I really am not the kind of person who gives five-star reviews for someone who has just done their job, but Lara truly was excellent to work with. We couldn’t come up with a complaint if we tried. Lara’s assistant Susan Russell was equally organized and helpful and personable. We felt very well taken care of through the whole process. ~ Kris & Jeff
We worked with Lara Gordon Caralis to buy our first home eight years ago. We were so happy with her help then that we reached out to her again when it was time to sell that house and buy another. She's incredibly knowledgeable, professional, and savvy and the purchases and sale couldn't have gone any smoother. She also recommended wonderful home inspectors and repair people who were able to help us out quickly and do the work well. She was accessible, responsive, patient with our questions, and always friendly and helpful. We can't recommend her highly enough. ~ Darci Hanna
Lara was referred to us by friends, and we're lucky to have such good friends. She did a great job understanding our needs and keeping us informed of potential places to see, while not over communicating or trying to "sell us" on anything. When we finally found a place to buy, the sellers were a total pain, but Lara showed great patience and perseverance in getting us to the closing. Her attention to detail and knowledge of how to get through a difficult situation were worth gold. She's GREAT!! ~ John
Lara is an outstanding agent. She is prepared, organized, knowledgeable, hardworking, and very personable. I would not hesitate to work with her again. ~ Jeff O.
She's a great listener which is critical to helping someone find their dream house. I felt like she was always adding to her understanding of what I wanted and reacted to and would show me only things that I would consider. It was a pleasure partnering with her. ~ Marie M.
Lara was excellent from start to finish. We were dealing with selling the property remotely after having already moved, and Lara and her team made it an entirely hands off process for us, even going as far as meeting contractors to do small fixes before the sale. We really appreciated how easy she made the entire process. ~ Stephen Salinas
Lara helped us buy our first home, our next home, and she is now helping us sell our first home! We have recommended her to friends. I could not imagine another agent we would rather work with - Lara is professional, knowledgable and personable. We are eternally grateful to her services. Buying and selling a home is a big deal! It is important to be able to trust your agent completely. ~ Quenna & Greg
Lara helped us get into our first home during a historically challenging time for buyers. Her expert knowledge of the local market, as well as her open and honest communication skills made us feel safe in this otherwise scary and new process. Lara helped us stay the course, despite the difficult market, to get exactly what we wanted. We feel very fortunate and would definitely recommend Lara to any other home buyers. ~ Kate & Greg
My husband and I worked with Lara to purchase a single family home in East Arlington and we could not have been happier with her as our realtor. She is so knowledgeable about the local market and helped us make smart decisions on every home we considered. She was always prompt, organized, and there for us every step of the way. ~ Emily & Stephen
I recently had the pleasure of working with Lara to buy a new home. She is knowledgable, honest, and patient. I always felt that she had my best interest in mind. And am truly thankful for all the help she gave me throughout the process. She really went above and beyond. I highly recommend her services. ~ Mike H.
I’ve worked with Ms. Gordon-Caralis several times as both a buyer and a seller. Her experience and knowledge of the region and market have been extremely helpful. Each time the process was efficient and smooth and I’m happy to recommend her. ~ Paul Beltrani
Lara is amazing at her job and we would recommend her to anyone who is looking to buy or sell in the Cambridge/Somerville area. She listened carefully, understood our needs, provided expert advice on the market and on bidding for properties. She could not have been better. Thank you Lara! ~ Heather & Joe O'Neil
Lara was fantastic, and I’d gladly recommend her to anyone. When we were trying to pick an agent to list our house, there were three reasons why Lara stood out: (1) her track record of selling properties in the area, often quickly and above asking price; (2) her sophisticated understanding of local market dynamics, which she clearly communicated to us; (3) her marketing plan, including contingency plans if the house didn’t get under contract quickly.
These and so many other reasons ended up confirming that we made the right decision. We always felt like we were being well advised through the entire process, and Lara was responsive to our question and concerns. She’s also a really nice person to be around. We could not have been more satisfied with our experience. ~ Elizabeth & Mike
From first contact to closing, Lara and her team were professional, knowledgeable and planful. Lara’s advice on pricing and offer analysis was spot on, she was exceptionally well organized, kept us informed of of developments, and was an effective advocate for our property’s value. In a nutshell, Lara and her team exceeded expectations in all categories and were a pleasure to deal with. ~ Sam Goldblatt
It really was a pleasure working with Lara. Not only did she do a great job with marketing the house, but she took care of so many other details as well to make sure the property really showed at its best. During a record cold spell, she even checked on the house multiple times to make sure everything was ok! She really went above and beyond my expectations. In particular, I appreciated the regular communication throughout the process. Lara made it a worry-free experience, especially important since we were remote! We knew we were in good hands the whole time. ~ Debbie Wan
Lara is hands-down the best realtor in Cambridge/Somerville. She has a wealth of knowledge about the area and home maintenance. Lara is sharp, personable and deeply rooted in the Cambridge/Somerville community. This made for an extremely smooth buying process that was quick, efficient and fun! I should mention that I was a first-time homebuyer who was very nervous going into the process. Lara made me feel very comfortable, and she really took the time to listen to my needs and answer all of my questions thoughtfully. As we went to open houses, Lara would warmly introduce me to the seller’s realtors (she seems to know everyone!) and would ask important questions about the home to make sure she had all of the facts. She’s incredibly honest, and would provide candid feedback when she felt that a house either wouldn’t meet my needs or had build-quality issues. Lara is passionate about her job and is an extremely hard worker; she always answered my e-mails within the hour, and kept me 100% informed throughout the whole process. I HIGHLY recommend Lara. ~ Greg Joondeph-Breidbart
Lara made us confident as first time buyers. She was extremely patient and worked with us for almost a year to find us the right home in a tough market. We knew Lara always had our best interests in mind when she would not hesitate to tell us when a property was not a good fit for us. She was always responsive to our many questions about the entire buying process and had fantastic local knowledge. It seemed like she knew every single listing agent that we met across the many open houses and showings we went to. And at the most critical juncture, Lara’s astute advice and guidance was critical in getting our offer accepted in an extremely competitive situation.
