall of 2008 when, due to the impending sale of the property, Mr. Curry opted not to look for new tenants for unit #3 after the previous tenants had vacated.

In terms of maintenance Michael was always quick to respond to phone calls. The quality and depth of repairs varied based on the landlord’s judgment as to the appropriateness of investment in the property given its impending sale.

While I have never met Mr. Curry, I can say that Michael was an excellent liaison between landlord and tenant. This was my first rental experience without first hand interaction with my landlord. Michael was attentive, responsive, easy to reach, and always responded in a timely manner. As a manager Michael went beyond the call of duty when in the summer of 2008 when I was away and my dog sitter locked herself out of the apartment. Not only did he come and unlock the apartment but took personal time to help take care of my dog who was injured at the time.

Michael is a likable and personal manager who takes the time to get to know the tenants of the properties he manages and works hard to balance and maintain a positive relationship between the property owners and tenants.

SM,

410 Newtonville Ave.

Newton MA

Dear Mike,

Thanks again for helping us find our new home! You and Carla were both so nice. My roommates and I appreciate your honesty and the amount of time you spent with us, showing us apartments and answering our questions. You were the only Realtor that we worked with (out of 4 in total) who did not try to show us places above our price range or with fewer or more bedrooms than we wanted! And out of the 11 places we saw, we liked the 3 that you showed us the most!

Again, we appreciated your honesty so very much and are grateful for all of your help!

Christie Spadafora