Even after having our offer accepted, we never felt worried about closing as she made sure to check in with us, the sellers, the lender, and the lawyers to make sure nothing fell through the cracks. Despite being new to the entire home buying process, we felt confident at every point of the way that we were doing the right things and making good decisions. We highly recommend working with Lara if you are looking for a home in Cambridgeville! ~ Ernie Park & Tina Hsu
Lara is a fantastic agent and we loved working with her! She definitely knows Somerville and Cambridge and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell their house! ~ Ashley Addington & Greg Cornelius
It was an absolute breeze working with Lara. We were impressed with how much research and preparation she did for every meeting she conducted with us. Her in-depth knowledge of our local market gave us the confidence to price our property higher than we originally planned, while still being competitive. We are certain that she maximized the foot-traffic into our open house by cross-posting our listing in her fantastic blog and on social media. Everything about our transaction with her was above and beyond, not to mention that she is lovely to work with. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell in the Cambridge/Somerville area! ~ Mimi Wong & Diana Ong
Over the past 30 years, we have worked with a lot of realtors while buying and selling about a dozen homes. In reflecting on this experience, Lara is by far the best realtor that we have ever worked with. We would recommend her to others without hesitation. ~ Bill & Beth Anne Darnall
We were very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with Lara. After interviewing four realtors with whom to list our condo, we went with Lara because she demonstrated the best understanding of our property, including appropriate pricing, and intimate/accurate knowledge of the current real estate market in our area.
Lara made us feel as though we were her only clients. She was responsive to all of our inquiries, maintained excellent communication via phone/email/text during each step of the sales process, and anticipated potential issues. Lara took the time to learn about our property and neighborhood, and she was present for every showing, well equipped to answer questions and promote interest in several prospective buyers.
Within one week we had several offers, in large part due to her extensive online and word-of-mouth marketing and well-timed open houses, and Lara skillfully helped to negotiate to get our asking price. She guided us through the closing process calmly resolving the inevitable last-minute obstacles with professionalism, humor and poise. We would recommend Lara very highly to anyone listing their home for sale. We can’t imagine our sale going any better than it did. ~ Barbie & Rob McGarrah
Lara did an incredible job helping us buy and close on our condo. We were working on an impossibly tight timeline (we had to make an offer within 4 hours, get mortgage pre-approval and inspection done within a few days of our offer acceptance, etc) in a highly competitive Cambridge housing market (the condo we bought had only been on the market for a couple days), and Lara was extremely responsive, helpful, and confident throughout such a stressful process. She’s incredibly personable, and really makes it obvious that she’s on your side throughout the home buying process. I could write on an on about what a great job she did to navigate us through the complexities and extraneous nagging details that come with buying a house, how good she was at monitoring and checking in with us, or how nice it was for her to follow up with us after all was said in done to see whether we had any questions, but I don’t think I’d be able to do her justice. I would HIGHLY recommend working with Lara if you’re looking to buy. ~ Julius & Elana Anastasio
I’m not even sure how I found Lara, but I’m glad we did! From the moment we met we knew she was the realtor for our particular needs. Lara had confidence, understanding & personality that lacked with another company. In short, we all clicked!
Lara sold our beloved grandmothers 100 year old home within a short time-line specified during a down & volatile market. One of the hardest concepts for the sale of a family home is to take the emotion out of the mix while trying to understand a changing market in the Somerville area. Estate sales are never easy.
The wonderful memory filled old home had fallen in disrepair over the years since my grandmothers death, one member of the family had taken charge and unfortunately failed in upkeep. The home was beyond a typical home-buyers purchase needing total rehabilitation.
2010/2011 was one of the snowiest winters in years, coupled with below freezing weather which resulted in a major water line break and damage. Lara was not rattled by this instead moving forward towards the spring market changing strategy as the market & house condition changed.
Having to deal with nine family members and one non-family member scattered throughout the U.S. was no easy feat. Lara remained calm, cool and collected the entire time. Something I’m not sure I could have done myself. Lawyers, faxes, signatures a maze of paperwork with three separate estates involving ten people for the sale of one home. A challenge indeed.
I commend Lara on her diligence & negotiation skills. She treated our family with honesty, respect & dignity. Right down to negotiating the plants that were removed from the yard. I cried when my grandmothers roses bloomed last year.
Our family has high expectations, Lara met & exceeded all of them.
Not only would I recommend Lara to others, I have! ~ Karen Hebb
We had one of the best experiences possible buying real estate working with Lara. We had passing knowledge of Cambridge/Somerville when we started the process. Lara introduced us to the neighborhoods and squares for livability and amenities getting to know us and what we wanted and needed in the process. We were not on a fast track in a hurry to buy, but that did not faze Lara. She was very patient and accommodating ultimately finding us exactly what we wanted, in Inman Square, an area we had not initially considered but which we now love. Lara is hard working and responsive, often sending information and follow up details late into the night and early in the morning. If you are looking for the hard charging, fast talking go go sales animal in the Mercedes, keep looking. If you want thoughtful, hard working, attentive representation, Lara Gordon is the realtor you seek. ~ Jayne & David Matthews
For us buying a home was a really big decision and we wanted to be sure that we got it right. That is where Lara came in. To start she specialzes in the area where we really wanted to buy. We had been renting in East Cambridge for about two years and knew that we wanted to live here. We actually knew her as a neighbor from the dog park before we knew her as a realtor.
It was January and there was very little inventory when we started looking. I genuinely felt that Lara would have worked with us thru the spring and beyond to help us find the right home. Fortunately, we did not have to wait that long. One Sunday in early February, a place came on the market. Lara spotted it, emailed it to us and by Monday we had an appointment to see it at 7:45AM Thursday morning. Lara knows the Cambridge market and she knew the place would go fast.
Sure enough we loved the place it and that night we decided to make an offer. Lara met us the next day at coffee shop in Downtown Crossing in the middle of a snowstorm to draft the offer. By 10pm that night, the seller had accepted. All of this happened before the first open house and at that open house the seller had received 3 other offers. It is amazing to think how easily we could have missed out on our home and we credit Lara 100% with making sure that did not happen.
On top of all of that she is kind, funny, interesting person. You will enjoy the time you spend working with her while you are finding a great new home. ~ Ellen & Matt Osbourne-Smith
Lara Gordon helped me find and purchase my first property! I was pretty green in the process and wasn’t sure what to look for and what to ask about. Lara was really easy to work with and did an amazing job elucidating the home-buying process for me. She had a good sense for the kinds of properties I would be interested in and I never felt pressured. Lara also helped me find an excellent lender, thorough inspector, and a thoughtful attorney. Lara was also good with showing me data — pulling together comps, showing list/sale comparisons, and other such info. She was always available and timely and responsive. She’s made a point of being available even after the closing, which is really fantastic. Highly recommend! ~ David Goligorsky
Lara was tremendous. A huge help every step of the way. Professional, thorough, detail-oriented, available when we needed her and very thoughtful. We’re looking forward to working with her again! ~ Frank & Jen Gorke
Lara Gordon did an excellent job in selling a condo for me in Cambridge. Her attention to detail and knowledge of the real estate market was in my opinion the reason that things went very well. What impressed me the most was that she handled everything. I was living out of state and anticipated many trips back to Cambridge. Except for the initial signing of the contract everything was handled through e-mails and phone contacts. She was thorough in handling problem areas and provided solutions when inputs were required by me. During the whole process I was kept informed step by step as to what was going on and what I had to do. I have nothing but praise for her professionalism and dedication. ~ Paul Desaulniers
When I decided to buy a condo in Cambridge, Lara made the whole experience very productive and painless at once. She was extremely organized and proactive, while taking the time to explain the entire process and what to anticipate step by step. The information Lara shared with me was very useful and never overwhelming. Also, her availability was quite impressive – both in terms of showing me condos and responding to my questions or concerns. Lara continued to be very helpful after the offer was made, keeping track of every document and deadline for me. It is clear that the whole process went so well and fast largely because of Lara’s great knowledge of the real estate market in the area. Her positive energy and friendly touch were much appreciated too! I would definitely recommend Lara to anyone looking for a home in Cambridge/Somerville. ~ Cedric Hubeau
If I were to summarize my experience as a buyer with Lara in only three words, it would be “Detail, Experience & Patience.” From making sure all the forms were in on time, to critical deadlines, Lara never missed a beat and always provided ample time before things were due. I could not have selected a better buyer’s agent than Lara, and her experience in the market was critical for helping me make an educated purchase of my new home. Her patience for me as a first-time homebuyer was impeccable, from explaining things in great detail and encouraging questions, to showing me a wide variety of places in my price range, she always made me feel like she was there for whatever I needed. Even after the sale, she went out of her way to make sure everything was perfect with my new place and the move. Looking back at the whole process, Lara was exceptional to work with from day one and proved to keep the whole process on track with a great deal of care and expertise that I truly value. ~ Andrew Posner